The 5 Best Excel Project Management Templates

  • Last updated March 21, 2024

Fact Checked By Cindy Wong

Looking for Excel project management templates? You’ve come to the right place! I like using pre-designed templates because they save time and help me manage my project more effectively.

If you’re looking for project management templates in Excel, click “ Home ” > “ More Templates .” Then, you can search for an appropriate template that fits your needs.

Table of Contents

Benefits of Using Excel for Project Management

An Excel project management template is handy for several reasons, including:

  • Efficiency and Saving Time: Excel templates save you time because you don’t need to create your own from scratch. They’re also dynamic, changing depending on the input, making them very efficient.
  • Clear Task Assignment and Management:  Excel project management templates help break down project tasks into manageable components. They assign responsibilities to team members, set deadlines, and track task progress, all aided by helpful features like checkboxes, drop-down lists, and progress bars.
  • Communication and Collaboration:  The templates help to establish effective communication between you and your team. Comments, notes, or discussion sections within the template allow team members to communicate and provide feedback on tasks or project components.
  • Resource Management: They help you plan for and manage project resources, including human resources, inventory , materials, equipment, and finances. And there are many more for businesses. Check out my expense report templates .
  • Quality Management:  They define quality standards and requirements for project deliverables, establish quality assurance processes, and implement quality control measures to ensure that project outcomes meet you and your team’s expectations.
  • Change Management: Excel project Templates help you manage changes to project scope, schedule, and budgets, especially when working with a large team. Additionally, you can track document change requests and obtain necessary approvals before implementing changes.
  • Progress Tracking and Reporting : Project management templates help you monitor project progress against established milestones and timelines and track key performance indicators (KPIs). They also make it easy to generate progress reports to keep you and your team informed about project status and performance.
  • Document Management:  The templates help centralize project documentation, including project plans, schedules, inventories, meeting minutes, and other relevant documents, to ensure easy access and retrieval by your team members.

The most efficient Excel project management templates include the following features:

  • Project plans
  • Budget sheets
  • Risk assessment forms
  • Communication plans

How To Find Excel Project Management Templates in the Excel Template Gallery

As mentioned earlier, Excel has a wealth of free Excel project management tracking templates that you can easily access.

If you have never used the Excel gallery before, follow these simple instructions and enter a new world of efficiency.

Here’s how to find a project management template in Excel’s template gallery :

  • Open Excel and go to “ Home” > “More Templates .”

Excel project management templates—Click on More Templates

  • Type “ Project ” in the search bar and hit “ Enter .”

Type Project in the search bar and click enter.

  • Scroll and find a template you like.
  • This will open a new workbook with your template, and you can start customizing it.

New template workbook.

Depending on your version of Excel, you can also go to the “ Home ” menu, click “ New, ” and search for free project management Excel templates from there.

Now, let’s look at some of my favorite project management Excel templates.

Some of my favorite project management templates in Excel are free in the online template gallery. Below is a mix of templates available in Excel’s gallery or my pre-made templates.

If you want to use any of these templates, you download and customize the template rather than making one from scratch.

How to edit an Excel template.

Just make sure you click on “ Edit a copy ” in the top right corner or “ File ” > “ Save as ” > “ Download a copy .”

1. Project Planner Template

Project Planner Template

Access the Template

The Project Planner Gantt template is a free Excel project management template that you can find in the template gallery.

This template has a simple table for inputting your activities and periods and a Gantt chart dashboard for visualizing the timelines for each activity.

I particularly like this template because it is excellent for tracking the timelines of tasks in a project. However, the downside is that it uses periods for intervals instead of dates, which might not suit your project (that’s why I’ve included a custom Gantt chart in this list, too).

The template has the following features:

  • Columns for activity names, statuses, planned start, start duration, and end duration.
  • A Gantt chart to visualize the timeline for each activity in the project
  • Visual indicators, such as color-coded cells or icons, indicate the progress of the project statuses  (e.g., plan duration, actual start, completed).
  • Filters and sorting options to organize projects by status, priority, or deadlines.

2. Custom Project Management Spreadsheet Template

Project Management Spreadsheet Template

Access Template

If you’re looking for an all-rounder Excel Gantt chart template for project management, this template is for you.

Our Project Management spreadsheet template is versatile and suitable for various project management components.

It’s similar to the standard Microsoft Excel library, but I’ve made it easier to track calendar dates. I have also included more room for project details.

The best features of this template include:

  • Detailed task list with columns for task names, descriptions, assigned resources, start dates, end dates, durations, and statuses.
  • Drop-down function to highlight overdue tasks, upcoming deadlines, and completed tasks.
  • Filters and sorting options to organize tasks based on various criteria.
  • A Gantt chart to visualize the timelines for each task.
  • Automatic calculation of task durations and end dates based on start and end dates.
  • Task tracking for complex projects.

3. Project Tracker Template

project tracker template

This project plan template is simple and easily customizable, with features that let you track multiple projects.

It is a straightforward solution for maintaining a centralized list of projects. This project-tracking Excel template is designed to help project managers monitor and oversee the progress of multiple projects simultaneously and divide labor throughout the projects’ workload.

The key features include:

  • A comprehensive table view to track multiple projects simultaneously.
  • Columns for project names, descriptions, statuses, start dates, end dates, and assigned employees and project managers.
  • A color-coded progress bar to track the progress of each task.
  • Work breakdown structure for several projects as part of
  • Interactive features, such as drop-down menus, for user-friendly navigation and data entry.

4. Project List Excel Template

Project List Excel Template

This template is also part of Excel’s online template gallery. It is a simple table with columns for different aspects of the project you want to track.

This Project List Excel template is the best for beginners since it’s easy to understand and edit.

One thing to note is that there is no Gantt chart or other visualization, making it more appropriate for smaller projects with fewer stakeholders or employees.

It offers a structured approach to task management, enabling users to create task lists, prioritize activities, assign responsibilities, and track progress seamlessly.

It includes the following features:

  • Customizable spreadsheet with columns for different project management components (e.g., task name, assigned to, duration, and work hours).
  • Standardized formats for documenting project information.
  • Built-in formulas for automatic calculations, data analysis, and reporting.
  • Conditional formatting to flag work hours under specific values.
  • A “setup” tab will allow you to alter drop-down lists.

5. Project Timeline Excel Template

Project Timeline Excel Template

The Project Timeline template is another Excel template available in the online template gallery.

Using timelines as project management tools makes it easy to visualize the business plan throughout the entire project.

It provides a clear and concise overview of project milestones, deadlines, and critical events, enabling you to understand project progress and milestones at a glance. This task management Excel template is an excellent asset for time-sensitive projects.

  • A simple list format to track basic project information such as activities, start dates, end dates, and notes.
  • An editable timeline to highlight critical project milestones or deadlines.
  • Various sorting options to arrange projects alphabetically, by start date, or by status.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can excel be used for project management.

Excel has many useful features for project management. These include:

  • Drop-down menus
  • Progress bars

These features create an excellent project management template, depending on your needs. I like to incorporate task list tables with a Gantt chart in my templates to keep track of project components, but there are plenty of options in the template library.

Does Excel have a Project Management Template?

Plenty of free project management Excel templates exist in Excel’s template gallery. Alternatively, you can visit Excel’s template gallery to see the full range. Go to “ Home ” > “ More Templates .”

Wrapping Up

In this guide, I’ve explored five of the best Excel project management templates, including some from Excel’s template gallery and some of our own.

These templates are designed to streamline project planning, execution, and monitoring. Each template offers unique features tailored to specific project management needs. Alternatively, look at our guide for the best Excel business templates . I also have a guide especially for project managers who use Google Sheets. You can find that guide here .

Which template did you find most useful? Are there any from the template library you think we should add to our list? Let us know in the comments section below.

  • The Best Expense Report Template for Excel [3 Options]
  • A Guide to Excel Dashboard + Dashboard Templates
  • Free Multiple Project Tracking Template for Excel (2 Options)

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project assignment excel template

The 9 Best Project Management Templates for Excel (Free)

Project managers are known for their decisiveness and time management.

A project’s success depends on how a project manager identifies, plans, and employs the resources available for any given project (especially the timespan).

If you, too, have a complicated project ahead of you that requires sophisticated planning – don’t sail all the way along alone. 😃

Bringing you the best templates, Excel consistently provides a solution for everything. It offers a wide variety of project management templates that make your job all the easier.

To learn what these templates are and how you may use them, continue reading.

Table of Contents

Why Project Management in Excel?

Template 1: Gantt Chart

Template 2: Project Budget

Template 3: Action Item Report

Template 4: Project Dashboard

Template 5: Multiple Project Tracking

Template 6: Status Report

Template 7: Critical Path Method

Template 8: Project Timeline and Budget

Template 9: Content Calendar

There’s no denying the plethora of software for managing projects in the market. A new project management software comes out daily, better than the previous versions.

But even with all the excellence. Not a single software has been able to take the place of Excel project management – and there’s no wonder why.

Microsoft Excel is by far one of the most efficient software for managing tasks. And a huge number of project managers all around the world only use Excel for their work.

Their familiarity with the Excel spreadsheet greatly contributes to the software’s favor. Excel offers so many wonderful project management templates, and a lot of them are for FREE! 🤩

However, know that you can always switch to Microsoft Project software. That is if you prefer more advanced project tracker template options.

Now, let’s see the templates Excel has to offer.

1. Gantt Chart Template

The Gantt Chart template is a very helpful visual tool. It gives you an overview of the project schedule of your team at all times.

A typical example of its use can be a small content creation agency. It needs a system to assign tasks and keep a record of the deliverables. This way, you are never behind schedule.

In the Gantt chart, all the data is represented in color-coded bars. And you can customize them for different teams and individuals by changing the colors, elements, and more.

You can divide the tasks into phases or milestones with a summary of their progress. The chart also offers different layouts, and you can choose any one that suits your needs and appeals to the eye.

Excel has different variations of the Gantt chart template, from simpler ones to advanced charts. One of the most used Gantt chart templates includes the  Vertex42 Simple Gantt Chart .

You can get it from Excel templates as well. And if you don’t understand  how to create a Gantt chart , try watching this YouTube tutorial.

In addition to the simple template, you can also use the  Ultimate Excel Gantt Chart . That is if you are a business that is constantly expanding. This graph can be a bit difficult to understand, but nothing a  YouTube video  can’t solve.

2. Project Budget Template

Finalizing the budget is the first step toward successful project management. And you wouldn’t want to make any mistake here as it sets the base of the project.

You must keep track of all the expenses from start to end, and the project budget template helps you do just that.

It color-codes Balance when you are exceeding your project’s budget. This is your cue to reconsider the expenses. The best part is that you can set expenses per team, phase, equipment, travel, and others using this.

You can get the all-in-one Project Budget template from  the Project Manager . It can even help you set an estimate for all the project resources and costs. The template comes with two sheets, including a how-to guide.

But it isn’t limited to that. You can explore other options. And even customize a project budget template using  SmartSheet .

3. Action Item Report Template

The Action Item Report is one of the most useful Excel templates. Every company has a to-do list of items assigned to its team.

The Action template lets you organize the tasks and keep the workflow going swiftly. It lets you set the task status as high, low, or medium and shows each task’s progress in one glance.

You can rank tasks, update deadlines and pay special attention to team members who need help.

It is the perfect template for effective project management. You can get the Action template from Excel or from  Vertex 42  – both work wonderfully. 😉

4. Project Dashboard Template

The project dashboard template gives you a bird’s eye view of all the tasks and their statuses.

It gives you a visual representation of where your team stands. And gives you the latest key performance metrics every time.

You can also choose the layout or style you want in your Excel project management template. This makes it easy to understand the project phases.

And the best part is that this  Project Dashboard template  is 100% free – the only fee is your Email.

Protip: Check out my top-6 dashboard templates here !

5. Multiple Project Tracking Template

Being a project manager is not an easy task. Managing multiple tasks and supervising the team spells difficult. And on top of that, sending daily reports to authorities is enough exertion.

A little help in the form of a reliable project planning timeline template is necessary. It can be a tad bit complex to understand, but once you get a hold of it, you should be able to do it with your eyes closed.

The  Multiple Project Tracking Template  lets you manage all the tasks in one go. You can add as many projects as you like, manage over 40 tasks at once, and you get all this for free! Isn’t that amazing?

Download yours today and manage your daily tasks with a few clicks only. 😃

6. Status Report Template

There is nothing more embarrassing than being the project manager and not having the correct project details. Luckily, we have the Status Report template to save the day.

It lets you keep an eye on your progress as a team and identify challenges. So you can prepare for the next project while keeping the data compact and concise.

You can also keep strict and clear intel on the workflow. And this is so important while managing different projects.

If you are not already using the  Status Report template , you are working blind-eyed. And the resources of the project are subject to threat.

Using the Project Status Report template, you will know where the team members lack and how you can help them. This helps construct more relevant and purposeful follow-ups than simply increasing the bottlenecks.

7. Critical Path Method Template

CPM has a special place when it comes to project management.

With the Critical Path Method, you can pay special attention to tasks that are long overdue. Provide extra resources, and determine which task requires more consideration with increased proficiency.

Usually, you’d need specialized software to keep track of such details. But now all you need is the CPM software.

The best part is that it’s so simple you don’t need to learn any new formulas or terms to perform a critical analysis. Moreover, you can simply copy and paste data acting upon a few guidelines.

The CPM uses a Gantt chart that works like a bar chart . But offers more benefits with increased ease of use and low cost.

Creating and designing a CPM is truly a challenging task. But with this new, free version of  Critical Path Method , provided by Vertex42, you can set it up in minutes. 😀

8. Project Timeline Template

Project timelines are great for having an overview of all important tasks. They give you an insight into the project plan that you and your team can follow timely.

This way, there are no communication gaps. And everyone is well aware of their tasks and the deadlines approaching. It really adds to a more peaceful and organized working environment.

You can also customize the template as you like. You change the color bars from 6 different colors. And quickly insert and delete milestones.

Although this template is very resourceful, creating it can be tedious. This is why we’ve brought you the  free Project Timeline template  that has everything prepared for you. Just erase the existing text and add your own – you’re good to go!

