Using effective project planning tools and a thorough and well-written statement of work (SOW) will set you up to successfully lead a project over the finish line on schedule and within budget.

What Is a Statement of Work (SOW)?

The statement of work (SOW) is a legally binding document that captures and defines all the work management aspects of your project. You’ll note the activities, deliverables and timetable for the project. It’s an extremely detailed work contract that defines the terms and conditions agreed upon between parties and lays the groundwork for the project plan.

The statement of work (SOW) is one of the first documents you’ll create to lay out the entire landscape of the project before you create a project plan and execute it. Because of the great amount of detail required, the prospect of writing one can be daunting. Let’s break it down into more digestible parts. Your statement of work will be much more detailed than your job estimate, which is a simpler document that outlines the work that’ll be performed and the costs associated with it.

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When you’re writing a statement of work, it can help to use a statement of work template because of the various aspects of the project that it must capture. Most statement-of-work templates include things such as a glossary of terms defining what you’re referencing in the SOW. There will be a place for you to write the statement of purpose as well as administrative information. If you like our statement of work template, you can also try our free project management templates to manage your projects.

What Is the Purpose of a Statement of Work (SOW)?

As noted, the statement of work is a detailed overview of the project scope. It’s also a way to share the project requirements, acceptance criteria and payment terms with those who are working on the project, whether they’re collaborating or are contracted to work on the project. This includes stakeholders like vendors and contractors who are bidding to work on the project.

An SOW contract is also helpful to project managers as it provides a structure on which the project plan can be built. The statement of work helps to avoid conflicts in the project. With detail and clarity, the SOW helps keep everyone who’s involved in the project on the same page and works to leave confusion to a minimum.

When building your schedule, it helps to use project management software. It can help organize your tasks and resources, as it’s critical to make an accurate schedule at this stage in the project. Project management software can also help you to create a work breakdown structure (WBS) to zoom into your project scope and identify your project’s activities, deliverables and milestones.

ProjectManager can organize the information you’re gathering in our list view. But our tool does more than make a fancy to-do list. Choose between online Gantt charts, kanban boards, project calendars and other project management views to plan, schedule and track your projects. Our real-time software tracks your progress and the list shows the percentage complete for each task. See for yourself by taking our free 30-day trial.

When to Use a Statement of Work

A statement of work should be used at the start of any project that requires clear deliverables, defined responsibilities and a formal agreement between stakeholders. In the project management industry, it’s especially important for projects involving external vendors, multiple teams or complex tasks, where ambiguity can lead to delays, budget overruns or disputes.

A SOW is also useful when projects have strict timelines, regulatory requirements or fixed budgets, as it sets expectations and defines scope upfront. Additionally, it serves as a reference point throughout execution, helping manage changes, prevent scope creep and ensure accountability across all parties.

Statement of Work vs. Scope of Work

While they sound the same, a statement of work isn’t a scope of work. The statement of work, as we’ve shown, is a formal document that details the goals of the project.

The scope of work is part of the larger statement of work. In it, the way the project team will deliver the outcomes laid out in the SOW is described, so the scope of work is a much shorter project document.

What Does SOW Stand for In Business and Project Management?

Now that we’ve cleared the difference between a statement of work and scope of work, it’s important to note that the SOW acronym stands for statement of work and not scope of work, which is a component of the SOW. Similarly, the terms SOW contract, SOW document and SOW agreement also refer to statements of work in project management and business.

Statement of Work Template

Templates make everything a little bit easier. Jump-start your statement of work document with our free SOW template for Word. It helps you outline your project background, schedule, deliverables, communication plan and more. Download your free copy today.

Types of Statement of Work

An SOW can be broken down into three main categories, which can be defined as follows.

• Design/detail SOW: When you’re writing this SOW, you’re conveying to the supplier how you want the work done. What are the buyer requirements that’ll control the supplier’s process? You can use a requirements gathering template to ensure you gather them all. These project requirements can run the gamut from quality acceptance criteria and payment terms to the measurement of materials. In this SOW, it’s the buyer who’s being held responsible for the performance, as he’s the one directing the project course.
• Level of effort/time and materials/unit rate SOW: This SOW agreement is an almost universal version and it can apply to most projects. It defines the level of effort as well as the materials and cost per unit. It tends to find use in short-term contracts.
• Performance-based SOW: This is the preferred SOW of project managers as it focuses on the purpose of the project, the resources and the quality level expected of the deliverables. It does not, however, explain how the work is supposed to get done. This allows a great deal of autonomy in how to get to an outcome without requiring a specific process.

How to Write a Statement of Work (SOW)

A statement of work is a legally binding agreement between a client and a vendor that describes the terms and conditions for the execution of a project’s scope of work. There’s a lot of information to describe in the SOW. You can create this on your own if you want, but using project management tools to make sure nothing is left out will prove helpful. You only have one chance to create your SOW document and you want it done right.

Here’s an overview of the steps you’ll need to follow to write your statement of work:

1. Create a brief introduction for your project
2. Define the purpose of your project
3. Define your project scope
4. Create a work breakdown structure to identify your project tasks, milestones and deliverables
5. Create a project schedule
6. Define project requirements and acceptance criteria
7. Define payment terms and conditions

In terms of writing the statement of work, you’ll want to be specific with this project document. You want to clarify the terms used to make them universally understood and clearly define who’s going to do what and by what time those tasks must be completed. This avoids confusion later in the project when you can’t afford miscommunications or disputes.

Besides writing clearly, include visuals in the SOW to help focus the lens on various project aspects. Including visuals, be they project charts, graphs or other illustrations to help you clarify the project, will make the SOW agreement more digestible.

After all the work you’ve done to detail the specifics of the project, you don’t want to neglect the final, crucial step — getting the work signed off. You can’t proceed if you don’t have the authority to do so. Or, more accurately, you can, but it might cost you the success of the project. Make sure that those in authority have signed off on the statement of work.

What Should Be Included in a Statement of Work (SOW)?

There are as many parts in a statement of work as there are in a project, so it’s advisable to use a project management information system to help you manage its components. If you start by focusing on the parts, you can work yourself up to the whole. For a full understanding of an SOW, first, note the major aspects of the project it addresses.

1. Project Background

Project background is a concise summary of the circumstances, conditions and prior decisions that led to the initiation of the project. It describes the situation that exists before work begins, including relevant history, business context and triggering events, without proposing solutions or commitments.

In a statement of work, the project background establishes shared context between the parties, explains why the engagement exists and provides a factual foundation for interpreting scope, objectives, assumptions and contractual obligations that follow, reducing ambiguity and misalignment during execution.

2. Purpose Statement

Start with the big question: why are you initiating this project? What’s the purpose of the project? Create a purpose statement to lead this section and provide a thorough answer to these questions, such as what are the project objectives, deliverables and return on investment?

3. Project Goals and Objectives

Project goals and objectives define the desired outcomes and specific results a project is expected to achieve within a statement of work. Goals describe the broader purpose and direction of the project, while objectives translate those goals into measurable, actionable targets. Together, they establish a clear framework for decision-making, align stakeholder expectations and provide criteria for evaluating performance, progress and successful project completion.

4. Scope of Work

What work needs to be done in the project? Note it in the scope of work, including what hardware and software will be necessary. What’s the process you’ll use to complete the work defined in your project scope? This includes outcomes, time involved and even general steps it’ll take to achieve that. You’ll need to create a project scope statement to capture the information about your project scope.

• Project tasks: Specific activities required to complete the work outlined in a statement of work. They break the project scope into manageable units, defining what actions must be performed, by whom and often within what timeframe. Defined tasks help ensure accountability, support accurate scheduling and cost estimates and provide a structured path for executing the scope.
• Project task dependencies: Describe the relationships between tasks, identifying which activities must be completed before others can begin. In an SOW, documenting dependencies clarifies workflow, sequencing and timing constraints. This helps set realistic schedules, anticipate potential delays and ensure that interrelated tasks are coordinated effectively to support smooth project execution.
• Roles and responsibilities: Define who is accountable for specific tasks, decisions and deliverables within a statement of work. This section clarifies expectations for project sponsors, managers, team members and external parties. Clearly assigning responsibilities reduces confusion, prevents overlap or gaps in ownership and supports efficient collaboration and accountability throughout the project lifecycle.
• Project deliverables: Tangible or measurable outputs the project is expected to produce, as defined in the statement of work. They specify what will be delivered, in what format and often to what standard. Defined deliverables provide a basis for acceptance, performance measurement and payment.
• Project milestones: Key points or events that mark significant progress or achievements within a project. In a statement of work, milestones help structure the timeline, track progress and align stakeholders on critical phases. They are often tied to reviews, approvals or payments and provide clear checkpoints for measuring advancement toward project completion.
• Project exclusions: Identify tasks, deliverables or responsibilities that are intentionally outside the project’s scope. In a statement of work, stating exclusions helps prevent misunderstandings and scope creep. By defining what is not included, stakeholders can align expectations and reduce the risk of disputes.

Related: Project Scope Template

Use project management software to monitor your progress and ensure you’re meeting your milestones. ProjectManager has a real-time dashboard that’s built into the tool, unlike other software that makes you build your own. We not only have a dashboard embedded but it automatically calculates and displays the metrics in easy-to-read charts and graphs. Keep up with more than milestones, but also project variance, costs and more.

5. Work Schedule

The work schedule defines when contracted work will be performed across the engagement period for the statement of work. It identifies key dates, phases, milestones, review points and the overall performance window at a high level.

The work schedule establishes timing expectations and phase relationships, supports coordination between parties and provides a baseline for tracking progress, evaluating schedule changes and assessing timing impacts on costs, resources and deliverable acceptance throughout the duration of the agreement.

6. Project Requirements

Project requirements establish the mandatory conditions that must be satisfied for the work to proceed, be reviewed and be accepted. They specify obligations related to communication, approvals, reporting, access, compliance, quality and documentation that govern how the parties interact during delivery.

• Communication and reporting requirements: Define how progress is communicated, including reporting frequency, formats, meetings and points of contact, ensuring visibility, alignment and timely issue identification throughout the engagement.
• Review, approval and decision requirements: Specify required reviews, approval authorities and response timelines that govern deliverable evaluation, change authorization and decision-making, preventing delays and ambiguity during execution.
• Acceptance criteria and validation requirements: Establish acceptance criteria and processes for confirming deliverables meet agreed standards, including testing, inspections and formal sign-off, forming the basis for acceptance and payment.
• Compliance, quality and documentation requirements: Define applicable laws, standards, quality benchmarks and documentation obligations that must be met to ensure contractual, regulatory and operational compliance throughout delivery.

7. Project Assumptions

Project assumptions are conditions or factors that are accepted as true for planning purposes, even though they may not be fully verified. In a statement of work, documenting assumptions provides context for scope, timelines and cost estimates. They help align stakeholder expectations, identify potential risks and establish a baseline for decision-making if conditions change during project execution.

8. Project Constraints

Project constraints are the limitations or restrictions that affect how a project is planned and executed, such as budget, schedule, resources, or regulatory requirements. In a statement of work, defining these constraints sets realistic expectations and establishes boundaries for delivery. This information guides planning decisions, supports risk management and helps ensure the project remains achievable within agreed-upon limits.

9. Quality Assurance Guidelines

Quality assurance guidelines define the standards, processes and criteria used to ensure project work meets required levels of quality and performance. In a statement of work, these guidelines establish how quality will be measured, reviewed and maintained throughout execution. They help align expectations, support consistent results, reduce rework and provide a clear basis for evaluating deliverables against agreed-upon quality standards.

10. Quality Control Procedures

Quality control procedures are the specific methods and activities used to inspect, test and verify that project deliverables meet defined quality requirements. In a statement of work, these procedures outline how quality will be checked, who is responsible and when reviews will occur. They support consistent evaluation, early detection of defects and acceptance of deliverables that meet agreed-upon standards.

11. Project Success Criteria

Quality control procedures are the specific inspection, testing and verification activities used to confirm that project deliverables meet defined quality standards. In a statement of work, documenting these procedures clarifies how outputs will be reviewed, who is responsible for checks and when evaluations occur. This ensures consistent quality, supports acceptance decisions and reduces defects, rework and disputes during project execution.

12. Change Management Approach

A change management approach defines the formal process for requesting, evaluating, approving and implementing changes to the project scope, schedule, or cost. In a statement of work, it establishes how changes will be documented, who has approval authority and how impacts will be assessed. This approach helps control scope creep, maintain alignment with project objectives and ensure changes are managed consistently and transparently.

13. Payment Terms

If the project budget has been created, then you can list the payments related to the project and how they’ll be delivered: upfront, over time or after completion. For example, you can pay after the completion of a milestone or on a fixed schedule, whichever is more financially feasible.

14. Other

There will be other parts of the project that aren’t suited to the above categories, and this is the place where you can add them so that everything is covered. For example, are there security issues, restrictions around hardware or software, travel pay, post-project support, etc?

Related: Project Task Tracking Template

Statement of Work Example

We’ve been talking a lot about a statement of work, but a statement of work example can help make the subject more understandable. Let’s take a look at what a statement of work sample would look like in a real-life scenario.

This statement of work defines the terms, scope and expectations for the construction of a new 12,000-square-foot light industrial warehouse expansion. The document establishes contractual alignment between the client and contractor by clearly defining objectives, scope boundaries, deliverables and responsibilities before the start of physical work.

Project Background

The client operates a growing regional distribution business and has outgrown its existing warehouse capacity. Increased inventory volumes and operational throughput have created space constraints that limit efficiency and future growth. This project involves constructing a warehouse expansion adjacent to the existing facility to support increased storage capacity, improve logistics flow and meet applicable zoning and building regulations.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this statement of work is to formally document the construction services to be provided for the warehouse expansion project. It defines what work is included, how deliverables will be produced, who is responsible for execution and what activities fall outside the agreed scope, serving as the baseline for performance measurement and change control.

Project Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of the project is to deliver a fully operational warehouse expansion that meets structural, safety and regulatory requirements within the agreed schedule and budget. Supporting objectives focus on quality execution, coordination among trades and minimizing disruption to existing warehouse operations.

Scope of Work

The scope of work defines the construction tasks required to deliver the warehouse expansion, including dependencies, deliverables, assigned responsibilities and explicit exclusions. Any work not expressly included in this section is considered outside the scope and subject to formal change control.

Work Schedule

The work schedule outlines the planned sequencing and duration of major project phases. Dates are based on the notice to proceed and assume timely approvals and site access. The schedule establishes baseline expectations for progress tracking and milestone coordination.

Project Requirements

Project requirements define the technical, regulatory and performance standards that must be met for deliverables to be accepted. These requirements establish objective criteria for compliance, inspection and final approval.

Project Assumptions

Project assumptions identify conditions believed to be true for planning purposes. If any assumption proves incorrect, schedule, cost or scope adjustments may be required through formal change control.

Project Constraints

Project constraints identify fixed limitations that restrict planning flexibility. These constraints must be managed throughout execution and cannot be altered without formal agreement.

Quality Assurance and Control

Quality assurance and control define the processes and standards used to ensure that all work performed under this statement of work meets contractual, regulatory and technical requirements. Quality activities focus on preventing defects through planning and oversight while verifying completed work through inspections, testing and formal acceptance before project closeout.

ProjectManager Can Improve Your Statement of Work

ProjectManager has a suite of project management tools that can help you put together a statement of work (SOW) that accurately depicts the forthcoming project. For starters, you can use our Gantt to start listing the tasks you can think of for the project.

Plan and Schedule Project Tasks With Gantt Charts

The online Gantt has the basics of a visual timeline and the ability to link dependencies to avoid bottlenecks and set milestones. Assign costs to tasks and see your planned costs for the project or specific phases. You can use the critical path tool to know what tasks can be skipped if necessary and set the baseline once your schedule and budget are done. That means you’ll be able to track in real time whether you’re staying on track and under budget. ProjectManager has the tools you want and delivers more functionality than the competition.

