General Smartsheet FAQs
1. What is Smartsheet?
Smartsheet is an intelligent work management platform that helps teams plan, track, and manage projects, portfolios, and processes in one place. It supports project portfolio management with shared sheets, reports, dashboards, automations, and resource visibility. Smartsheet gives teams and PMOs clearer control over work and priorities.
2. What does Smartsheet do?
Teams use Smartsheet to manage projects, portfolios, and processes with built-in AI-powered insights. Smartsheet AI can generate formulas, analyze data, create charts, and draft text or summaries. It also supports work tracking, automated updates, and progress sharing across sheets, reports, dashboards, and multiple views.
To learn more about what Smartsheet can do, check out all of our features.
4. Is there a free version of Smartsheet?
Yes. Smartsheet offers both a free trial and a free plan, allowing new users to explore the platform before choosing a paid option.
You can try Smartsheet for free to get started with your work account, or choose the free plan for basic project and work management.
5. How do you use Smartsheet for project management?
Use Smartsheet for project management by creating project sheets, assigning owners, setting dates, tracking milestones, and automating reminders and approvals. Teams can monitor progress through Gantt, grid, board, calendar, and timeline views, and then share updates in reports and dashboards.
Smartsheet University helps users build product skills, deepen solution knowledge, and earn certifications.
6. Can I use Smartsheet if my business is subject to HIPAA?
Yes; Smartsheet provides our customers with customizable settings and controls within the service that allows them to meet their HIPAA obligations. Healthcare teams can securely share, store, and access protected health information (PHI) in Smartsheet. Data, attachments, personal information, and other content stored or processed by Smartsheet remain encrypted during transit and at rest.
To learn more about our commitment to supporting HIPAA covered entities and other compliance frameworks, read about compliance and security at Smartsheet.
7. What are the main benefits of Smartsheet?
Smartsheet provides a centralized workspace for teams to communicate and collaborate, organize data, automate workflows to save time, and track real-time project updates for all users, ensuring they can be productive from anywhere.
Additionally, some Smartsheet tiers offer advanced Resource Management, Dynamic Views, Control Center, and dedicated, real-time support. Learn more about why people choose Smartsheet over other solutions.
8. Why is Smartsheet better than Excel?
Smartsheet is better than Excel for managing work because it adds automation, real-time collaboration, forms, dashboards, and shared visibility across projects. These features help teams coordinate updates, reduce manual effort, and manage work in a more structured, connected way.
As teams grow, the hidden cost of spreadsheets becomes harder to ignore — especially when work is slowed by manual updates, version issues, and limited reporting.
9. What other software integrates with Smartsheet?
Smartsheet integrates seamlessly with the most popular software in your tech stack, including Jira, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Salesforce, Adobe Creative Cloud, Tableau, and many more.
For a complete, up-to-date list of integrations, visit our integrations page.
10. Is Smartsheet a CRM?
Smartsheet helps manage customer relationships with prebuilt, customizable templates, task management capabilities, and enhanced collaboration. This allows you to easily track leads, manage customer interactions, and streamline communication throughout all phases of the pipeline.
Learn why you should use Smartsheet for CRM.
11. Is Smartsheet an ERP?
Smartsheet is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that integrates business tools into a single, centralized platform. When you consolidate your tech stack, teams can coordinate, collaborate, and communicate without switching back and forth between tools.
12. Is Smartsheet hard to learn?
Smartsheet is not hard to learn. Its spreadsheet-style layout feels familiar, while templates and guided resources help users get started faster. That makes it easier for new users to start managing work without having to start from scratch.
You can build core skills with the foundations course to create sheets, structure rows and columns, and organize data more effectively.
13. What companies use Smartsheet? How many companies use Smartsheet?
Smartsheet is trusted and used by more than 85 percent of the Fortune 500, including NASA, Pfizer, Alaska Airlines, and LEGO.
Learn how customers are using Smartsheet to make an impact in their organization.
14. What AI Features & Capabilities does Smartsheet Have?
Smartsheet includes AI features like formula generation from plain-language prompts, AI-generated charts and metrics, text and summary generation, intelligent form fill, AI-guided setup for new trial users, and an AI help experience for Smartsheet questions. Smartsheet also offers AI-related integrations and supporting resources.
Learn more about Smartsheet AI features and capabilities, including work management insights, analysis, solutions, and more.
15. How is Smartsheet different from Google Sheets?
Smartsheet is different from Google Sheets in that it helps teams manage work, not just organize data. Beyond spreadsheet-style editing, it provides workflow automation, forms, dashboards, approvals, reports, and project views that help teams coordinate tasks, updates, and progress in a single shared system.
16. What Types of Project Views Are Included?
Smartsheet includes table, timeline, board, Gantt, grid, and calendar views, giving teams different ways to plan, track, and manage work. Each view supports a different need, from detailed data entry to visual scheduling and task coordination.
Learn how to interact with data based on your project and team needs, and gain tailored insights with this guide to Smartsheet views.
17. How do Smartsheet permissions and sharing work?
Smartsheet permissions and sharing work through both user types and item-level access. User types determine what someone can do within the platform as a whole, while sharing permissions control what they can do on a specific sheet, report, or dashboard.
Learn more about user types and permissions and how they affect your interactions with Smartsheet.
18. What Types of Formulas Can I Use in Smartsheet?
Smartsheet supports calculations, concatenation, logical tests, lookups, symbols, and dropdown fields using functions such as SUM, AVG, and IF. It also includes Smartsheet-specific hierarchy functions, such as CHILDREN, and supports formulas within a sheet or across sheets.