9. Content Calendar Template

If you’re a blogger or a social media person, a content calendar is your go-to tool. And without a calendar, you’re knee-deep in trouble. 😬

But thank God we have Excel to our rescue.

The brilliant  Content Calendar template  of Vertex42 is tailor-made for your needs. It will take you through all the chaos – from planning content to publishing it.

It will not only help you plan your content but also track its progress and schedule content to post.

Once you get a hold of it, it will really be your best friend in times of urgency. A single glance at your calendar in the morning, and you’re well prepared for the tasks of the day.

And the best part is that it’s free to use, unlike the other expensive, good-for-nothing project management software. So get your free Content Calendar template today!

That’s it – Now what?

This article helped us learn a lot about project management Excel templates. And how they can help you better organize and manage your projects.

But it doesn’t end here. You can choose any project schedule template from the Microsoft Excel templates. And even customize one to fit your needs.

If you are new to Excel, try our Excel course designed specifically for you. Where you learn some core Excel functions like the VLOOKUP, IF, and SUMIF functions.

To become a pro at these functions (and others),  enroll in my 30-minute free email course  today. 😃

Other resources

Excel has been a major hub of project management templates for years now. And it is improving with each passing day.

All these advancements make it a more reliable software for managing project tasks.

You can use Excel not only for project management but also to create  Dashboard ,  Budget , and  Power BI templates .

To read more such interesting articles, head on to our website. See you there! 😉

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10 Best Free Project Management Excel Templates to for Project Tracking

Praburam Srinivasan

Growth Marketing Manager

June 26, 2024

The prerequisite to great project execution is strategic planning. 

It involves defining the project scope , outlining tasks, setting priorities, estimating project timelines, managing stakeholders, and allocating resources. 📑

But this is not all. You also need to constantly track the project, ensure quality of deliverables, eliminate silos, plus identify and prevent potential risks. 

This requires manual effort and leaves room for errors, especially if you are simultaneously working on multiple projects.

Project management templates are an excellent way to automate and standardize project management processes. This helps you save a lot of time and resources.

In this blog, we’ll share the five best project management Excel templates that you can use for efficient project planning and tracking.

What Are Project Management Excel Templates?

What makes a good project management excel template, 5 excel project management templates to use in 2024, limitations of using excel for project management & tracking, meet clickup: the best excel project management template alternative, elevate project management with excel & clickup templates.

Avatar of person using AI

Project management Excel templates are pre-formatted Excel spreadsheets with a structured layout for project planning and tracking. They are efficient frameworks for allocating resources, creating project budgets, setting timelines, drafting project reports , and assessing progress.

You can customize these project management templates according to your requirements, goals, and stakeholders.

But how do you figure out which template is appropriate? Let’s find out.

It’s simple—a good template should make your life easier. 

Some of the best Excel templates for project management are clear, user-friendly, easily customizable, scalable, and can be seamlessly integrated with popular project management software .

Here are some key elements that make a good template.

Flexibility and customization

  • Adaptable to different project types : The template should be adaptable to various project sizes, complexities, and methodologies (e.g., Agile, Waterfall)
  • Easy to modify : You should be able to add, remove, or customize sections easily 

Key functionality

  • Collaborative task management : Track tasks, dependencies, deadlines, and progress. Consider features like drag-and-drop functionality and progress bars
  • Budgeting and resource allocation : Track project costs, expenses, and budget variances. Allow for easy input and visualization of financial data
  • Reporting : Generate reports on project progress, resource utilization, and budget performance

Visual appeal and usability

  • Clean and professional design : Use clear formatting, consistent fonts, and colors to improve readability and visual appeal
  • Intuitive layout : Organize information logically and use clear labeling to make it easy to find what you need

Additional considerations

  • Security : If used collaboratively, consider password protection or other security measures
  • Version control : Implement version control mechanisms to track changes and revert if needed

With these essential capabilities in mind, let’s introduce you to some of the most useful Excel templates for project management.

Here are the top five Excel templates you can use in 2024 for optimizing project management.

1. Excel Project Tracker Template 📑

Excel Project Tracker Template

via Microsoft

If you handle multiple projects simultaneously, the Excel Project Tracker Template is for you. This tracker divides various tasks within a project into different categories to simplify monitoring.

Track project start and end dates and which project category has been assigned to which team member with this template. It helps manage deadlines and enables efficient allocation of resources.

Once the projects are complete, you can analyze the time taken for various projects and the reasons behind the delay and optimize other projects accordingly. 

The best part? You can customize it and add pivot tables and graphs for a better understanding of how various projects are progressing.

2. Excel Project To Do List Template 📊

Excel Project To Do List Template

If you want a clear and detailed overview of each task within a project, download the Excel Project To Do List Template . It’s complete with all the essential features of a to-do list. You can take the biggest of projects and break them down into specific ‘Activities’, each with its due date, budget, and progress percentage.

You can also add specific notes or reminders for each activity to streamline the project and keep all the stakeholders updated at all times.

The Excel data bars added to the spreadsheet provide a visual view of the overall progress. This is an excellent template to plan weekly, monthly, and quarterly activities for your BHAGs (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals). 

3. Excel Project Timeline Template 🗓️

excel project management template

via Microsoft  

This Excel Project Timeline Template is an excellent tool for project managers who prefer a visual first and simplified view of data over information packed in unending rows or columns.

The template provides a visual map of the overall project timeline. Add your milestones, due dates, and the names of the team members working on specific tasks to the template and you get a timeline diagram of all the project milestones.

When would you need this template? Every time you panic that a project is running behind schedule. It will motivate you and your team to gear up and work twice as hard.

4. Excel Gantt Chart Template 📈

Excel Gantt Chart Template

The Excel Gantt Chart Template is an advanced tool for visually tracking project progress. While the other project management Excel templates provide an overview of the project, this template goes into intricate details.

Add the task details in the milestone description column. Then enter relevant categories, including project goals and milestones, or customize the Gantt chart template to include information relevant to you, your team, and your project stakeholders. 

Next, mention the start date of the task, assign it to a member, and set the number of days required to complete the task. 

You have to keep adding the percentage of a task completed. The result? You know which tasks are on track, which tasks have low/medium/high completion risk, and which tasks are unassigned.

While this template requires some time to get used to, the fun part is it comes in light, dark, and color-coded themes, which make it a visual treat to work with.

5. Excel Project Performance Template ✅

Excel Project Performance Template ✅

The Excel Project Performance Template is slightly more complex than some of the other project management Excel templates.

But once you get familiar with it, you can derive high-level financial insights on project performance, especially regarding actual revenue generation. You can evaluate the financial health of any project by comparing the budget for a project, the total costs incurred, and the amount of budget exceeded.

It is one of the best Excel templates for analyzing the project’s actual value for a business. You can use it to track the cost efficiency and schedule efficiency ratios.

While Excel templates provide a standard, transparent, and efficient project management framework, they can be difficult to use. They may go wrong because of excessive reliance on manual data entry.

Here are some challenges you may face while using Excel for project management:

1. Lack of automation

Tracking tasks, managing risk, and engaging with stakeholders takes time and effort. Amidst the chaos, updating data manually is the last thing you want to do. 

But with Excel, you have no other option. You need to type everything, whether it is to generate insights or update project status.

2. Difficulty tracking a project’s progress

Seamless collaboration is the foundation of effective project management. 

But you can’t track the real-time progress or identify blockers in Excel, especially for large teams working on a single project.

3. Inability to integrate Excel with other tools

Project management requires data sharing using different platforms. You need tools that can seamlessly integrate with other applications.

For example, you can integrate a project management platform like ClickUp with Slack and create tasks from project discussions. However, Excel cannot be integrated with other platforms as easily.

4. Limited data visualization

How would you prefer to view the project timelines—checking a column several times in an Excel sheet or accessing a visual timeline in an intuitive dashboard?

The second option is easier but not feasible in Excel. However, with project management tools like ClickUp, you can visualize project timelines, resources, budget allocation, and performance based on several metrics.

Digitalization is transforming industries for the better; project management is no exception. Excel templates no longer serve the purpose. You need project management software like ClickUp for more advanced functionalities. ClickUp project management templates help with better planning, optimization, tracking, and analytics. Here are 10 templates that you should consider as an alternative to Excel project management templates.

1. ClickUp Project Management Template

Improve project efficiency by constantly monitoring tasks under different phases with the ClickUp Project Management Template

Detailed planning and execution are vital to the success of any project. The ClickUp Project Management Template is an excellent tool to efficiently plan various project tasks and identify bottlenecks at an early stage.

It provides a roadmap that allows you to navigate the entire project lifecycle. Here’s how.

First, add tasks and group them under four categories—not started, in review, in progress, and update required. You can add new tasks under each category or shuffle the tasks between different categories.

Next, add the department for each project, select priority, add project description, and define key performance metrics.

This way, you’ll have all the essential project information at your fingertips.

This template provides various activity tabs to enhance your project management experience. It has an overview tab that describes various phases of the project, a Kanban-style task progress board, and an urgent tasks tab to help you always stay on top of your project’s requirements.

2. ClickUp Simple Gantt Chart Template

Identify blockers early on and take prompt action for smooth project completion with the ClickUp Simple Gantt Chart Template 

The ClickUp Simple Gantt Chart Template is a simple and effective project management tracker for all types of projects. This template helps you track and visualize the progress of various tasks and evaluate their progress status according to the time allotted for that specific task.

Get a comprehensive overview of each project component with fields such as task description, assignee, current status, priority, project phase, start and end dates, and project progress.

You can use this template to anticipate and remedy dependencies or blockers before they derail the project. This visual tracker will enable you to analyze potential delays in completing particular tasks, thus boosting overall efficiency.

3. ClickUp Project Deliverables Template

Use the ClickUp Project Deliverables Template to define the project scope and allocate resources efficiently

The ultimate goal of project management is to provide quality deliverables to the client. The ClickUp Project Deliverables Template helps you achieve this goal. It provides an overview of your project deliverables, tasks, and phases.

This template provides a Board or Kanban View of all projects for different clients. Below the project description, you must add a detailed list of deliverables. You can also add specific processes to achieve the outcomes, timelines, budgets, and milestones.

Use this template to track the progress of each project. Or, go one step beyond and track the actual performance of a project based on several metrics. It will help you determine the success rate of projects and how they contribute to organizational growth.

4. ClickUp Project Reporting Template

Prepare crisp reports for stakeholder, communication, performance monitoring, and strategic decision-making with the ClickUp Project Reporting Template

Among the other responsibilities of a project manager, project reporting often takes a backseat. The ClickUp Project Reporting Template makes it easier for you to prepare detailed project reports for internal tracking and providing timely updates to stakeholders.

This template uses the traditional report layout to describe project details and status. You can also use this template to view the activity timeline for the project, approvals received, comments raised, blockers, resources utilized, and project costs.

This project dashboard template includes the following relevant details for preparing exhaustive reports.

  • Project metrics
  • Activity status
  • Priority summary
  • Schedule status
  • Budget status

5. ClickUp Project Tracker Template

Boost productivity with better project planning and tracking with the ClickUp Project Tracker Template

Tracking tasks is one of the most challenging aspects of project management, especially for large-scale projects that involve multiple stakeholders. This is where the ClickUp Project Tracker Template comes into play. 

It automates task planning and monitoring by allowing you to add tasks to a specific project category. You can also create several sub-tasks and assign them to different team members.

You can update and track the health of various tasks by clicking on the dropdown button next to each task. 

  • Red means critical and needs immediate attention
  • Amber means late and can be taken on high priority
  • Green means the task is on track

You can also add a custom date field to track the estimated and actual time of completion of tasks.

6. ClickUp Project Closure Template

Use the ClickUp Project Closure Template to evaluate project success rate on various metrics

You have finally submitted a project within the deadline. But is it successful? Has the client accepted the deliverables? The ClickUp Project Closure Template helps you get these answers.

All you have to do is create a task list of all the action items required to complete a project, including finalizing project costs, getting approval from stakeholders, and seeking confirmation from the client. 

Add assignees, priority, due date, and then select the task status. You can also customize additional fields to add project metrics.

You need this project closure template towards the end of your project after you have delivered the project to the client. It can be circulated to all the stakeholders for a final discussion, after which you can declare the project as finished.

You can view this template in five formats—List, Board, Gantt, Doc, and Timeline.

7. ClickUp Project Roadmap Template

Achieve project goals by adding structure and direction to your project with the ClickUp Project Roadmap Template

In project management, the roadmap is often mammoth. Resource allocation, tracking progress, risk monitoring, and stakeholder management are just the tip of the iceberg.

You may feel overwhelmed, lose track, and diverge from the end goal. The ClickUp Project Roadmap Template brings things into perspective for each project.

This template keeps you in check by aligning all the tasks to the project goal. It has been designed from the perspective of a product development team. Therefore, you can use it to collaborate with your team effortlessly, track upcoming tasks, and prioritize assignments.

This user-friendly template provides five views for visualizing project details—list, workload, calendar, Gantt, and board or Kanban view. You can also customize the various fields and statuses to reflect if the project implementation is in sync with the roadmap.

8. ClickUp Project Management Portfolio Template

Use the ClickUp Project Management Portfolio Template to track all your projects in one place and enhance risk management, coordination, reporting and analysis

The ClickUp Portfolio Project Management Template serves as a blueprint for all company-wide projects. It is similar to an investment portfolio dashboard, where you can track the profits and losses of all your investments in one place. This template gives a bird’s eye view of all the projects across all departments within the organization.

You can add customized tags such as pending for review, in progress, or not started to track project status. The template also provides several fields, such as project description, comments related to the project, estimated project timeline, and priority status. 

This template is extremely handy when you want to prepare project status reports or give stakeholders a quick update.

9. ClickUp Fillable Timeline Template

Use the ClickUp Fillable Timeline Template to visualize and track timelines for events and projects with ease

Project managers are constantly under pressure to deliver projects within rigid deadlines. The ClickUp Fillable Timeline Template reduces stress by helping you easily map projects and set timelines for events with sequential activities. You can also visualize complex timelines and share them with the relevant stakeholders.

You also have the flexibility to add/remove/edit tasks from the timelines, allowing you to focus on urgent tasks. That’s not all. You can get a quick overview of progress, share the timelines with your team, and track project costs. The most interesting feature of this template is that you can customize how you want to view your timeline—choose from a List view, Gantt charts, Workload view, or Calendar view.