As you can see, using our Gantt chart software can go a long way to making an accurate statement of work for your project. Accuracy means a lot to stakeholders when it comes time to deliver on the work that you scoped out.

Keep Track of Progress, Costs and Schedules With Real-Time Dashboards

ProjectManager’s project dashboard tracks progress, costs and workload in real time so you can monitor the execution of your statement of work and quickly determine whether your project team is delivering tasks on time and on budget. In addition, Gantt charts and kanban boards have built-in risk and resource management features for better project tracking.

Related Work Management Content

• Workflow Template
• Statement of Work Template
• Work Proposal Template
• 9 Work Templates for Excel and Word
• How to Write a Work Proposal (with Example & Template)
• ¿Qué es la declaración de trabajo de un proyecto?
• Was ist eine Leistungsbeschreibung? Definition & Beispiele

The statement of work is a foundational document of any project. Once created and approved, you’ll have to create a plan and implement it. That’s where ProjectManager comes in. Our online project management software provides real-time data to help you manage and track your statement of work. Take it for a test spin and see how it can help you with this 30-day free trial.

The post What Is a Statement of Work? Definition & Examples appeared first on ProjectManager.

Why Is It Important to Analyze Failed Projects?

What good can come from failure? A lot, actually. Sometimes a project reaches too far beyond its means and fails, which is unfortunate but can also serve as a teaching moment. If project managers don’t learn from their mistakes, then they’re not growing professionally and will revisit the same problem in future projects, programs or portfolios.

Project managers and organizations can learn as much, if not more, from failed projects as they can from successful ones as long as the project management office makes project documentation, such as a lessons learned document, at the end of a failed project. A post-mortem analysis should be part of any project plan, and especially so when a project crashes and burns. There are valuable lessons in those ashes.

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5 Most Common Reasons for Failed Projects

Failed projects rarely happen due to a single mistake. Most unsuccessful initiatives share common pitfalls that can be identified and mitigated early. Understanding the main reasons, such as scope creep, resource over-allocation and requirements volatility, helps project managers proactively plan, allocate resources and set realistic expectations to prevent failed projects and achieve business objectives.

Scope Creep

Scope creep in project management occurs when a project gradually expands beyond its original objectives without formal approval. New tasks, features, or deliverables are added incrementally, often without adjusting timelines, budgets, or resources. This uncontrolled growth is one of the most common causes of failed projects, creating confusion, delays and difficulty measuring progress.

It can derail projects by stretching deadlines, inflating budgets and overwhelming teams. When changes accumulate without control, priorities become unclear, deliverables slip and quality suffers. Projects at risk of failure often struggle to meet original goals, making scope creep a leading factor in many failed projects.

Resource Overallocation

Resource overallocation happens when team members or other resources are assigned more work than they can realistically handle. In project management, this imbalance can involve people, equipment or budgets. Effective allocation is critical, as mismanaged resources can slow progress and increase risks, making overallocation a frequent contributor to failed projects.

When multiple projects run simultaneously, overallocated resources lead to delays, mistakes and missed deadlines. Teams stretched too thin cannot maintain quality or efficiency, increasing the risk of failed projects. Burnout, errors and miscommunication further compound these challenges, making proper resource planning essential for project success.

Requirements Volatility

Requirements volatility refers to frequent or unpredictable changes in a project’s goals, deliverables or scope during execution. Often caused by evolving client needs, market shifts, or incomplete initial requirements, this instability can disrupt planning, resource allocation and team alignment, making it a common cause of failed projects.

Constant requirement changes create confusion, delay timelines and inflate costs. Teams may struggle to adapt, leading to rework, missed objectives and compromised quality. Without proper change management, projects experiencing high requirements volatility are at significantly higher risk of failure, making it a major reason for failed projects.

Cost Overrun

A cost overrun occurs when a project exceeds its planned budget due to underestimation, unexpected expenses, or poor financial tracking. In project management, uncontrolled costs are a leading factor in failed projects. Monitoring budgets, forecasting accurately and accounting for contingencies are essential practices to prevent cost overruns from undermining project success.

Cost overruns directly threaten project viability. When expenses exceed budgets, resources may be reallocated, deliverables cut or project scope reduced, leading to compromised quality. Persistent overspending can erode stakeholder confidence and result in project termination. Many failed projects cite cost mismanagement as a primary reason for not meeting objectives or achieving intended value.

Project Schedule Slippage

Project schedule slippage occurs when planned tasks or milestones fall behind their intended timelines. In project management, delays can be caused by resource conflicts, scope changes or unforeseen risks. If not addressed, schedule slippage can compound, affecting other tasks and making it one of the most common causes of failed projects.

When project timelines slip, deliverables may miss deadlines, dependencies are disrupted and costs can escalate. Extended schedules strain resources and create pressure on teams, increasing errors and reducing quality. Persistent schedule delays often result in unmet objectives, stakeholder dissatisfaction and in many cases, failed projects that never deliver the intended outcomes.

20 Top Failed Projects from History

Let’s look at the most notorious failed projects, not to gloat, but to see what they can tell us about project management.

1. Sony Betamax

The word Betamax has become almost synonymous with failure. But when it was first released, Betamax was supposed to become the leader in the cassette recording industry. Developed by Sony, Betamax was introduced in the mid-1970s but was unable to get traction in the market, where JVC’s VHS technology was king.

Surprisingly, Sony continued to produce Betamax all the way into 2016. Long before it discontinued the technology, Betamax was already irrelevant.

The Lesson

Betamax was an innovative product and it even got to market before VHS. But soon the market had options that were cheaper and better than Betamax, making it a failed project. Sony’s mistake was thinking that the project was complete once the product went to market. Project managers need to always follow up on their work, analyze the data and make an evaluation about what needs to be done to keep the project relevant.

2. New Coke

Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic brands in the world. It’d take a lot to tarnish that reputation. But that’s just what happened when New Coke was introduced in 1985. People didn’t know why the Coke they loved and drank regularly was being replaced.

The company knew why. They were looking to improve quality and make a splash in the marketplace. The fact is, New Coke sunk like a stone. It wasn’t like New Coke was just released without doing market research, though it might seem that way. In fact, the new recipe was tested on 200,000 people, who preferred it to the older version.

But after spending $4 million in development and losing another $30 million in backstocked products, the taste for New Coke evaporated as it reduced the available resources for the execution of Coca Cola’s entire project portfolio at the time. Consumers can be very loyal to a product, and once they get into a habit, it can be very difficult to break them off it in favor of something different.

The Lesson

It’s not that Coca-Cola neglected market research to see if there was a need to develop a new product, but they were blind to their own customers’ motivations. New Coke was a failed project because the researchers needed to do more than a mere taste test.

They needed to understand how people would react when the familiar Coke they loved would be discontinued and replaced by a shiny new upstart. Market research must be handled like a science and an art—and worked into the project plan accordingly.

One lesson is that project management software decreases the chance of a failed project. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that allows you to monitor your work in real time to make more insightful decisions that can keep failure at bay. Use our real-time dashboards to track the health of your project, including such important key performance indicators (KPIs) as time, cost and more. There’s no time-consuming setup required as with lightweight software. Our dashboard is ready when you are. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

3. Pepsi Crystal

In 1992, Pepsi launched Pepsi Crystal. It was a unique soft drink in that there was no color. It was as clear as water. Pepsi hoped to take advantage of the growing trend for purity and health. Pepsi marketed the new drink as pure, caffeine-free and an alternative to the unhealthy traditional colas.

At first, sales looked good. The first year saw about $470 million in sales. Consumers were curious to find out if the taste was the same as Pepsi, which it was. Other colorless soft drinks started to introduce themselves to the market, such as 7Up and Sprite. But what Pepsi and the copycats didn’t take into account was how much sight influences flavor. Consumers found the product bland and sales tanked.

Pepsi Crystal was mocked on Saturday Night Live and Time Magazine listed it in its top-10 marketing failures of the 20th century.

The Lesson

Pepsi made the mistake of ignoring all the senses that are involved in the consumption of their product. They should have done more testing. If so, they would have realized the importance of the look of the product. Pepsi Crystal thought that a clear-looking liquid would indicate a healthy one, but what was registered by the majority of users was a bland one.

4. Concorde

The Concorde supersonic jet was a technological marvel, capable of flying faster than the speed of sound, but it struggled commercially. High operating costs, limited passenger capacity, environmental restrictions and safety concerns prevented it from turning a profit. Only 20 aircraft were ever built, and it eventually ceased operation.

The Lesson

Even groundbreaking innovations can fail if there isn’t a sustainable business model. Projects must balance technical feasibility with market demand, cost structures, and operational realities to avoid becoming failed projects.

5. Ford Edsel

Ford released its Edsel model in 1957. Since then, the name has become synonymous with project planning failure. That’s an accomplishment, but not the type that Ford was hoping for. This was supposed to be the car for the middle class and Ford invested $250 million into the Edsel.

Ford ended up losing $350 million on the gas-guzzler that the public found an unattractive alternative to other cars on the market. Part of the problem was that the first Edsels had oil leaks, hoods that stuck, trunks that wouldn’t open and more issues that soured consumer confidence in the product.

The Ford was a lesson in egos at the company ignoring what the research was telling them. Ford conducted many polls to find out what Americans wanted in a car, including a name. But executives went with Edsel. The design of the car didn’t even consult the polls.

The Lesson

If you’re going to do polling on what the public wants, it is a poor decision to ignore that data. So much time and effort went into coming up with the name, even hiring modernist poet Marianne Moore (who came up with nothing marketable), that Ford neglected to determine if there was even a market for this new car.

To better analyzed your own projects, try our free lessons learned template for Excel. Use it to identify what worked, what didn’t work, various impacts and what you can do better next time. Download yours for free today.

6. Airbus A380

Boeing’s Airbus A380 was viewed as a way for the company to outdo the 747. It spent more than $30 billion on product development in the belief that the industry would embrace a bigger plane that could hold more passengers and increase revenue.

In fact, the Airbus A380 has sold well short of its predicted 1200 units. The plane was headed for the scrap heap as it faced obstacles such as airports having to build special infrastructure and gates to accommodate that massive plane. Those project costs would be handed back to the airlines. That’s going to sour the deal and it did.

Then there were the technical issues. Qantas had to ground its entire A380 fleet after an engine blew up. You’d think that engineers would have thought beyond having more passengers seated on a bigger plane. But they didn’t.

The Lesson

The biggest lesson is that just because you build it doesn’t mean that anyone is going to want it. There wasn’t the demand Boeing believed there to be. Industries and markets are fickle. Just because airlines say they want something today doesn’t mean they’ll want it tomorrow. Boeing should have hedged its bets.

7. Big Dig (Boston Central Artery/Tunnel Project)

The Big Dig aimed to reduce traffic congestion in Boston but became infamous for massive cost overruns, safety issues and delays. Poor planning, political pressure, unforeseen engineering challenges and coordination difficulties with multiple contractors caused costs to skyrocket to over $14 billion.

The Lesson

Large-scale infrastructure projects need realistic budgets, robust planning and comprehensive risk management. Without these, even necessary public projects can become failed projects that drain resources and damage public trust.

8. Healthcare.gov

The launch of Healthcare.gov in 2013 faced severe technical issues, crashing repeatedly under heavy traffic. Poor project coordination, lack of end-to-end testing, and insufficient communication between contractors contributed to a high-profile failure, frustrating millions of users and attracting national scrutiny.

The Lesson

Thorough testing, phased rollouts and clear stakeholder communication are critical. Even high-profile government initiatives can become failed projects when technical preparedness and execution planning are inadequate.

Related: 18 Free Stakeholder Management Templates for Excel & Word

9. World Athletics Championships 2019

Doha is the capital of Qatar and the site of the World Athletics Championships in 2019. The world’s best athletes went there to compete against one another, but the big event turned out to be an even bigger dud.

The problem was that the host nation was unable to sell most of the tickets to the event. Some of the greatest athletes in the world were forced to compete in stadiums that were nearly empty. It was a failure and an embarrassment.

The Lesson

Money is needed to plan for an event, but that investment is no guarantee that people will show up. The mistake was thinking there was a large enough fanbase to sell all the tickets. We keep coming back to this, but it deserves to be mentioned again: research is critical. It wouldn’t have taken much to determine if there were enough interested people to bring a return on the investment.

10. Garden Bridge

Vanity projects tend not to care about success or failure. They’re driven by ego and such was the case with the Garden Bridge. It was the brainchild of Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London.

This construction project cost 53 million pounds, which is a lot of money, especially when considering it was never even built. The idea of a bridge made of gardens for city dwellers to enjoy is fine, but the over-optimistic fundraising targets and the ballooning costs led to its spectacular failure.

The Lesson

Projects must be realistic. It’s good to remember SMART goals, which is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. If the project followed those constraints it might have been built or passed on before all that money was spent.

11. Apple Lisa

Before Apple became synonymous with the personal computer (and long before popular products such as the iPhone), it released Lisa. It costs $10,000 with a processor of 5 MHz and 1 MB of RAM. The first model sold only 10,000 units.

Lisa was fated to fail because it was really a prototype. It was marketed as a game-changer in 1983 from its popular, but command-line-based Apple II. The price is certainly one reason why this was not a realistic personal computer, but there were technical issues. It had an operating system that could run multiple programs but was too powerful for its processor. Lisa ran sluggishly.

The Lesson

The truth is Lisa was less a failure than an expensive lesson. Lisa led to the Macintosh, which was basically a less expensive and more effective version of Lisa. The lesson here is that one can learn from failure if it doesn’t bankrupt the company, that is.

12. Boeing 737 MAX

The Boeing 737 MAX was designed to be a competitive, fuel-efficient aircraft, but software flaws led to two fatal crashes and a worldwide grounding. Investigations revealed inadequate pilot training, miscommunication within teams and insufficient testing of automated systems.

The Lesson

Safety-critical projects require rigorous validation, transparent communication and strict adherence to regulatory standards. Cutting corners or rushing development can transform ambitious projects into failed projects with devastating consequences.

13. Dyson Electric Car

After four years and millions of dollars, James Dyson canceled his electric car project. It took that long to realize it wasn’t commercially viable. There is certainly a growing market for electric cars as the industry is motivated by consumers and government regulations to move from fossil fuels to more energy-efficient and sustainable alternatives.

There’s a boom in the production of electric cars, from major manufacturers such as Chrysler and Ford to startups such as Tesla. But sometimes the time isn’t right and no matter how good the idea is, it’s just not meant to be.

The Lesson

Timing is everything. But it’s also important to note how difficult it is to penetrate a market with established players. It takes a lot of capital and manufacturing expertise to start a car company and be competitive.

Related: 10 Free Manufacturing Excel Templates

14. Stretch Project

The Stretch project was initiated in 1956 by a group of computer scientists at IBM who wanted to build the world’s fastest supercomputer. The result of this five-year project was the IBM 7030, also known as Stretch. It was the company’s first transistorized supercomputer.

Though Stretch could handle a half-million instructions per second and was the fastest computer in the world up to 1964, the project was deemed a failure. Why? The project’s goal was to create a computer 100 times faster than what it was built to replace. Stretch was only about 30-40 times faster.

The planned budget was $13.5 million, but the price dropped to $7.8 million; so the computer was at least completed below cost. Only nine supercomputers were built.

The Lesson

While the project was a failure in that it never achieved the goal it set, there was much IBM could salvage from the project. Stretch introduced pipelining, memory protection, memory interleaving and other technologies that helped with the development of future computers.

Creative work is rooted in failure specifically because of the serendipitous discovery that occurs. This was a creative project, which might not have met its paper objective, but created a slew of useful technologies. So, aim for your goal, and who knows what good things you’ll discover along the way.

