Free template
The free org chart template — for Excel, Google Sheets and CSV
Most org chart imports fail on one column: the manager. This org chart template uses the columns below, includes sample rows, and works with any tool that accepts a CSV — not only Orgline.
Free download
The org chart CSV template
The exact column headers Orgline's importer expects, with sample rows showing how reporting lines are written. Works whether you end up using Orgline or not.
Download the templateUsing it as an Excel org chart template
Download the CSV and open it directly in Excel — the columns land in row 1 and you can type your roster underneath. When you're done, use File → Save As → CSV UTF-8 so accented names survive the trip. Excel's built-in SmartArt org chart is fine for a handful of boxes, but it has to be redrawn by hand every time someone joins or moves; keeping the roster in this sheet means the chart is regenerated from data instead.
Using it as a Google Sheets org chart template
In Google Sheets, choose File → Import → Upload to load the template, then share the sheet with whoever maintains headcount. Export with File → Download → Comma-separated values. Sheets also has an Organizational chart chart type that reads a name column and a manager column — the same two columns this template is built around, so the file works in either place.
From spreadsheet to an automatic org chart
CSV is the native way to move people data between a spreadsheet and an org chart maker. Once the manager column is right, an automated org chart maker can draw and redraw the hierarchy for you — no boxes to drag, no connector lines to fix. Re-import the same file after a reorg and only the changed rows move.
The columns
| Column | Required | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| name | Yes | Full name as it should appear on the card. |
| title | Yes | Job title. Blank rows are labelled “Team member”. |
| Optional | Work email. This is the key used to match people on a re-import, so include it if you can. | |
| phone | Optional | Shown on the person card and hidden on public links. |
| department | Optional | Powers department views and filters. |
| location | Optional | Office, site or city. |
| manager | Optional | The manager's email, or their exact name. Leave blank for the person at the top. |
Five things that break an org chart import
- Manager written as a job title
- Use the manager's email or their exact name as it appears in the name column — “Operations Manager” matches nobody.
- Two people with the same name
- Use emails in the manager column. Names that match more than one person are left unlinked and flagged for review rather than guessed.
- Everyone reports to someone
- Exactly one row should have an empty manager. If every row is filled in, the chart has no top and the reporting lines form a loop.
- Circular reporting
- A reports to B, B reports to A. Orgline detects the loop, clears it, and tells you who to fix instead of failing the whole import.
- Trailing spaces and mixed case
- Both are handled automatically — emails are matched case-insensitively and whitespace is trimmed.
Want the chart built for you?
Upload the finished file to Orgline and the reporting lines are drawn automatically, with anything ambiguous flagged for review. Free up to 25 people.