Personalize the template by adding priority labels, comment reactions, and multiple assignees. This ClickUp project management template is excellent for projects with room for flexibility or low-priority projects. 

10. ClickUp Project Management Framework Template

Streamline project planning and execution process with the ClickUp Project Management Framework Template

If it seems like the house is burning and you are struggling to put the fire out, you need better planning and allocation of resources. 

Reduce chaos in project planning with the ClickUp Project Management Framework Template . It is an all-in-one template that facilitates detailed planning for each element of the project, helps you set up Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for various tasks, and helps track real-time updates for risk mitigation.

This template provides a structured dashboard for assigning tasks, setting milestones, tracking progress, and adjusting deadlines.

Bonus: AI Tools for Excel !

As a project manager, you tackle all obstacles and guide your team on the right path. However, you need a strategic roadmap and solid execution to move ahead confidently. ClickUp project management templates offer this. 

They automate the project planning and tracking to help you identify and overcome barriers. Moreover, detailed analytics offered by ClickUp’s project management software ensures that you learn from your ongoing projects to improve outcomes for future projects. 

Sign up for ClickUp today to optimize your project management framework!

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Top Project Management Excel Templates

Find the top project management templates in microsoft excel and smartsheet that you can easily download and use for free to help you track project status, communicate progress among team members and stakeholders, and manage issues as they arise..

By Kate Eby Updated January 3, 2020

Project-Management-Project-Tracker

Project Tracker Template

Manage, track, and update all project details, and gain insight into how the project is progressing against your  project plan  with this project tracker template. Document project details, like tasks, status, priority, deadlines, budget, resource hours and more within the template.

Download the Excel Project Tracker Template

Use the FREE Smartsheet Template

Project-Management-Agile-Project-Plan

Agile Project Plan Template

Visually manage project schedules, sprints, and task durations, track agile requirements, establish timelines, and organize resources to ensure all sprints of your Agile project stay on track with this Agile project plan template.

Download the Excel Agile Project Plan Template

Gantt Chart Project Excel

Gantt Chart Project Template

Organize and track simple projects and timelines on a horizontal bar chart with this Gantt chart project template. Input task names, start and end dates, and duration times, to identify dependencies, create a high-level view of your project timeline, and keep tasks and projects on track.

Download Excel Gantt Chart Template

Project-Management-Project-Timeline

Project Timeline Template

Track project progress, identify potential delays, and mitigate issues before they occur with this project timeline template. Monitor how your project is progressing and how long each task actually takes to ensure that it stays on schedule.

Download Excel Project Timeline Template

Project-Management-Project-Budgeting

Project Budgeting Template

Ensure your project stays within budget by tracking all expenses, like labor, materials, fixed costs, and actuals. Manage additional spend and provide insights into budget variance so all team members and stakeholders are kept in the loop with this easy-to-use template.

Download Excel Project Budgeting Template

Free Smartsheet Templates

Smartsheet has hundreds of pre-built, customizable templates infused with best practices to help you save time creating solutions that will improve your work processes.

Project-Management-To-Do-List

To-Do List Template

Document important hourly, daily, or weekly tasks with this helpful to-do list template. Organize personal or business tasks so you can ensure you’re focusing on the right priorities, and view your tasks across the entire week to stay ahead.

Download Excel To-Do List Template

Project Management-Issue-Tracker

Issue Tracker Template

Identify and track how potential issues could affect your project timeline, and mitigate any that do occur with this issue tracker template. Assign team members to solve problems as soon as they arise to avoid delays and ensure accountability.

Download Excel Issue Tracker Template

Project-Management-Project-Timesheet

Project Timesheet Template

Track, allocate, and manage project resources and give team members and stakeholders insight into who is working on what. Identify resource availability on a weekly or monthly basis, and manage multiple projects at once without over allocating resources.

Download Excel Timesheet Template

Project-Management-Project-Risk

Project Risk Template

Ensure you identify all projects risks, like scope creep and ill-defined dependencies, with this project risk template. Identify and mitigate risks early in the project so they don’t affect budget or deadlines, and keep all stakeholders in the loop on potential issues.

Download Excel Project Risk Template

Project-Management-Dashboard

Project Management Dashboard

Quickly communicate the status of your project and share the big picture view with key stakeholders and other team members. Share the high-level status of your project and report on the most important data and information.

Download Excel Project Management Dashboard

project management smartsheet devices

Project Management Guide

In this 101 guide to project management, we’ll demystify the process and provide tips, best practices, and resources to help you successfully execute your projects.

Additional Resources

The essential guide to project risk analysis.

How to do project risk analysis, including tips from experts, basic steps in the process, and a free, downloadable starter kit.

Dec 8, 2022 14 min read

How to Write Effective Project Goals with 32 Professional Examples

Learn how to write project goals & what mistakes to avoid. Plus, extensive, shareable, and categorized list of project goals.

Jun 5, 2023 10 min read

Project & Portfolio Management 101: A Beginner’s Guide

Start managing my projects in real time with smartsheet..

10 Powerful Excel Project Management Templates for Tracking Anything

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Project management templates are an essential tool for replicating successful projects. With Microsoft Excel's free templates, you can turn your simple spreadsheets into powerful project management tools.

In this article, you'll find some of the most useful and free Microsoft Excel project management and project tracking templates you'll want to use for your next project.

Microsoft Excel Project Timeline Templates

Let's take a look at the best Microsoft Excel project management templates.

We cover both native and third-party templates here. To find the pre-installed Excel spreadsheet templates, open Excel and search for the respective keyword from the New document screen.

If you're already in Excel, go to File > New to bring up the template search. Check the Managing Microsoft Excel Templates section below for more details.

Excel comes with several timelines and Gantt chart templates provided by Microsoft, but it also integrates templates from Vertex42, one of the most popular third-party resources for spreadsheets.

1. Work Plan Timeline

Blank Work Plan Template in Microsoft Excel.

The Work Plan Timeline template is suitable for a basic project with multiple phases. When you enter your data into the worksheet, the roadmap will update automatically. This template comes pre-installed in Microsoft Excel 2016 and up.

2. Date Tracking Gantt Chart

Blank Date Tracking Gantt Chart template in Microsoft Excel

Gantt charts are a staple in every project manager's toolset. They help you visualize the flow of your tasks and track progress.

With this template, you can create a comprehensive Gantt chart with minimal effort. Just enter each task, complete with a description, who it's assigned to, a percentage to indicate progress, a start date, and allocated days until completion. This template is a Microsoft Excel default.

3. Milestone and Task Project Timeline

Milestone and Task Project Timeline template in Microsoft Excel

If you want to integrate milestones into a basic timeline, this template provided by Vertex42 is ideal. It combines the best elements of a Gantt chart, i.e. the visualization of the task flow, with milestones hovering above the timeline.

Just fill in the respective tables to populate the visual. You can find this template by searching in Excel.

Excel Project Plan Templates

A project plan is a document that may require Excel charts, but is otherwise composed in Microsoft Word. For basic projects, however, you may get away with only a Microsoft Excel document.

4. Simple Gantt Chart

Simple Gantt Chart template in Microsoft Excel

When you search Excel's template repository for project plan templates, you'll mainly find different Gantt chart variations, including this Simple Gantt Chart from Vertex42. What sets it apart from the Gantt chart above is the inclusion of project phases. This template is included in Microsoft Excel.

5. Event Planner Template

Event planner template in Microsoft Excel

A project plan really isn't something you typically put together in Excel. However, if you are planning a small project, like a party, you just need a one-page template that lists the essential tasks and lets you define a schedule and a budget. This template from Office Templates Online is a great start.

Excel Project Tracker Template

A search for a tracker will bring up a wild mix of personal and business-related Excel spreadsheet templates for tracking. However, you can narrow down your search by selecting categories that relate to the project management task you're dealing with.

6. Activity-Based Cost Tracker

An Excel template to track indirect and direct product costs.

This tracking template can help you get an overview of direct, indirect, and general and administrative product costs.

7. Project Tracking Template

An Excel template to track multiple clients, projects, or deliverables.

This Vertex42 template is essential if you are handling multiple different clients, projects, and/or deliverables. It combines project details, expenses, task statuses, and due dates.

Business Plan Templates

Microsoft Excel 2016 had its own category for business plans. You could search for the keyword business and select the Business Plans category on the right.

In Excel 2019 and onwards, you can perform either query, but the latter misses some templates, while the former might be overwhelming. We recommend looking into the following.

Business Plan Checklist

Microsoft Excel 365 Business Planning Checklist With SWOT Analysis

Creating a business plan can be a complex project in and of itself. This checklist will help you cover all your bases by guiding you through the process using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis.

Note that you'll find two similar templates in Excel, but they're both identical SWOT analysis checklists, differing only in their formatting.

Startup Expenses

MIcrosoft Excel 365 Startup Expenses Template

This template is a great starting point for a budding business owner who needs some help with projecting the costs of their endeavor. The template will guide you through the most common assets and services your new business might require.

Once you've filled in all the potential expenses, you'll have a much better idea of how much funding you'll need to raise to get your business up and running. For more business plan templates , take a look at our dedicated article.

Search for Online Templates

Couldn't find the exact project management template you need in Excel? Turn to a third-party online resource for a wide selection of Excel spreadsheet templates. We recommend the following sites.

Vertex42 Critical Path template for project management

This website has a few great project management templates for Microsoft Office 2003 and up. The site notes that its templates are mostly related to project scheduling. Anything more complicated might require Microsoft Project or other project management software.

On the page dedicated to project management , you'll find a list of useful material, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Project Budgeting
  • Critical Path Method

Each page contains a quick rundown of what the template does, one or more templates, and further tips and tricks for the respective project management tool. It's a great resource for budding project managers.

Project Cost Tracking Worksheet Excel template

TidyForm has a respectable selection of Microsoft Excel project management templates. The most popular categories are listed on the homepage. If you can't immediately spot what you need, switch to the Business section or try the search feature.

When you scroll to the bottom of a section, you'll see a list of popular categories and related categories. This can be helpful when trying to find just the right template. We recommend the following pages:

  • Project Budget
  • Project Proposal
  • Work Breakdown Structure

Still looking for the perfect template? You might have to create custom Excel templates to get exactly what you want.

Managing Microsoft Excel Templates

First, let's see what templates you already have installed in Microsoft Excel. For the purpose of this demonstration, we've used Excel 2019, but the procedure is similar in Microsoft Office 2013 and Office 2016.

Default Templates

When you start up Microsoft Excel, the first window you see will contain a search field for online templates. When you're starting from an existing workbook, go to File > New to arrive at the same view.

Search and select an Excel template

Microsoft Excel comes with a selection of pre-installed templates. They are listed underneath the search field. You can pin your favorite ones by clicking the respective symbol in the bottom right of the listing.

Pin an Excel template for later use

Search Online for More Project Templates (Excel 2016)

Searching for the type of template you need is the fastest way to locate it. For example, if you search for the term "project," you may also see template categories listed next to the templates that match your search. The category feature no longer appears in Excel 2019.

Template search with category list in Excel 2016.

Narrow Down Your Search (Excel 2016)

A neat feature is that you can narrow down your search by selecting multiple categories. This helps you exclude templates that may match your keyword, but not your desired category. On the downside, you may find that the perfect template is not available in Microsoft Excel.

Template search trick in Excel 2016.

Preview & Create Your Template

When you click a template, you'll see a preview with a brief description of what the template provides. You can also pin the template from its preview; the symbol sits in the top right.

Preview of an Excel template

To download and use a template, click the Create button, which will open a new Microsoft Excel workbook with the template pre-filled.

Template Ready, Set, Go

Now that you have all the project management templates you could ever need, maybe you're interested in additional tools, tips, and tricks. For example, you could build a custom interactive Excel dashboard to manage data within your projects. The possibilities are endless.

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Complete Guide to Gantt Charts

Top 5 excel project management templates, what’s a rich text element.

The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.

Static and dynamic content editing

A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!

How to customize formatting for each rich text

Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.

Having the right tools is crucial for successfully planning and executing a project, regardless of your project management experience.

For example, you can easily organize your entire project plan using pre-built, customizable project planning templates . 

Working with templates provides structure, helps clarify project requirements, and promotes collaborative work .

Spreadsheet.com features a gallery of templates for this purpose, but if you're looking for Excel project management templates, you’re in the right place. 

Using Excel for Project Management

Created by Microsoft for the purpose of analyzing data, Excel has over 750 million users worldwide. Despite its lack of team collaboration features , Excel is one of the most commonly used project management tools.

With 11.4% of investment lost to poor project planning, having the right software is crucial to executing a successful project plan. That’s where project management templates come in. Here’s our pick of 5 Excel project management templates, some of which have been downloaded over 3 million times:

1. Excel Gantt Chart Project Schedule Template

Gantt charts provide a visual illustration of how much work is planned and how much progress has been made towards the goal. It helps to keep track of milestones and easily view their dependencies.

The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents different phases and milestones of a project. The Gantt chart is a helpful tool for managing time, resources, and workflows. 

Gantt Chart Template for Excel

This Gantt chart Excel template by Vertex42 has been downloaded over 3 million times. No learning curve is required - even novice Excel users can easily customize it.

Some of the core functionalities include the ability to add more tasks by simply copy-pasting rows. With a simple scroll, you can change the range of dates on your sheet.

If you need a template that sorts your main and sub-tasks and has advanced milestone features, consider using Spreadsheet.com’s Gantt Chart template . It’s built with team collaboration in mind with features like Row channels and Cell channels for messaging collaborators . Drag and drop task bars to change dates, create dependencies, and instantly visualize the overall status of your project.

2. Excel Task List Template

With columns as simple as task name, priority, end date, and notes, task lists come in handy to get an overview of each project task. Task list templates are easy to customize based on your project requirements and help you keep track of your team’s progress by monitoring status updates.

This Excel Project Task List template from Vertex42 lets you easily group your tasks by priority and track key dates to keep deadlines attainable and not overwhelming. You can also highlight the priority column and add a progress bar to monitor the task's status.

Excel Project Task List template

In addition to this Excel template, you can help your team prioritize their tasks with Spreadsheet.com’s Team Task List Template .

