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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 .”

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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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! 😉

10 Powerful Excel Project Management Templates for Tracking Anything

Want Microsoft Excel to manage your projects? Use these free Microsoft Excel spreadsheet templates for tracking any project!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. Project Tracking Template

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• Sign up — it's free

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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We’ve compiled the most useful project task list templates for project managers, project team members and stakeholders, IT teams, and construction personnel.  

On this page, you’ll find six essential project task list templates, including a simple project task list template , a project task list with Gantt chart , a project task checklist template , an IT project task list template , and a construction project task list template . Plus, find tips on creating a successful project task list template .

Simple Project Task List Template

Download a Sample Simple Project Task List Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs | Google Sheets

Download a Blank Simple Project Task List Template for Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs | Google Sheets

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-time progress. This template is the perfect solution for project teams looking to clarify task ownership, as well as create and accurately track tasks. Download the blank version to begin tracking tasks for your project, or review the template with sample data to help you get started.

For more project task list template resources, read this comprehensive article on free task list and checklist templates .

Project Task List with Gantt Chart Template

Download a Project Task List with Gantt Chart Template for  Excel | Google Sheets  

Clarify project tasks for team members by using this project task list with Gantt chart template. The template enables you to list each task, the team member responsible for completing it, its due date, and its status. As you populate the template with your project data, the Gantt chart section creates a visual representation of your project’s tasks so that you, your team, or project sponsors can get up-to-date information on project progress.

Project Task Checklist Template

Download a Project Task Checklist Template for  Excel | Google Sheets

Improve your project delivery success rate with this easy-to-use project task checklist template. Enter individual tasks along with their status and priority, assignee, due date, and any relevant notes. This fully customizable template lets you edit column titles to suit your project team’s needs and ensures that you successfully check each project task off your to-do list. 

For more resources and templates for tracking project tasks, see this helpful list of free project checklist templates .

Project Task Tracker Template

Download a Project Task Tracker Template for  Excel | Google Sheets

This template provides color-coded Status and Priority columns where you can easily track important project tasks. Designed to help you monitor tasks across multiple projects, this template indicates whether a task is at risk of not being completed. The Cost / Hours section tabulates fixed costs, estimated hours, and actual hours for each task. Regardless of your industry or type of work, this customizable project task tracker template will help ensure that you are able to account for and successfully complete every project task. 

Check out this comprehensive project task list template to ensure that you’re optimizing your project to-do list and keeping it in a single, shareable location.

IT Project Task List Template

Download an IT Project Task List Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | Google Sheets  

Keep all IT project team members and stakeholders informed of task statuses with this comprehensive IT project task list template. The template includes space to enter your project name, project manager, key IT project deliverables, scope statement, start and end dates, and percentage of overall progress. This completely customizable template enables you to list each task, who it’s assigned to, start and end dates, and statuses. This template can help you and your IT team optimize your project delivery standards and increase your IT project success rate.

Construction Project Task List Template

Download a Construction Project Task List Template for  Excel | Google Sheets

Use this construction project task list template to ensure that your team completes all construction tasks in a timely manner. The template comes pre-filled with construction-specific task sections ( Sitework, Concrete, Masonry, Doors and Windows, etc . ), under which you can list each specific task, assign team members, select a due date, and add key details. The template also doubles as a construction punch list and includes a Punch ID column to identify key construction project tasks and contract specifications.

How Do I Create a Project Task List?

A project task list includes every task required for successful project completion. To create a project task list, use an application such as Excel or Google Sheets. Task lists also include such information as statuses, timelines, and team member information. 

A project task list typically includes the name of each project task, which team member is responsible for completing it, and its due date, status, priority, and any relevant notes. This document helps project managers, team members, and other stakeholders ensure that every required task is accounted for, assigned, and completed on time. By creating a project task list, you can help make sure that everyone involved in the project understands the status of each individual task and the project as a whole. 

In an application such as Excel, you can create a simple task list table by inserting rows such as Task Name, Status, Priority, Due Date, Assignee, and Notes . A simple task list like this can help ensure that you account for all of your project’s to-do items. 

You can also use a project task list template, which includes the primary elements to ensure that your team completes each task by project’s end. Project task list templates are designed to help you capture and track your project’s tasks so that you complete high-quality deliverables on time. 

Though project task list templates vary, they typically include the following universal elements:

• Task: Enter the name of each task so that it’s clear to every team member and stakeholder what needs to be accomplished. 
• Due Date: Provide a date by which each task must be completed so that the project can be delivered on time. 
• Status: Set a status for each task (e.g., Not Started, In Progress, On Hold, or Complete ) so that everyone can track project progress. 
• Priority: Select a priority for each project task. 
• Assignee: List the name of the team member responsible for completing each task. 
• Notes: Provide any additional notes that are relevant to the task. 

Depending on their function and their industry, project task list templates might also include the following column components: 

• At Risk: Select this check box if the individual task is in jeopardy of not being completed by the project’s due date.  
• Description: Provide a detailed description for each task so that, in addition to the task title, every project team member and stakeholder understands what the task requires for completion. 
• Deliverable: Specify the primary project deliverable, or feature, that the task is related to. 
• Percentage Complete: Provide a percentage completed for each project task. 
• Cost / Hours: Enter fixed costs, estimated hours, and actual hours for each task so you can track expenses and effort. 
• Duration: Review the duration between each project task’s start and end dates to ensure that teams have adequate time to complete each task.

Stay on Track of Project Tasks with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet

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When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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• Tactical Project Management

Project Management Excel Templates for Project Managers

by Andrew Makar · March 21, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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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20 Free Project Plan Templates in Excel & ClickUp

Senior Content Marketing Manager

March 19, 2024

That’s what you risk when you don’t plan. We know we’re channeling our inner dad voice right now, but it’s true. 

Whether you’re planning toward success or in preparation for potential pitfalls, project planning is critical to seeing tasks through to completion. And for those of us managing teams or individual contributors, there’s an even greater need for strategic planning to reach project efficiency.

Let’s be real—planning is crucial whether it’s for a product launch or an international vacation. When we plan, we anticipate problems (i.e. appropriate resource allocation ), establish clearer project goals (i.e. meet deadlines), and better manage project budgets (i.e. avoid those unexpected travel expenses).

However, putting a plan together from a blank page is no easy task. With the help of detailed project plan templates, you’re more likely to successfully kick off assignments and organize project timelines . Because without a project plan, disorganization overtakes your work and chaos ensues.

So, let’s keep the disorder at bay and check out the top 20 project plan templates for your next project!

What is a Project Planning Template?

1. project planning template by clickup, 2. consulting project plan template by clickup, 3. cross-functional project plan template by clickup, 4. compliance project plan template by clickup, 5. event project plan template by clickup, 6. website project plan template by clickup, 7. technology project plan template by clickup, 8. data center project planning template by clickup, 9. virtual event project planning template by clickup, 10. action plan template by clickup, 11. project management template by clickup, 12. planning document template by clickup, 13. plan of record template by clickup, 14. pi planning template by clickup, 15. planning a project template by clickup, 16. work plan whiteboard template by clickup, 17. project deliverables template by clickup, 18. project roadmap template by clickup, 19. project scope whiteboard template by clickup, 20. excel project planning template.