15. Denver International Airport Automated Baggage System

The airport attempted to implement a fully automated baggage system, but technical glitches, unrealistic timelines and poor integration caused widespread delays and partial manual operation for years. Costs ballooned far beyond initial estimates and the project became a cautionary tale.

The Lesson

Over-automation without proper testing and contingency plans can backfire. Complex projects benefit from phased implementation, realistic scheduling and risk mitigation to avoid failed projects that waste resources.

16. FBI Virtual Case File (VCF)

The FBI’s VCF project aimed to modernize its case management system but failed due to vague requirements, frequent scope changes and vendor mismanagement. The software was never fully deployed and the FBI had to start over with a new solution.

The Lesson

Clear requirements, stakeholder engagement and strong vendor oversight are essential. Even large government projects can turn into failed projects when planning and communication are insufficient.

17. Challenger Space Shuttle

The worst failure is one that results in the loss of life. When you’re dealing with highly complex and dangerous projects like NASA, there’s always a tremendous risk that needs to be tracked. On January 28, 1986, that risk became a horrible reality as the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch.

The cause was a leak in one of the two solid rocket boosters that set off the main liquid fuel tank. The NASA investigation that followed said the failure was due to a faulty designed O-ring seal and the cold weather at launch, which allowed for the leak.

But it was not only a technical error that NASA discovered but human error. NASA officials went ahead with the launch even though engineers were concerned about the safety of the project. The engineers noted the risk of the O-ring, but their communications never traveled up to managers who could have delayed the launch to ensure the safety of the mission and its astronauts.

The Lesson

Managers are only as well-informed as their team. If they’re not opening lines of communication to access the data on the frontlines of a project, mistakes will be made, and in this case, fatal ones.

18. Computerized DMV

No one loves the DMV. If they were a brand, their reputation would be more than tarnished, it’d be buried. But everyone who drives a vehicle is going to have some interaction with this government agency. Unfortunately, they didn’t help their case in the 1990s when the states of California and Washington attempted to computerize their Departments of Motor Vehicles.

In California, the project began in 1987 as a five-year, $27 million plan to track its 31 million drivers’ licenses and 38 million vehicle registrations. Problems started at the beginning when the state solicited only one bid for the contract, Tandem Computers, locking the state into buying their hardware.

Then, to make things worse, tests showed that the new computers were even slower than the ones they were to replace. But the state moved forward with the project until 1994 when it had to admit failure and end the project. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the project cost the state $49 million, and a state audit found that the DMV violated contracting laws and regulations.

The Lesson

The problem here is a project that isn’t following regulations. All projects must go through a process of due diligence, and legal and regulatory constraints must be part of that process. If the state had done that and the contract bidding process invited more than one firm to the table, then a costly mess could have been avoided, and our wait at the DMV might actually have become shorter.

19. Queensland Health Payroll System

The Queensland Health Payroll System was designed to automate payments for thousands of employees but caused widespread errors, overpayments and underpayments. Poor testing, inadequate change management and system complexity led to operational chaos and financial losses.

The Lesson

Large-scale IT implementations require comprehensive testing, robust change management and careful contingency planning. Neglecting these factors can transform high-stakes projects into failed projects that disrupt essential operations.

20. IBM Watson for Oncology

IBM Watson for Oncology aimed to revolutionize cancer treatment using AI, but it failed to consistently deliver actionable results. Incomplete data, unrealistic expectations and over-promising of capabilities led to disappointing outcomes and skepticism from the medical community.

The Lesson

AI and data-driven projects must balance innovation with practical application. Overpromising capabilities without thorough validation can make even high-profile projects fail, damaging credibility and future adoption.

How ProjectManager Prevents Failed Projects

ProjectManager keeps your projects from failing with a suite of project management tools that shepherd your project from initiation to a successful close. Plan, schedule and track work, while managing teams, with our online software.

Plan Every Last Detail

Successful projects begin with a strong plan. But it can be hard to keep all those tasks and due dates working together on a realistic schedule. What if some tasks are dependent? It gets complicated. But ProjectManager has an online Gantt chart that plots your tasks across a project timeline, linking dependencies and breaking projects into digestible milestones.

Track Progress as It Happens

ProjectManager keeps you on track with high-level monitoring via its real-time dashboard and more detailed data with one-click reporting. Now when projects start to veer off-track, you can get them back on course quickly.

While we didn’t have an example, there are many projects that fail because they’re not equipped with the right tools for the job. ProjectManager is online project management software that gives project managers and their teams everything they need to plan, monitor and report on their project. Don’t let your next project fail; try ProjectManager with this free 30-day trial.

The post 20 Notorious Failed Projects & What We Can Learn from Them appeared first on ProjectManager.

A project proposal is a formal project management document used to present a proposed initiative in a clear, structured way before work begins. It defines what the project is, what it aims to achieve and the high-level requirements needed to move forward.

Rather than detailing execution, a project proposal establishes a shared planning framework that allows organizations and external stakeholders to review, discuss and refine an idea early. Because proposals are written for sponsors, clients or decision-makers, they must be tailored to their priorities and concerns. Understanding the audience is critical to presenting information at the right level of detail.

We’ve created a free project proposal template for Word to help structure documents, so you don’t have to remember the process each time.

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Project Proposal Template

Use this free Project Proposal Template to manage your projects better.

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What Is the Purpose of a Project Proposal?

A project proposal explains why a project should exist and provides the information decision-makers need to approve, fund or prioritize it. It justifies a business need or opportunity, communicates expected value and benefits, and helps secure executive or client buy-in.

By clearly defining scope, goals, deliverables, success criteria and assumptions, it aligns stakeholders around a shared understanding of what will be delivered. A proposal also estimates costs, resources and timelines, allowing organizations to compare alternatives, evaluate feasibility and reduce risk before committing resources.

In competitive contexts, it supports bids, funding requests and contract awards. Internally, it formalizes ideas into actionable plans, serves as a reference for decisions and governance, and enables prioritization by showing how the project fits strategic objectives.

Most project management teams use a project proposal for the following purposes:

• Justifying a business need or strategic opportunity
• Establishing stakeholder expectations and project success criteria early
• Serving as a reference for project-related decisions
• Supporting internal prioritization and portfolio decisions
• Communicating expected value and business benefits

ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software equipped with advanced project planning, scheduling and monitoring features to turn any project proposal into a successful project in any industry. Create a project timeline, estimate costs, track project budgets, allocate resources and much more with powerful Gantt charts, real-time project dashboards and reports. Get started for free today.

When to Use a Project Proposal

A project proposal is most useful at key decision points, before time, money or project resources are committed. It provides structure when an idea needs evaluation, approval or alignment, helping stakeholders understand what’s being proposed, why it matters and what’s required to move forward. Whether you’re introducing a new initiative, responding to a request or reassessing a change, a project proposal creates clarity and supports informed decision-making.

Most project management teams write a project proposal when:

• Requesting project approval
• Seeking project financing or budget allocation
• Responding to a client or stakeholder request
• Proposing a new initiative or idea
• Competing for a contract or bid
• Evaluating multiple project options
• Defining work before project initiation
• Clarifying scope, cost or risk
• Aligning cross-functional teams
• Committing significant resources
• Requiring formal re-approval after changes
• Documenting assumptions before execution

Types of Project Proposals

In terms of types of project proposals, you can have one that’s formally solicited, informally solicited or a combination. There can also be renewal and supplemental proposals. Here’s a brief description of each of them.

• Solicited project proposal: This is sent as a response to a request for proposal (RFP). Here, you’ll need to adhere to the RFP guidelines of the project owner.
• Unsolicited project proposal: You can send project proposals without having received a request for a proposal. This can happen in open bids for construction projects, where a project owner receives unsolicited project proposals from many contractors.
• Informal project proposal: This type of project proposal is created when a client asks for an informal proposal without an RFP.
• Renewal project proposal: You can use a renewal project proposal when you’re reaching out to past customers. The advantage is that you can highlight past positive results and future benefits.
• Continuation project proposal: A continuation project proposal is sent to investors and stakeholders to communicate project progress.
• Supplemental project proposal: This proposal is sent to investors to ask for additional resources during the project execution phase.

Related: 12 Free Proposal Templates

Project Proposal Template

All the elements in the above project proposal outline are present in our template. This free project proposal template for Word will provide you with everything you need to write an excellent project proposal. It will help you with the executive summary, project process, deliverables, costs—even terms and conditions. Download your free template today.

Project Proposal Outline

There are several key operational and strategic questions to consider, including:

• Executive summary: This is the elevator pitch that outlines the project being proposed and why it makes business sense. While it also touches on the information that’ll follow in the project proposal, the executive summary should be brief and to the point.
• Project background: This is another short part of the proposal, usually only one page, which explains the problem you’ll solve or the opportunity you’re taking advantage of with the proposed project. Also, the project background should provide a short history of the business to put the company in context to the project and why it’s a good fit.
• Project vision & success criteria: State the goal of the project and how it aligns with the goals of the company. Be specific. Also, note the metrics used to measure the success of the project.
• Potential risks and mitigation strategies: There are always risks. Detail them here and what strategies you’ll employ to mitigate any negative impact as well as take advantage of any positive risk.
• Project scope & deliverables: Define the project scope, which is all the work that has to be done and how it will be done. Also, detail the various deliverables that the project will have.
• Project approach: Define the approach you’ll use for the contract. There are several different types of contracts used in construction, for example, such as lump sum, cost plus, time and materials, etc. This is also a good place to describe the delivery method you’ll use.
• Expected benefits: Outline the benefits that will come from the successful completion of the project.
• Project resource requirements: List the resources, such as labor, materials, equipment, etc., that you’ll need to execute the project if approved.
• Project costs & budget: Detail all the costs, including resources, that’ll be required to complete the project and set up a budget to show how those costs will be spent over the course of the project.
• Project timeline: Lay out the project timeline, which shows the project from start to finish, including the duration of each phase and the tasks within it, milestones, etc.
• Stakeholders & roles: Identify key stakeholders, sponsors and decision-makers involved in the project, along with their roles, responsibilities and level of authority throughout the project lifecycle.
• Assumptions, exclusions & constraints: Document the assumptions the proposal is based on as well as any known constraints, such as budget limits, regulatory requirements, resource availability or fixed deadlines. It’s also important to define exclusions, activities or deliverables that will not be done.
• Project governance: Explain how the project will be governed, including review checkpoints, approval authorities and escalation paths for major decisions or changes.
• Change management approach: Describe how changes to the project scope, schedule or budget will be evaluated, approved and communicated once the project is underway.
• Communication plan: Define how project updates will be shared, how often reporting will occur and which stakeholders will receive which types of information.
• Quality management approach: Outline how quality will be planned, monitored and controlled to ensure deliverables meet defined standards and expectations.
• Legal, compliance & procurement considerations: Address contractual, regulatory or procurement requirements that must be met before and during project execution.

Turn your project proposal into a successful project with ProjectManager. It’s powerful project management features allow you to keep your projects on schedule and under budget while keeping stakeholders informed with real-time project dashboards and reports.

How to Write a Project Proposal

To make the best proposal possible, you’ll want to be thorough and hit on all the points we’ve listed above. Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing a persuasive priority proposal.

1. Write an Executive Summary

The executive summary provides a quick overview of the main elements of your project proposal, such as your project background, project objectives and project deliverables, among other things. The goal is to capture the attention of your audience and get them excited about the project you’re proposing. It’s essentially the “elevator pitch” for the project life cycle. It should be short and to the point.

The executive summary should be descriptive and paint a picture of what project success looks like for the client. Most importantly, it should motivate the project client; after all, the goal is getting them to sign on the dotted line to get the project moving!

2. Provide a Project Background

The project background is a one-page section of your project proposal that explains the problem that your project will solve. You should explain when this issue started, its current state and how your project will be the ideal solution.

• Historic data: The history section outlines previously successful projects and those that could have run more smoothly. By doing so, this section establishes precedents and how the next project can be more effective using information from previous projects.
• Solution: The solution section addresses how your project will solve the client’s problem. Accordingly, this section includes any project management techniques, skills and procedures your team will use to work efficiently.

3. Establish a Project Vision & Success Criteria

You’ll need to define your project vision. This is best done with a vision statement, which acts as the north star for your project. It’s not specific as much as it’s a way to describe the impact your company plans to make with the project.

It’s also important to set up success criteria to show that the project is in fact doing what it’s proposed to do. Three obvious project success criteria are the triple constraint of cost, scope and time. But you’ll need to set up a way to measure these metrics and respond to them if they’re not meeting your plan.

4. Identify Potential Risks and Mitigation Strategies

To reduce the impact of risk in your project, you need to identify what those risks might be and develop a plan to mitigate them. List all the risks, prioritize them, describe what you’ll do to mitigate or take advantage of them and who on the team is responsible for keeping an eye out for them and resolving them.

5. Define Your Project Scope and Project Deliverables

The project scope refers to all the work that’ll be executed. It defines the work items, work packages and deliverables that’ll be delivered during the execution phase of your project life cycle. It’s important to use a work breakdown structure (WBS) to define your tasks and subtasks and prioritize them.

6. Set SMART Goals for Your Project Proposal

The best mindset when developing goals and objectives for your project proposal is to use the SMART system:

• Specific – Make sure your goals and objectives are clear, concise and specific to the task at hand.
• Measurable – Ensure your goals and objectives are measurable so it’s obvious to see when things are on track and going well, and conversely, when things are off track and issues need to be addressed. Measurable goals make it easy to develop the milestones you’ll use to track the progress of the project and identify a reasonable date for completion and/or closure.
• Attainable – It’s important every project has a “reach” goal. Hitting this goal would mean an outstanding project that extends above and beyond expectations. However, it’s important that the project’s core goal is attainable, so morale stays high and the job gets done with time and resources to spare.
• Relevant – Make sure all of your goals are directly relevant to the project and address the scope within which you’re working.
• Time-Based – Timelines and specific dates should be at the core of all goals and objectives. This helps keep the project on track and ensures all project team members can manage the work plan that’s ahead of them.

7. Explain What’s Your Project Approach

Your project approach defines the project management methodology, tools and governance for your project. In simple terms, it allows project managers to explain to stakeholders how the project will be planned, executed and controlled successfully.

8. Outline The Expected Benefits of Your Project Proposal

If you want to convince internal stakeholders and external investors, you’ll need to show them the financial benefits that your project could bring to their organization. You can use cost-benefit analysis and projected financial statements to demonstrate why your project is profitable.

9. Identify Project Resource Requirements

Project resources are critical for the execution of your project. The project proposal briefly describes what resources are needed and how they’ll be used. Later, during the planning phase, you’ll need to create a resource management plan that’ll be an important element of your project plan. Project requirements are the items, materials and resources needed for the project. This section should cover both internal and external needs.

10. Estimate Project Costs and Project Budget

All the resources that you’ll need for your project have a price tag. That’s why you need to estimate those costs and create a project budget. The project budget needs to cover all your project expenses, and as a project manager, you’ll need to make sure that you adhere to the budget.

11. Define a Project Timeline

Once you’ve defined your project scope, you’ll need to estimate the duration of each task to create a project timeline. Later during the project planning phase, you’ll need to create a schedule baseline, which estimates the total length of your project. Once the project starts, you’ll compare your actual project schedule to the schedule baseline to monitor progress.

Project Proposal Example

The best way to understand what a project proposal should look like is to take a look at a project proposal example. Here’s a project proposal for a construction project that integrates some of the elements of the project proposal outline we’ve described above.

1. Executive Summary

This proposal outlines a small commercial tenant improvement to refresh a 1,200 square foot neighborhood café. The project upgrades finishes, counters, lighting and signage to improve customer experience and operational flow while minimizing downtime. The investment supports revenue growth, brand consistency and code compliance within a short construction window timeline.