3. Excel Project Timeline Template

This project template uses a Gantt chart to generate a timeline view of all tasks and their dependencies and keeps track of upcoming weekly and monthly milestones, all organized chronologically.

Milestones serve as a way of tracking the progress of your project. Since every successful project depends on meeting deadlines, this Excel Project Timeline template could become an indispensable tool for your team. Establish a timeframe for each task within the project, use distinct colors for different tasks, and monitor how your project progresses towards completion.

Excel Project Timeline template

Alternatively, consider this Project Timeline with Milestones Template from Spreadsheet.com to make sure your team is hitting their deadlines. 

4. Project Budgeting Template in Excel

When you’re managing a project, accurately tracking your project budget is essential. Consider using this Project Budget template from Vertex42 to keep your project on budget.

List tasks, estimate costs, track actual costs, and relay budget updates to stakeholders as the project progresses.

With this template, you can develop a project budget that incorporates all costs, such as labor, technology, fixed costs, travel, and other expenses. It can be adapted and customized to any industry.

project assignment excel template

Despite its simple appearance, this template comes with robust features for creating categories, tasks, and sub-tasks. 

It includes areas for details like fixed costs, actual amounts, and how far your project deviates from its budget. This allows project managers to visualize the entire budget and plan accordingly. 

Another option for managing your project budget is Spreadsheet.com’s Project Budget template . 

Managers can browse and sort through the overview Budget sheet and view tasks grouped by the owner, as well as by their state of completion.

5. Excel RACI Template for Project Management

RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. A RACI Template is sometimes referred to as a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) or linear responsibility chart (LRC). 

This RACI Matrix template for Excel from Vertex42 can be used by project managers for initiatives involving different team members with various roles and responsibilities across the organization. It provides a great system to break down tasks into smaller parts and visualize them.

To create the RACI matrix, specify the tasks required to complete the project and assign them to the appropriate individual or a team. Review the matrix with all relevant parties before implementing it to keep all stakeholders on the same page. This will help to ensure there is no confusion on who is responsible for what.

RACI Matrix Template

For another way to get clarity into everyone’s roles and responsibilities, try Spreadsheet.com’s RACI Matrix Template with a built-in Kanban view. It provides the same intuitive interface, color-coded layout, and numerous advanced features . 

With a variety of pre-built Excel and Spreadsheet.com project management templates , you can stay on top of your deadlines and keep accurate track of budgets. These templates are simple to customize, easy to adopt, and designed for users with all different levels of Excel experience.

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Project Management Excel Templates for Project Managers

by Andrew Makar · March 21, 2024

project assignment excel template

Project plans, timelines, and Gantt charts are just a few of the many tracking and planning records the project management team needs to oversee a project successfully. But imagine if you have to create these documents—and many others—from scratch. What a dull way to waste time, huh?

Table of Contents

Every project manager should have an arsenal of curated project management Excel templates that may be utilized for assignments of varying scopes and sizes. Using templates eliminates the need to produce charts and registers ad-hoc, which improves office efficiency. Moreover, using specific templates for particular organizational tasks or functions will help standardize the project management process.

A wide assortment of pre-made templates for all sorts of project management tasks can be found and accessed online, primarily for free! Whether you’re managing a small team or an entire department, the ease and convenience of using Excel templates will make project management a bit less tedious.

We compiled some of our favorite Excel tracking and project management templates for you! Check them out below.

Template #1: Project Management Excel Template – Simple Gantt Chart

project assignment excel template

This simplified version of a Gantt Chart offers a bird’ s-eye perspective of your current project. The chart allows you to set a duration and target date for a particular project and then displays the rate of your progress relative to your planned completion.

Gantt Charts are among the most widely used project management tools because they depict how efficiently tasks are performed to meet a specific time frame.

You can download it  here.

If you are looking for additional  Gantt chart templates  in Excel or Google Sheets, check out GanttPro, which offers additional Gantt chart software. 

Template #2: Work Plan Timeline

project assignment excel template

Organizations typically rely on the project management life cycle to realize objectives and deliver analytical results at every project phase. This template allows you to set the project milestones chronologically to plan your moves around the target outcomes and towards the ultimate desired end. This project-planning template is an ideal tool for the convenient showcasing of proposals.

Get this template  here.

Template #3: Project Management Excel Template – Activity-based Cost Tracker

project assignment excel template

This free Excel template calculates the acute costs of products and services. It aims to offer a clear insight into the costs of producing a product or service.

This activity-based cost-tracking template helps organizations identify the resources needed to fulfill an activity. It also determines the cost of a product based on the actual resource consumption of the corresponding activity.

Get this template  here .

Template #4: Project Management Excel Template – Project Performance Tracking & Reporting

project assignment excel template

Use this template to manage and organize any project effectively. The Project Performance Tracking & Reporting template allows you to closely track a project’s progress. You can use it to create tasks, track performance, and modify project details to streamline your workflow.

These are only a few pre-made Excel templates for monitoring, organizing, tracking, and streamlining your project operations.

Still, we hope the project management templates mentioned above can contribute to your project’s overall efficiency.

Template #5: Project Planning Template

With a project planning template, you can also learn to scope your work and break it into manageable components effortlessly. The template can help you schedule and assign tasks to complete your project. Quickly capture your project’s timelines, task owners, statuses, and action items in a single dashboard.

Moreover, you can also implement this to manage workloads and tasks as team members change. Monday.com offers a great project planning template, which is the foundation of all the work you and your team will do in steering a project to successful completion.

You can download and start with this Project Planning Template .

Suggested articles: Project Management Templates (50+ kit) – Method123 | 7 Free Release Plan Templates – Word, Excel, Powerpoint

Avatar

Andrew Makar

Andrew Makar, DMIT, PMP, CSM is an IT director with delivery experience across projects, programs and portfolios in Digital Marketing, Automotive, Software and Financial Management industries. He is an enthusiastic leader who effectively translates project management theory into practical application. His area of interest and practice is in implementing Agile processes and SCRUM techniques to deliver better software to his customers. Find out more about Andrew on andymakar.com and please reach out and connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.

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Gantt Excel

Free Project Management Excel Template

Automated project management template in excel.

Project management is vital in aligning an organization’s needs and targets and getting desired results. Project management tools are an essential part of any PM’s toolkit. There are thousands of software tools for project management, but familiarity with Microsoft Excel and the flexibility that it provides makes using Excel a very popular solution. Our free project management template in Excel will help you plan, track, and synchronize the activities of a project

Everyone uses Excel so why use clunky programs or use not so secure online gantt chart tools and risk your project?

In this article, you’ll be able to download the Best Project Management Template for Excel and to help you track project status, communicate progress among team members and stakeholders, and manage issues as they arise. Gantt Excel is an excellent project manager excel template which will help you to track your projects and display a gantt chart to visualize your project.

Our project management template is a comprehensive tool and will allow you to create tasks, sub tasks, parent child tasks, set dates, costs and task dependencies.

Gantt Chart Excel

Gantt Excel  gives you the ability to see every step of your project from beginning to end. Our  Gantt Chart Excel  software lets you visualize every project step. You can create tasks and link them using dependencies, and then track their progress against deadlines and milestones.

Project Management Template in Excel

Project managers who use a good project management template have a comprehensive up-to-date plan for their project, and are usually effective at directing resources and pushing the job forward.

Implementing a project plan gives companies various advantages. It’s easier to monitor project status,  progress and identify challenges or bottlenecks. Employees will have access to a project schedule with a summary of the tasks that need to be completed as well as the tasks that have been delegated to team members.

Our Project Template also allows you to summarize your entire project plan into a beautiful Project Dashboard in milliseconds.

Go ahead and download our project plan template and create beautiful project timelines in excel or explore the features of our program.

project assignment excel template

Create Gantt Charts in Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2019 on Windows and Excel 2016 & 2019 on macOS. Also works on all versions supported by Office365/ Microsoft 365.

Amazing People Use Gantt Excel

Everyone uses Microsoft Excel almost every day for almost everything – from a simple calculator to tracking massive projects. There’s just one thing that Excel is not good at and that is creating Gantt charts. For this reason, we created Gantt Excel , an automated excel template that allows you to create awesome Gantt Charts  within Excel.

Gantt Excel Ribbon

Using this Gantt Chart Template is very straightforward. We have customized the Excel ribbon to include a Gantt Menu with buttons to Add Gantt Charts, Tasks, Milestones, etc.

Gantt Excel Ribbon Menu

Daily & Hourly Planner

Calendar Icon

We have two versions, Daily and Hourly. Take your pick and schedule tasks based on days or in hours.

Task Dependencies

You can create cascading task dependencies in the Gantt Chart based on time so that you see how time changes will affect other parts of the process & the final deliverable.

Task Dependencies

Setting dependencies between tasks is the most powerful feature of Gantt Excel. The in-built auto-scheduling automation of the gantt template is able to update the dates based on changes made to its dependent tasks.

Project Dashboard - Free Add-on

Yeah, you heard that right. The Project Dashboard is a free add-on in our Gantt Excel Template. A project dashboard is the best way to easily communicate key project details. With a click of a button, a million calculations analyze your project plan  and the project dashboard is instantly created based on the project timeline.

Gantt Chart Project Dashboard

Costs Module – Account for Project Costs

Gantt Excel  doubles up as a budget and expenses template . Keep track of project costs in your Gantt chart.

Project Budget Costs

Set a baseline and estimated project budget. Also track baseline cost, estimated cost and actual cost for each task.

Ability to add Milestones in the Gantt Chart

Gantt Milestones

Milestones help your team stay on track and to more accurately determine whether or not your project is on schedule. Additionally, you can create milestone charts for important presentations and communications with senior management and clients.

Task Progress Indicators

Show Task Progress for each task in the Gantt Chart Timeline

Task Percent Complete

You can manually set the task progress based on actual progress or set it to be calculated automatically.

Instantly switch between Gantt Views

Gantt Excel has six calendar views – Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half-Yearly and Yearly View.

Half-Yearly

There is no other gantt chart template or online tool that features this many calendar views. Our Hourly Planner also includes a Hourly View .

Hourly View

Parent & child task relationship.

Ability to Set Parent & Child Tasks in your Project.

Parent Child Tasks

If a task is relatively large and requires several users with different skills to manage, break the task into subtasks and create parent-child relationships.

Resource Module

Ability to Assign Resources to tasks and track Resource Cost. Set up Holidays and Non-Working Days per Resource.

Gantt Resource Management

Show Text in Gantt Bars - Create Elegant Project Timelines

Display any text within the Gantt bars. Show the right amount of detail to understand the project plan instantly.

Show Text in Gantt Bars

Intuitive Forms to Add Tasks & Milestones in the Gantt Chart

The task form will provide a detailed overview of task information including resources and dependent tasks.

Gantt Chart Excel Task Form

Show Baseline, Estimated and Actual Timeline Bars

Track Baseline, Estimated and Actual Dates in your Project Timeline

Gantt Baseline Actual Bars

Highlight Overdue Tasks

Immediately see any overdue tasks in your project schedule and save them from falling through the cracks. Overdue tasks show in red color or any color of your choosing.

Gantt Overdue Tasks

Customize the Gantt Timeline Bars

Colors are important visual cues in Gantt charts. You can customize the project timeline colors as much as you want. Create a project timeline to impress!

Gantt Timeline Colors

Export & Share

Export your Gantt Chart to PDF or to XLSX to share with your colleagues and clients.

Gantt Excel PDF

Click below to see a Gantt Chart created in Gantt Excel and exported to PDF. Gantt Chart in PDF

project assignment excel template

Click below to see a Gantt Chart created in Gantt Excel and exported to XLSX. Gantt Chart in XLSX

Project Management Excel Template

Project planning and management are vital in aligning an organization’s targets and needs and getting the desired results..

Download the Best Project Plan Template in Excel Format for free. This free project management template is available in Excel 2007, 2010, 2013,2016 to download. Project Plan Template Excel is a completely automated Project Excel Template created using Microsoft Excel.

A project plan template aids project managers across all industries and sectors define their goals and set key milestones.

The other similar names to the Project plan template are Project Task Assignment Template,  Project proposal template, Project Agenda Template, Project Planner, Project Task Planning Template,  Project Task Distribution Template and Project Plan Template Free Excel Download, Project Task Scheduler and Project Tracker.

 “ If you cannot measure, you cannot manage “. A good project manager always stays on top of various things going on in a project. On any given day, a project manager is found tracking,

  • Issues in the project
  • Risks in the project
  • On going Activities in the project
  • To do items of various team members
  • Timesheets and Billing
  • Budget and Money

Excel is the natural choice for tracking projects and tasks. Due to its ease of use and simplicity, project managers can easily create a project plan in excel and then share the plan with their colleagues to track it.

Template Highlights

  • This project management template is available to download as an Excel Spreadsheet file.
  • Plan your project to perfection covering all areas in a easy and straightforward template
  • Update the  Status each time a task is completed to keep track of all project activity
  • Enter your task Start dates and we’ll automatically fill out all other dates for the project
  • Use the R esource column to add the key person who is responsible for completing this task

Gantt Charts Made Super Easy

Manage your project timeline, tasks and workload like a pro..

“This is the best alternative to Microsoft Project. This is an Excel Template on Steroids, very Powerful yet very Simple to use. Best Project Management tool ever, Period.” – Tony Smith (Project Manager)” 

Reviews From Around The Globe

Reviews 5 Star

People everywhere love Gantt Excel and we thrive off their feedback. All reviews have been collected and verified on

“This is a fantastic tool giving you an alternative to using MS project to create project Gantt charts. A++”

Marty E CA, United States

“Very well designed project planning tool, used it many times and will keep using it. Support and delivery is fast and professional. @GanttExcel: keep up the good work!”

Camiel Limburg

“This Gantt chart is the best thing that has happened to me. With ever-changing timelines, having the ability to just update one date and have everything flow is incredible and saves me a lot of time. Further, their team is very responsive, so its really great working with them and their product. I highly recommend.”

Mariana DC, United States

“Gantt Excel saved the day – And blew me away! I needed a simple and intuitive Excel Gantt chart to quickly relay project status to business stakeholders comfortable with Excel. After trying a couple, I found GanttExcel and it exceeded expectations! I’ve been in systems for 20 years and I’m amazed at the design and features of the product – all built in Excel! And the price? Unbelievable! Many thanks – you’ve made another fan!”