First, let’s cover the basics with the key qualities to look for in project plan templates.

A project plan template is an indispensable tool to successfully manage projects by tailoring your process to achieve the project’s goals, objectives, budget, or challenges.

With the help of a planning template, you can calculate the necessary steps to complete your project and have the flexibility to arrange them on either a static project timeline or a dynamic Gantt chart . This lets you clearly define the scope and project schedule while organizing tasks in the most efficient way possible.

Project managers and team leads use project planning templates to save time and money by organizing tasks and avoiding unnecessary mistakes. This project management process is essential to keep the project schedule in order.

What makes a good project planning template?

A good project plan template makes it easy to detail the project scope and the overall purpose of the work needed to reach completion. A functional template should also outline your goals and the expected outcomes of your project schedule . 

This works best when you have a detailed description of what needs to be done and any limitations that could alter the project timeline or budget. Great project planning templates also span both short and long-term goals while addressing any resource, project timeline, or budget constraints. 

It helps to use a project planning template that easily integrates into your project management software so you can seamlessly input aspects like deadlines, key milestones , project progression, roles and responsibilities, and available resources at your disposal. 

Without this connection—here comes the dad voice again—you risk a cluttered project plan that spins in circles and wastes everyone’s time.

20 Best Free Project Plan Templates

Who doesn’t love free? That’s why you’ll love our list of the best free project plan templates you can use right this second! Let’s take a look at what made our list:

Listen—we wouldn’t put this template first if we didn’t believe it could easily (and quickly) help you form your project plan. The Project Planner Template by ClickUp utilizes your Workspace to its fullest potential by creating tasks in any List and then easily moving them to other Lists. 

This project planner template is designed to help project teams achieve their desired outcomes within the given scope, schedule, budget, and resources. It enables stakeholders to easily track progress through visually appealing and easy-to-understand project schedules so they best plan around changes while proactively managing risks. 

ClickUp’s template also serves as a communication medium between the project team and stakeholders. This project planning process can be done through the platform via assigned comments so your team knows what needs attention—all without losing conversations in dreaded email chains. 

Use this template to truly ensure everyone has access to the same information, expectations, decisions, and assumptions.

Another awesome resource for project managers or those managing clients—especially within professional services—is the Consulting Project Plan Template by ClickUp . This project planning template works as a guide to provide direction and structure for a successful outcome. 

Get more of a bird’s-eye view into the tasks in your project by using ClickUp’s List view for a quick breakdown of the tasks by status, which stakeholders can click into for more details on each task or its subtasks. 

Custom Fields make it even easier to view important project plan details like due dates, the task progression status, the project’s stage, and resources. Invite clients as guests in ClickUp to access this List view so they don’t need to click through every task to find essential information.

Effective consulting analyzes the potential challenges and problems while developing effective strategies to identify opportunities for collaboration and value creation. Good news for you—this template lets you do that and more to better manage client expectations and create transparent communication plans.

More times than not, you need a project plan that works across teams . That means your plan should meld nicely into different workflows without being an annoyance to your stakeholders and various teams.

The Cross-Functional Project Plan Template by ClickUp ensures all stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process. Additionally, it creates a better avenue for communication between teams so everyone’s experience and expertise are accounted for in the project.

So, what sets this template apart from the others? With this template, you truly rely on ClickUp’s custom Fields to give teams the simplest—or the most in-depth—view into what’s needed to move the project onward. 

Easily add assignees, stakeholders, project watchers, and approvers to tasks and subtasks for different workflows in your project plan. This will cut down the confusion between teams on any process and give a customizable project summary of what’s needed to start and complete each task.

Project compliance is the Robin to your project’s Batman—the George to your objective’s Jerry. And using the Compliance Project Plan Template by ClickUp works like your sidekick to ensure you hit your goals, stay on track, and provide additional security to protect your project.

Maybe George Costanza isn’t the greatest analogy, but this ClickUp template provides a fantastic visual to identify and assess your project’s compliance requirements. Again, ClickUp’s Custom Fields are an invaluable feature to document, organize, and provide high-level insights into how you’ll keep business operations compliant in this project plan.

These views are convenient for teams involved to take action and correct noncompliance issues in your project plan. Serenity now!

Planning an event can be daunting—particularly when you’re not starting from a resourceful planning template.

The Event Planning Template by ClickUp makes it easy! 

This template comes with all the features to keep your event-planning anxiety from taking over. Its custom task statuses, in-app Chat view, and unique Map views make it easy to track any event exactly how you want to. 

It doesn’t matter the type of event—whether it’s a product launch or a local fundraiser, you can use two pre-made Custom Fields and seven automations to track the small details. Best of all, this template is customizable to adjust to your specific budget or goals—no matter the size of the project. 

Let’s stop stressing about your project plan for your next event and start off on the right foot with this detailed project template.

Crafting a productive website project plan requires a detailed project scope , timelines, budgets, and stakeholder responsibilities. 

It’s critical to have these components in place before any website launch, which is why we’re recommending the Website Project Plan Template by ClickUp . Website projects tend to have multiple layers, and within each layer, you run the risk of impromptu problems you didn’t expect in your project plans.

Avoid the uncertainties and use this template as your one-stop shop for tracking all of the different tasks, processes, and decisions that go into bringing a website project to life. Get organized through Custom Fields and assign each task to its rightful owner so no detail is left untouched in the project planning phase.

Utilizing the concept of business process management (BPM) can drastically improve a website project. This involves using the analysis, design, implementation, and monitoring phases to map out existing processes, create new ones, implement them in the organization, and continuously check that they are providing the desired results.

The Technology Project Plan Template by ClickUp is ideal for those who want to improve the way their team or department implements technology. Planning this process requires detailed timelines, access to important resources, and progress reports. 

It pays when all parties know what’s next in line in the overall project. And this template provides the Custom Fields, view types, and statuses to properly plan your technology projects.

Data center migrations require the transferring of data and assets from one site to another. Simply put— it’s a lot of moving parts.

It can be a challenging and complex process, which is why we suggest the Data Center Project Plan Template by ClickUp . This project planning template provides a simple framework to help data migration teams bear the process efficiently and effectively.

Of all the project plan templates, this one can handle the simplest or most complex tasks, project goals, and project budgets to ensure your entire project team successfully migrates your data.

Take it from us—we know the complexities of planning a major virtual event ! Your project timeline is everything (even more so to your project manager).

These events require a ton of planning across teams so that everyone can work toward the same goal . The Virtual Event Project Planning Template by ClickUp simplifies the task of organizing a complete and successful virtual event. 

This plan template also streamlines all the different elements involved in the process for a project manager. That means your entire project team saves time and effort with this plan template while ensuring a successful outcome.

ClickUp’s Action Plan Template assists teams in structuring, prioritizing, and tracking tasks to achieve their objectives.

This template features built-in metrics for evaluating outcomes, facilitates task assignment, and offers a collaborative space for setting and monitoring goals. Use this template as guide for personal growth, startups, marketing initiatives, and creative workflows

ClickUp’s Project Management Template is a comprehensive tool designed to facilitate effective project planning. It provides a structured foundation that incorporates all the essential steps of project planning, promoting clear communication among team members and stakeholders.

