How to create a branded Excel template with locked formatting
Set up your brand fonts, colours and header layout in an Excel workbook, then protect the formatting by going to Review > Protect Sheet and ticking the options that allow staff to enter data while preventing them from changing fonts, colours, column widths and row heights. Save the file as an Excel Template (.xltx) through File > Save As. Staff get a clean, branded spreadsheet every time they create a new file from the template, and the formatting holds even as they add data.
How do you apply brand colours and fonts?
Go to Page Layout > Themes > Colours > Customise Colours and enter your brand's HEX or RGB values into the theme colour slots. Then go to Themes > Fonts > Customise Fonts and set your brand's heading and body fonts. These theme settings control the default colours in charts, tables, cell styles and conditional formatting across the workbook.
Format your column headers, title rows and any summary rows with cell styles that reference the theme colours. Use the Cell Styles gallery (Home > Cell Styles) to create custom styles for headings, input cells, totals and labels. Named cell styles are more resilient than direct formatting because they update across the workbook if the theme changes.
How do you lock formatting while allowing data entry?
By default, all cells in Excel are set to "Locked" in their format properties, but this setting does nothing until you protect the sheet. The process has two steps. First, unlock the cells where staff need to enter data: select the input cells, right-click, choose Format Cells > Protection, and untick "Locked". Second, protect the sheet through Review > Protect Sheet. In the protection dialogue, tick "Select unlocked cells" and untick everything else. Staff can click into and type in the unlocked cells but cannot change anything in the locked cells.
This approach is the foundation of every data-entry template. At Ideaseed, we colour-code input cells (typically a light tint of the brand's primary colour) so staff can see at a glance which cells accept data and which are locked.
What protection options should you set?
The Protect Sheet dialogue offers granular control. For a branded template where you want staff to enter data but not change the layout, tick "Select unlocked cells" only. This prevents them from formatting cells, inserting or deleting rows and columns, sorting, or using autofilter unless you explicitly allow each of those actions.
If staff need to sort or filter data within the template, tick "Sort" and "Use AutoFilter" as well. If they need to insert rows for variable-length data, tick "Insert rows". Be deliberate about which actions you allow. Each additional permission is another way the formatting can drift.
How do you add a branded header for printing?
Go to Insert > Header & Footer and add your company logo, document title and page number. The header and footer appear when the spreadsheet is printed or exported to PDF. Set the print area (Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area) and adjust page margins (Page Layout > Margins) so the printed output matches your brand's document standards.
How do you save it as a template?
Go to File > Save As, change the file type to Excel Template (.xltx), and save to your Custom Office Templates folder or a shared network location. The .xltx format works the same way as .dotx and .potx: opening it creates a new workbook based on the template. The template file stays protected. If your template includes macros, save as .xltm (Excel Macro-Enabled Template) instead.
A branded Excel template with locked formatting gives your team a consistent starting point for reports, trackers and data entry forms. Set the theme, format the layout, lock the cells that should not change, and save as .xltx.
If you need branded Excel templates built for your organisation, talk to Ideaseed about your requirements.
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