Chuck S CT, United States

“Great product, fantastic customer service. Highly recommend this tool for all types of project managers!”

Matt CA, United States

“The chart is amazing and easy to use. This will be a resource I use for years to come! Excellent customer service. Had questions about how to use and they provided solutions almost immediately.”

Jay ON, United States

Everything you wanted to know about Gantt Charts…

What is a Gantt Chart?

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What is a Milestone Chart?

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How to Create a Gantt Chart in Excel?

Step-by-Step Tutorial for Creating a Gantt Chart in Excel

Here is our Gantt Chart Tutorial for you to get started. Just click on the link below to view step by step instructions to create a project timeline in a few minutes

project assignment excel template

9 Free Excel Project Management Templates & Examples

Use these Excel project management templates to streamline your project planning and stay organized throughout your project lifecycle.

Gone are the days of lengthy spreadsheets, hundreds of notes scattered across notebooks, and important project decisions lost in a very full inbox. Every project needs clear, precise project communication to hit the ground running. With the right project management tools and templates, you'll hit your goals with ease.

We've created nine Microsoft Excel templates catered to certain types of projects or stages in the project. Need somewhere to track your project expenses and make sure you stay on budget? Maybe you need a template for quick weekly status report updates to send out to your team. Your scheduling, budgeting, and tracking can all live within these templates as a one-stop-shop for all project-related information . You'll streamline the process and reduce the risk of missing out of pivotal opportunities. Check them out below.

Project Management Excel Templates and Examples

Project tracker template

Whether your project status reports come through as emails or during a meeting, you'll want to keep organized so your updates stay on track. Plug in updates to this project status tracker template to save you and your team time. What milestones did your team hit? Call out these individuals to give them props. Are there any risks or issues that need to be addressed? Here is a place to document potential setbacks and offer solutions. Use the project tracker template to give updates to your team as well as company leadership.

Take this template a step further by archiving it for future reference. You can assess what went wrong and what worked well. Project tracker templates are customizable for your unique work case.

project status report template example

Project task list template

Think of your project task list template as the high-level overview of all tasks and subtasks related to your project. Break it down into sections that parallels the stages of the project. List tasks, their stakeholders, due dates, and priority. Give stakeholders access to leave project task updates as they work, including start and end dates, percent completion, and when it's done. Treat this template as the authoritative who is responsible for what resource. Stakeholders with questions can reference this document when looking for someone to answer their questions or to learn who they will be collaborating closely with.

Get creative with your project task list template, by keeping it side-by-side with your project plan to compare progress and highlight small wins.

task list template for group projects

Action item list template

Each and every project has a prioritized list of action items necessary to hit benchmarks and end goals. Introducing an action item template into your workflow provides a visual representation of these action items. In your template, you can characterize these action items as high, medium, or low priority. You can list due dates and responsible stakeholders. Depending on the scope of your project, the action item list template can be organized for one stage of the project or catered to one team's tasks.

The action item template works well to show which tasks depend on the completion of other tasks, while providing a list view of how tasks are connected from project start to finish.

action item template excel

Gantt chart template

If you have a team of visual learners, here's a template that might work for you. A Gantt Chart is a visual breakdown of project phases, stakeholders, and tasks using color-coded bars seated on a horizontal calendar view. Choose one color per team or individual stakeholder. You can see each task's progress as it appears on the project's timeline calendar. There can also be a list view that shows tasks in a more traditional lineup.

Using these two layouts in combination can help each stakeholder feel like they can track the project in a way that makes the most sense for them. If a typical list layout is unappealing, give the option of a more eye-catching design for your project tracking.

gantt chart template

Project management budget template

Nearly every project, big or small, will have a budget attached to it. A project's budget is definitely not the place for potential errors or miscommunication . It's important to track expenses throughout the duration of the project to avoid hefty unforeseen bills at the end. At the start of the project, layout expected expenses in the template. Divide them out based on the stage of the project, team, or however else makes sense for your project. Next, use the template as a guide to keep track of various expenses and make sure they align with your projections.

This is a quick and easy way to know if you're on budget. You'll also be alerted immediately if you're at risk of spending more than you projected. Using a standardized budget template will help you clearly communicate financial expectations to the team.

project budget template

Critical path template

For those who want a different kind of visual representation of their project that shows direct connections between tasks, a critical path method template might be for you. This template depicts a series of circles (project tasks or benchmarks) connected by lines that lead from start to finish. They might have offshoots for each team or series of related tasks. When all fleshed out, your critical path method resembles a web of tasks and resources.

This Excel project management style is ideal for maximizing team efficiency. It clearly shows a network diagram of tasks needed to complete each stage. High priority and low priority tasks can be marked as such. This layout can also help with scheduling deadlines and developing a project timeline.

critical path method template

Burndown chart template

A burndown chart looks like a regular chart graph with the horizontal line (x axis) as the project timeline and the vertical line (y axis) representing the work that needs to be completed. Dots along each line are used to represent benchmarks or milestones throughout the process. This template works hand-in-hand with your project plan. It's a high-level view of the project timeline that supports project documentation and objectives.

You'll often see burndown chart templates with two lines, one representing the ideal timeline and the other representing the actual timeline. At the project's end, compare these two lines to see how the project's progress stacked up against its original goals.

sprint burndown chart template

Project management dashboard template

A project dashboard might be one of the most familiar layouts for project management. They can be catered to each individual user to show their unique tasks and how those tasks fit into the project on a larger scale. Here is where you can take multiple kinds of templates and store them all in one place. Breakdown the dashboard into collections of tasks to quickly assess nearing deadlines, potential trouble spots, and project status.

Dashboards are effective at communicating key performance metrics and project status through a variety of mediums. For example, use a bar graph to show which tasks are on time and which are falling behind. Take stock of each stakeholder's workload and how much time is being spent on each task. A project dashboard template can be an all-encompassing location for all project stats and metrics.

project dashboard template

Project roadmap template

This high-level project roadmap contains project timeline, stages, goals, and deliverables all in a concise collection of lists, summaries, and charts. It can be as visual or copy-dense as you like and identify key project elements. Separate your project roadmap template into stages. Provide each stage with a description or list of tasks relevant in that phase.

Think of this template as one of the first steps in the project's conceptualization phase. You and your team have done the initial brainstorming, set your objectives, and named goals. Now, you need to convey that information to all stakeholders. Combine visual elements with concise copy to communicate the project's plan through a project roadmap template.

project roadmap template

The benefits of using Excel project management templates

Using project management templates can provide numerous benefits to individuals and organizations of all sizes. Templates provide a standardized framework for managing projects, which ensures consistency, clarity, and accountability throughout the project lifecycle. They also save time and effort by eliminating the need to create project documents from scratch. Excel templates can be customized to fit the unique needs of a project and provide a starting point for project planning, execution, and monitoring.

With templates, project managers can better track progress, identify potential issues and risks, and adjust plans accordingly. Templates also promote collaboration and communication among project stakeholders by providing a clear and concise structure for sharing information. Overall, project management templates can help organizations streamline their project management processes, improve project outcomes, and enhance overall team performance.

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Project Schedule Template Excel (Free Download Included!)

Project Schedule Template

Table of Contents

What is Project Schedule Template?

Increased efficiency and productivity, reduced risks and errors, boosted team morale and performance, understanding your project needs.

  • Popular Project Schedule Template – Types

Additional Considerations

1. define your tasks:, 2. estimate task durations:, 3. manage task dependencies:, 4. allocate resources:, 5. set milestones:, project details:, overall project summary:, task details:, gantt chart:, how to use our free project schedule excel template, best practices for using project schedule templates effectively, conclusion: effectively schedule your project with free schedule template.

Excel Templates

Effortlessly Manage Your Projects

120+ Project Management Templates

Seamlessly manage your projects with our powerful & multi-purpose templates for project management.

Check our 120+ PM Templates :

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Project management can be a juggling act – deadlines, tasks, resources, all vying for your attention. But what if there was a way to streamline the process and achieve optimal project efficiency? That’s where project schedule templates come in – your secret weapon for organization and success.

This comprehensive guide empowers you to harness the power of these templates, unlocking their potential to:

  • Simplify Project Planning: Break down complex projects into manageable chunks with pre-defined structures.
  • Boost Resource Allocation: Ensure effective resource utilization for a smooth and efficient project workflow.
  • Maintain Clear Timelines: Visualize project schedules with clear timelines to keep everyone on the same page and deadlines within reach.
  • Download Your Free Template: Get immediate access to a customizable project schedule template to put theory into practice.
  • Master Pro Tips: Learn expert-driven strategies to maximize the impact of your chosen template.

By the end of this guide, you’ll be a project scheduling pro, equipped to create clear, realistic, and adaptable project roadmaps. Free yourself from project management chaos and embrace efficiency with the power of free project schedule templates! Let’s dive in.

A project schedule template is a pre-formatted document that helps you plan and visualize the tasks, timelines, and milestones involved in your project. It’s essentially a roadmap that keeps everyone on the same page and ensures your project stays on track.

Here are some key features of a project schedule template:

  • Tasks: It breaks down your project into manageable chunks, outlining all the individual steps required for completion.
  • Timelines: It defines the estimated duration for each task and the overall project timeframe. This helps visualize the project flow and identify potential bottlenecks.
  • Milestones: It highlights key achievements or checkpoints throughout the project, providing a sense of progress and motivation for the team.
  • Dependencies: It clarifies which tasks need to be completed before others can begin. This ensures a logical flow of work and avoids delays.
  • Resource Allocation: Some templates allow you to allocate resources (people, equipment, materials) to specific tasks, ensuring efficient utilization.

Why Use a Project Schedule Template?

Feeling the pressure of looming deadlines and scattered tasks? Project schedule templates are your secret weapon for conquering project chaos. In this section, we’ll unveil the top benefits of using these templates, including:

Project Schedule Template Uses

Ditch the chaos and streamline your workflow! Project schedule templates bring order to the project planning process. By providing a clear framework, they help you allocate resources effectively, avoid bottlenecks, and keep your project moving smoothly – meaning more gets done in less time.

  • Streamlined planning: Templates provide a clear framework to define project tasks, dependencies, and timelines.
  • Improved resource allocation: Allocate resources effectively and avoid overcommitment.
  • Enhanced communication: Share the schedule with stakeholders for better project visibility.

Proactive planning is key! Project schedule templates help you identify potential roadblocks early on, mitigate risks, and ensure high-quality deliverables by keeping everyone on the same page.

  • Early identification of potential roadblocks: Proactively identify and address potential issues before they derail your project.
  • Improved risk management: Mitigate risks by planning for contingencies and alternative solutions.
  • Enhanced quality control: Ensure all project deliverables are completed on time and to a high standard.

Clear expectations, improved collaboration, and a sense of progress – project schedule templates facilitate all of this. Your team will be motivated and empowered to achieve project goals!

  • Clear expectations: Team members understand their roles and deadlines, promoting ownership and accountability.
  • Improved collaboration: Foster teamwork by providing a shared reference point for project progress.
  • Enhanced motivation: Visualizing progress keeps teams motivated and focused on achieving goals.

Choosing the Right Project Schedule Template

There’s no one-size-fits-all project schedule template. The best choice depends on your project’s specific needs. Here are some popular options: There’s no magic one-size-fits-all project schedule template. The ideal choice hinges on the specific requirements of your project. Selecting the wrong template can lead to inefficiencies, missed deadlines, and frustration. But worry not! This section will equip you with the knowledge to choose the perfect template to propel your project to success.

Different Types of Project Schedule Templates

The first step is to gain a clear understanding of your project’s unique characteristics. Consider factors like:

  • Project Complexity: Straightforward projects with well-defined tasks might benefit from simpler templates, while intricate projects with numerous dependencies might require more advanced options.
  • Task Uncertainty: Are task durations well-defined, or is there a significant degree of uncertainty? If uncertainty is high, consider templates that can accommodate probabilistic scheduling.
  • Project Team Size: For smaller teams, a basic template might suffice. Larger teams working on complex projects might require more robust features for collaboration and communication.
  • Project Management Style: Do you prefer a traditional waterfall approach or a more agile methodology? Some templates cater better to specific project management styles.

Popular Project Schedule Template – Types

Now that you have a grasp of your project’s needs, let’s explore some popular types of project schedule templates:

  • Gantt Chart Template: A tried-and-true classic, the Gantt chart offers a visual representation of tasks and their durations along a timeline. It’s ideal for straightforward projects with clear dependencies between tasks.
  • PERT Chart Template (Program Evaluation and Review Technique): For projects with uncertain task durations, PERT charts come to the rescue. They incorporate probabilistic scheduling to account for potential variations in task completion times.
  • Critical Path Method (CPM) Template: Need to identify the critical path – the sequence of tasks that dictates your overall project timeline? CPM templates are your answer. By focusing on the critical path, you can prioritize tasks and optimize your schedule for efficiency.

Beyond the template itself, consider these factors when making your choice:

  • Ease of Use: Select a template that aligns with your team’s technical expertise. User-friendly templates with clear instructions are ideal for teams new to project scheduling.
  • Integration with Project Management Tools: If you’re already using project management software, ensure compatibility with your chosen template. This allows for seamless data transfer and avoids the hassle of manual updates.
  • Customization: The ability to customize the template to fit your specific project needs is a valuable asset. Look for templates that offer flexibility in terms of adding or removing elements.
Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to experiment! Try out different templates to see which one best suits your workflow and project requirements. Many project management software options offer a variety of built-in templates to explore.

By carefully considering your project’s characteristics, the available template options, and additional factors like ease of use and customization, you’ll be well-equipped to select the right project schedule template. Remember, the perfect template acts as a roadmap to project success, so invest the time in making an informed choice!

Creating Your Project Schedule: Key Elements

Crafting a robust project schedule is the foundation for successful project execution. It ensures everyone involved understands the roadmap, promotes efficient resource allocation, and helps mitigate potential risks. But what exactly goes into building a strong project schedule? This section delves into the essential elements you need to consider to create a clear, realistic, and adaptable plan for your project.