This template helps teams navigate through each stage of a project, allowing them to understand the project’s core aspects, customize plans to their specific needs, organize tasks efficiently, and coordinate team efforts for smooth execution. It is particularly beneficial in managing the complexities that come with project planning.

This Planning Document Template by ClickUp helps teams establish the foundations of the project to ensure that fewer risks and problems are encountered during execution. 

ClickUp’s Planning Document Template makes it easy to get organized and get started. With this template, your team can:

• Capture key objectives, goals, and action items
• Break down tasks into manageable chunks for faster delivery
• Align teams around what’s most important for collective success

Utilize ClickUp’s Plan of Record Template to capture your business objectives, objective details, success metrics, and target timeline in one digital document.

ClickUp’s Plan of Record Template is designed to help you do just this. With it, you can:

• Ensure clear communication between stakeholders
• Align teams around common objectives
• Track progress and milestones to stay on top of deadlines

The ClickUp PI Planning Template assists in structuring and streamlining the project planning process. It’s designed to make the process more efficient, especially for Agile teams.

The ClickUp Pi Planning Template helps teams:

• Break down complex tasks into smaller, manageable chunks
• Organize tasks for better clarity and focus
• Allocate resources effectively and plan ahead for successful execution

ClickUp’s Planning a Project Template provides a well-organized base, guaranteeing that all essential steps are included in the plan and promoting transparent communication among team members and stakeholders.

This template navigates you through each stage of the project, helping you understand the essence of the project, customize plans as per your requirements, arrange tasks efficiently, and coordinate team members for flawless execution.

ClickUp’s Work Plan Whiteboard Template is structured to provide a systematic visual guide for your project. It serves as a comprehensive solution for visualizing, administering, and monitoring all of your team’s tasks in a well-structured manner.

ClickUp’s Work Plan Whiteboard Template not only aids in planning but also ensures that every task is tracked and managed effectively, leading to a more productive and efficient workflow.

A well-crafted plan sets the stage for exceptional execution! Implement your project’s deliverables effectively with ClickUp’s Project Deliverables Template . This template is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of your project’s deliverables, designated owners, timelines, and budget. It acts as a helpful tool in monitoring the progress of your deliverables.

This template isn’t just about keeping track of deliverables, it’s also about creating a space where transparency, accountability, and efficiency come together. By having a clear view of who is responsible for what, and when tasks are due, you can ensure that everyone on your team is on the same page.

Project development comes with its fair share of complexities and numerous elements to manage. No matter the size or intricacy of your project, ClickUp’s Project Roadmap Template is equipped with all the necessary tools for your success!

Whether you’re on the verge of launching a new feature or managing a long-term product vision, our project roadmap template serves to assist your product team efficiently.

ClickUp’s Project Scope Whiteboard Template is a tool designed to help structure and streamline the process of defining the scope of a project. It provides a concise summary of activities, resources, dates, and deliverables involved in a particular project.

Use this template to organize projects, stay current with tasks, and track deliverables.

For those who love to work in Microsoft Excel —we’ve got you covered! 

This simple project plan template from Microsoft Excel works as a timeline in your spreadsheet to create a clear and organized roadmap for your project. Within the cells, you can add your key project milestones, change text and images, and share it with your team.

Additionally, you can add your milestones in the project details table within the simple project plan template spreadsheet for a more visually appealing glance at your timeline. Use this customizable template to set your entire project outline and determine the essential steps you need to take to achieve success.

Start Planning With Project Plan Templates

There you have it—20 project management templates you can use completely for free to plan your new project!

If you’re still struggling to choose the best project template, rest assured that with ClickUp, you not only get a powerful tool for project planning , but an intuitive platform your entire team can use. Take advantage of ClickUp’s highly-customizable views to see clear deadlines, your project scope, project progress, and assigned stakeholders.

ClickUp offers a variety of features specifically designed to streamline your project management plan and workflow. You can easily create tasks, assign them to team members and monitor progress in real-time to hit project goals and project deliverables. 

Don’t overthink your project plans. Instead, use ClickUp for free today to share ideas and workflows across teams on your most intricate projects.

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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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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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You can manage your projects more efficiently with Gantt charts and Work Breakdown Structures.

Make smarter business decisions using tools like Business Model Canvas and SWOT Analysis.

Organize your team effectively with the RACI matrix and Stakeholder Assessments.

Maintain top-quality processes using DMAIC and Pareto Charts.

Manage your team well and improve performance with Organization charts and Retrospectives.

Keep on top of your finances with Budget and Cost analysis tools.

Understand your customers better and streamline your marketing with Customer Journey Maps and Value Stream Mapping.

You can plan and deliver educational projects more effectively using tools like Mind Mapping and Nominal Group Technique.

Organize your diverse projects with ease using customizable templates like Kanban boards and Agile Team Charters.

Templates that save you time and make things easier

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Quality Assurance

Decision frameworks.

• Brainstorming

Workflow & Process Visualization

• Gantt Chart
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• Customer Journey Map
• Schedule Network Diagram
• Kanban Board
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Planning & Design

• Business Model Canvas
• Lean Canvas
• Project Charter
• Agile Team Charter
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary

Team & Stakeholder Coordination

• RACI or Resource Assignment Matrix
• Organization chart
• Stakeholder Assessment matrix
• Impact over Influence Chart
• Salience model
• Retrospectives
• DMAIC One-Pager
• Plan Do Check Act One-Pager
• Control Chart
• Check Sheets
• Pareto Chart
• Ishikawa Diagram
• Decision Tree analysis
• SWOT Analysis
• PESTEL Analysis
• Kano Analysis

Brainstorming & Creativity

• Six Thinking Hats
• Nominal Group Technique
• Affinity Diagram
• Mind Mapping

Analysis Tools

• Value Stream Mapping
• Flow charts
• Context Diagram
• Cost benefit analysis

Financial Management

• Budget versus Actual Cost
• Compounding Calculator
• Multi-criteria Decision Chart
• Product Comparison Template
• Benchmarking Template

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How to Make a Responsibility Assignment Matrix: Excel RACI 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.

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.

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.

3. Insert a new worksheet for roles and definitions

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

• 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.

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.

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11 Best Excel Project Management Template Sites (2024) [FREE]

1. introduction, 1.1 importance of excel project management template site.

Excel Project Management Template Sites play a crucial role in streamlining the complex process of managing projects. These sites offer pre-designed Excel templates tailored to suit various project management needs including task tracking, time management, resource allocation, and progress reporting. By using excel templates, project managers save time in creating their own systems and layouts, leading to increased overall productivity and efficiency. The pre-set formats and formulas in these templates make data input, tracking, and analysis easier, giving project managers more time to focus on strategic decision-making and project execution.

1.2 Objectives of this Comparison

This comparison aims to provide an objective analysis of various Excel Project Management template sites. Across distinct criteria such as ease of use, customization options, variety of templates, and cost-effectiveness, we will delve into each of the prominent sites. The ultimate objective is to enable project managers to make a well-informed decision when selecting a site for their Excel project management templates. This will be achieved by highlighting the pros and cons of each site and offering a final recommendation based on various project management needs.