2. Project Background

The café operates in a mixed-use retail corridor and has outgrown its current layout. Aging finishes, inefficient service flow and limited seating constrain sales during peak hours. This project modernizes the space, improves circulation and aligns the location with the company’s updated brand standards and local building requirements and permits.

3. Project Vision and Success Criteria

The vision is to deliver a refreshed café that enhances customer comfort, supports faster service and reflects the brand’s identity. Success is measured through schedule adherence, budget tracking, quality outcomes and operational readiness, ensuring the space opens on time, meets code requirements and achieves targeted performance metrics after completion launch.

4. Potential Risks and Mitigation Strategies

5. Project Scope & Deliverables

6. Project Resource Requirements

7. Project Costs & Budget

8. Project Timeline

9. Assumptions, Exclusions & Constraints

Project Proposal vs. Project Charter

A project proposal is a detailed project document that’s used to convince the project sponsor that the project being proposed is worth the time, money and effort to deliver it. This is done by showing how the project will address a business problem or opportunity. It also outlines the work that will be done and how it will be done.

A project charter can seem like the same thing as a project proposal as it also defines the project in a document. It identifies the project objectives, scope, goals, stakeholders and team. But it’s done after the project has been agreed upon by all stakeholders and the project has been accepted. The project charter authorizes the project and documents its requirements to meet stakeholders’ needs.

Project Proposal vs. Business Case

A business case is used to explain why the proposed project is justified. It shows that the project is worth the investment of time and money. It’s more commonly used in larger companies in the decision-making process when prioritizing one project over another.

The business case answers the questions: what is the project, why should it be taken up, who will be involved and how much will it cost? It’s therefore related to a project proposal, but the project proposal comes before the business case and is usually part of the larger proposal.

Project Proposal vs. Project Plan

Again, the project proposal and the project plan in this case are very similar documents. It’s understandable that there would be some confusion between these two project terms. They both show how the project will be run and what the results will be. However, they’re not the same.

The project proposal is a document that aims to get a project approved and funded. It’s used to convince stakeholders of the viability of the project and their investment. The project plan, on the other hand, is made during the planning phase of the project, once it’s been approved. It’s a detailed outline of how the project will be implemented, including schedule, budget, resources and more.

In addition to these elements, it’s advisable to use a cover letter, which is a one-page document that helps you introduce your project proposal and grab the attention of potential clients and stakeholders.

Project Proposal Tips

Whatever project proposal you’re working on, there are a few tips that apply as best practices for all. While above we suggested a project proposal template that would have a table of contents, meaning it would be many pages long, the best-case scenario is keeping the proposal to one or two pages max. Remember, you’re trying to win over stakeholders, not bore them.

Speaking of project stakeholders, do the research. You want to address the right ones. There’s no point in doing all the work necessary to write a great proposal only to have it directed to the wrong target audience. Whoever is going to read it, though, should be able to comprehend the proposal. Keep the language simple and direct.

When it comes to writing, get a professional. Even a business document like a project proposal, business case or executive summary will suffer if it’s poorly constructed or has typos. If you don’t want to hire a professional business writer, make sure you get someone on your project team to copy, edit and proof the document. The more eyes on it, the less likely mistakes will make it to the final edition. You can also use an AI writing tool to help you proofread the project proposal and ensure the text is clear and concise.

While you want to keep the proposal short and sweet, it helps to sweeten the pot by adding customer testimonials to the attachments. Nothing sells a project plan better than a customer base looking for your product or service.

ProjectManager & Project Proposals

ProjectManager allows you to plan proposals within our software. You can update tasks for the project proposal to signify where things stand and what’s left to be done. The columns allow you to organize your proposal by section, creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) of sorts.

When building a project proposal, it’s vital to remember your target audience. Your audience includes those who are excited about the project, and see completion as a gain for their organization. Conversely, others in your audience will see the project as a pain and something to which they aren’t looking forward. To keep both parties satisfied, it’s essential to keep language factual and concise.

Our online kanban boards help you think through that language and collaborate on it effectively with other team members, if necessary. Each card shows the percentage completed so everyone in the project management team is aware of the work done and what’s left to be done.

As you can see from the kanban board above, work has begun on tasks such as product documentation and design. Tasks regarding stakeholder feedback, ideation, market research and more have been completed, and there’s a good start on the engineering drawings, 3D rendering, supply chain sourcing and translation services.

A PDF is then attached to the card, and everyone added to the task receives an email notifying them of the change. This same process can be used throughout the life-cycle of the project to keep the team updated, collaborating, and producing a first-class project proposal. In addition to kanban boards, you can also use other project management tools such as Gantt charts, project dashboards, task lists and project calendars to plan, schedule and track your projects.

Related Project Planning Content

• Project Documentation: 15 Essential Project Documents
• How to Create a Project Execution Plan (PEP)
• How to Write a Scope of Work
• Project Scope Statement: How to Write One With Examples
• ¿Qué es una Propuesta de Proyecto? (Con Ejemplo)
• Comment rédiger une proposition de projet
• Wie man einen Projektvorschlag schreibt

Project proposals are just the first step in the project planning process. Once your project is approved, you’ll have to solidify the plan, allocate and manage resources, monitor the project, and finally hand in your deliverables. This process requires a flexible, dynamic and robust project management software package. ProjectManager is online project management software that helps all your team members collaborate and manage this process in real-time. Try our award-winning software with this free 30-day trial.

The post How to Write a Project Proposal (Examples & Template Included) appeared first on ProjectManager.

Why Use a Proposal Template?

Across industries, a proposal template is a starting point for customizing proposals to suit specific needs. For example, in construction, the focus may be on deliverables, site plans and contractor timelines. In IT, the emphasis might be on system architecture and technical requirements.

Despite the differences in content, the template’s consistent format—typically including an executive summary, goals, methodology, budget and risk assessment—ensures that decision-makers can quickly evaluate the feasibility and value of a proposed project. This cross-industry adaptability not only saves time and improves clarity but also enhances collaboration and decision-making across departments and sectors.

15 Free Proposal Templates for Submitting Proposals

These proposal templates provide a standardized structure that helps stakeholders understand the project’s objectives, scope, timelines and resource requirements, regardless of the field.

1. Project Proposal Template

Download this free project proposal template for Word to outline the details of a proposed project in a clear, organized manner. It serves as a structured framework for presenting important project information to stakeholders, clients or decision-makers to gain approval, funding or support.

This fully customizable proposal template can be easily adapted for use in construction, IT, marketing, engineering or any business proposal. This document is created to kick off a new project. It’s in-depth with a clear and concise cover letter and executive summary to provide an overview of the proposal and convince the sponsor to approve it.

If the project is approved, the proposal template will continue to be useful as it informs the project planning phase. That’s because it defines the project scope and objectives, identifies key activities and milestones, resources and roles, estimates timelines and shows dependencies. The project proposal template explains what will happen and why, which then allows a Gantt chart to show when it will happen and in what sequence.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust Gantt charts that can do all that and so much more. Yes, it schedules tasks, resources and costs, but unlike many of the competitors, it can also link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns. Also, we can filter for the critical path and set up a baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

2. Event Proposal Template

Download this free event proposal template for Word to outline key details, objectives and logistics of an event for potential clients, sponsors or internal stakeholders. It serves as a blueprint that describes the event’s purpose, target audience, venue, schedule, budget, marketing strategies and expected outcomes. By organizing this information in a clear, persuasive format, the template helps event planners present a professional and convincing case for why the event should be approved, funded or supported.

An event proposal template streamlines the planning process and ensures consistency across different events or clients. It allows planners to quickly adapt proposals to various audiences while maintaining a high standard of quality and thoroughness. A strong template not only improves communication but also demonstrates the planner’s expertise, attention to detail and understanding of the client’s or organization’s goals.

3. Request for Proposal Template

Use this free request for proposal template (RFP) for Word to solicit bids from vendors, contractors or service providers for a specific project or service. It outlines the project’s requirements, objectives, scope of work, timelines, evaluation criteria and submission guidelines. Templates help organizations ensure that every RFP they issue is clear, consistent and detailed enough for vendors to prepare thorough, comparable proposals.

A good RFP template reduces misunderstandings, improves the quality of vendor responses and helps the organization select the best partner for the project. This proposal template not only saves time but also increases transparency and fairness in the vendor selection process.

4. Budget Proposal Template

This free budget proposal template for Word presents a detailed estimate of the financial resources needed for a project, event or organizational activity. It outlines expected costs across categories like labor, materials, equipment, travel, marketing and other expenses. A budget proposal helps stakeholders understand the financial requirements, justify funding requests and evaluate whether the proposed project is feasible and aligned with organizational goals.

This proposal template ensures that all necessary financial details are included, organized clearly and presented consistently and professionally. A well-prepared budget proposal not only strengthens the overall project proposal but also helps with financial planning, accountability and decision-making once the project is underway.

5. Construction Proposal Template

Download this free construction proposal template for Word to outline the scope, timeline, materials, labor and pricing for a construction project they are bidding on. It serves as a formal offer to a client, clearly detailing what work will be performed, the terms and conditions, project milestones, estimated costs and payment schedules.

This kind of proposal template ensures that all critical information is included, presented professionally and customized easily for different projects, helping contractors win jobs and protect themselves legally if disputes arise later. It not only clarifies expectations between the contractor and client but also builds trust by demonstrating transparency, thorough planning and professionalism.

6. Consulting Proposal Template

Use this free consulting proposal template for Word to pitch services to potential clients by outlining the solutions they will provide, how they will deliver them and the value the client can expect. Unlike more technical proposals, a consulting proposal focuses on diagnosing the client’s problem, presenting a tailored approach and explaining why the consultant’s expertise is the right fit.

It’s both a strategic and persuasive document, meant to demonstrate understanding of the client’s needs and build confidence in the consultant’s ability to drive results. Because consulting work often varies widely between clients, the proposal template is designed to be flexible, allowing for customization based on project scope, industry or business goals. A well-crafted consulting proposal not only lays the groundwork for the project but also sets the tone for the client-consultant relationship.

7. Sponsorship Proposal Template

Use this sponsorship proposal template to pitch a partnership to a potential sponsor. It outlines what the event, project, or initiative is about, the audience it reaches, what the sponsor would gain (such as visibility, brand alignment or sales opportunities), and what sponsorship packages or benefits are available. The goal is to communicate value so the sponsor can see why the investment is worthwhile.

This template has a polished, professional structure to present all this information clearly. It organizes your objectives, audience details, sponsorship tiers, budgets, and deliverables in a way that’s easy for potential sponsors to review and compare. This saves time, ensures nothing important is missed and increases the likelihood that your proposal feels credible, compelling and ready for decision-makers.

8. Bid Proposal Template

Businesses, contractors and freelancers use this free bid proposal template for Word to formally offer their services or products at a specified price in response to a client’s request. It outlines key details such as the scope of work, timeline, cost breakdown and terms and conditions.

The goal of this proposal template is to convince the client that the bidder not only understands the project requirements but is also offering the best combination of price, quality and reliability. Using a template ensures that bids are professional, complete and easy to compare against competitors’ submissions.

9. Design Proposal Template

A design proposal outlines the scope, approach, timeline, and cost for a design project—whether it’s graphic design, product design, UX/UI work or another creative service. It explains the client’s problem, the designer’s proposed solution, the deliverables, the process and the terms of the engagement. Its purpose is to set clear expectations and help the client decide whether to move forward.

Our free template gives designers a consistent, professional framework to build proposals quickly. Instead of starting from scratch, they can plug in project details, pricing, deliverables and timelines while ensuring every proposal includes the right information.

10. Service Proposal Template

Use this free service proposal template for Word to offer professional services to potential clients in a clear, organized way. It outlines what services will be provided, how they will be delivered, the timeline for completion, pricing and any terms and conditions. A service proposal is not just a pricing sheet—it’s a persuasive document that explains the value and approach of the service provider, aiming to align the proposal with the client’s needs and goals.

This proposal template helps service providers maintain consistency across different proposals while saving time and ensuring no important information is overlooked. A strong service proposal makes it easier for clients to understand exactly what they are getting, builds trust and increases the likelihood of securing the business.

11. Program Proposal Template

Use a program proposal if you need to present a plan for a program, or a coordinated set of related projects or initiatives intended to achieve a major strategic goal. This free template defines the program’s purpose, objectives, scope, timeline, resources, budget, expected outcomes, and metrics for success. The proposal serves to persuade decision-makers (executives, sponsors, stakeholders) to approve and fund the program before any work begins.

Use this ready-made structure that covers all critical components: summary, objectives, scope, deliverables, timelines, budget, resource needs, risks, governance, stakeholder engagement and success criteria. By documenting objectives, scope, resources, and success metrics in one place, everyone knows exactly what’s being proposed and what’s expected.

12. Business Proposal Template

This free business proposal template for Word is used to present a product, service or solution to a potential client, partner or investor to secure a deal or agreement. It organizes key information—such as the problem being addressed, the proposed solution, implementation strategies, pricing and terms—into a clear, persuasive document.

A business proposal is meant to show not only what you are offering but also why your offering is the best choice. This proposal template ensures that proposals are consistent, comprehensive and professionally presented, saving time while improving the quality of communication.

13. Marketing Proposal Template

Download this free marketing proposal template for Word to outline a strategic plan for promoting a client’s products, services or brand. It presents a clear framework that explains the client’s current challenges, proposed marketing solutions, specific tactics (like digital ads, SEO, social media campaigns), timelines, expected outcomes and associated costs.

The purpose of this proposal template is to help marketers communicate their vision effectively, making it easier for clients to understand the value and impact of the proposed strategy. A marketing proposal not only highlights what actions will be taken but also emphasizes how those actions align with the client’s broader business objectives.

14. Grant Proposal Template

Use this free grant proposal template for Word to apply for funding from a grant-making entity, such as a government agency, foundation or nonprofit. It provides a clear, organized way to present the project or program needing financial support, outlining objectives, methodologies, expected outcomes and budget requirements.

The goal of this proposal template is to convince the funding organization that the proposed project aligns with their goals and is worthy of financial backing. A grant proposal template helps ensure all necessary components are included in a way that meets the funder’s expectations and guidelines.

15. Work Proposal Template

This free work proposal template for Word is used to outline a specific task or project, usually between a service provider (like a contractor, freelancer or consultant) and a client. It details the work to be completed, how it will be done, the timeline and the costs involved.

The purpose of this proposal template is to define expectations and terms, ensuring that both parties are on the same page before work begins. It serves as an agreement to avoid misunderstandings and sets a clear roadmap for how the work will progress.

ProjectManager Turns Proposals Into Winning Projects

A proposal template is valuable when appraising or bidding or a project. Once the project is accepted, the template is less useful. It’s not a waste, of course, as the information gathered can be used to plan the project. But that planning, managing and tracking of work shouldn’t be done on templates. That’s what project management software is for.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that has Gantt charts, but also multiple project views, such as sheet, task, list and calendar views and kanban boards to execute work in the way that’s right for you. Use custom or automated workflows, with task approval settings to ensure quality, to add efficiency to processes. This helps to meet the goals of the proposal.

Manage Resources and Stay Productive

Efficient resource management starts with scheduling the human and nonhuman resources on the Gantt chart. The next step is to onboard the team, but before assigning them to tasks, set their availability to streamline the process and ensure the right resources for the right job at the right time.

View all project resources on the color-coded workload chart to see who is overallocated or underutilized. Balance the team’s workload right from that chart to keep them productive. A team page offers a daily or weekly overview of their activities, which can be filtered by priority or progress. Their tasks can even be updated without leaving the page.

