How to Track RBT Supervision Hours in Google Sheets
How much supervision an RBT needs each month, how to calculate and log it in Google Sheets, and what else belongs on a BCBA caseload tracker.
RBTs need supervision for at least 5% of the hours they provide services each calendar month, with at least two face-to-face, real-time contacts, according to the BACB’s RBT Handbook. To track it in Google Sheets, log every contact with its date and minutes, then let a monthly summary compare supervised time with service hours.
RBT supervision is one of those things that’s easy to get right in week one and easy to lose track of by week four. Two RBTs, three clients each, a few group meetings, a sick day, and suddenly nobody is sure who still needs an observation this month. A simple log in Google Sheets (or Excel) answers that at a glance.
How much supervision does an RBT need?
An RBT needs supervision for at least 5% of the hours they spend providing behavior-analytic services each calendar month. The BACB’s RBT Handbook adds a few rules on how that time is structured:
- At least two face-to-face, real-time contacts per month. Phone calls and email don’t count.
- At least one observation of the RBT providing services. In person is preferred, but a live video call is allowed.
- At least one individual contact, with no other RBTs or trainees present. The other may be a small-group meeting of 2 to 10 RBTs.
The handbook also warns that video monitoring on its own, without real-time interaction or feedback, may not count as supervision. The BACB updates its requirements from time to time, so check the current handbook rather than an old summary, including this one.
How do you calculate RBT supervision hours?
Multiply the RBT’s service hours for the month by 0.05 to get the minimum supervised hours. An RBT who works 120 hours in a month needs at least 6 hours of supervision, which is 360 minutes. One who works 80 hours needs at least 4.
The catch is that service hours keep changing until the month ends. That’s why a tracker works better than a sum on a sticky note: it recalculates every time you add a session.
How do you set up an RBT supervision tracker in Google Sheets?
Set it up with one tab for your team, one for supervision contacts and one monthly summary that does the counting.
- Team tab. List each RBT once. Every other tab picks names from a dropdown, so spelling never breaks a total.
- Supervision log. One row per contact: date, RBT, client ID, minutes, individual or group, and whether you observed service delivery.
- Service hours. One row per RBT per month with the hours they provided.
- Monthly summary. Supervised minutes per RBT are a SUMIFS on the log. The percentage is those minutes divided by service hours times 60. Contacts, individual contacts and observations are COUNTIFS on the same columns.
- Color rules. Use Format > Conditional formatting to turn a row red when the percentage is under 5%, or when the month has fewer than two contacts, no individual contact or no observation.
Check the summary in the third week of the month, not the last day. That leaves time to book an observation for anyone who’s short.
What else belongs on a BCBA caseload tracker?
Besides supervision, a BCBA caseload tracker usually holds authorizations, reassessment and report due dates, goals, caregiver training and your own CEUs.
- Authorizations: service code, start and end date, approved hours and hours used. Let the sheet show hours left and days left, and color anything expiring within 30 days.
- Reassessments, treatment plans and progress reports: each with its due date and a countdown, so Monday morning shows what to prepare this week.
- Goals: domain, baseline, current level, target and status, from in progress to mastered.
- Caregiver training: date, format, topic and the follow-up you promised.
- Your CEUs: the BCBA Handbook asks for 32 CEUs in each 2-year recertification cycle, including 4 in ethics and 3 in supervision if you supervise. Under the 2027 BCBA requirements, the supervision part goes up to 4 CEUs.
What does a 15-minute weekly routine look like?
A 15-minute weekly routine is enough to keep the whole tracker current:
- Add the week’s supervision contacts and caregiver training sessions.
- Update hours used on every active authorization.
- Check the dashboard for anything orange or red.
- Look at each RBT’s supervision percentage and contacts so far, and book time where it’s short.
How do you keep client data private in a spreadsheet?
Keep client data private by using client IDs or initials instead of names, storing the file only where your organization allows it, and following your HIPAA and privacy policies. Don’t share the file outside your team.
A spreadsheet is an organizing tool. It doesn’t replace your practice management or billing software, your clinical judgment, or the requirements of the BACB and your funders.
Want this ready to use?
The BCBA Client & Caseload Tracker has everything in this guide built in: an RBT supervision log with a monthly summary, authorization tracking with countdowns, due dates, goals, caregiver training and a dashboard. It works in Google Sheets and Excel. If your organization tracks something differently, tell me. Customers often ask me for changes, and I usually make them.
Work with SLPs or OTs too? Read how to track an SLP caseload in Google Sheets, or see the OT Caseload Tracker and IEP Goal Tracker.
Way to Plan is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BACB.
Frequently asked questions
An RBT needs supervision for at least 5% of the hours they provide services each calendar month, according to the BACB’s RBT Handbook. For 120 service hours that is at least 6 hours of supervision.
At least two face-to-face, real-time contacts per month. At least one must be individual, and in at least one the supervisor must observe the RBT providing services.
Yes, partly. One of the two required monthly contacts may be a small-group meeting of 2 to 10 RBTs, but at least one contact must be individual.
The BCBA Handbook asks for 32 CEUs in each 2-year recertification cycle, including 4 in ethics and 3 in supervision for supervisors. Under the 2027 BCBA requirements the supervision part becomes 4 CEUs.