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A professional Excel fix tool is also a must-have for all Excel users. DataNumen Excel Repair is a very good one:

2. Smartsheet Project Management Excel Templates

Smartsheet Project Management Excel Templates offers a variety of templates designed to help manage different aspects of a project from initiation to closure. Their offerings range from basic task lists and timelines to complex dashboards and Gantt charts.

• Ease of use: The platform is intuitive and user-friendly, making navigation and finding the right template simple.
• Variety of templates: Smartsheet provides an expansive collection, enabling users to find solutions for various project management needs.
• Customizable: Templates from Smartsheet can easily be adapted to fit specific project requirements.
• Integrated with Smartsheet: If users have a Smartsheet account, these templates can be directly imported and utilized under the Smartsheet software ecosystem for better productivity.
• Cost: Some of the more advanced templates are not free and require a paid Smartsheet account for usage.
• Time-consuming setup: While the templates are detailed, setting them up and customizing as per specific needs can sometimes be time-intensive.
• Layout and design: Not all templates are visually pleasing and may require additional formatting for presentations or client meetings.

3. Microsoft Project Tracker Template

The Microsoft Project Tracker Template is a series of templates powered by the esteemed Microsoft Corporation. It provides a range of templates designed primarily for Microsoft Excel to address different project management aspects, such as project tracking, planning, scheduling, and resource allocation.

• Reliability: As Microsoft products are widely recognized for their reliability, you can expect the same from their Project Tracker Templates.
• Integration: These templates can be seamlessly integrated with other Microsoft products like Outlook, Teams and SharePoint, enhancing overall project management efficiency.
• Availability: Most of these templates are available for free for those who have an active Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Standardized format: Since most workplaces use Microsoft products, these templates can be easily shared and used across teams with no compatibility issues.
• Requires Microsoft 365: Usage might be restricted for those without an active Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Customization: While they are sophisticated, these templates often lack flexibility in customization.
• User Interface: The user interface can be a bit complex for Excel beginners.

4. Vertex42 Excel Project Management Templates

Vertex42 offers a variety of Excel templates purpose-built for project management. Their comprehensive list of tools includes everything from simple task trackers to complex Gantt charts and timelines. Vertex42 caters to both personal and professional project management needs.

• Range of options: There is a wide array of templates available, providing solutions to accommodate almost any project management need.
• Free to download: Most of the templates they offer are free, making this a cost-effective choice for many users.
• Easy to use: The templates are designed with user-friendliness in mind, making them accessible to users of all levels of Excel proficiency.
• Highly adaptable: The templates are highly customizable, allowing users to adjust them according to their particular project requirements.
• Support: Personalized support may not always be available.
• Advanced templates: Some of the more comprehensive templates can be complex and require a deep understanding of Excel to use effectively.
• Layout: Design aesthetics of some templates might be plain and could require additional enhancement for presentation purposes.

5. HubSpot Excel Project Management Template

HubSpot offers a comprehensive Excel Project Management template designed to manage multiple facets of a project. Considering HubSpot’s experience in the field of marketing and sales, their templates are particularly beneficial for managing marketing campaigns or sales pipelines. However, their adaptable structure makes them suitable for a range of project management needs.

• Comprehensive: The templates are thorough and include aspects such as project tracking, resource management, and timelines.
• Integrated with HubSpot: If you are a user of HubSpot’s software, these templates can be seamlessly incorporated into your workflows.
• Free: The templates are free to download, making them a cost-effective choice.
• Instructional guides: Templates come with instructional guides and tips, assisting users to effectively utilize them.
• Limited choice: Unlike other sites, there’s only a single template that caters to different project management facets.
• Sales and marketing focus: While adaptable, these templates are designed with a focus on sales and marketing projects, and so may not be as well-suited to other project types.
• Complex for beginners: The comprehensive nature of the template may make it a bit complex for Excel beginners.

6. ProjectPlanTemplate Excel Project Plan Template

ProjectPlanTemplate provides detailed and comprehensive Excel templates dedicated to project planning. These templates revolve around critical dimensions of project planning, including task allocation, timeframes, resource planning, and milestones . They are designed to be user-friendly and functional, catering to different types of projects.

• Focus on project planning: These templates are specifically built for project planning, focusing on aspects such as resource allocation, scheduling, and milestones.
• Customizable: Templates are highly customizable, allowing for adaptation based on a project’s needs.
• User-Friendly: The templates are designed to be intuitive and easy to use, even for those without advanced Excel skills.
• Flexible Adaption: Fits well with projects of different sizes and complexities.
• Limited Variety: Unlike other sites, ProjectPlanTemplate concentrates only on project planning and lacks templates for other project management aspects.
• Support: Depending on the complexity, some users might need additional support to effectively utilize templates, which is not always available.
• Overly Detailed: Some templates include an extensive amount of detail, which may be overwhelming for smaller projects or less experienced users.

7. Excel X Excel Project Plan Template

Excel X’s Project Plan Template is a comprehensive and adaptable Excel-based template for project planning. This powerful tool incorporates a range of features, enabling project managers to track tasks, resources, budgets, timelines, and milestones with ease.

• Comprehensive: The template includes nearly every important aspect of project planning, from task tracking to budgeting.
• Flexible: It’s designed with flexibility in mind, making it applicable to various project types and sizes.
• User-friendly: The user-friendly design allows it to be utilized by users with various levels of Excel proficiency.
• Visually Pleasing: It has neat, appealing graphics that make data easier to interpret and present.
• Single Template Focus: Unlike others that offer a range of templates, Excel X provides only one template, albeit a comprehensive one.
• Complex setup: Though it is user-friendly, the template might require a bit of time to set up and customize according to specific project needs.
• Advanced features: While extensive features enhance its utility, they may also make the template overwhelming for smaller projects or beginners.

8. Analysistabs Project Management Templates

Analysistabs Project Management Templates offers a range of Excel templates focusing on different key aspects of project management. Their selection covers task scheduling, time tracking, project planning, and many more. These templates are purpose-built to ease the task of project management for teams and individuals.

• Variety: A wide range of templates is available for various aspects of project management.
• Ease of use: Templates are designed to be user-friendly, catering to all levels of Excel users.
• Free to use: Most of the templates are free, making it a cost-effective solution for project management needs.
• Good for beginners: The templates offered are quite basic, which makes them perfect for Excel beginners or small-scale projects.
• Design aesthetics: Some templates lack polished visual design and might require extra work for presentations.
• Limited advanced options: The templates may not cover advanced project management needs.
• Support: As these are standalone Excel templates, specific support might not be available in case of issues or questions.

9. Project Central Free Project Templates

Project Central is a hub for free project management templates that cover a multitude of project types. With an emphasis on clarity and ease of use, their templates are designed to help manage and track different stages of a project, from inception to completion.