Project Schedule Template Key Elements

The first step is to break down your project into manageable units – the individual tasks that need to be completed. Here’s what to consider:

  • Granularity: Aim for tasks that are specific enough to be actionable but not so detailed that they become overwhelming.
  • Comprehensiveness: Ensure you’ve captured all the necessary tasks to complete the project, leaving no gaps in the overall plan.
  • Ownership: Assign clear ownership for each task. This fosters accountability and ensures everyone understands their role.

Once you have your tasks defined, it’s crucial to estimate how long each one will take to complete. Here are some tips for accurate estimation:

  • Historical Data: If you’ve undertaken similar projects before, leverage past data on task durations as a reference point.
  • Expert Input: Consult with team members or subject matter experts who have relevant experience with the tasks involved.
  • Buffer Time: Don’t underestimate potential setbacks. Add buffer time to account for unforeseen delays or resource constraints.

Many projects involve tasks that rely on the completion of others before they can begin. Identifying these dependencies is critical for creating a realistic schedule. Consider these methods:

  • Predecessor-Successor Relationships: Specify which tasks must be finished before others can start.
  • Flowcharts or Dependency Diagrams: Visually represent task dependencies for a clear understanding of the project workflow.

Resources are the fuel that keeps your project moving – people, equipment, materials, and even budget. Here’s how to manage them effectively:

  • Resource Availability: Ensure the necessary resources are available throughout the project timeline to avoid bottlenecks.
  • Skill Sets: Match team members with tasks that align with their skills and expertise.
  • Communication: Keep stakeholders informed about resource allocation to manage expectations.

Milestones are significant achievements within your project – milestones act as markers to track progress and maintain focus. Consider these points when defining milestones:

  • Regular Intervals: Space milestones throughout the project schedule to provide regular checkpoints for evaluation.
  • Measurable Goals: Milestones should represent tangible accomplishments that demonstrate progress towards the overall project objective.
  • Motivation: Milestones serve as a source of motivation for the team – celebrating achievements keeps morale high.
Pro Tip: Involve your team members in the scheduling process to ensure buy-in and realistic estimates.

Download Now: Free Excel Project Schedule Template

Ready to put your newfound knowledge into action? We’ve got you covered! Click the link below to download a free, customizable project schedule template:

Project Schedule Template

Project Schedule Template Excel Free Download

This template includes all the essential elements mentioned above, ready to be tailored to your specific project needs.

Elements of the Free Project Schedule Template

Our free downloadable project schedule template provides a comprehensive framework to manage your projects effectively. Here’s a breakdown of the key sections:

Set the stage for your project by outlining key details. Include the project name, designate a project manager, and provide a concise background summarizing the project’s goals.

Project Schedule Template Project Details

  • Project Name: Clearly identify your project for easy reference.
  • Project Manager: Assign a dedicated individual responsible for project oversight.
  • Project Background: Briefly describe the project’s purpose and objectives.

Gain a high-level view of your project’s health. Track overall progress, define the project timeframe, and identify key milestones like start and end dates. Monitor resource allocation (man-days) and task completion status (completed, in progress, not started).

Project Schedule Template Overall Summary

  • Overall Progress: Track the overall percentage completion of the project.
  • Duration: Define the total project timeframe from start to finish.
  • Project Start: Specify the official project start date.
  • Project End: Set a realistic target date for project completion.
  • Man-days: Estimate the total person-hours required to complete the project.
  • Total Tasks: See the total number of tasks involved in the project.
  • Completed: Track the number of tasks successfully finished.
  • In Progress: Monitor the number of tasks currently underway.
  • Not Started: Identify tasks that haven’t begun yet.

Break down your project into manageable tasks. Clearly define each task and assign ownership to team members. Set realistic start and end dates, track progress percentages, and maintain the current status of each task (completed, in progress, not started).

Project Schedule Template Schedules

  • Task Title: Provide a clear and concise description of each task.
  • Assigned To: Assign specific tasks to team members for accountability.
  • Start: Define the planned start date for each task.
  • End: Set a target completion date for each task.
  • Progress: Track the percentage completion of each individual task.
  • Status: Indicate the current status of each task (e.g., Completed, In Progress, Not Started).
Pro Tip: Utilize conditional formatting to visually highlight overdue tasks or tasks falling behind schedule.

Visualize your project timeline with ease. The built-in Gantt chart provides a clear graphic illustration of task durations and dependencies (if applicable), offering a comprehensive overview of your project schedule.

Project Schedule Template Gantt Chart

  • Display tasks and their durations.
  • Illustrate task dependencies (if applicable).
  • Provide a clear visual of the project timeline.

Get started with our Free downloadable project schedule template excel template! This section provides a step-by-step guide to utilizing all the features and transforming it into your personalized project management powerhouse.

  • Download the Template: Click the provided link to download the Excel file.
  • Fill in Project Details: Enter the project name, manager, and background information.
  • List Your Tasks: Detail each project task, including titles, assignments, planned start and end dates.
  • Track Progress: Update the progress percentage and status (completed, in progress, not started) for each task as the project unfolds.
  • Overall Project Summary: Key Metrics of Overall Project will be updated automatically based on your data. Yo can see the important KPIs like project duration, start and end dates, and resource allocation (man-days). on top section of the Template.
  • Visualize Your Schedules in Gantt Chart : You can clearly track your Tasks and Schedules using Dynamic Gantt Chart.
Pro Tip: Use the built-in Excel formulas to automatically calculate the overall project progress and other summary metrics based on your task updates. With this user-friendly template and these simple steps, you’ll be well on your way to efficient project scheduling and successful project delivery!

Project schedule templates are powerful tools, but to truly unlock their potential, consider these expert tips:

  • Regularly review & update your schedule to reflect project progress and changes.
  • Communicate clearly with all stakeholders to keep everyone informed.
  • Utilize project management tools for progress tracking, resource management, and collaboration.
  • Embrace flexibility and adapt when unexpected events occur.
  • Build in buffer time to account for potential delays in critical tasks.
  • Identify risk factors and develop contingency plans to address them.
  • Maintain open communication within your team to encourage timely updates.
  • Schedule recurring review meetings to discuss progress and address concerns.
  • Leverage automation features in project management tools to streamline tasks.
  • Export and share reports based on your schedule for clear stakeholder communication.

Take control of your projects and say goodbye to chaos! This free downloadable Project Schedule Template (Excel) empowers you to streamline workflows, manage resources effectively, and keep your team on track. Download your template today and unlock the secrets to project success: clear timelines, efficient resource allocation, and boosted communication. Embrace organization and watch your projects transform from scattered tasks to triumphant achievements!

Ready to unleash your inner project management pro? Download your free template now and let us know how it helps you conquer project chaos! We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions in the comments below. What are your favorite project management tips and tricks while Scheduling Projects? Share your wisdom and help others achieve project success too!

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  • Task Management
  • Task Management Templates

Free Task Management Templates

Use free task tracker templates for Excel and PowerPoint to simplify your work and manage project tasks more efficiently.

Free Task Management Templates

Using templates for task management and tracking

Project managers and team leaders working on small to mid-size projects can use pre-built templates to manage their team's tasks manage their team's tasks more easily. Task management templates provide a starting point that can be used again and again, saving you from having to reinvent the wheel every time you need to create a plan, track task progress, or report status to clients and execs.

On this page, we have collected a series of free task tracker templates for Excel and PowerPoint to help professionals get started faster. Browse through all of them or use the links below to jump straight to the template category that suits your needs best.

  • A) Free task management templates for Excel
  • B) Free task management templates for PowerPoint

Free task management templates for Excel

With its handy grid format, formulas, and data filters, Excel is commonly used for making schedules, analyzing data, and tracking task status. Although not ideal for advanced project management, task management spreadsheets provide a good framework for planning and monitoring small projects. They're compatible with other applications outside the Microsoft Office suite, which makes them easy to share and synchronize across task manager apps .

Below you can find a few Excel task tracker templates, from simple list-type spreadsheets to more complex visual tracking frameworks.

Project Management Task List Template

With so many variables in a project, a simple task list such as the one below can help professionals organize their work, prioritize it, and see at a glance when each individual task is due. The free project management task list template allows users to assign a status to each task, sort assignments into multiple categories, and see exactly who's responsible for what. It also calculates the tasks' planned and actual durations automatically, enabling teams to easily make comparisons and see if work is progressing as scheduled.

Project Management Task List in Excel

Excel Task Tracker Template

This Excel task tracker template was designed for project or task managers who wish to apply Scrum principles when planning and monitoring their team's tasks. The free task tracker spreadsheet splits tasks into short sprints for easier management and allows users to define priorities, see task status at a glance, and track assignments as they are completed. It also includes a simple  Gantt chart  that auto-updates whenever the data in the task list changes.

Excel Task Tracker Template

Task Management Spreadsheet Template

Effective task management requires precise knowledge of all assignments and the time remaining for completing them. A task management spreadsheet like the one below can help teams track their tasks by the hour and organize their work more efficiently. The template automatically calculates the hours left for finishing each task, shows the percentage of work already completed, and highlights the tasks that are overdue. In addition, this task tracker spreadsheet also estimates the assignments' start and end dates and displays them on a Gantt chart, providing an overview of the whole project.

Task Management Spreadsheet in Excel

Free task management templates for PowerPoint

Excel task tracker spreadsheets are good for ensuring clarity and alignment within the team, but, when communicating to high-level audiences such as clients or upper management, professionals may find that they need something more graphical. In such cases, PowerPoint task management templates might prove more efficient, as they can show summarized data on a single visual slide, in a manner that's easy to digest. Below you can find a few such templates to get you started.

Free Task Planner Template

This free task planner was built for professionals who need create an executive-level view of their project tasks for client meetings or project proposals. Designed as a simple Plan-on-a-Page, it is a  Gantt chart   that uses color codes to group tasks by categories or departments, making it easy to see key data at a glance. Download the free task planner template file and edit it manually in PowerPoint or use the Office Timeline PowerPoint add-in to automate the process and update it effortlessly.

Free Task Planner

PowerPoint Task Tracker Template

Clients and execs usually don't have the time to read lengthy documents or untangle complicated task management spreadsheets to see how a project is progressing. To efficiently communicate task status to high-level audiences, project managers and team leaders can use a more familiar PowerPoint slide such as the one below. This task tracker template keeps things simple by providing only essential tracking information such as the due dates of key tasks, percentage complete, or important events along the way. The free task tracker can be downloaded and edited in PowerPoint and updated easily as plans change.

Task Tracker Template

Agile Task Management Template

Agile task management is an iterative, incremental approach to managing projects, often used in software development. The methodology focuses on delivering work fast and in small increments, while incorporating feedback from customers in each iteration. This allows the team to easily adapt to changing requirements and ultimately deliver higher quality products that satisfy customers’ needs better. This agile task management template is ideal for team and client communications, allowing you to effortlessly keep track of your project’s tasks. Built directly in Microsoft PowerPoint, the template can be edited and shared easily with anyone who has the popular presentation tool installed.

Agile task management Template

PowerPoint Task Manager App

For client and executive communications, managers and team leaders can use a free task tracker to manage their plans and schedules as PowerPoint visuals. The Office Timeline PowerPoint add-in integrates with Excel to import existing task data and convert it into easy-to-understand timeline and Gantt chart slides.

Free Task Manager App

project assignment excel template

How to Make a Responsibility Assignment Matrix: Excel RACI Template

project assignment excel template

What is a responsibility assignment matrix?

How to create a responsibility assignment matrix in excel, free raci template for excel, how to manage raci roles in your teamgantt plan.

A responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) is a tool used in project management to clarify team and stakeholder roles for each project step. It paves the way for smooth collaboration by ensuring everyone knows what they need to do, who they need to talk to, and who has the final say on key decisions and deliverables.

RACI—which stands for Responsible , Accountable , Consulted , Informed —is the most popular framework used for assigning roles and responsibilities on projects. Here’s a quick breakdown of RACI categories in basic terms:

  • Responsible : Who completes the work?
  • Accountable : Who makes decisions? 
  • Consulted : Who provides expertise?
  • Informed : Who needs status updates?

Of course, RACI isn’t the only responsibility assignment matrix out there. These RACI alternatives provide a small sample of other approaches you might come across in project management.

  • RASCI (or RASIC) matrix : This RACI alternative adds one extra role into the responsibility assignment mix. In the RASCI model, the S stands for Supportive . While this role covers anyone who will lend the Responsible person a hand with the work, a Supportive team member isn’t responsible for the outcome.
  • DACI matrix : DACI stands for Driver , Approver , Contributor , Informed and is used to outline decision-making roles and responsibilities for projects. In this framework, the project manager or leader typically serves as the Driver guiding the team to a decision.‍
  • RAPID responsibility matrix : RAPID stands for Recommend , Agree , Perform , Input , Decide and is another decision-making framework used to define authority vs accountability. The Recommend role kicks things off by suggesting an action, while the Decide role has the ultimate say in how things move forward. ‍
  • CARS : CARS stands for Communicate , Approver , Responsible , Support . In this model, Communicate combines RACI’s Consulted and Informed roles into a single assignment. Someone with the Communicate role lends their expertise and needs to be kept up-to-date on progress. The Approver is the main decision-maker who calls the shots.

Lay a clear path to success with a visual plan that’s easy to understand, and keep everyone in sync with flexible workflows and team collaboration.

project assignment excel template

Lots of people use spreadsheets to make a responsibility assignment matrix for their projects, so let’s walk through the basic steps of building one in Excel, using the RACI framework as our model.

Looking for an online solution? See how TeamGantt's RACI feature integrates into your project plan.

1. List project tasks and deliverables in column A

First, make a list of all the work that needs to be done for your project down the left side of your matrix. Enter each project task, milestone, or decision in column A of your Excel worksheet. 

Feel free to group tasks by project phase like we’ve done in the screenshot below. That way, your RACI matrix is easy to scan and read.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 1 - List project tasks and deliverables

2. Add team members or project roles across row 1

Starting with column B, label each column header with the name of a team member and/or project role. 