Learn how these formula basics can help you make calculations and lookups, automate symbols, dropdown fields, and more.
19. How do Workflows and Automation Work in Smartsheet?
Smartsheet workflows and automation work by combining triggers, conditions, and actions to automate repetitive tasks. Teams can start from a template or build custom workflows to send alerts, request updates or approvals, assign tasks, record dates, lock rows, or change cell values.
Learn how Smartsheet automation enables customized, automated workflows, team alerts, deadline reminders, updates, approvals, and more.
Smartsheet FAQs for Current Users
1. How to set up a Smartsheet
To set up a sheet in Smartsheet, create a new sheet from scratch, use a template, or import an existing file. A sheet is the foundation of your work in Smartsheet, and the location of all your data. Start in the default grid view, then customize columns, hierarchy, and other views as needed.
Find step-by-step instructions for creating a sheet. Browse a variety of customizable templates in the solution templates gallery to help get you started.
2. How to create a Gantt chart in Smartsheet
It is easy to create a Gantt chart in Smartsheet from a template or from scratch. Input your data into a sheet in Grid View, and then click Gantt View to switch your display. Smartsheet will automatically populate a Gantt chart using the data from your sheet.
Learn more about the benefits of the Smartsheet Gantt view, tips for getting started, and more with this guide on how to create a Gantt chart in Smartsheet.
3. How to create a dashboard in Smartsheet
To create a dashboard in Smartsheet, select Create New on your home screen, then select Dashboard. Choose from widget types such as charts, metrics, and shortcuts, and link them to data from sheets and reports to easily share information with others.
You can customize a dashboard with logos, colors, and content. To learn more about how to set up a dashboard, check out our dashboard creation guide.
4. How to merge cells in Smartsheet
You cannot merge or split cells in Smartsheet because each cell is a field within a column of a database. You can adjust the size of rows and columns, or select Wrap to display text over multiple lines within a cell.
To learn more about how to combine data from multiple cells in Smartsheet, check out our simple how-to-combine text guide.
5. How to create a form in Smartsheet
To create a form to collect information or survey respondents, select Forms, then Create Form at the top-left corner of a sheet. Customize your form with text prompts, or add different field types and conditional logic depending on your needs.
To learn more about how to create a form, check out our form creation guide.
6. How to create a project plan or schedule in Smartsheet
The easiest way to create a project plan or schedule in Smartsheet is by using a template. Smartsheet templates are completely editable and customizable, and they include everything you need to create a project schedule.
In the Smartsheet template gallery, you’ll find a variety of easy-to-use project management templates to help you manage work during all project phases.
7. How to wrap text in Smartsheet
To wrap text within cells in Smartsheet, select the cells and click the Wrap button beneath the sheet name at the top of the page. To set all cells in a column to wrap, select the column header and click the Wrap button.
Formatting data in Smartsheet can help visually enhance your information, making it easier to interpret and analyze.
8. How to create a report in Smartsheet
To create a report in Smartsheet, click the Create new button on your home page, then select Report. Select Row Report or Sheet Report, then select the sheet with your source information to begin customizing your new report.
Learn how to manage real-time data across sheets in a single view, consolidate tasks and milestones, create initiative views, and more, with this guide to Smartsheet reports.
9. How to determine hierarchy in a row in Smartsheet
To define row hierarchy in Smartsheet, select a row in your sheet, and then click the Indent button in the toolbar. When you indent a row, it becomes a child row to the parent row above it.
Learn how to manage data, attachments, and communication, customize documents, set reminders, and more with a guide for rows and hierarchy.
10. How to add a drop-down menu in Smartsheet
To add a drop-down menu in Smartsheet, hover over the column header and click the Column Menu button. Then, select Edit Column Properties and change the column type to Dropdown List and create your list options in the Values text box.
Learn how Smartsheet columns can define and classify data, enhance views, automation, filters, reports, and more functionality.
11. How to change a primary column in Smartsheet
The cells in the primary column in Smartsheet must always be Text/Number fields. To change the name of the primary column, right-click the column header, select Column Properties, and enter a new name for the column in the Name field.
To learn more about how to work with the primary column, take a look through our primary column best practices.
12. How to create a sheet summary in Smartsheet
To create a sheet summary, open the sheet and click the Summary button on the right side of the sheet. Add fields and fill in dates, notes, formulas, contacts, and other summary information. When you are finished, save your sheet.
To learn more about the type of information you can include in a sheet summary, take a look through our sheet summary guide.
13. How to sort in Smartsheet
To sort data in Smartsheet, right-click within a column and select Sort Rows. You can also sort sheets with the Filter button in the top feature bar. This will show only the information included within the filter.
Custom filters let you sort and view information in a sheet any way you’d like. To learn how to create and use custom filters, check out our guide to filters in Smartsheet.
14. What is a proof in Smartsheet?
Proofs allow you to share works-in-progress with stakeholders and get their notes and approval all in one place. Use proofs to share, edit, and approve videos, images, written content, or anything else that requires rounds of editing and approval.
Learn more about how Smartsheet proofing can help your team manage content creation, approvals, review requests, and more directly in the platform.
15. How to hide rows in Smartsheet
To hide a row in Smartsheet, indent the row using the Indent button at the top of the sheet. Then, hide the row using the - button that appears in the parent row above it, or show it again with the + button.
To learn more about how to hide and unhide columns in Smartsheet, take a look through our column view guide.