• Wide Range: The platform offers a diverse range of templates, covering numerous aspects of project management.
• Free to use: As the name suggests, all the templates provided are free of charge, making it a cost-effective solution.
• Simplicity: Templates are designed with simplicity in mind, making them easy to understand and use, especially for those new to Excel or project management.
• Functional design: The templates are neatly designed with clear sections and prompts, facilitating effective project management.
• Basic features: While the simplicity is beneficial for beginners, advanced users may find the templates too basic or lacking in more complex capabilities.
• Customization: Although simple, these templates may not be as flexible or customizable as some other options.
• Design: While functional, some templates may require aesthetic enhancements for presentations or client interactions.

10. Indzara Project Management Excel Templates

Indzara provides a collection of premium project management templates created to streamline and simplify project tracking. Indzara’s templates are equipped with highly detailed frameworks that cover project scheduling, tracking, resource management, budgeting, and more.

• Detailed: These templates provide a highly detailed approach to project management with comprehensive tracking features.
• Value added features: Proficiently designed templates deliver added features such as automatic calculation and visual project timelines.
• Documentation: Each premium template comes with comprehensive documentation and example videos to guide users.
• Professional Support: With the purchase of their templates, you get the benefit of professional customer support.
• Paid templates: Unlike many other platforms, most templates from Indzara are paid, presenting a potential drawback for users on a budget.
• Complex for beginners: The intricacy and advanced features of these templates could potentially make them complex for beginners or small-scale projects.
• Learning Curve: With the advanced features and level of detail, there can be a steep learning curve for some users.

11. Someka Project Management Excel Templates

Someka offers a gamut of professionally designed Excel templates for effective project management. The scope of these templates ranges from resource planning and task management to tracking progression and measuring project performance. Someka caters to a broad spectrum of needs of both individual and corporate project managers.

• Wide Range: The platform offers a rich collection of templates, providing varied project management solutions.
• Professional Design: Templates are designed with a professional touch and also aesthetic appeal, which can be visually pleasing for presentations and client interactions.
• Value for Money: While these templates are paid, the high level of detail and advanced features provide good value for money.
• Customer Support: Each purchased template comes with professional customer service support.
• Price: Templates are paid, which might be a deterrent for some users, especially those tight on their project budget.
• Complexity: With the high level of detail and advanced features, these templates might become somewhat complex for beginners or smaller projects.
• Customizability: While they exhibit professional design, the degree to which the templates can be modified might be limited.

12. Tactical Project Manager Project Management Excel Spreadsheets

Tactical Project Manager offers a suite of Excel spreadsheets that are laid out with project management contexts in mind. The templates are designed to make a project manager’s life easier by handling everything from task distribution and report generation to timeline mapping and progress tracking.

• Practical Layout: The practical layout of the templates mimics project management workflows, making them easy to use.
• Included Tutorials: Helpful tutorials are included with every template to guide users through their features.
• Customizable: Templates are readily customizable to address unique project demands.
• User-friendly: The templates are intuitive and easy to navigate, making them accessible to all Excel users.
• Paid Templates: Templates come with a price tag, making them less appealing if budget is a constraint.
• Limited Variety: Compared to other platforms, the selection is more limited and focuses mainly on practicality and usability.
• Design Aesthetics: They may lack aesthetic appeal; thus, additional work may be needed for presentation purposes.

13. Summary

13.1 overall comparison table, 13.2 recommended template site based on various needs.

For users who require a free and easy-to-use solution, Vertex42 Excel Project Management Templates would be a good option, boasting a wide range of free and user-friendly templates. Those who operate often within the Microsoft software ecosystem might find Microsoft Project Tracker Templates to be the most suitable. For professionals dealing with complex and large-scale projects, Indzara’s detailed and comprehensive templates are recommended. Lastly, for users in need of a single, comprehensive, and highly adaptable project management solution, the HubSpot Excel Project Management Template is ideal.

14. Conclusion

14.1 final thoughts and takeaways for choosing an excel project management template site.

Selecting an appropriate Excel Project Management Template Site relies heavily on the unique requirements of the individual or organization. The summarizing comparison has illustrated the various upsides and downsides of each platform, providing an advisory framework for the decision-making process.

Consider the nature and complexity of your project, ease of use, and any budgetary constraints while making your choice. Also, evaluate the level of support and customizability provided, as well as compatibility with other software and tools in use. Remember, the ultimate goal is efficient task tracking and resource management, and effective communication.

In conclusion, the right Excel Project Management Template Site should aid in streamlining project workflow and boosting productivity, and most importantly, allows project managers to concentrate on crucial decision-making and implementation.

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Task List Templates

The Excel task list templates on this page demonstrate some of the many ways that you can track tasks using a spreadsheet, from simple to do lists to more advanced Gantt charts. These templates demonstrate using icon sets to display priorities, using conditional formatting to display a progress bar, creating a gantt using using a stacked bar chart, and using a check mark to cross out tasks when they've been completed.

Tell me what you think about these templates: Leave a comment on the related blog article " Add Cool Features to Your To Do Lists ."

This Page (contents):

• Project Task List
• Simple Task Tracker
• Task List with Gantt Chart

Task Checklist Template

Printable task list templates, project task list template.

License : Private Use (not for distribution or resale)

Description

This spreadsheet demonstrates the use of conditional formatting to highlight the Priority column, to add a progress bar to the % Complete column, and to create a functioning check box via data validation. It also includes columns for entering budget and hours spent on each task.

Update 9/23/2019: Added the Google Sheets version - replaced the icon sets with in-cell checkboxes. Google Sheets does not yet have in-cell data bars (for the % Complete column).

Simple Task Tracker Template

This task tracker template demonstrates the use of custom icon sets via conditional formatting to show a priority rating of 1-4 with different color circles. It uses a similar technique for the checkbox in the Done column.

Project Task List with Gantt Chart

A gantt chart can be created from a task list using a stacked bar chart in Excel. This is a functional template that can be used for real project management tasks, but the primary purpose is to demonstrate how the data table is set up to create the gantt chart.

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. It also uses conditional formatting to change fonts to a gray strike-through when the checkbox is checked.

► How to Insert a Check Mark in Excel (on youtube)!

More Templates For Tracking Tasks

• How to Use Conditional Formatting in Excel at vertex42.com
• Create a Drop Down List in Excel at vertex42.com

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Related templates.

Project Management

7 Free Resource Planning Templates For Project Teams

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?

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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 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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9 Best Free Project Tracker Template for Excel, Google Sheets, Stackby 2024

Are you looking for project tracker database templates to manage your project effortless, Check out free Stackby Project Tracker Templates Now!!

With the help of the Project Tracker template , you can stay on course, track your projects , and conquer dynamic peaks. We know that it takes a lot of dedication and preparation for project management and project preparation. Stackby provides you with a range of Project Tracker Templates that are easily customizable and help teams track everything seamlessly.

What is the Project Tracker Template?

Project tracker template refers to a seamless management of organizing, planning, and customizing your project data in a better way. These templates save you the time and effort of manually managing the data.

With the help of pre-built customizable templates , you can manage your projects efficiently. Whether you are willing to get a template for your business startup or need to manage your enterprise work, a project tracker template will help you keep all the information in one place.

Best 5 Features to Need in Project Tracker Template

1. Multiple Views

The template must have multiple views to help managers visualize the timeline, workflow , and task productively .