Track Metrics and Keep on Schedule

Other project metrics need to be monitored and controlled. For a high-level project overview, toggle to the real-time project or portfolio dashboards. They’re already set up and ready to view easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more.

Greater detail can be found with one-keystroke customizable reports on status, variance, workload, timesheets and more. Filter each to focus on key data points or progress, which can be shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. Even our secure timesheets help track labor costs to help projects stay on budget.

Related Proposal Content

For those who want to explore the subject beyond the boundaries of proposal templates, below are some links to articles and a video that go into how to write and make different types of proposals.

• How to Write a Project Proposal (Examples & Template Included)
• How to Write a Service Proposal: Sample & Template Included
• How to Make a Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Project Proposal Writing: How to Write A Winning Project Proposal

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams, whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay up to date with email and in-app notifications. Get started with ProjetManager today for free.

The post 15 Free Proposal Templates for Submitting Proposals appeared first on ProjectManager.

Project reports are tools that project managers use to extract valuable project data. Excel report templates are a great tool to determine how you’re doing and keep your stakeholders updated.

Using Excel Report Templates for Project Management

The great thing about Excel report templates is that they’re free to download. Below are 15 essential Excel reporting templates you can use now to get valuable data on your project. These templates cover everything from status reports to risk registers for a clear view of how your project is doing.

Microsoft Excel is a great tool, as these templates show, but they only go so far. Excel reporting templates must be input manually and are labor-intensive. They also don’t reflect real-time data so they’re always slightly behind. Project management software is the next step to gaining greater efficiency in managing your project, but if you’re not ready for that, Excel report templates will help.

Excel Report Templates for Project Management

Below are Excel report templates for project management, but they’re only a small sampling of the free project management templates we have to download on our template page. There are dozens of Word and Excel templates to help you through every stage of your project’s lifecycle.

We’ve culled through that pack of templates to highlight our free Excel report templates. Download one or all of them now and use them to extract the information you need to deliver a successful project. When you’re ready to take your project templates one step further, read to the end and see how project management software leaves Excel project templates in the dust.

1. Project Dashboard Template

Just as the dashboard on your car helps you track speed, mileage, gas consumption and more, our free project dashboard template is a window into the progress and performance of your project. It’s made up of a variety of graphs, such as a pie graph that shows how your team is progressing on their tasks, to bar charts on workload, task lengths and project costs.

The free project dashboard template is a high-level view of your project. It gives project managers a glimpse into what’s going on in the project so they can make better decisions. This Excel report template makes for a great communicative tool. Numbers can end up floating around on the page if math isn’t your strong suit, but the visual elements of the free project dashboard template create a quick and easily digestible way to deliver project data to stakeholders.

ProjectManager software delivers more than any template. ProjectManager is online software that isn’t static like a template but instead connects to your project plan, schedule, resources and more. Our real-time dashboard receives live data as teams update their status so you’re always seeing current and accurate project information. There’s no data to input and it’s all done automatically. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

2. Project Status Report Template

Being able to get a snapshot of your project that shows its current state is critical for proper management. Our free project status report template lets you see the health of your project and how it’s progressing against your project plan. It can be used to communicate with stakeholders who prefer a more general synopsis of how the project is doing.

This Excel report template is still a wealth of important information, from a summary to project health to risks and recommendations. That includes key accomplishments, what work is completed, what’s still ahead, milestones that have been reached and deliverables. There’s also a place for action items, overviews of the budget, schedule, quality and scope, and even roadblocks that need to be addressed.

3. Progress Report Template

Knowing the progress of your project is one of the best ways to make sure you’re meeting scheduled milestones. Our free progress report template is a way to record the movement of your project over a specific period of time. That timeframe can be a week, a month or whatever is appropriate for your project Our free Excel report template captures the data.

The Excel report template provides a summary of the project status, scope, schedule, cost and risk and then goes into more detail about all the tasks executed over the timeframe. It also looks at any issues that came up over this period and how they impacted the budget. It then notes any existing or expected accomplishments.

4. Project Task Tracking Template

Keeping a project on schedule is one of the main responsibilities of a project manager. One way to accomplish this goal is with our free project task tracking template. It’s a tool that allows you to create a task list and use that to make sure each task in your project is on track to make its deadline. If not, you can reallocate resources to get it back on schedule.

The Excel report template is set up to capture the task and a brief description. It outlines if it’s a dependent task and who it’s assigned to. There are also pulldown menus to note the priority, start date, planned end date and actual end date for each task. There’s a status column to note if the tasks are opened or closed and a space to add other details not collected already.

Of course, tracking tasks is even easier in project management software like ProjectManager. You can create subtasks, assign work, filter for tags and update progress in real time. Managing tasks in the kanban board lets you visually monitor a task’s lifecycle and eliminate bottlenecks to keep work moving.

5. Cost Benefit Analysis Template

This Excel report template is a bit different. You use a cost-benefit analysis template to see if the project is viable and worth funding. There are always questions to answer before initiating a project, such as whether will meet a need, provide a service and whether you can deliver on deadline and for a reasonable cost.

The cost-benefit analysis is a way to answer those questions before investing and risking the financial solvency of the organization. It lets you examine the numbers and make a knowledgeable decision about whether to go through with the project or not. This might be one of the most important Excel report templates you’ll use and it should always be part of your research.

6. Gap Analysis Template

Whether you’re managing a project or an organization, you’re always on the lookout for ways to innovate and be more efficient and effective in meeting your long-term goals. A gap analysis template is a tool that helps conduct a strategic analysis of when you are, where you want to be and, most importantly, how to get there.

Using this Excel report template is the first step to making an action plan that can help you close the gap you’ve found in your analysis. It helps you see the path to achieving those strategic long-term goals that help you grow and stay competitive. Like many Excel report templates, it also acts as a communication tool for stakeholders and employees, providing a lodestar to follow.

7. Lessons Learned Template

After you’ve delivered a project, it’s important to learn from it. What worked? What didn’t work? You can then take that knowledge and apply it to future projects to manage them better. One of the most important Excel report templates you can use is this free lessons learned template.

The lessons learned template creates a space in which you can capture all the information you need from what is a win or a loss, describing what happened, the impact, how to change things to improve and then a list of action items to implement those changes. Use this Excel report template when doing a post-mortem with the project team. Get their feedback as they were on the front lines of the project and can offer a unique perspective.

8. Executive Project Status Report Template

This executive project status report template is an ideal way to keep executives and stakeholders informed on progress without overwhelming them with unnecessary information.

The template standardizes how this information is presented, making updates faster to prepare and much easier to understand. It ensures consistency across projects, supports better decision-making and helps leadership stay aligned on progress, priorities, and potential problems.

9. Timesheet Template

Another Excel report template is our free timesheet template. It’s a tool that not only helps with payroll but allows project managers to track the time each team member is spending on their tasks. You can track cost per hour, vacation and overtime to help stay on schedule.

This free Excel report template captures the personal data of each team member, including the department in which they work, their supervisor and their hourly rate. Their weekly hours are then collected and totaled to show you how much time they put in and what tasks they’ve completed or are still working on. Finally, there’s a signature line for the employee and supervisor.

10. Risk Register Template

All projects have risks associated with them. We think of risks as bad, but some risks are good in that they open up an unforeseen opportunity. Our free risk register template helps you plan for risks, set priorities and outline who on the team is responsible for following through.

This free Excel report template is important in helping you identify and respond quickly to any issues that show up in the project. You can’t know every risk that might show up, but with the help of your team’s experience, you can outline a majority of the likely risks and have a plan in place to effectively mitigate risks or take advantage of them.

11. Project Update Template

A project update template gives you a structured, repeatable format to report on project status. It includes sections for key information such as what has been completed recently, what’s coming up next, current milestones and deliverables, risks or issues and any support or decisions needed.

Using this template standardizes communication; every update has the same format, so stakeholders always know where to look for what matters. It saves time compared to building a fresh report from scratch each time, reducing administrative overhead.

12. Change Log Template

Having a change log template is key to any change management process. Project plans are important but they’re not etched in stone. When changes occur in your project, whether external or internal, you need to have this free Excel report template to capture that change and track it throughout the project or until it’s resolved.

The free change log template has a place for everything you need to identify and track changes in your project, such as when it was first discovered and who discovered it. The more data around the change, the more you can control it and make sure it doesn’t derail your project.

13. Daily Report Template

Use this free daily report template to record and communicate key activities, progress and issues that occur within a single workday. It helps teams stay updated, track productivity, and ensure accountability in projects or operations.

This Excel report template streamlines the work management process. It collects the tasks collected over the day and those that are ongoing, including priority, estimated duration, who’s assigned and more. The template also tracks upcoming tasks to help keep the team prepared.

14. Budget Dashboard Template

A budget dashboard is a visual representation of the financial aspects of a project. It shows key budget-related metrics in easy-to-read graphs and charts. Download this free budget dashboard to help keep projects on budget.

Use this Excel report template to track planned vs. actual costs, expenses and forecasts. This allows project managers to quickly assess whether a project is within its financial constraints or not. It also helps to efficiently allocate resources, highlight potential overspending or delays and make more informed decisions.

15. Task Tracker Dashboard Template

An Excel report template that is useful when monitoring, managing and tracking the progress of tasks is this free task tracker dashboard template. It helps to keep project managers and their teams organized, prioritize work and help meet deadlines.

The task tracker dashboard provides a visual tool that can be tailored to meet one’s needs, whether by adding columns for priority, deadlines or task owners. It can also be customized with color to represent different statuses.

16. Highlight Report Template

A highlight report gives stakeholders a brief, high-level snapshot of a project’s status over a set period, often weekly or monthly. Use this highlight report template for Excel to communicate only the most important information: key accomplishments, upcoming work, major risks or issues, milestone progress and the overall health of the project (often shown with a RAG status: red, amber, green).

It helps busy stakeholders stay informed without reading detailed reports, supports quick decision-making and ensures everyone understands what’s progressing well and what needs attention. It’s essentially a concise progress check-in that keeps communication clear and consistent.

17. Balance Sheet Template

A balance sheet provides a snapshot of an organization’s financial position at a specific point in time. Use this free balance sheet template for Excel to outline assets, liabilities and equity to help stakeholders assess the financial health, liquidity and solvency of the organization.

This Excel report template simplifies financial reporting by performing essential calculations automatically. It sums current and non-current assets, liabilities and equity, for more accurate financial tracking. It also computes critical financial ratios, including debt ratio, current ratio, working capital, assets-to-equity ratio and debt-to-equity ratio.

18. Profit and Loss Statement Template

Use this free profit and loss statement template for Excel for businesses to track financial performance over a given period of time. This Excel report template provides a clear breakdown of revenue, expenses and net income to help understand profitability and more informed decisions.

Use this profit and loss statement template to automatically sum up revenue, cost of goods sold, operating expenses and other crucial components. Because the template is automated, it makes sure results for gross profit, operating income and net income are accurate.

How ProjectManager Makes Reporting More Robust

These Excel report templates are a good start, but if you want to cross that project finish line on time and without accruing extra costs, then you need project management software. ProjectManager is online project management software that automates reporting and delivers real-time data for more accuracy and better decision-making.

Use Real-Time Dashboards

The dashboard template only gives you a taste of what a dashboard can do. Our real-time dashboard automatically captures live data. You don’t have to manually input it. It also does the calculations for you and then displays the results in easy-to-read graphs and charts. This high-level view is constantly updating so it’s like a high-level status report that’s always at your fingertips. While other project management tools have dashboards, often you have to set them up. That wastes time. Our dashboard is ready to go when you are.

Get Customizable Reports

All of the Excel report templates we’ve featured for free download are static documents. Our reports can be generated quickly and each can be filtered to show only the data you want to see or share with stakeholders. There are reports on portfolio status, project status, project plan, task, timesheets, availability, workload and various others to help you see in real time how the project is progressing and performing. Excel report templates don’t take the complex data from your project and turn it into helpful and digestible information, but our software does.

The dashboard and reports are all collecting data from the many features that make our software unique in the project management space. We have robust Gantt charts that schedule tasks, resources and costs. Our kanban boards help to visualize your workflow while the sheet, list and calendar views are all designed to help you work how you want. Our collaborative platform connects everyone on your team, different departments and even outside enterprises so your reports can be shared with those who need to see them.

Related Excel Project Management Content

While Excel is not a project management software, it can still be a very helpful for managing various aspects of your projects. That’s why we’ve created dozens of blogs, templates and guides to help you use Excel for project management.

• Free Manufacturing Excel Templates
• Free Excel Construction Templates
• Free Word & Excel Templates for Business
• Excel Spreadsheet Templates for Tracking Tasks, Costs and Time
• How to Create a Project Timeline in Excel (Free Template Included)
• How to Make a Gantt Chart In Excel Step-By-Step (Template Included)
• 25 Must-Have Project Management Excel Templates and Spreadsheets

ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that creates efficiencies by connecting everyone in real time. With features to plan, monitor and report on projects, and manage resources and risks, we have the one tool for all your project management needs. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 18 Essential Excel Report Templates appeared first on ProjectManager.

Using project report templates, like a weekly status report template, ensure these reports are created quickly and effectively.

Why Use a Project Report Template?

No matter how thoroughly a project is planned, the unexpected is bound to happen. Project reports document these changes, whether good or bad, and inform future strategies. Without regularly completing project reports, valuable information and insights is missed out on.

Status reports are an example of how reporting directly impacts a project, in both the short-term and long-term. These weekly reports outline many details about a project, and using a weekly status report template can save you from leaving gaps in the information. Project report templates also keep these reports consistent and organized throughout the life of the project. Disorganized, or “messy” project reporting is a major pitfall.

Using a project report template ensures you’re getting the most from the data and presenting it to stakeholders in the right way.

Free Project Report Templates

Regardless of the project report, the document must convey information concisely—but that doesn’t mean the data should suffer. The challenge is providing information most efficiently. A project reporting template strikes a balance between too much detail and oversimplified reports that are useless to stakeholders.

Project reporting templates make reporting easier and the data more straightforward. Each of the following free project report templates is designed for a specific purpose and focuses on different information.

1. Weekly Status Report Template

A weekly project status report does exactly what one would think — it documents specific information during a project. These reports should be created throughout the life of a project to illustrate changes, whether that be successes or failures. A weekly status report is the first step toward understanding if a project is going smoothly.

Our weekly status report template covers all the bases and presents information efficiently. This template includes major details such as an executive summary, project milestones, issues, risks and past and future projections.

This status report template also ensures the information is presented in a way that makes the most logical sense. The executive summary defines the project and discusses goals and projections. It doesn’t make sense to present potential risks and changes to stakeholders before they’re hooked on the executive summary.

2. Project Dashboard Template

A project dashboard is one of the most widely used project management tools. Our dashboard template is a visual tool to view the project’s current status, health, calendar and more. It’s a great complement to our weekly status report template.

A dashboard should include tasks, task lengths, costs and workload, but it shouldn’t necessarily illustrate the minutiae of them. Use this free project dashboard template to keep it simple without needing an oversaturated dashboard. Or if you’re looking for a dashboard for managing multiple projects or tracking the performance of your business operations, you can use our free KPI dashboard template for projects and businesses.

3. Project Progress Report Template

A project progress template helps project managers compare actual progress against the projections and estimates included in the project plan. A progress report is a critical project management tool that works for both tracking and reporting.

4. Risk Register Template

As the project continues, new risks are bound to crop up. There’s no way to foresee every potential risk during the project planning phase, so reporting on new issues as they appear is required. This way, problems are identified before they happen and you gain a better understanding of what to look out for in future projects.

A risk register should include each potential risk and the impact it could have. It should also categorize the risk and describe what steps were taken in order to avoid it.

While many of these risks will never become reality, it’s crucial to document and plan for them. Projects without risk registers walk the tightrope with no safety net. They also don’t inform future projects. Keeping a running list with this risk register template turns risks into references for the future.

