Free credit utilization Google Sheets template, per-card and aggregate against FICO thresholds

Reviewed by CC Payoff Calc Editorial Team. Last verified May 13, 2026.

The credit utilization Google Sheets template is a free workbook that records per-card and aggregate utilization against the FICO Score 8 thresholds of 10 percent (optimal) and 30 percent (acceptable) with real-time multi-user collaboration. The file uses Google Sheets' SUMIFS function to aggregate balance and credit limit across all open revolving accounts and outputs a 12-month rolling chart. The Amounts Owed factor that utilization feeds weighs 30 percent of FICO Score 8. Released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Works on any device with a browser; auto-saved version history.

License: CC BY 4.0 (free to share, remix, repost with attribution to ccpayoffcalc.com).
Open in Google Sheets: Copy to Google Sheets.
Download for offline use: Download .ods.

Plan

The workbook has five tabs: Card Roster, Monthly Utilization, Aggregate Chart, What-If Closure, and Settings. Card Roster carries one row per card with issuer, last four, credit limit, current statement balance, account type (general purpose or store), and active/closed status. Monthly Utilization is the data-entry grid: rows are months, columns are cards, cells hold the statement balance.

Per-card utilization formula: =statement_balance / credit_limit. Aggregate utilization formula uses SUMIFS restricted to active accounts: =SUMIFS(balance_range, status, "active") / SUMIFS(limit_range, status, "active"). Google's SUMIFS function documentation covers the syntax. The Aggregate Chart tab plots month-by-month with horizontal threshold lines at 10 percent and 30 percent.

Sample scenario: 4 active cards. Card 1: $15,000 limit, $1,200 balance, per-card 8%. Card 2: $8,000 limit, $3,400 balance, per-card 42.5%. Card 3: $12,000 limit, $0 balance, per-card 0%. Card 4: $5,000 limit, $400 balance, per-card 8%. Aggregate: $5,000 / $40,000 = 12.5%. The template flags Card 2 as red (above 30%) even though aggregate is healthy yellow at 12.5%. FICO Score 8 considers both; per-card utilization on Card 2 is the optimization target.

The What-If Closure tab simulates closing each card. Closing Card 3 (the $12,000 limit unused card) reduces total limit to $28,000 and raises aggregate utilization to 17.9% (still acceptable). Closing both Card 3 and Card 1 reduces total limit to $13,000 and raises aggregate to 29.2% (just under threshold). Closing Card 1 alone raises aggregate to 20%. The template makes the consequences visible before the user clicks "close account."

The CFPB's credit reporting guide explains that issuers report the statement balance, not the current balance, to the bureaus. The statement date is the lever for optimization: pay down balances 2 to 5 days before statement date to drop reported utilization without changing actual cash flow.

FICO's published scoring methodology weighs Amounts Owed at 30% of FICO Score 8. Aggregate utilization moves of 10 percentage points (say, 35% down to 25%) typically correspond to 20 to 40 score points per bureau-published research on utilization changes.

Calculator

The utilization tracker is a record-keeping tool, not a payoff calculator. It pairs with the payoff strategy templates for borrowers managing both interest savings and credit score recovery simultaneously.

A complete pre-mortgage optimization scenario: 6 months before mortgage application, user has 5 cards with aggregate utilization 38%. Goal: aggregate under 10% by application month. The template projects a payment plan: pay down highest per-card utilization first (Card 2 at 42.5%) to drop it under 30%. Then pay down second-highest. By month 5 aggregate is at 14%. By month 6 aggregate is at 8%. The application-month FICO Score 2 (mortgage-tuned) typically rises 30 to 70 points compared to the 38% starting point.

Decision tree for utilization optimization:

1. If aggregate is under 10% and no card is over 30% per-card, no action needed for FICO; focus on interest savings via payoff strategy.
2. If aggregate is 10 to 30% but one card is over 30% per-card, pay down the high-utilization card first to drop per-card under 30%.
3. If aggregate is over 30%, the priority shifts: pay down balances before optimizing payoff order. Score improvement comes faster than interest savings.
4. If a card is at over 90% per-card, that card is in distress per FICO's models; consider a balance transfer to redistribute.

The pillar payoff calculator at / and the utilization tracker are typically used together. Enter cards in the calculator for the avalanche or snowball plan. Then enter the same cards in the utilization tracker to monitor month-by-month score impact of executing the plan. The two files share column structure for copy-paste.

Strategies

The most overlooked utilization optimization is statement date alignment. Many borrowers know to keep utilization under 30% but pay on the due date (typically 25 to 27 days after statement date), which means the statement balance reported to bureaus is the full pre-payment balance. Paying down before statement date drops reported utilization by the full payment amount.

Customization tips:

Statement date alignment routine. Settings cell D6 carries each card's statement date. The Monthly Utilization tab's date column shows when payments should land for utilization optimization (typically 2 to 5 days before statement date). For a card with statement date the 15th, pay down by the 10th. The CFPB's credit reporting guide explains the timing.