2. Reporting & Insights

Reliable reporting features and insights are essential in project tracker templates. So make sure you choose the one that has these features to make your tracking more reliable.

3. Custom Fields

With the help of custom fields managers can access all the information quickly and save time. It can help you sort and filter your work in a much more effective way.

4. Intuitive

The template should be easy to navigate without any complex features or coding so that you can manage your work freely. It should be easy to share and collaborate.

5. Integration

Integrations make your template more valuable. If you are constantly changing tabs then this feature is a must-have for your easy management.

9 Free Project Tracker Template for your business

1. project tracker template for project management.

Stackby is here to assist you with its Project Tracker Template . You can confidently manage all of your projects to be completed on schedule and up to the client's standards when you use our specially designed Project Tracker Template.

You will be able to manage all of your projects in one location using Stackby's Project Tracker Template.

You can make notes on every endeavor to have a deeper comprehension, verify the category (Branding, Digital, Content, etc.) to which each project belongs, and keep track of the clients who are assigned each task. To improve accountability, you can give each project a team leader. To make the project files easily accessible to all teams you can attach them to the project tracker template.

2. GAP Analysis Template for Project Management

A gap analysis template is used to compare a current state with a future state. It is a pathway towards clear improvements of a project. This involves documenting, determining, and improving the gaps between the requirements and capabilities.

Stackby’s Gap analysis template helps you identify the gaps between optimized allocation and integration of resources improving the progress of your project.

3. Task List Template for Project Management

For all of your task list needs , Stackby provides you an ideal template with customizable features. Your project won't be causing you to lose sleep anymore with our Easy Task Lists Template.

Its user-friendly design and customizable tasks list allows you to keep an eye on every aspect without putting any extra effort. With the help of Stackby's Task Tracker, you can divide your job into smaller, more doable tasks, and keep a list of them in one location.

You can assign each assignment to a team member by their specialty and keep track of how many assignments have been given to each person. This will assist you in determining whether a specific member has received an excessive amount or insufficient responsibility.

4. Project Schedule Template for Project Management

With Stackby's Project Schedule Template , you can exchange information, use it to convey tasks, and make sure the person in charge of the project has access to all project information. You can check whether the projects are ongoing, completed, or canceled by looking at the status column. This would enable the individual examining the template to have a comprehensive understanding of the state of all ongoing projects inside the organization, enabling them to make appropriate decisions and assign staff and resources.

Our template has a start and finish date column that shows you the exact start and end dates of each project. This makes it easier to monitor the duration of a project and its completion date.

5. Business Budget Template for Project Management

Stackby has a customizable Business Budget Template for managing your projects . Using this user-friendly company budget template, you can easily manage your monthly costs and business budget.

You can make a budget of all the lists and assets yet keep an eye on whether they are managed properly or not. The template can be used by businesses of every size.

6. To-do-List Template for Project Management

You can simply complete the tasks on your to-do list and go over each one at your convenience when you use Stackby's to-do list template . With this template, you can create a to-do list and use a unified platform to monitor every task.

Stackby’s template helps you keep track of each task's priority level (High, Medium, Low) and observe whether a certain task has been finished or not. You can also have a look at each task's difficulty rating (Difficult, Moderate, Easy).

It even helps you to sort your duties according to their categories: Academic, Long-Term Goal, Desire, Job, and Hobby. Lastly, you can have a record of the anticipated completion date for each work as well as its present state including any attachments with the template.

7. Risk Assessment Template for Project Management

A firm may face a variety of risks, and it can become too much to handle and control them all on an individual basis. Stackby’s risk assessment template is the ideal answer for this. With this single template, you can keep track of details such as the kind of risk you may encounter, who will be in charge of it, what can be done, what will be needed, etc. With the help of the Risk Assessment Template , you may have all the information about what, who, and when is needed to support risk management accessible in one place.

Use Stackby Free Risk Register Template

8. Project Planning Template for Project Management

Stackby's project planning template possesses all the information required regarding the duties involved in the project and the individuals assigned to each task. Any information can be found by simply typing a search query into the search field. With the help of this template, you can see the deadline and ensure that everyone is on schedule.

Along with attachments and some more features, you can arrange the stack based on the task, priority, status, team, start date, and deadline. The stack may be updated anywhere, at any time with its intuitive use. Accessibility will be facilitated by having all project information in one location, and the project's execution will proceed according to schedule.

Managers can get transparency into their teams process with the help of these templates. Each template has pre-built customizable templates , features such as multiple views , integrations , collaboration , etc. yet offers valuable tools to organize, manage and track your projects. The template makes your tracking easy and secure. By using this template you can streamline your workflow and improve communication with collaborators.

Why wait? Use Stackby's Project Tracker Templates today to make your work easy.

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15 Excel Spreadsheet Templates for Tracking Tasks, Costs and Time

Still using spreadsheets to manage your projects? Revolutionize your project management with ProjectManager. Plan projects, manage resources and track progress with powerful features the whole team can use.

Excel spreadsheet templates are a great tool to track the costs, time and performance of your team. 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 Excel gives you an overview of how you’re doing on your work. This information is vital to know if you’re overspending or running behind on your schedule.

ProjectManager’s free dashboard template has several widgets that monitor metrics in your work. For example, there’s a color-coded task graph that shows if your tasks are complete, in progress, not started or overdue. There’s also a workload chart for managing teams and making sure their workload is balanced.

There’s another task graph that measures the duration of the tasks, which is helpful in seeing what’s getting done on time and what’s taking too long. Finally, there’s a cost bar chart to help you stay on budget.

This Excel dashboard template can manage your work, but it’s a static document that must be updated manually. Project tracking software automates that process. ProjectManager is better than Excel spreadsheet templates as it helps to accumulate real-time data, crunch the numbers and display it. Get started with ProjectManager free today.

Not all project management software offers the same project dashboards. ProjectManager’s project dashboard comes equipped with the right project management features to help you keep track of time, tasks, costs and more.

2. Task Tracker Template

ProjectManager’s free task tracker for Excel template can organize and keep track of your work. It’s similar to a to-do list, where you just need to add the work and manage it. Having a task list is the first step to controlling your work.

This task tracker spreadsheet captures the details of your work. Add the name of the task and include dependent tasks. You can assign it to yourself or someone on your team.

Next, set the priority and when you expect to finish. Finally, there’s a column to mark its status, which is essential to track your work. It has everything you need to track your tasks at a basic level with an Excel spreadsheet.

3. Budget Spreadsheet for Cost Tracking

Managing costs in your work is as important as meeting deadlines. ProjectManager’s free budget template for Excel helps you keep to your budget by tracking your financial details on one spreadsheet.

Tasks cost money, and the budget defines the costs of the resources you’ll employ to deliver those tasks to completion. First, the spreadsheet template has a numbered list that corresponds to your work breakdown structure (WBS) . Then, there are labor costs including planned vs. actual hours plus the cost per hour. Materials are broken down by units and cost per unit.

There’s also room for other line items on your budget, which include travel, equipment, fixed and miscellaneous costs. Finally, there are columns to collect the budgeted and actual cost for each line item, then a balance showing if the line item is above or under budget.