5. Executive Project Status Report Template

Sometimes, senior leaders need a quick, clear snapshot of a project’s overall health. Unlike detailed team reports, this template focuses on the information executives care about most: project status, major milestones, key accomplishments, upcoming work, risks or issues, budget or timeline concerns and any decisions or support needed.

Its purpose is to simplify communication and keep leadership aligned without overwhelming them with details. By using a template, project managers can present updates consistently, highlight what truly matters and help executives make fast, informed decisions.

6. Change Log Template

A change log is similar to a risk register. However, in a risk register, these are potential risks. In a change log, these are actual changes that took place. A change log template is where major changes in the project, what actions were taken to resolve them when the matter was resolved and other details will be listed.

Why not add this information to a weekly status report? These are specific, unusual circumstances throughout the life of the project that need to be in one location.

A change log template organizes the information about changes and what steps were taken to address them in one chronological list. Remember, a project report template is supposed to be a point of reference for project managers experiencing changes in future projects. An organized change log shows what responses worked in the past and what didn’t.

7. Project Update Template

Project updates are integral to project reporting. Using a project update template benefits teams and stakeholders because it imposes consistency and clarity on reporting, making updates faster to prepare and easier to read. It ensures essential information isn’t overlooked, helps track progress, flag problems early, and communicate changes transparently.

With a consistent format, stakeholders always know where to find key information like accomplishments, upcoming work, risks and overall project health. This reduces confusion, saves time and ensures nothing critical is overlooked.

8. Project Closure Report Template

At the end of the project, it’s time to wrap up and get stakeholder sign-offs with a project closure template. This report is the final sprint in the marathon of managing a successful project. Without this final push, all the hard work up to this point loses value.

A project closure report includes documentation of everything needed to complete the project, as well as any outstanding items that have not been completed. This report should summarize objectives, criteria for completion, successes, failures and lessons learned. It should also provide information about time spent, budget, scope and schedule.

A project closure report sometimes asks for abstract information. Listing all the major takeaways from a project sounds challenging, but this free project closure template makes it as simple as following a checklist.

9. Post-Mortem Project Report Template

A post-mortem is a medical term that refers to the examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death. In project management, the post-mortem is a report on a project that has just been completed, reviewing what worked and what didn’t.

Download this free port-mortem template for Word and get a project report template that details the good, bad and ugly of a recently delivered project. This allows the project manager, team and stakeholders to honestly assess the project, issues and all, to apply what’s learned to the next project.

This free project report template crucially outlines what the initial expectations were. There’s space to list the project milestones, achievements and obstacles. Stakeholders has a place to give their perspective, too, making this a comprehensive look at past projects to improve future ones.

10. KPI Dashboard Template

Project report templates don’t have to look back at a closed project; they can be very helpful for tracking the progress of a current one. Being able to get a lot of data on the performance, cost, workload and more when managing a project provides information to make more insightful decisions.

Download this KPI dashboard template for Excel to get valuable data that helps deliver projects on time, within budget and meeting quality standards. Project managers can use this project report template to quickly identify trends and respond to challenges or opportunities when they arise.

This project report has charts and graphs that help deliver projects and businesses alike. There are key performance indicators for budget, a yearly pay/loss overview, task status, resource planning, workload analysis and more.

11. Lessons Learned Report Template

When a project is over, it’s not finished. There are documents to sign, teams to release to other projects and more paperwork. But the last and possibly most important item of business is documenting the knowledge obtained from the execution of the project.

This free lessons learned template for Excel is a way to capture that knowledge, both positive and negative. Like the post-mortem, this project report template allows the team to reflect on the project and figure out how the next one can be better managed.

The lessons learned template divides each topic discussed as a win or an issue. From there, the team will describe what happened and its impact on the project. That leads to how it might change future projects and then a list of action items to address the win or issue.

12. Change Impact Report Template

Change is a given when managing a project. That doesn’t mean project managers and business leaders just let it happen. They use this free change impact assessment template for Excel to understand how the change will affect the people, process and projects they’re involved with.

Using this project report template can inform resource allocation and reduce the risk associated with the change. It helps analyze the type and extent of the change, and its impact on different departments in the organization, from employees to project teams, processes, technology and more.

The free project report template has space to describe the current state of the operation or business process. Then there’s a place to define the desired state. Next, the proposed change is explained and a list of questions will be provided to estimate the impact of the change.

13. Highlight Report Template

A highlight report is a brief, high-level summary that gives stakeholders a snapshot of a project’s current status over a defined reporting period. This highlight report template keeps sponsors and stakeholders informed without overwhelming them with detail.

It focuses on what has changed since the last report, what needs attention and whether the project remains on track. Regular highlight reports improve transparency, support timely decision-making and help maintain alignment across teams.

14. After Action Report Template

This structured document is used after a project, event, campaign or any major initiative is completed. It helps teams review what happened, compare outcomes to what was planned and reflect on successes and failures.

Using an after-action report template benefits stakeholders by ensuring that insights and outcomes are consistently documented and shared. Rather than leaving conclusions in people’s heads (or scattered notes), the template forces teams to articulate what worked, what failed and why, which builds organizational memory.

The Value of a Perfect Report

All too often, projects are managed without reflecting on the successes and failures of past projects. The best projects are informed by past reports and create reports with the future in mind. Using project reporting templates means each report created is part of a larger reference for the future.

Whether reporting on agile projects, programs, products, or managing any other type of project, there is a template that will benefit your reporting and results. This can mean simplifying your workflow and improving deliverables.

Take Project Reporting Further with ProjectManager

Using project templates is an excellent first step in the project reporting process, but templates can only take you so far.

Fortunately, you can take project reports even further by using them in combination with project management software. Online project management software such as ProjectManager can create and share automated reports with the most up-to-date data. Take a free trial of ProjectManager and see just how much we can improve your project reporting experience.

Related Content

• Project Management Templates for Google Sheets
• 6 Project Report Examples (Free Download)
• Essential Report Templates for Excel
• Project Status Reports: The Ultimate Guide
• Project Performance Reporting: Key Performance Reports
• Understanding the Exception Report in Project Management

ProjectManager is a cloud-based software that allows you to manage projects and create reports from anywhere. Import your project in minutes and create reports with ease. The ProjectManager dashboard shows an easy-to-navigate overview of your project, and our reporting tools give you the power to report on the information with the click of a button. See for yourself by taking this 30-day free trial today.

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18 Budget Templates for Business and Project Budgeting

Below are 18 budget templates that you can use for estimating your project costs. There are some industry-specific budgeting templates, too, but all of them will help you forecast costs, which is the first step in running a tight budget and delivering a successful project.

ProjectManager is award-winning project management software, but our website is a hub for all things project-related. We publish weekly blogs on the topic, and have in-depth guides, tutorial videos and free project management templates for Excel and Word.

We’ve selected the ones that can help you with your budget, but there are free templates available for every phase of your project. Visit our template page and you’re sure to find something to help you plan, manage and track your project.

1. Budget Proposal Template

Before you can create a project or business budget, you have to get it approved. That means you’re going to need to write a budget proposal to pitch the idea to your executive team and stakeholders. This is a critical step as it will determine if the project is a go or if the powers that be choose to pass on it. This is why our free budget proposal template for Excel is so important.

A budget proposal is a document that estimates the cost of executing a potential project. It’s used to secure funding and, if the project is approved this document will be the foundation of your project budget. A budget proposal can be used for a future project, but that’s not all. They’re also great for a business budget, an upcoming campaign or any enterprise in which it’s critical to show the benefits are greater than the costs.

Our free budget proposal template is broken down into categories, such as salaries, materials, equipment, travel, communications and any miscellaneous items. But the template is fully customizable so you can add or subtract as you see fit for whatever budget you’re proposing. By estimating the costs of everything involved in the project, you’ll get an accurate forecast of your potential costs (though it helps to seek out experts who’ve been there and done that as well as historical data).

2. Project Budget Template

Once the budget proposal has been approved, it’s time to build a budget. This will take all the financial details that you gathered in your proposal, especially the cost estimates, and lay them out for your team to have the resources they need to execute the project successfully.

The project budget template will need to cover a lot of bases, including the hiring of a team, subcontractors, vendors, materials, equipment and more. All of which cost money.

Our free project budget template for Excel is customizable so you can add as much to it as you need to cover the expenses of your project. First, you can list all your tasks and who they’re assigned to. Then there are the costs to collect for each, such as labor and materials. While that might be the bulk of your costs, a budget is more than just those two resources. That’s why we’ve added travel, equipment and fixed costs. Again, you can add more columns if necessary. At the far right end of the spreadsheet is a column for your budgeted and actual expenses, with the final column noting if you’re under or over budget.

That can help you track, but a template is a static document that must be manually updated. Project management software is going to automate many of those tasks to help you manage your budget more efficiently. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that can help you plan, manage and track your costs in real time. Either start your budget in our software or upload the budget template into our Gantt chart. Now you can link all four types of task dependencies to avoid costly delays, filter for the critical path to identify essential tasks to keep you on schedule and set a baseline to track your actual costs against your budget in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

3. Budget Dashboard Template

Dashboards are a very useful tool when tracking budgets, as they can help decision-makers quickly determine whether the costs of a project or business operations are exceeding the budgeted costs at a glance. For example, this free budget dashboard for Excel helps keep track labor, material, equipment and overhead costs and presents that data on visual charts. The best part is that it allows to compare planned versus actual project costs to identify cost overruns. To use it, simply enter your project costs and the charts will autogenerate based on the information that’s entered in the tables.

4. Budget Plan Template

When organizations map out how their financial resources will support upcoming goals, a budget plan becomes the anchor for those decisions. Instead of reacting to expenses as they arise, teams can predict revenue, schedule spending and understand the impact of each cost before it happens. This kind of planning makes it easier to protect cash flow, set realistic profit targets and steer the business with more clarity and control throughout the budgeting period.

This budget plan template gathers all financial planning elements into a single, well-organized document. It begins with high-level goals, assumptions and risk considerations, then breaks down income projections, expense categories and cash flow timing to show when funds are available. Profit and loss estimates help measure expected performance, while approval and version details keep governance clear. The structure supports transparent planning and delivers a realistic financial outlook for any upcoming period.

5. Cash Flow Statement Template

Even profitable businesses or projects can struggle if cash isn’t available when needed. A cash flow statement reveals how money actually moves in and out of an organization by tracking operating results, investments and financing activities. It shows whether day-to-day operations generate enough cash to support growth and pay obligations. Budget planning becomes more realistic when teams can forecast upcoming shortages or surpluses and make informed decisions about spending, borrowing or reinvesting funds.

This cash flow statement template organizes financial activity into three key categories: operations, investing and financing. Users can enter income adjustments, asset purchases, debt changes, dividends and more, while totals automatically update to show net cash flow for the period. Beginning and ending cash balances make it easy to verify financial health. With a clear structure and real-world format, this template helps businesses monitor liquidity and strengthen their budgeting and forecasting practices.

6. Procurement Plan Template

Every organization relies on outside goods and services, but without a clear process, spending can quickly drift off-budget. A procurement plan template gives structure to how items will be sourced, who will manage each step and what criteria define acceptable quality and pricing, whether you’re managing a business or a project. It connects purchasing decisions directly to project goals, supporting more accurate cost forecasts, reducing delivery risks and improving accountability with vendors. The result is better budgeting and stronger overall financial control.

This procurement plan template consolidates all key sourcing elements into one organized document. It starts by defining procurement objectives, then lists required items with specifications and pricing to help estimate project costs early. Vendor evaluation criteria and acquisition methods promote transparency and fair selection. Timelines, roles and contract strategies keep responsibilities clear, while compliance and documentation sections protect against regulatory issues. Together, these components streamline decision-making and ensure purchases align with schedule and budget needs.

7. Expense Report Template

Tracking spending isn’t just about paperwork—it’s essential for managing budgets responsibly. An expense report template records costs incurred by employees while carrying out business activities, ensuring every purchase has a purpose and aligns with company policies. When expenses are categorized, approved and documented consistently, organizations maintain financial transparency, prevent overspending and forecast future costs more accurately. This allows budgeting to reflect real operational needs rather than estimates or assumptions.

This expense report template provides an organized way to list business-related purchases, including travel, meals, supplies and professional fees. Employee details and approval fields support accountability and policy compliance, while itemized entries capture dates, vendors and justifications for each expense. With automatic totals and clear categories, it simplifies reimbursements and helps finance teams track spending trends. The template ensures documentation stays complete and structured, contributing to more effective budgeting and cost control.

8. Marketing Budget Template

As we’ve mentioned above, a budget is useful across all industries. If it costs money to do, then a budget is instrumental in making sure those costs don’t balloon and bankrupt you. Marketing campaigns aren’t cheap and there’s always a client looking over your shoulder to make sure they’re getting bang for their buck. Having a marketing budget template is a way not only to forecast the cost of the marketing campaign but can help legitimize your expenses with the client so they understand where every dollar went and how it was spent wisely.

Using our free marketing budget template for Excel will help you estimate the financial element of the marketing campaign by outlining all the potential costs, which will then be approved by the client to ensure that everyone is aware of the expense and has signed off on it. The marketing budget will provide guidelines to the marketing team in terms of what they can and can’t spend to fulfill the mandate of their client. Marketing departments are also under a mandate, whether they’re part of a larger organization or a boutique firm, and that’s to keep costs low. Budgeting templates help by forecasting and tracking costs to ensure they stay within budget.

Marketing can be many things and that’s reflected in our marketing budget template. Again, every budget template is customizable so you can add or remove what you want to fit your marketing budget. We’ve broken up our marketing budget template into various campaigns, such as email, direct mail, online and promotions. Under each category are the various tasks associated with them. For each, we have a column to note the total budget and it’s also broken up into quarters, as marketing budgets usually are.

9. Event Budget Template

An event can be part of a marketing campaign, such as a trade show or product launch, or it can even be a personal thing, such as a birthday party, wedding or bar mitzvah. Whatever type of event you’re having, it’ll involve money and that means it will need a budget template to make sure that money is well spent and doesn’t break the bank. This is true for any event, whether it’s small or large and complex. Events have a tendency to get out of hand and an event budget template is a tool to not only forecast the cost but keep track of what you’re spending.

As with any budget template, our free event budget for Excel helps you to estimate the costs involved in making whatever function you’re putting on. It does this as all budgeting templates do, by having a cost associated with every event planning task, which includes all the resources you’ll need to execute those tasks. Once you’ve created your budget, the next step is to get it approved. When approved, you’ll execute the tasks. The marketing budget template continues to be useful as it allows you to track those costs to make sure that you’re not overspending.

The event budget template is customizable so you can use our categories or add your own. Therefore, this budgeting template can work with any event. We break it down by categories, such as venue, equipment, travel and accommodation and marketing. The next column lists the vendor or contractor you’re working with. Then there’s a column for labor and material costs followed by a total for the line item. The next column is where you’ll add the actual cost so you can compare it to your budgeted cost and make sure you’re keeping to your budget.

10. Operating Budget Template

Another type of budget template is one dedicated to operating expenses. An operating budget is used by organizations to look at the coming year through a financial lens. It’s used to forecast the revenue and expenses that an organization expects to make over the coming year or quarter, depending on the timeframe for the operating budget.

Most organizations will set their operating budget in the fourth quarter and use it as a plan for the coming year. It’ll show what they expect to do and how much that will cost as well as how much they hope to make, including fixed costs and variable costs.

Our free operating budget template for Excel will help you manage your day-to-day operations and help your business meet its strategic goals without spending more than it has to. But things change and our operating budget template allows you to adjust your operating budget to reflect those changes and you measure how you performed over a month or quarter compared to what you had planned. The operating budget will give your organization accountability as well as planning and managing your resources. It identifies cost drives and helps to find when you can increase cost efficiency and profitability.