Include the people who will execute and review work for the project, as well as any subject matter experts or stakeholders you may need to consult or keep in the loop along the way.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 2 - Add project role and team member names

3. Insert a new worksheet for roles and definitions

Click Insert > Insert Sheet from the Home ribbon at the top of your Excel workbook.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 3a - Insert new sheet for roles and definitions

Go to your new worksheet, and list each letter of the RACI acronym in column A. Then enter the corresponding role for each letter in column B. We also included RACI definitions in column C as a handy reference for anyone who might need a refresher.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 3b - Enter roles and definitions

You’ll use this worksheet to populate a drop-down list on the main RACI matrix tab to make it easier to assign roles quickly.

4. Add a drop-down list of roles to your matrix

Now, go back to your main worksheet, and click into the first open cell in your matrix.

On the ribbon, click Data > Data validation to insert a drop-down list with RACI roles.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 4a - Click Data Validation

On the Settings tab, choose List under the Allow menu.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 4b - Select allow list setting

Click into the Source field, then highlight the data range with your options from the RACI Roles & Definitions worksheet you set up in Step 3. We highlighted cells A2-A5 in our example.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 4c - Select data source

Verify your Data validation settings are correct, then hit Enter to add the drop-down list to your selected cell.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 4d - Confirm data validation settings

Copy and paste that cell to apply the drop-down list to other cells in your RACI matrix worksheet.

5. Color-code assignments with conditional formatting

Click Conditional Formatting > New Rule on the Home tab. Select Classic > Format only cells that contain > Specific text > containing . Enter the letter R in the text box, then choose Custom Format , and apply a background color (and any other styles you want). 

Repeat this step for each additional letter in the acronym.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 5 - Color-code responsibility assignments with conditional formatting

6. Assign a RACI value to everyone on every task

You’re almost there! Now go down the list of tasks on your responsibility assignment matrix, and assign a role to every person who will be involved in that project step or deliverable.

Excel RACI Matrix Step 6 - Assign a role to everyone on every task

Want to build a responsibility assignment matrix of your own, but don't want to start from scratch? Download our ready-made Excel template for free. This blank RACI template is fully editable, so you can customize it for any project you manage. 

We added drop-downs for assigning RACI roles more easily and included a RACI chart example tab as reference in case you need a little extra guidance.

Download: RACI matrix template for Excel

Free RACI Template for Excel by TeamGantt

You can easily upload your final matrix to your TeamGantt project . But if you don’t want to worry about outdated spreadsheets that get forgotten once work begins, why not assign RACI roles directly to your plan?

Here’s how to use TeamGantt’s online RACI feature for your next project.

Assigning RACI roles and responsibilities to TeamGantt tasks

  • Open your project, and toggle to the RACI tab. This will display all your project tasks in a list format (rows). On the right side of the matrix, you’ll see a column for each person currently invited to the project with cells for each task in the project. 
  • Click the cell below each person who needs to be assigned a role on a task, and choose one of the RACI options from the drop-down.

Screenshot of TeamGantt's built-in RACI matrix for assigning task responsibilities

Viewing RACI matrix assignments for your project

There are 2 simple ways to view RACI assignments in TeamGantt:

  • From the Gantt tab : If someone is assigned to a task and has a RACI role on that task, the RACI value will appear in parentheses next to that person’s name on the gantt chart. Just be aware that you won’t see RACI assignments for people who haven’t been assigned to a specific task in Gantt view.

Screenshot of RACI roles in a TeamGantt timeline

  • From the RACI tab : To access your project’s full RACI matrix, simply toggle to the RACI tab for that project. You’ll find RACI assignments for every person playing a role—whether or not they’re the one responsible for doing the work.

Screenshot of the RACI tab in a TeamGantt project

Keep teams in sync—and accountable—with TeamGantt

A responsibility assignment matrix is a simple tool that makes projects easier to manage by creating less confusion and more accountability. But you’ve got more than roles and responsibilities to keep straight.

TeamGantt makes it easy to build a project plan your whole team can contribute to and collaborate on. Everything happens online, so you can stay on top of deadlines and monitor progress in real time.

Use our built-in RACI chart to assign roles and keep them visible from project start to finish, so everyone knows how they contribute to success.

Try TeamGantt’s Pro Manager plan free for 7 days!

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Project Task Tracker Excel Template

Get your Task Tracking Template for Excel or open it in ProjectManager, the best way to manage your projects online.

project assignment excel template

Download our free Project Task Tracker Excel Template to help start a to-do list, a task list, or to start managing a project. It includes planned and actual columns to help measure project progress as you go. Task tracking has never been simpler than when using this free Microsoft Excel template.

But, if you want to take your task tracking to the next level, then open the task tracking template in ProjectManager. You’ll be able to track your tasks on not just a spreadsheet, but with five different project views: kanban board, Gantt chart, task list, calendar and sheet. Plus, you’ll be able to collaborate on those tasks with your team in real time, and track progress in the software with live dashboards and instant status reports. Get started for free with ProjectManager and start tracking your tasks better.

task tracking template on a kanban board

Why You Need a Task Tracker Template

If you don’t have a task list, then you can’t say if your project is on schedule or not. All the project planning in the world is useless if you haven’t set up a checklist or task management system to track those tasks and know if the work is being completed or if team members are falling behind.

There are hundreds of task management templates available online and most of them achieve the same purpose, despite having different names.

ProjectManager's free task tracking template

Our free task tracking template can be used as any of the task management formats below.

  • Project Task List Template
  • Task Tracker Template
  • Task Checklist Template
  • Project Tracking Template
  • Task Analysis Template

Task management is the process by which you can follow a task through the project life cycle. That includes planning, scheduling, executing and tracking said activity. A project task needs tracking from all sides, which includes its status, priority, time, resources, recurrence, notifications, etc.

Task tracking templates are not the only tool to do this. To take task tracking and task management to a whole new level, you can also use project tracking software equipped with task management features such as Gantt charts, kanban boards and real-time collaboration tools.

ProjectManager’s dashboard view, which shows six key metrics on a project

How to Use a Task Tracker Excel Template

But back to using this project task list template. It’s fairly self-explanatory, but a brief walk-through of the process is never a bad idea. Let’s look at all the columns that make up our project tracking template.

  • Task name / Description: Assign a unique name to each task.
  • Task Dependency: Use a work breakdown structure to identify task dependencies and identify the critical path of your project.
  • Task Owner: Every task needs a task owner, someone who’s responsible for executing it.

task list template elements: task description, task dependencies and task owner

  • Task Priority: Use the work breakdown structure and critical path method to determine the priority of your tasks.
  • Due Dates: Define the start and end dates of each task. To do so, you’ll need to estimate the duration of each task before the project using project management techniques like the PERT chart method.

task tracker template elements: task task priority and due dates

  • Task Status: The very purpose of task tracking is to monitor the status of your tasks and determine whether they’re delayed, paused or have been completed successfully.
  • Notes: Add any additional notes about the task.

status of task and notes

How to Update & Share Your Task Tracker Excel Template

You can’t track tasks if their task status is not being updated. Your project team makes task status updates, which keeps you aware of where they are in the project. If you’re using this free task checklist template for Excel, the team members can add those task status updates to the Microsoft Excel document.

As a project manager, the first thing you’ll have to do is make sure that everyone has a copy of Microsoft Excel. Then an updated project task list template can be saved. You can have one person authorized to make sure that the most current task tracking Excel template is circulating.

Another solution is to use a Google Sheets task tracker template, so the most recent version of the document is shared by everyone. Or, you can try task tracking software , like ProjectManager, so you don’t have to download Excel task management templates and deal with old versions.

  • Go to the main menu, there, on the upper right-hand corner of the page, you’ll find a drop-down menu.
  • Scroll down until you find “import”, and click on it.
  • This will bring you to a new page, the import page, where there will be several options for you to import various Excel project management templates to your project management software.
  • Now you can view your document, share it with the team or stakeholders and download it as a PDF, Excel, CSV or Microsoft Office document.

How to Track Projects & Tasks in ProjectManager

As mentioned above, our Excel task tracker template can help you visualize a task list and keep track of it. But task management spreadsheets made with Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets are no match for a cloud-based project management software like ProjectManager.

Gantt Charts

With your Excel task tracking template now fully integrated into a robust project management tool like ProjectManager, you can easily create a Gantt chart that allows you to track tasks, identify the critical path, assign resources, among other task management functions.

A screenshot of ProjectManager.com's Gantt chart view, showing a task list.

The duration bar that connects the task’s start date to its deadline will become more shaded in as the task gets done. Now you can see at a glance whether the project task is progressing as planned. You also have a spreadsheet to visualize your task list.

Project Management Dashboards

There are more in-depth task management tools that give you greater insight into if your task is on schedule. A real-time project management dashboard shows the progress of the overall project across six project metrics. Data is automatically calculated for you and displayed in easy-to-read graphs and charts.

There’s a metric on the progress that looks at the different parts of your project and if they’re on track. You can also view tasks and see which are in progress, complete or not started. For a bigger picture, there are graphs on cost, workload and more.

A screenshot of the Project status report popup, where you can choose the data to export into a file.

Generate reports on the overall health of the project, variance, status and more. Task tracking reports can be easily shared or printed out. More importantly, you can quickly filter the reports to show just the task management information that your stakeholders are requesting.

Multiple Views

Project stakeholders aren’t the only people on the project being served by our task management tool. Teams are not going to need all the nitty-gritty included on the Gantt chart. They want to know what tasks they have to do and when they’re due. The kanban board view is a visual representation of the workflow, with cards being tasks and columns the to-do lists of different phases of production.

A screenshot of ProjectManager's kanban board view, with tasks that can be moved through boards.

Tasks can be prioritized, so teams know what to work on when. Project managers can also use the kanban for transparency into the task tracking process and clear up any potential bottlenecks before they affect the project schedule, or even worse, the project plan.

Those are just two project management views. There’s also a project calendar, which is more than just a place to collect dates and a task list. Both these views update with all the other project management tools as new statuses are filed. They also have the same task tracking features as the other views, so teams can work how they want.

Other Free Project Management Templates to Help with Project Tracking

We have dozens of useful free Excel project management templates that you can download on our site. Several of them can be used in congress with the project and task tracking template to give you more control over your project plan. Take a look at the few we’ve chosen below.

Dashboard Template

This Excel template looks at tasks, costs and more to give you a picture of the project as it’s progressing. It is often your first defense against scope creep. It offers you different types of graphs so you can visualize data easier than with a project management spreadsheet.

Change Log Template

What do you do if you get a change request from your stakeholder, or the project management dashboard reveals an issue that requires changes to your project budget or schedule? The change log Excel template is the perfect tool to identify and then track the progress.

Risk Tracking Template

Part of any project plan is a risk management plan. If that potential problem becomes a real one, then you need a risk register template to define each risk, note its priority to the project and potential impact. This Excel template not only helps you prepare to mitigate risk, it gives you the tools to respond to risk.

Related Content

There’s a lot of information on the topic of project and task tracking on the ProjectManager blog, which posts videos and articles every week. Here are a few of the more recent and relevant articles.

  • Ultimate Guide to Project Scheduling
  • Project Tracking Excel Templates
  • How to Track Project Expenses

ProjectManager is an online, cloud-based tool that fosters collaboration and makes sharing information easy for a more effective project. Try ProjectManager today with a free 30-day trial.

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7 Free Resource Planning Templates For Project Teams

Post Author - Jitesh Patil

Are you looking for free resource planning templates? Get access to the below templates the Google Sheets/Excel templates that make resource planning and management relatively easy.

  • Team Availability Tracker
  • Resource Allocation Template
  • Project Resource Planning Template
  • Resource Capacity Planning Template
  • Timesheet Template
  • Staff Resource Planning Template
  • Human Resource Capacity Planning Template

If like most small teams, you use spreadsheets to manage project resources, these ready-made templates are a huge time-saver. Instead of starting from scratch, you can get quickly off the blocks using templates.

Let’s dive in.

What is resource planning?

Resource planning is the process that ensures that the right resources are available to the project when needed. Within resource planning, project managers:

  • Track resource availability.
  • Plan and track project resource allocation.
  • Assign resources to project tasks.
  • Manage resource capacity and workloads.
  • Track time spent by resources on tasks.

Without a resource plan in place, projects get delayed, or worse, fail. Besides, upfront resource planning also helps avoid conflicts with other teams .

However, resource planning is not a one-time activity. Project managers need to adjust resource plans to account for:

  • Changes in project scope
  • Changes in resource availability or capacity
  • Delays in tasks and milestones

Resource planning templates help you record, update and visualize resource availability, allocation, and capacity data. 

Resource planning and management templates

So far, you’ve learned about resource planning templates and how they can help. You also know about the disadvantages of using these templates.

Next, let’s take a look at the templates you’ll need to manage your project team.

How to download and use these templates?

How to make a copy of the template

All the templates below are view-only templates.

Make a copy of a template by clicking File → Make a copy… from the Google Sheets menu.

To download the template for Excel, click File → Download → Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) .

Each template comes with three sheets (Instructions, Example, and Template) to help you get started.

1. Team Availability Tracker

Team members are unavailable because of public holidays or planned vacations. Finding available team members to work on a project is a critical step in resource allocation. 

The Team Availability Tracker Template helps you track your team’s off time and visualize your team’s availability to work on a project. That way, you can schedule work when they are available.

Team Availability Tracker

How to use the Team Availability Tracker template?

  • Click here to make to copy or download the template as an Excel file.
  • Enter the month (MONTH) for which you want to track your team’s availability. This automatically populates the calendar for the month below.
  • Add your team members to the EMPLOYEE column.
  • Enter text or emojis to mark a team member’s off time on a specific date.

2. Resource Allocation Template

Once you know the available resources, the next step is to allocate them to a project . Or simply assigning a team member to a project for a specific period. 

The Resource Allocation template helps you track these assignments.

It helps track when a specific resource is available to work on a project . Use this template along with the resource availability tracker to avoid scheduling on dates when the resource is AWOL.

Resource Allocation Template

Tracking work assignments is critical, especially with shared team members. For example, multiple project teams could share a designer in a small web design company. It becomes important to know when this designer is available to take on more work.

How to use the resource allocation template?

  • Enter your team member names in the RESOURCE column.
  • This resource allocation template shows you weekly assignments for your team members.
  • Once a team member is allocated to a project, mark the corresponding week with an ‘ X ‘.
  • Optionally, insert a note from the File → Insert menu to add the name of the project they’re allocated to.