Targeting under 10% aggregate for FICO optimal. Under 10% aggregate is the score-maximizing range. For a $30,000 total credit limit, aggregate under 10% means total balance under $3,000. Paying down to that level just before each statement date holds the optimal range continuously. The Sheets ARRAYFORMULA function automates the per-card payment calculation needed to hit a target aggregate.

Sharing with a spouse for joint credit management. Set Share to Editor for the spouse. Both partners can update the tracker after each statement cycle. The View > Show edits feature highlights changes by user. Some couples maintain dual tracker files (his cards / her cards) with a combined aggregate tab that pulls from both files via IMPORTRANGE.

Sharing with a mortgage broker. Set Share to Commenter for a mortgage broker. The broker can review your utilization history and flag concerns (a recent over-30% month, a card close that lowered your average age of accounts). Brokers often need 12 months of history for pre-qualification; the template's chart is sufficient and saves the broker the manual lookup.

Targeting under 30% per-card for score recovery. Per-card utilization over 30% is treated as elevated risk by FICO Score 8. A single card at 65% can drag the score even when aggregate is healthy. The template's per-card conditional formatting flags this directly. The optimization priority is bringing every individual card under 30% before chasing aggregate optimization under 10%.

What-If closure analysis. The What-If Closure tab simulates closing each card. Closing a paid-off card reduces total credit limit. If aggregate utilization after closure stays under 30%, closure is typically safe; the only downside is loss of credit history if the closed card was your oldest. Closing your oldest card can shrink your average age of accounts (AAoA), which feeds FICO's Length of Credit History factor at 15% weight.

Authorized user analysis. If you are an authorized user on a parent's or spouse's card, that card's utilization can affect your score. The Account Type column has an Authorized User option. Authorized user cards roll into your aggregate utilization in FICO Score 8 (though some lenders manually exclude them). If the primary cardholder runs high utilization, removing yourself as authorized user can improve your score; if the primary cardholder has long history and low utilization, staying on improves your score.

Quarterly recalibration with free credit report. The Notes tab carries a quarterly checklist: pull free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com (the only federally-authorized free source per the FTC Consumer guide), compare reported balances against statement balances in the template, log discrepancies. Differences above $50 between reported and statement balance often indicate the issuer reported after a charge posted; small discrepancies are normal.

Resources

Authoritative sources

• Google, SUMIFS function documentation
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Credit Reports and Scores
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2025 Consumer Credit Card Market Report
• Federal Trade Commission, Free Credit Reports
• Federal Reserve, Consumer Credit G.19 statistical release

Sibling templates

• Credit card payoff Google Sheets template
• Multi-card payoff Google Sheets template
• Monthly debt budget Google Sheets template
• Excel version

Related tools

• Pillar payoff calculator
• 0% APR balance transfer calculator
• Debt avalanche calculator

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What utilization ratio is best for FICO Score 8?

Under 10 percent aggregate is the optimal range per FICO's published guidance on the Amounts Owed factor, which carries 30 percent weight in FICO Score 8. Aggregate under 30 percent is considered acceptable but suboptimal. Above 30 percent flags as elevated risk. The Sheets template uses conditional formatting to show green under 10 percent, yellow 10 to 30 percent, red above 30 percent.

Does per-card or aggregate utilization matter more?

Both. FICO Score 8 considers per-card utilization on each individual revolving account and aggregate utilization across all revolving accounts. A user with $20,000 total limit and $4,000 on one card (20 percent per-card) plus $0 on three other cards has 20 percent aggregate but 20 percent on one card. Both signals contribute. Spreading balances across cards lowers per-card utilization without changing aggregate.

How often is utilization reported to credit bureaus?

Once per billing cycle, typically on statement date. The reported balance is the statement balance, not the current balance. Paying down before statement date is the lever for utilization optimization. The Sheets template's Statement Date column lets you align payments to land before statement date. The CFPB confirms in its credit reporting guide that statement balances are what reaches the bureaus.

Can I share this with a counselor or mortgage broker?

Yes. Use Share with Comment-only permission for review. Mortgage brokers preparing pre-qualification often request utilization history; the template's 12-month rolling chart is print-ready for this purpose. NFCC member counselors typically prefer Comment-only access for review sessions since it preserves the client's data while enabling expert feedback.

Should I close a paid-off card if it complicates tracking?

Usually not. Closing a paid-off card reduces total credit limit, raising aggregate utilization if other balances remain. The What-If Closure tab simulates each card closure. If projected aggregate stays under 30 percent, closure is typically safe. If it would jump above 30 percent, keep the card open. Closing your oldest card can also shrink average age of accounts, which feeds FICO's Length of Credit History factor at 15 percent weight.

This is a syndicated post. Original article + interactive calculator: https://ccpayoffcalc.com/credit-utilization-google-sheets-template/