Related: How to Track Project Expenses

4. Timeline Template

ProjectManager’s free timeline template in Excel is perfect for scheduling your project from start to finish in Excel. It’s a way to view all your tasks and keep on schedule. You can even add milestones!

To get started with this free timeline template, you first need to list your tasks and give them a name. Each task must have a start date and an end date, plus the time you think it’ll take to complete.

You add all that data to the left side of the template, which is a normal tracking spreadsheet. Then, on the right, you’ll see the timeline that lays out your tasks as horizontal bars across a timeline. It’s easy to see how long it’ll take to complete each task.

Excel spreadsheet templates are good for beginners, but if you want to take your planning even further, upgrade to online software that lets you build timelines in minutes. ProjectManager has online project timelines that update instantly as the team collaborates on tasks. Track costs, workload, planned vs actual progress and more. Get started for free.

5. Action Plan Spreadsheet

Managing work means outlining the steps you must complete to achieve your goals. Use ProjectManager’s free action plan spreadsheet for Excel to track tasks and detail the strategy you’ll use to complete your work on time and within budget.

We’ve broken up this action plan template into three sections. The first is the action steps, which note the priority and list tasks, phases and assignments. There’s also space to note the status of your tasks and track their progress.

Section two of this Excel spreadsheet template is a timeline, with start and due dates, including planned hours. Finally, section three focuses on resources; for example, which department is responsible for which task, what materials are needed and what are the resource costs?

6. Status Report Template

Knowing where you are at any particular point in the project life cycle is how you manage time and costs. Our free status report template is a great tool to track your progress and stay on schedule.

This free status report template is made up of five sections: project information, project status summary, project health, risk management overview and a conclusion that includes recommendations for the future.

A status report is a cornerstone of tracking your work. It’s used in project management and work management alike because it gives managers a picture of their planned vs actual progress. It’s also a powerful tool when presenting to stakeholders.

7. Risk Tracking Spreadsheet

No matter how well-planned your work is, there are unknowns that can impact your progress. Use ProjectManager’s free risk register spreadsheet to help you plan for risks in your work.

This free risk register for Excel has columns to ID the risk to make it easier to track. There’s a column to describe the risk and explain how it’ll impact the work you’re doing if it goes from a risk to an actual issue .

For each risk you identify on the template, you can add a risk response, which is the response you’ll take if the risk actualizes. You can also note the risk level. Then, if you’re working in a team, you can assign the risk so that the team member is responsible for identifying and rectifying it.

8. Change Tracking Spreadsheet

Download ProjectManager’s free change tracking spreadsheet for Microsoft Excel to manage change when it impacts your work management. It’ll help you control change so it doesn’t make you spend too much overtime or incur additional costs.

A change log Excel spreadsheet is one of the most important Microsoft Excel templates we offer. It’s a spreadsheet template that captures change when it happens. You can number changes for better tracking and note when the change first came up and who discovered or requested it.

You can then prioritize the change, and you or a team member can take ownership to see it through to completion. The Excel spreadsheet tracks the change from discovery to recovery and ensures that no change order is lost in the cracks.

9. Time Tracking Spreadsheet

There’s no better template to track the time you spend on your tasks than with ProjectManager’s free time tracking spreadsheet . This timesheet is great for you or team members to record the amount of time spent on work.

This timesheet Excel spreadsheet template has space for your name or the name of the employee, their department, supervisor and hourly rate. The template collects their hours, such as their start time and end time for their workday. There’s even a place to add overtime and lunch.

Then, the total for the week is added and multiplied by the pay rate to show the total amount the employee is owed. Finally, there’s a line for the employee to sign and the supervisor to look it over and sign it, if accurate.

10. Multiple Project Tracking Template

When you’re managing a portfolio or program, you have to monitor all your projects in one place to make insightful decisions as to how to allocate resources. Using our free multiple-project tracking template for Excel gives you a high-level overview of every project for which you’re responsible.

Once you download the free Excel template, you’ll find it’s formatted with three projects, one stacked on top of the other. You can copy and paste to add as many projects as needed. You can also add columns if you need to track something not already on the template.

Each project spreadsheet allows you to list all the project tasks by name and description, as well as if they’re dependent on another task. There’s space to add who’s assigned to each task. Each task has a start and planned end date, and planned cost, with an actual end date and actual cost to help you track the project.

11. Issue Tracking Template

Issues are problems that arise while executing your project. These issues must be quickly identified and resolved to keep the project on schedule and within its budget. With our free issue-tracking template for Excel , you have the tools to monitor the progress of resolving those issues.

The free template is ideal to capture risks, which become issues if they in fact show up in your project. When they do, you already have them described in the template and what their potential impact is. Next, you can define its priority, from low to critical, which helps you determine which risks need your immediate attention.

There’s also a place to note the date the issue first was discovered and when it was closed, as well as the team member who’s responsible for resolving it. Finally, the free template states the department that’s handling the issue and there’s a column to note its status when tracking the issue.

12. To-Do List Template

Everyone has work to do, and getting that work done efficiently requires task management. At its most basic, that means having a list of your tasks. It’s the first step to getting organized. That’s where our free to-do list for Excel comes in handy.

A to-do list is a simple but highly effective tool. Simply list the tasks you’ve been assigned or you can even use it for household chores. Next, you’ll want to give each task a start and due date. This is the duration or timeframe in which you want the work completed.

Now, you’ll want to track your progress. The free to-do list template shows the percentage complete for each task. It’s a satisfying feeling to see the cell move from 25 percent to 100 percent. Then there’s a column to note the progress. Before you know it, your work is done.

13. Inventory Template

If you’re a manufacturer or have a company with which you carry stock that you need to run your business, then you need our free inventory template for Excel . Use it to prevent production delays by keeping track of what you’re warehousing.

Use this free template to record the level of your inventory and track its turnover. First, each line is numbered to make it easier to find the item you want. Then the item is listed and described, with the unit price noted and the quantity you have in stock.

Now you can calculate the inventory price, which is the unit price multiplied by the number in stock. This Excel spreadsheet template does this automatically. There’s a column to note whether you need to reorder, what level to reorder, how long it takes to restock and what that reorder quantity should be.

14. Progress Report Template

Project reports are essential for a number of reasons. One, they help you monitor your progress and performance, and two, they’re a great tool for keeping stakeholders updated. Our free progress report template for Word captures an overview of the activities and tasks that occurred over a specific period.

The free progress report is broken up into a number of different sections. There’s a summary, which provides a quick overview of what’s to follow, including pertinent data, such as the project scope, schedule, cost and risk for the time period being reported on.

Then there’s a section in this Excel spreadsheet template that goes over the tasks that have been executed over a period of time covered in the report. There’s space to note the status of tasks that aren’t yet completed and a section to list issues, talk about the budget and more. It’s a great way to capture a snapshot of the project in time.

15. Work Schedule Template

Need help managing your human resources or operations planning? Check out our free work schedule template for Excel . This free template lists all your employees and their working hours, including responsibilities, over a day, week or month.

Use the work schedule template to keep your employees productive and help with tracking your resource utilization and scheduling. You can also use it to prioritize tasks and balance your team’s workload, which leads to greater productivity and happier employees.

