template
Container Yard Excel Template
A simple field checklist for yards moving from spreadsheets to structured records.
Most container yards start with a spreadsheet because it is free and flexible. It works fine until two people edit it at once, a tab gets deleted, or nobody can say for certain which row is current. Use the columns below to structure that spreadsheet properly before you outgrow it.
Columns to include
- Container number - the unique identifier every other record (gate ticket, invoice, EIR) should key off of
- Container size and type - 20ft, 40ft, high cube, reefer, tank, and so on
- Customer or account name - who the container belongs to or who is being billed for it
- Gate-in date and time - when the container entered the yard, used to calculate free days and dwell time
- Gate-in condition notes - dents, scratches, or damage recorded at intake, ideally with a photo reference
- Yard location - row, stack, and tier so any employee can find it without walking the lot
- Free days start date and last free day - when demurrage or per diem charges begin accruing
- Seal number - recorded at gate-in and verified at gate-out to confirm the load was not tampered with
- Trucking company and driver - who dropped off or picked up the container
- Gate-out date and time - when the container left, closing out the dwell period
- Gate-out condition notes - confirms whether any damage occurred while the container was on the lot
- Current status - on yard, released, in transit, or empty return
- Billing status - unbilled, invoiced, paid, or disputed
- Notes or exceptions - holds, customs flags, or anything that needs a human to look twice
Tips for using this in practice
Lock the container number and gate-in date columns so they cannot be accidentally overwritten, and use data validation dropdowns for status and condition fields instead of free text - it keeps the sheet searchable and prevents "in yard," "In Yard," and "onsite" from becoming three different values that don't roll up together.
The most common failure mode is not the spreadsheet itself, it's that only one person keeps it updated. If the gate crew, the yard checkers, and billing are not all writing to the same file in real time, the sheet drifts out of sync with the actual yard within a few days. That gap is usually the first sign a yard is ready to move from a spreadsheet to a shared operational system.