Use our free operating budget template to figure out the products or services you’ll sell over the quarter or year and their costs as well as how you plan to sell them. Next, budget those costs, including direct expenses and cost per unit, units sold and the total cost. Operating expenses are outlined for each month, including fixed and variable costs. We’ve also added a section for unexpected expenses so there’s a cushion in your operating budget because there are always unexpected expenses.

11. Project Estimate Template

While not exactly a budget, estimating is a necessary step toward creating an accurate budget. The more accurate your estimates are, the more accurate your budget is. Every budget begins with a project estimate, which is a bit of a science and a bit of an act of faith. If you have historical data that can help you determine what things will cost. It’s also good to seek the advice of experts. A project estimate template is also important.

Using our free project estimate template for Excel will help you build your budget by identifying the resources you’ll need and for how long you’ll need them. Then you can start figuring out how much each of these costs will be. Bit by bit, you’ll be able to make an accurate forecast of the financial investment needed for your project and from there, it’s only a small step to making the project budget, which you can do with one of the many free budget templates we’ve highlighted above.

Our project estimate template does this by first breaking up your project into phases. Every project has five phases: initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and, finally, closure. Each of those phases will have expenses associated with it. Our free template lets you define them by tasks, vendor or contractor, labor and material costs. Once you’ve filled in all the tasks for all the phases, you’ll have a clear idea of what the project is going to cost.

12. Construction Estimate Template

If you’re a construction project manager, you understand the importance of an accurate estimate. If the project ends up costing more than you budgeted for, those extra costs are coming out of your profits. Accurate estimates are always important, of course, but when those dollars are coming out of your pocket chances are you’re going to pay closer attention. That’s why you’ll want to take time for a thorough construction project estimate.

A free construction job estimate template for Excel is a great place to start when figuring out the finances for your project. Of course, there isn’t just one type of construction estimate. There is the preliminary estimate, which is a general overview of costs. A detailed estimate used the design documents to estimate raw materials, equipment and labor costs. There is also a quantity estimate, which relies on material takeoffs, and a bid estimate, which is the final version sent by the general contractor to the project owner.

Our free construction estimate template helps you forecast labor costs, material costs and your profit market as the contractor for the job. These are the basic components of any construction estimate. Labor estimates refer to the human resources who execute the tasks. Material costs are those raw materials used to construct what you’re building. The profit margin is a percentage of this to cover all costs, including labor, materials, direct, indirect and overhead costs.

13. Inventory Template

This inventory template is designed to help you keep track of various types of physical goods inventories, like the raw materials you need to manufacture your products, the product stock that you have available for sale or even products that are still in process.

It allows you to monitor the number of units in stock, price per unit, reorder information and total inventory cost. It’s a must-have business template for any business owner, manufacturer, retailer or store owner.

14. Sales Forecast Template

Planning revenue requires more than guessing how many products might sell. A sales forecast uses expected demand, pricing and market conditions to estimate future income, helping leaders prepare business or project budgets with confidence. By anticipating seasonal swings, identifying growth opportunities and accounting for risks, businesses can align spending on inventory, staffing and marketing with projected revenue. This makes financial planning more responsive and prevents budget decisions from being based on assumptions alone.

This sales forecast template brings structure to revenue predictions by tracking product volumes, prices and total expected income across multiple channels and regions. Assumptions, risks and opportunities are documented to explain the rationale behind the numbers. It also includes fields for probability ratings, making forecasts more transparent and measurable. With a clean layout and clear revenue calculations, the template supports better budgeting, smarter decision-making and more accurate planning for upcoming sales periods.

15. Construction Budget Template

For construction-specific projects, this construction budget template is one of the easiest and most streamlined ways to list and keep track of costs to ensure all expenses are accounted for. It’s a helpful tool to keep track of where spending can be reduced and improve financial management on construction projects as a whole. This is why our free construction budget template for Excel is so important.

This template is especially useful for general contractors as they estimate project costs. As a result, they can see if the project is viable for the property owner while still guaranteeing there’s a healthy profit margin. The template has space for project task information, assignees, labor, materials and budgeted and actual data to clearly see where you are under or over-spending.

Other benefits of using this budgeting template include cost control, forecasting, transparency between stakeholders, risk management, reporting and overall accountability.

16. Cost-Benefit Analysis Template

Launching a new project is no easy feat, and project managers have to factor in many moving parts to help set up the project for success. Consider whether the project is meeting a need, offering a service or solving a problem. Plus, project managers must consider what the potential return on investment is going to be. This is where our free cost-benefit analysis template can help compare what you expect to pay for a project against the value or opportunities it will provide.

Our free cost-benefit analysis template for Excel is designed to suit businesses, projects and personal matters. There are dedicated sections for adding project information, quantitative costs, various types of costs including indirect, intangible and opportunity costs, quantitative benefits, types of benefits and the overall cost-benefit analysis. Feel free to add or remove sections as needed.

There are many benefits to using this cost-benefit analysis template. It offers a systematic and transparent way to assess a project’s financial implications. As a result, it helps decision-makers make informed choices about whether to move forward with a project.

17. Workload Budget Template

One important part of project budgeting is having an understanding of your team’s workload and how many resources can be allocated to their schedules. The last thing you want is for one employee to have a full schedule while another one is sitting idly waiting for another assignment. That is where workload analysis and budgeting comes into play. It helps manage the workforce by balancing workload and increasing team member satisfaction.

Use this free workload budget template for Excel to start mapping out the information on each team member’s workload and avoid burnout. When there’s a better idea of how the workload is balanced, it’s easier to identify what resources are needed at certain times of the project.

Some other benefits of using this budget template include performance measurement and tracking, forecasting future workloads based on historical data and improving communication within teams through a shared reference point.

18. Contractor Budget Template

Even though construction projects are well organized, there still needs to be seamless coordination between all involved parties. A huge part that factors into a successful project is budgeting, specifically for construction contractors. A contractor budget template is a perfect place to create accurate and streamlined estimates; there’s a place to add item numbers, a description of the job, any associated vendors or contractors, labor costs, material costs and notes.

This budget template provides essential information that contributes to the construction planning phase as it helps determine the project’s costs, resources and duration. Both general contractors and subcontractors can use this budget template when bidding for a new construction job.

The consistency that this template provides makes the data easier to understand. It acts as a communication tool between the contractor and general contractor, helping to resolve differences between what needs to be done and how much it will cost to execute those tasks.

Use ProjectManager to Get More Than Budget Templates Can Give

While our free templates are a great way to help you estimate your project costs and even make a budget, you’re not going to want to run a project on templates. Templates just can’t do what a project requires. You’ll always have to stop what you’re doing to manually update the template and they’re not a great collaboration tool. That’s why project management software was developed, to give project teams greater control over what they do and do it more efficiently. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that helps you not only create a budget but has the tools to track costs.

Monitor Labor Costs With Timesheets

One of the budgetary costs that can quickly get out of control is your labor costs. When projects get delayed, your crew is on the job site longer than you expected or the team is working more days than were initially scheduled. This is all going to impact your budget. One way to make sure your team is keeping to the project plan is with our secure timesheets. Not only do they streamline and add security to the payroll process, they track the hours each team member is spending on their tasks. You can then use this to see if they’re keeping up or falling behind and reallocate resources accordingly to stay on track

Track Progress With Real-Time Dashboards

Another way to make sure you’re staying on budget is to monitor your project. This is part of the monitor and control phase, which occurs with executing the project. Our real-time dashboards allow you to get a high-level view of the project’s progress and performance whenever you want. Just toggle over to the dashboard and it automatically collects live data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show metrics, such as cost, time, workload and more. Best of all, there’s no lengthy and complicated setup required as with lightweight alternatives. Our dashboard is ready when you are.

When you want more detail than our dashboard can provide, use our customizable reports. They can be generated in a couple of keystrokes and filtered to show only the data you want to see. There are status reports and portfolio status reports if you’re managing a program or portfolio. There are also timesheets, variance and more reports, all of which can be saved in a variety of formats that can then be delivered to stakeholders to keep them updated.

ProjectManager is online project management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office, out in the field or anywhere in between. They can share files, comment at the task level and get notified by email or in-app alerts whenever there are changes or updates. Our software helps teams collaborate better and is used by companies as diverse as Avis, Nestle and Siemens to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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ProjectManager is project management software that helps you manage projects and stakeholders. If you’re not ready for a free trial of the software, we also offer dozens of free project management templates for Excel and Word that can help with every phase of your project. Here are some free stakeholder management templates.

1. Stakeholder Analysis Template

There may be many stakeholders in any project, but your job as a project manager is to identify them. Each stakeholder can have a different interest or those interests can evolve over the course of the project. Using our free stakeholder analysis template for Excel helps you devise an effective stakeholder communication plan to keep them properly informed.

There are fields to capture basic stakeholder information, including their title, contact information and influence or power over the project. Then you can place each stakeholder as they stand in relation to the project, noting their priority, if they have subject matter expertise and whether they’re decision-makers. Then you can assess each stakeholder’s commitment to the project and better manage them.

2. Project Status Report Template

Stakeholders need to stay informed throughout the project. Depending on the stakeholder, however, that level of information and the frequency in which they’re updated can change. Whether they need details or just an overview, project managers still must report regularly. Using our free project status report template for Excel is a great tool to capture a period of time in the project.

The trouble with a static template is that it has to be manually updated and the information can’t be customized to reflect each stakeholder’s concerns.

Take Stakeholder Management Online With ProjectManager

Unlike static tools, ProjectManager is an online software that delivers real-time data. Reports can be filtered to show only the information relevant to each stakeholder.

• Generate reports on status, variance and more in a keystroke
• Share reports in a variety of customizable formats
• Free guest licenses for stakeholders offer real-time insights via dashboards and schedules. Try it free

3. Stakeholder Map Template

If you’re looking for a visual tool that can help you identify and chart your stakeholders, then you need to download our free stakeholder map template for Excel. You can use the stakeholder map to inform your decision-making when dealing with stakeholders. It’s essential to establishing a viable stakeholder communication plan.

The stakeholder map template helps you to determine who wants to know what, when they need to know it and how they prefer to get their updates.

Related: 5 Stakeholder Map Examples With Analysis

This stakeholder map has four categories for managing your stakeholders: manage closely, keep satisfied, keep informed and monitor. Place each stakeholder you identify in the correct box and use color coding to show if they’re supportive, neutral or critical to the project.

4. Stakeholder Register Template

A stakeholder register is an easy and streamlined way to lay out the information to better understand each stakeholder, their influence and the best way to manage them. Download this free stakeholder register template for Excel to help outline stakeholders and how they may impact the project.

Ideally, use this template during the project’s planning stage to identify stakeholders as early as possible. However, it can also help form and develop the project team to ensure the right people are selected. It’s also useful to use to define success criteria, helping project managers align objectives with stakeholder expectations.

5. Stakeholder Engagement Plan Template

A stakeholder engagement plan outlines who your project’s stakeholders are, what their interests and influence look like, how and when you’ll communicate with them and what level of engagement each group needs. This stakeholder engagement plan template for Excel gives you a clear, organized structure for identifying stakeholders, mapping their influence and expectations, setting communication methods and planning engagement activities.

Instead of starting from a blank page, the template speeds up the process, improves consistency, reduces the chance of overlooking key stakeholders and makes it easier to share the plan with your team. It ultimately helps you manage relationships proactively and avoid misunderstandings or resistance that could derail the project.

6. Business Case Template

Since stakeholders have a vested interest in the project, one of the things they’re most concerned about is the costs related to executing the project. They want to know if the investment costs are worth it. You can show them this with our free business case template for Word, which summarizes project objectives, costs and benefits.

The business case is important due diligence for stakeholders by proving that their investment in the project is beneficial. They can read an executive summary, the mission statement for the project and the final deliverable that’ll be produced. There’s a place to show the project objectives and how they’ll be achieved, the financial appraisal and market assessment plus more. It’ll help get buy-in from stakeholders.

7. Cost-Benefit Analysis Template

Another free template that can help prove to stakeholders that the project is worth their investment is our free cost-benefit analysis template for Excel. It helps you look at the numbers and determine if the money you’re putting into the project is worth the deliverables.

A cost-benefit analysis template does this by adding a dollar amount to the project’s costs and benefits. By subtracting the benefits from the costs you can see what the profit if any, is for the project. This can be financial gains, but it can also determine if the business objectives and goals are worth the costs. This information can help get stakeholders on board with the project.

8. RACI Matrix

It’s clearly important to identify and define the roles and responsibilities of your project team, but often project managers will neglect the same exercise when dealing with project stakeholders. After that, your project team is just one of likely many stakeholders in the project. Using our free RACI matrix template for Excel allows you to categorize everyone involved in the project, including stakeholders.

RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed. On our free template, you list all the stakeholders (or the entire project team) on the left side, while atop the chart is their title. In the corresponding box, you note if they’re responsible, accountable, consulted or informed. Now you have a document to guide everyone on the team, including stakeholders, who have different levels of involvement and impact on the project.

9. Skills Matrix Template

Another free stakeholder management template is the skills matrix template for Excel. Stakeholders want to ensure the project team has the needed skills to deliver the intended outcomes on time, on budget and to the required quality standards. This free template can help you do just that.

This template captures relevant details like department and job roles to highlight areas of expertise and areas where critical skills are missing. Use it to ensure the right people are assigned to the right tasks, balance workloads and avoid bottlenecks.

10. Requirements Gathering Template

Stakeholders want to know the problems being solved by the project, how it plans to achieve its objective, what condition or capacity must be met and more. That’s all addressed in our free requirements gathering template for Word. This is a key document for stakeholders and captures vital information about the project in one place.

There’s a lot covered in the free template. It lists the project requirements, from user, functional and system to software, interface, workflow, change and risks. This is more of a high-level view, which is appropriate for most stakeholders and avoids getting into the weeds. There’s even a section for everyone to sign off on the document to ensure they’re informed and in agreement.

11. Project Update Template

Stakeholders always want to know what’s going on, and this project update template for Excel helps record and communicate the project’s current status. It captures key details such as what’s been completed, what work is coming next, any risks or issues, and any support or decisions needed from stakeholders.

By using a consistent format for each reporting period, it becomes easier to communicate progress without recreating a report from scratch. It increases transparency by clearly documenting accomplishments, upcoming tasks and obstacles, which helps identify bottlenecks early and supports better decision-making. 

12. Executive Project Status Report Template

An executive project status report is a high-level summary of a project’s progress designed specifically for senior leaders and stakeholders. This executive project status report template is designed to give executives a clear, concise snapshot of whether the project is on track, what’s changing and where their attention is needed without overwhelming them with day-to-day details. It helps leadership stay informed, removes surprises, and ensures the project continues to align with strategic goals.

Unlike detailed team reports, it focuses only on the information executives need to make decisions: overall project health, major milestones achieved, upcoming deadlines, risks and issues, budget status, key KPIs and any decisions or support required.

13. Team Charter Template

Team members are stakeholders, though not the only ones in a project. The free team charter template for Word is mostly focused on them, but it’s another essential stakeholder management template. It explains how the team fits into the larger context of the project, such as the project stakeholders.

Besides that, the free charter lists everyone involved in the project and provides contact information. There’s a section to outline the background of the project, its mission and objective, budget and resources and the decision-making process used by the team. There’s information on scope, performance assessments, activities and milestones and much more. It’s a great tool to communicate and get everyone on board with the project.

14. Project Request Form

A project request form template helps propose a new project, capture its purpose, outline expected outcomes and provide the details that leadership needs to evaluate if the project should move forward. The form serves as the starting point for project intake and approval.