Our free spreadsheet template has a weekly and monthly work schedule. Both list your employees, their tasks, which project they’re working on and then their hours, either day-by-day or over the course of a month. This will help most organizations and even long-term projects.

Use ProjectManager to Track Time, Costs and Tasks Better Than Excel

Templates and Excel spreadsheets for tracking are great, but as noted, they can only do so much. ProjectManager is online work management software that connects everyone, no matter where they work, what time, department or skill level. It does so in real-time to ensure that everyone is collaborating and working on the most recent data.

Automatically Fill Out Timesheets

Take timesheets, for example. Instead of having your employee fill out the timesheet, ProjectManager’s timesheets autofill their tasks and update the time they’ve spent. This streamlines payroll but also offers a window into tracking the time they spend on their tasks. That way, you know if they’re meeting their quota. Once submitted, timesheets are locked and secure.

Work the Way That Suits You

Multiple project views allow everyone on the team to work how they want. Managers can plan ahead on Gantt charts that show all their tasks on a timeline. The duration bar that connects each task’s start and end dates automatically shows progress based on how much of it is shaded. Teams can use task lists, kanban boards or calendars if they prefer, all of which are updated and show progress. No tool is more flexible for planning and tracking work.

Generate One-Click Reports in Seconds

Tracking time, costs and more is easy with ProjectManager’s one-click reports. Get status reports, reports on tasks, timesheets, expenses and more. These reports take complicated data and turn it into insightful and easy-to-read reports to monitor progress and more. Reports can also be filtered to see only the data you want and then shared to keep stakeholders updated.

ProjectManager is award-winning project management software for teams. Our real-time tool tracks time, costs and more to ensure you’re always on schedule and never spending over your budget. Join the 35,000+ people using our software to track tasks, cost and time. Get started with ProjectManager free today.

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Start planning your projects.

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..

Keep your college toolbox stocked with easy-to-use templates

Work smarter with higher-ed helpers from our college tools collection. Presentations are on point from start to finish when you start your project using a designer-created template; you'll be sure to catch and keep your professor's attention. Staying on track semester after semester takes work, but that work gets a little easier when you take control of your scheduling, list making, and planning by using trackers and planners that bring you joy. Learning good habits in college will serve you well into your professional life after graduation, so don't reinvent the wheel—use what is known to work!

View, manage, and install add-ins for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

When you enable an add-in, it adds custom commands and new features to Microsoft 365 programs that help increase your productivity. Because add-ins can be used by attackers to do harm to your computer, you can use add-in security settings to help protect yourself.

Note:  This article only applies to Microsoft 365 applications running on Windows.

View installed add-ins

You can directly install add-ins from this page or select  More Add-ins  to explore.

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to view the details for and right-click to select  Add-in details  option.

Click a heading below for more information .  

Add-in categories explained

Active Application Add-ins      Add-ins registered and currently running on your Microsoft 365 program.

Inactive Application Add-ins      These are present on your computer but not currently loaded. For example, XML schemas are active when the document that refers to them is open. Another example is the COM add-in: if a COM add-in is selected, the add-in is active. If the check box is cleared, the add-in is inactive.

Document Related Add-ins      Template files referred to by open documents.

Disabled Application Add-ins     These add-ins are automatically disabled because they are causing Microsoft 365 programs to crash.

Add-in      The title of the add-in.

Publisher      The software developer or organization responsible for creating the add-in.

Compatibility      Look here for any compatibility issues.

Location      This file path indicates where the add-in is installed on your computer.

Description This text explains the add-in function.

Note:  Microsoft Outlook has one add-in option in the Trust Center: Apply macro security settings to installed add-ins . InfoPath has no security settings for add-ins.

Permanently disable or remove an add-in

To disable or remove an add-in follow these steps:

Select  File > Get Add-ins . Alternatively, you can select  Home > Add-ins .

In the Office Add-ins dialog, select  My Add-ins  tab.

Select an add-in you want to remove and right click to select  Remove  option.

View or change add-in settings

You can see and change add-in settings in the Trust Center, descriptions of which are in the following section. Add-in security settings may have been determined by your organization so not all options may be available to change.

Select  File  >  Get Add-ins .

Select  More Add-ins > Manage My Add-ins.

Select  Trust Center  >  Trust Center Settings  >  Add-ins.

Check or uncheck the boxes you want.

Add-in settings explained

Require Application Add-ins to be signed by Trusted Publisher      Check this box to have the Trust Center check that the add-in uses a publisher's trusted signature. If the publisher's signature hasn’t been trusted, the Microsoft 365 program doesn’t load the add-in, and the Trust Bar displays a notification that the add-in has been disabled.

Disable notification for unsigned add-ins (code will remain disabled)      When you check the Require Application Extensions to be signed by Trusted Publisher box, this option is no longer grayed out. Add-ins signed by a trusted publisher are enabled, but unsigned add-ins are disabled.

Disable all Application Add-ins (may impair functionality)      Check this box if you don't trust any add-ins. All add-ins are disabled without any notification, and the other add-in boxes are grayed out.

Note:  This setting takes effect after you exit and restart your Microsoft 365 program.

While working with add-ins, you may need to learn more about digital signatures and certificates , which authenticate an add-in, and trusted publishers , the software developers who often create add-ins.

Manage and install add-ins

Use the following instruction to manage and install add-ins.

To install a new add-in:

You can directly install popular add-ins on the page or go to More Add-ins  to explore. 

Select the add-in and select  Add . Or browse by selecting  Store  tab in the Office add-in dialog to find other add-ins to install and select Add for that add-in.

To manage your add-ins:

Select  File > Get Add-ins and from the bottom, select More Add-ins.  Or select  Home  >  Add-ins > More add-ins.

In the Office dialog, select My Add-ins tab. If you are not able to see your add-ins, select  Refresh to reload your add-ins.

Select  Manage My Add-in  to manage and select  Upload to browse and add an add-in from your device.

How to cancel a purchased add-in

If you've subscribed to an add-in through the Microsoft 365 Store that you don't want to continue, you can cancel that subscription.

Open the Microsoft 365 application and go to the Home  tab of the ribbon.

Select  Add-ins  and then select  More Add-ins > My Add-ins tab   to view your existing add-ins.

Select the app you want to cancel and select  Manage My Add-ins .

Under the Payment and Billing section choose Cancel Subscription .

Select  OK and then Continue .

Once that's complete you should see a message that says "You have cancelled your app subscription" in the comments field of your apps list.

Why is my add-in crashing?

Some add-ins might not be compatible with your organization's IT department policies. If that is the case with add-ins recently installed on your Microsoft 365 program, Data Execution Prevention (DEP) will disable the add-in and the program might crash.

Learn more about DEP

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Outlook

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Project

Taking linked notes

If you're looking for Help on linking notes in OneNote to a Word or PowerPoint document, see Take linked notes .

Excel Windows Add-ins

If you're looking for Help on specific Excel Add-ins, such as Solver or Inquire, see Help for Excel for Windows add-ins .

If you're looking for additional help with Excel add-ins using the COM Add-ins dialog box, see Add or remove add-ins in Excel .

Get a Microsoft 365 Add-in for Excel

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