3. Project Resource Planning Template

Once people are assigned to a project, the next step is to track their workload within a project. 

The Project Resource Planning Template helps you assign tasks within a project without creating scheduling conflicts or workload imbalances. It also gives you a clear overview of who within your project is doing what and when.

In addition, it also shows you the number of days available for a resource during a month.

Project resource plan template

You’ll need to account for task dependencies, delays, as well as people’s availability and skills when assigning tasks. 

How to use the project resource planning template?

  • Enter the month ( MONTH) and the project name ( PROJECT NAME) . The calendar below automatically updates for the month.
  • Enter an ‘ X ‘ for a day when a resource is not available.
  • Enter the task name when you want to book a resource for a task.

4. Resource Capacity Planning Template

After you’ve assigned people to tasks, the next step is to track each team member’s workloads.

Whether a client comes with additional work or a new client comes onboard, you want to know who’s available to take on new work. At the same time, you don’t want to overwork your team members.

The Resource Capacity Planning Template helps you track the estimated working hours for all team members .

Resource capacity planning template

Also, you can visualize if any team member has some extra capacity. Or rebalance workloads if any team member is overwhelmed.

How to use the resource capacity planning template?

  • Enter the MONTH for which you want to track your team’s capacity.
  • Add all your team members under the RESOURCE column.
  • The sheet automatically creates the calendar for the month and calculates the available working hours ( AVL. HRS. )
  • Now add the estimated workloads on each day of the month corresponding to a team members.
  • The sheet calculates the booked hours ( BKD. HRS. ) and utilization ( UTIL. ) for each member.

5. Timesheet Template

The timesheet template helps you track and measure the billable hours put in by your team in a project.

Timesheet template

Whether you’re charging based on time and materials or a fixed price, staying in control of your project’s budget is essential. Without this, your agency cannot deliver profitable projects and grow.

How to use the Timesheet Template?

  • Enter the month ( MONTH ) for which you want to track billable amounts.
  • Enter the names of your team members ( RESOURCE ) and their hourly rates ( HRLY. RATE ) in the corresponding columns.
  • Finally, enter the billable hours put in by each team member on a day of the month.
  • The sheet automatically calculates the

6. Staff Resource Planning Template

At times you may want to look at the resource requirements over the next year.

A Staff Resource Planning Template helps you understand if you need to hire any resources based on project commitments for the year.

Staff Resource Planning Template

In addition, it can also help you plan your recruitment based on when you need a specific type of resource.

How to use the Staff Resource Planning Template?

  • Enter all the roles that your agency needs in the RESOURCE TYPE column.
  • Enter the number of days you expect to utilize a resource type during each month.
  • The sheet automatically calculates the TOTAL days you’ll require a resource during the year.

7. Human Resource Capacity Planning Template

The Human Resource Capacity Planning Template helps you see average workload and utilization by employee, department, and job title.

Human Resource Capacity Planning Template

Like the Staff Resource Planning Template, this template helps you manage your employee/freelancer recruitment and onboarding. As a result, you can match your agency’s capacity with the demand and the workload.

How to use the Human Resource Capacity Planning Template?

  • Enter your agency’s EMPLOYEE s along with their DEPARTMENT , JOB TITLE , and monthly CAPACITY .
  • Enter their workload in actual (or estimated) hours for each month.
  • The sheet automatically calculates the average workload ( AVG. WRKLD ) and UTILIZATION for each employee.
  • In addition, the spreadsheet also has two pivot tables that shows you average workload and utilization for each department and job title.

Pros and cons of using resource planning templates

Ready-to-use templates come with the following advantages:

  • Instead of starting from scratch, you can get started quickly
  • Low cost, as you probably already have access to Excel/Google Sheets
  • Little onboarding, as almost everyone knows how to use spreadsheets

Templates also have their fair share of disadvantages which make them unusable in most real-world situations.

  • Spreadsheets generally lack communication and collaboration features essential for team scheduling
  • It’s hard to keep track of who’s made what changes to a spreadsheet’s data
  • Not everyone needs to see everything in the spreadsheet, but you cannot prevent them from seeing it
  • Keeping track of different versions and keeping different spreadsheets in sync is quite a task

Updating templates needs discipline & effort

If you haven’t realized it yet, updating all these templates is a lot of work . 

These templates work together. And, if you miss updating any of these, your resource planning will be error-prone.

Some of these templates may look similar. And it’s tempting to combine these templates into one. 

But, there’s a reason why these templates are separate. Each template serves a different audience and purpose. Combining templates will cause information overload, and inconsistencies and lead to chaos.

So, what are your options?

  • Either, you can choose to keep all the templates up to date with the necessary discipline.
  • Or, you can choose to follow only the relevant steps in the resource planning workflow. That way, you’ll have fewer templates to update.
  • Or, you can use a project and resource planning tool like Toggl Plan.

Toggl Plan: A Better Alternative To Resource Planning Templates

Toggl Plan is a beautifully simple work timeline planning tool. It makes project and resource planning a breeze.

Let’s understand how:

Track Team Member Availability

Toggl Plan Team Availability Tracker

With Toggl Plan, you can create unlimited, color-coded plans. You can create a plan specifically to track your team’s leave plans. 

Besides, Toggl Plan also adds country-specific public holidays to the timeline. 

With these two features, you can easily visualize and find the available team members to take up a project.

Some more notable features include:

Track time off

Toggl Plan helps you plan and manage your team's time off

Knowing when your team is available is crucial for scheduling and delivering projects on time.

The Time off feature is a convenient way to communicate the team’s time away from work. It provides a clear overview of who’s available and who’s not — be they annual leave, public holidays, sick leave or something else. You can also see a conflict warning when work is scheduled for someone who is unavailable.

Allocate Team Members To Projects & Tasks

Toggl Plan Resource Allocation

With Toggl Plan, you can easily add team members to a project plan or a team plan. 

You can assign one or more team members to a task. And, these team members can collaborate on a task using comments and file attachments.

As a result, all the project-related information is available in one place. And, your team doesn’t have to use multiple channels to communicate about the project.

Managing Team Capacity & Workloads

Toggl Plan Capacity & Workload Management

For each task in Toggl Plan, you can include the estimated effort. 

On the team timeline, you can visualize your team workloads. Visualizing workloads helps you understand if team members are overworked or have any capacity to take up more tasks.

Time Tracking & Timesheet Management

Toggl Plan integrates with Toggl Track for time tracking and timesheet management . 

With this integration, you can easily track the actual time on each task. Plus, you can generate timesheets and billing reports. 

In Conclusion

Resource planning templates help you organize, capture, and track resource allocation and usage. 

Spreadsheet templates are easily accessible to everyone. Plus, such templates are readily available for free on the internet.

However, spreadsheets don’t come with communication and collaboration features. Also, you’ll constantly struggle to maintain data integrity and prevent information overload.

Consider using a project and resource planning tool like Toggl Plan to avoid these drawbacks. Try out the team plan with a 14-day free trial. 

Jitesh Patil

Jitesh is an SEO and content specialist. He manages content projects at Toggl and loves sharing actionable tips to deliver projects profitably.

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COMMENTS

  1. The 5 Best Excel Project Management Templates

    Just make sure you click on " Edit a copy " in the top right corner or " File " > " Save as " > " Download a copy .". 1. Project Planner Template. Access the Template. The Project Planner Gantt template is a free Excel project management template that you can find in the template gallery.

  2. 25 Must-Have Project Management Excel Templates & Spreadsheets

    17. Multiple Project Tracking Template. If you're managing a program or a portfolio of projects, then you need our free multiple-project tracking template for Excel. When you download this free project management Excel template, you have the tool you need to monitor the progress of many projects at once.

  3. The 9 Best Project Management Templates for Excel (Free)

    This makes it easy to understand the project phases. And the best part is that this Project Dashboard template is 100% free - the only fee is your Email. Protip: Check out my top-6 dashboard templates here! Kasper Langmann, co-founder, Spreadsheeto. 5. Multiple Project Tracking Template.

  4. Free Project Task List Templates for Project Management

    Use this simple project task list template to list each project task and set its status, deadline, assignee, and priority. The template includes columns that help you track the percentage done, fixed cost, estimated cost, and actual hours for each task. You can also use the template to list tasks for several projects and to track their real ...

  5. 10 Best Free Project Management Excel Templates to Track Projects

    8. ClickUp Project Management Portfolio Template. Use the ClickUp Project Management Portfolio Template to track all your projects in one place and enhance risk management, coordination, reporting and analysis. The ClickUp Portfolio Project Management Template serves as a blueprint for all company-wide projects.

  6. Free Excel Project Management Templates

    Ensure your project stays within budget by tracking all expenses, like labor, materials, fixed costs, and actuals. Manage additional spend and provide insights into budget variance so all team members and stakeholders are kept in the loop with this easy-to-use template. Download Excel Project Budgeting Template. Use the FREE Smartsheet Template.

  7. 10 Powerful Excel Project Management Templates for Tracking Anything

    1. Work Plan Timeline. The Work Plan Timeline template is suitable for a basic project with multiple phases. When you enter your data into the worksheet, the roadmap will update automatically. This template comes pre-installed in Microsoft Excel 2016 and up. 2. Date Tracking Gantt Chart.

  8. Top 5 Excel Project Management Templates

    Here's our pick of 5 Excel project management templates, some of which have been downloaded over 3 million times: 1. Excel Gantt Chart Project Schedule Template ... Consulted, and Informed. A RACI Template is sometimes referred to as a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) or linear responsibility chart (LRC). ...

  9. 20+ Project Management Templates for Excel

    Download a Project Schedule Template and find other Project Templates for Excel®. There are hundreds of software tools for project management, but familiarity with spreadsheets and the flexiblity that they provide makes using Excel a very popular solution. The project templates listed here are mostly related to project scheduling.

  10. Project Management Excel Templates for Project Managers

    Template #3: Project Management Excel Template - Activity-based Cost Tracker. This free Excel template calculates the acute costs of products and services. It aims to offer a clear insight into the costs of producing a product or service. This activity-based cost-tracking template helps organizations identify the resources needed to fulfill ...

  11. Free Project Management Excel Template

    This free project management template is available in Excel 2007, 2010, 2013,2016 to download. Project Plan Template Excel is a completely automated Project Excel Template created using Microsoft Excel. A project plan template aids project managers across all industries and sectors define their goals and set key milestones.

  12. 9 Free Excel Project Management Templates & Examples

    9 Free Excel Project Management Templates & Examples. Use these Excel project management templates to streamline your project planning and stay organized throughout your project lifecycle. Gone are the days of lengthy spreadsheets, hundreds of notes scattered across notebooks, and important project decisions lost in a very full inbox. Every ...

  13. 12 Free Project Planning Templates for Excel and Word

    As a project planning template, calendars can provide a monthly overview of the assignments and deadlines of the project. Use our free project calendar template for Excel to plan your project on a calendar grid. When you open our free project calendar template, you'll find 12 sheets, one for each month of the year. ...

  14. How To Use Excel For Project Management (+Free Templates)

    Paid plans often cost less than $10 per user per month. Considering the above disadvantages, using Excel for project management can be expensive in the long run. Excel Project Management Use Cases. So far, you've learned about the kind of work you can manage with Excel. You've also learned about the disadvantages of Excel project management.

  15. 15 Excel Spreadsheet Templates for Tracking Tasks, Costs and Time

    We've collected ProjectManager's 15 best Excel spreadsheet templates for tracking that you can download and use for free. 1. Dashboard Template. A dashboard is how you keep track of your work, including the time spent on tasks, what you're spending and if you're making progress as planned. ProjectManager's free dashboard template for ...

  16. Project Schedule Template Excel (Free Download Included!)

    Get started with our Free downloadable project schedule template excel template! This section provides a step-by-step guide to utilizing all the features and transforming it into your personalized project management powerhouse. Download the Template: Click the provided link to download the Excel file. Fill in Project Details: Enter the project ...

  17. Excel Gantt chart templates

    Gantt charts give you a visual timeline of the steps in your project, and they've never been easier to put together than with these templates. With just a glance, you'll know exactly when and how things will come together, and these templates will be just the beginning of your journey to a successful, well-run project. Category.

  18. Free Task Management Templates for Project Managers

    This Excel task tracker template was designed for project or task managers who wish to apply Scrum principles when planning and monitoring their team's tasks. The free task tracker spreadsheet splits tasks into short sprints for easier management and allows users to define priorities, see task status at a glance, and track assignments as they ...

  19. Free Task List Templates for Excel

    Download. ⤓ Excel (.xlsx) For: Excel 2010 or later. ⤓ Google Sheets. License: Private Use (not for distribution or resale) Description. This task list template demonstrates how to create a checkbox using a data validation drop-down and how to use simple conditional formatting conditions to display HIGH, MEDIUM and LOW priority values.

  20. Responsibility Assignment Matrix with Excel RACI Template

    Assigning RACI roles and responsibilities to TeamGantt tasks. Open your project, and toggle to the RACI tab. This will display all your project tasks in a list format (rows). On the right side of the matrix, you'll see a column for each person currently invited to the project with cells for each task in the project.

  21. Project Task Tracker Excel Template

    Download Excel File. Download our free Project Task Tracker Excel Template to help start a to-do list, a task list, or to start managing a project. It includes planned and actual columns to help measure project progress as you go. Task tracking has never been simpler than when using this free Microsoft Excel template.

  22. Templates for college and university assignments

    Templates for college and university assignments. Include customizable templates in your college toolbox. Stay focused on your studies and leave the assignment structuring to tried and true layout templates for all kinds of papers, reports, and more. Customize in Excel. Customize in Excel. Customize in Word.

  23. 7 Free Resource Planning Templates For Project Teams

    This resource allocation template shows you weekly assignments for your team members. Once a team member is allocated to a project, mark the corresponding week with an ' X '. Optionally, insert a note from the File → Insert menu to add the name of the project they're allocated to. 3. Project Resource Planning Template.

  24. Pin by Tony Hellard on Excel tips in 2024

    Circular Colorful Timeline Product Roadmap Template : Present important information to all stakeholders -- Most product roadmaps feature a collection of ideas from a very diverse group of stakeholders. From the marketing team to the customer success team, and even the executives.