For stakeholders, a project request is highly beneficial because it brings structure and clarity to the decision-making process. It ensures all proposals are evaluated consistently, reduces misunderstandings about what a project entails and helps stakeholders prioritize initiatives.

15. Communication Plan Template

Speaking of communication, you need a communication plan to get information to your project team. Using our free communication plan template for Word will help you define objectives and schedule communication updates with stakeholders. It’s one of the more important stakeholder management templates in that a well-informed stakeholder is easier to manage and less likely to interfere in the project.

Besides objectives, the communication plan template helps you define how you’ll achieve those objectives, in what timeframe and with what metrics to measure your success. You’ll figure out the staffing and tools associated with disseminating information as well as reviewing its effectiveness. Once you have a plan, it’s apt to change in order to remain relevant and effective.

16. Project Requirements Template

Project requirements include the key needs, specifications and expectations before the work begins. This free project requirements template brings all project needs and expectations into one clear, organized place. Instead of guessing or relying on memories, everyone can see what features, constraints, and criteria are expected from the start.

That means fewer surprises, better communication and confidence that what gets delivered matches what was promised, making it easier for the whole team to stay aligned and focused.

17. Organizational Chart Template

While it might not seem like a key stakeholder management template, knowing the organizational makeup of a company or project is how everyone in the organization or project team knows to whom they report. Use our free organizational chart template for Excel. It’s a flowchart that shows the hierarchical internal structure of an organization or project.

This document is an easy-to-digest visual of the chain of command. While smaller organizations, such as startups, or projects might not need the tool, the larger and more complex the organization or project is, the more essential this stakeholder management template becomes. Everyone must know who they report to and who has authority, which is exactly what this template illustrates.

18. Transition Plan Template

Stakeholders will want to know that any transitions will be handled smoothly. A transition plan is a set of steps, goals and timelines to better prepare for change. This document offers a structure and framework to create a unique plan to help teams identify and address potential risks and uncertainties during a transition. This free transition template for Excel saves time and streamlines the process.

Transitions can be stressful, but having a template makes the process easier. It’s especially useful to use when the project is shifting from one phase to another or when there’s a change in someone’s role or project. For example, leverage it when a team member is leaving a role to help inform what duties will change and who to inform.

ProjectManager Helps With Stakeholder Management

Once you’ve downloaded and used our free stakeholder management templates, you’ll quickly find that they can take you only so far. Templates, after all, must be manually inputted and updated; they’re not collaborative and are isolated from the rest of your project management tools. ProjectManager is project management software that helps you plan, manage and track your stakeholder management in real time.

Share Project Plans With Stakeholders

Projects need plans, but plans don’t work without your stakeholders. Creating a schedule on our robust Gantt charts allows you to manage the stakeholders on your project team, organize their tasks, link dependencies to avoid costly delays and assign them to work that you can track in real time. The project plan can be easily shared with the project team and stakeholders to keep everyone on the same page.

Monitor Progress and Performance in Real Time

Once you set a baseline on the Gantt, you can track your planned effort against your actual effort. Not only does this help you keep to your schedule and budget, but stakeholders want to be updated on that valuable data as well. The real-time dashboard requires no setup, as with lightweight tools, and tracks everything from workload to cost and time in easy-to-read graphs and charts. It’s a great way to get a high-level view of the project whenever you want.

Project managers can use resource management features to keep their teams productive. Availability can be set in advance to make scheduling simpler and our color-coded workload chart helps you see your team’s allocation. You can then balance their workload from the chart to keep them working at capacity. They’re not overallocated and stakeholders are happy to see productivity.

Related Content

If that’s not enough stakeholder management for you, our site is loaded with free content. There are weekly blogs, guides, videos, and, of course, more free project management templates for Excel and Word. Here are some resources to learn more about stakeholder management.

• Stakeholder Management Guide
• Stakeholder Analysis 101
• What Is Stakeholder Theory
• Stakeholder vs. Shareholder: What’s the Difference?
• Stakeholder Mapping 101: A Quick Guide to Stakeholder Maps

ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that empowers teams to work better together. Task management tools add to productive and risk management features to help you identify, track and mitigate risk. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 18 Free Stakeholder Management Templates for Excel & Word appeared first on ProjectManager.

There are also planning charts, diagrams and matrices for each of the key 10 project management areas such as cost, schedule, resource or stakeholder management.

Luckily for project managers, there are many alternatives when it comes to choosing a project management chart to facilitate project planning efforts. In fact, using those charts is often a need for project managers. You’ll need to use a Gantt chart or a work breakdown structure to build your project plan, which is the foundation of your project.

What Are Project Management Charts?

Project management charts are visual representations of data that turn difficult project management concepts into easily digestible assets. They’re mostly used for project planning and take many shapes such as flowcharts, network diagrams or bar charts. Gantt charts, PERT charts, CPM diagrams and WBS diagrams are great examples.

Project management charts are especially useful when you’re communicating complex project planning information. They visualize data and turn complex concepts such as the project schedule or scope into digestible data for the project management team and stakeholders.

Data from project planning charts are even more useful when it’s tied to real-time project management software like ProjectManager. Our software takes a static chart and turns it into a dynamic tool for planning, execution and reporting. For example, our Gantt chart is ideal for showing a plan visually, scheduling tasks, resources and costs on a spreadsheet and a timeline. More than having the entire project on one page, project managers can link all four types of task dependencies to avoid delays and cost overruns. It’s easy to filter for the critical path and identify essential tasks. Plus, set a baseline to compare the planned effort against the actual effort in real time to keep the project on track. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Top 22 Project Management Charts

Before considering which project management chart is best for you, it’s important that you first decide which project management methodology you’ll use as there are differences between waterfall and agile project planning. It’s also important to note that you’ll need a variety of project management charts as each serves different project planning purposes such as creating a project timeline, allocating project resources, planning project work and more.

Below, we’ve selected the best project management charts for project planning so you can decide which are best for your project.

1. Gantt Charts

Experienced project managers are familiar with the Gantt chart. It’s a dynamic bar chart that shows the project schedule on a timeline. Although Gantt charts started out as a basic tool, they’ve matured and include enticing features such as task dependencies that note when one task is related to another.

Gantt charts are essential for modern project planning and scheduling because they allow project managers to visualize all of the activities that make up the project on a timeline. They’re also useful to monitor progress once the execution phase begins.

With new computing power, Gantt charts evolved from a basic bar chart to an essential project management tool that allows project managers to identify the critical path, assign tasks, establish task dependencies, generate a project timeline and much more. This is why most modern project planning software now includes Gantt charts.

One of the biggest advantages of using Gantt charts is that it also allows to create roadmaps to visualize the timelines of multiple projects in a program or project portfolio.

Online Gantt Charts for More Flexibility

All Gantt charts aren’t equal; other project management software programs have Gantt charts, but they’re basic in functionality. ProjectManager offers Gantt chart features that the competition hasn’t yet considered.

To start, ProjectManager can import your task list and schedule from a static spreadsheet. If your plan was developed in Microsoft Project but you want to move that plan online to share with your team, know that ProjectManager facilitates the import of Microsoft Project files.

Once you have your project plan in ProjectManager, our online Gantt chart is a project management chart on steroids. You can link task dependencies to prevent team members from getting blocked. You can also assign tasks directly from the Gantt view, which is an interactive project timeline that you can adjust in real time. Comment at the task level and all status updates are instantly reflected on the Gantt chart, which feeds into a real-time dashboard with project metrics that can be filtered and shared.

2. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Diagram

One aspect of project planning is organizing project activities, deliverables and timelines. That’s where a work breakdown structure (WBS) comes in handy. It’s a way to take the tasks a team must accomplish and split them into manageable sections.

The WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team. In other words, it’s a great way to visualize the tasks that need to be done in order to complete the project. It acts as a slightly higher-level view than a Gantt chart, which is useful for complex projects. A WBS can be represented as a list, a tree diagram, a spreadsheet or a column on a Gantt chart.

Once you have that information collected in our WBS diagram template, if you want a more dynamic tool that has more options, connect it to ProjectManager’s work breakdown structure software.

Upon moving the WBS diagram to ProjectManager, content is reflected over the different views in the software including the Gantt, task list and kanban board, a visual workflow tool. The online Gantt chart turns the WBS diagram into a powerhouse for project planning.

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3. Flow Chart

Flow charts are another tool project managers should have in their toolbox when project planning. These charts help visualize processes as a way to improve project efficiency. The flow chart is a graphic display of the project’s objective and helps create a logical order of the work required to reach that goal. Planning a project is all about control, and a flow chart gives a project manager a tool to exercise control over tasks, resources and time. This means all processes, including planning and monitoring, refer to the flow chart to increase efficiency.

This flowchart template has the basic symbols you need to represent a process.

• An oval means the start or finish of the process
• A rectangle represents an activity, or step in the process
• An arrow represents the direction from one step to another
• A diamond represents a decision

The example below shows the process of creating a project plan, and getting it approved.

4. Project Network Diagram

A project network diagram visually maps the sequence of activities that make up a project, showing how tasks connect and depend on one another. It highlights the logical flow of work from start to finish and reveals relationships such as finish-to-start dependencies, which makes it an important tool during the project planning phase. By organizing tasks into a network, teams can use this project management chart to identify the critical path, anticipate delays, and better coordinate resources. This tool supports scheduling, risk awareness and more predictable delivery.

This free project network diagram template for Excel gives you a clear framework to organize tasks, durations and dependencies in a Precedence Diagram Method (PDM) format or an Arrow Diagram Method (ADM). It starts with a simple task table for entering predecessors and estimated time, then translates that data into a visual flow from start to finish. Users can quickly evaluate parallel paths, pinpoint critical activities, and improve scheduling accuracy while keeping the entire team aligned.

5. Critical Path Diagram (CPM)

Another visual planning tool is the critical path diagram (based on the critical path method, or CPM). It’s used to show the activities that are required to complete the project. The diagram illustrates the duration of each activity and the preceding activity, how the two are related and lag (the amount of time between two activities).

A critical path diagram helps project managers break down a more extensive project into necessary activities in order to deliver a successful project. These activities are represented on the diagram as boxes. Between these activities or boxes are lines that represent the flow to show how each activity is connected and interconnected.

The purpose of using a critical path diagram is to allow project managers to calculate the total duration of a project. The critical path is made up of critical activities but non-critical activities are also shown. Non-critical activities allow for more flexibility as they don’t have a major impact on the project.

6. RACI Matrix

RACI is an acronym that stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed. A RACI matrix is a chart that helps assign responsibilities in project management. This table helps project managers identify stakeholders in their projects and gauge each level of involvement. This is done by noting next to each the initial R, A, C or I to categorize engagement.

For example, a responsible stakeholder means they’re directly responsible for the task. Accountable defines someone who delegates and reviews the work. Consulted means you’ll want this person’s input and feedback on the work being done, and informed are individuals who need to be updated on the progress of the work.

This is useful for assigning the responsibilities of team members on a project. But it can also be used to manage stakeholders. The RACI matrix helps a project manager to figure out which stakeholders need to know what and the frequency by which they should be updated on the progress of the project.

7. PERT Chart

This visual project management tool is great when you’re mapping out tasks and project timelines. PERT is another acronym that stands for project (or program) evaluation and review technique. It provides a graphical view of the project’s tasks, schedule and timelines.

A PERT chart is not a Gantt chart, though similar. Gantt charts are bar graphs while a PERT is freeform. PERT charts are made of nodes, boxes or circles that represent milestones. Connecting arrows show what must be completed between nodes and they represent the duration of each task.

Some Gantt charts don’t show task dependencies, but all PERT charts do. They use directional, concurrent arrows to indicate a series of tasks that must be completed in a specific sequence. Diverging arrows indicate work that can be done in parallel.

8. Stakeholder Matrix

Projects rarely move forward without the support of many people, each holding different priorities, influence and different levels of involvement in the project initiation and project planning phases. A stakeholder matrix helps project managers quickly see who has the authority to shape outcomes and who is most invested in the results. By placing stakeholders along power and interest axes, the matrix guides engagement strategies, strengthens communication efforts and reduces surprises that could threaten progress throughout the project lifecycle.

Our free stakeholder matrix template for Excel combines a power-interest grid with a detailed stakeholder register to support structured engagement planning. Users can plot stakeholders in the appropriate quadrant of this project management chart to determine how closely they should be managed. Alongside the diagram, the table captures roles, interests, impact, attitudes and preferred communication methods. The result is a practical, ready-to-use tool that simplifies stakeholder analysis and ensures every key partner receives the attention and information they need.

9. Impact Effort Matrix

Imagine a team facing a long list of possible improvements, each one promising benefits but competing for limited time and budget. An impact effort matrix turns that uncertainty into clarity by showing which actions deliver the greatest value relative to the work required. Plotting tasks against effort and impact makes trade-offs visible, helping teams stay focused on what accelerates progress instead of getting bogged down in low-return commitments.

This free impact effort matrix template for Excel organizes work into four categories: quick wins, major projects, fill-ins and time wasters. Items with the highest value and least effort become immediate priorities, while high-effort initiatives can be evaluated with more scrutiny. Lower-impact work is separated to prevent distractions. With clear labels and example entries already included, this template streamlines collaborative decision-making and keeps everyone aligned on what to tackle first and what to set aside.

10. Workflow Diagram

Workflow diagrams visually show the layout of a process, project or job. This is done as a flow chart. Workflow diagrams are commonly used to show the full business process and information flows, help employees understand their roles and responsibilities, expose redundancies and bottlenecks and avoid risks.

This project management chart can be made with software or drawn manually. Whichever route you take, you’ll get significant value from the workflow diagram. They help with operations and create greater efficiency by streamlining work. They also provide documentation for legal, compliance and audit requirements.

They’re a great tool for clear communication across the organization. Visual tools are often easier to digest no matter which department is looking at them. The workflow diagram is also a way to strengthen security. Workflow diagrams track information securely and make sure your organization is on top of any security gaps.

11. Risk Matrix

Risks can be good and bad, and project managers want to either take advantage of these unexpected opportunities or mitigate the impact of problems on the project. A risk matrix is used in project planning to identify and resolve risks as they arise as issues in a project.

The risk matrix lists risks that could occur based on experience and historical data. The matrix represents the likelihood of the risk appearing in the project and the impact it will have if it does show up. Risks are categorized based on probability and severity.

This tool helps project managers with their risk management on a project. It also communicates the risks that might become issues in the project to the project team and stakeholders. This allows teams to quickly capture these issues and resolve them.

12. Milestone Chart

The milestone chart is a visual timeline that helps project managers plan for significant events in their project schedule. Milestones are important events in a project, such as delivering the project plan or the end of one project phase and the beginning of the next one.

Each vertical line of this project management chart shows one milestone. There’s a description of the milestone on the left-hand side of the milestone and a horizontal time scale that charts the entire project. The milestone chart helps keep your team, stakeholders and customers updated on major project events.

Making milestones in your schedule and tracking them throughout the project is one way to stay on schedule. Sharing the milestone chart communicates the major events in the project and ensures that everyone is aware of them. It’s like having advance notice for big deadlines that must be met. Because a milestone chart is a simplified version of a project schedule, they’re commonly used to report on the progress of multiple projects in a program or project portfolio to stakeholders such as executives who need a high-level view project status report.

13. Burndown Chart

In agile project management, a burndown chart is used to visually represent how quickly the project team is going through the customer’s user stories and it shows the description of the features being worked on. These descriptions are from the perspective of the end-user. The burndown chart shows the team’s effort against the full sprint.

The work that’s still to be done is shown on a vertical axis. The time passed from the beginning of the project is shown horizontally. This presents both the past and the future so everyone can see where they are. The burndown chart is updated regularly to make sure it’s accurate.

There are two types of burndown charts: one is used for sprints, or short iterations when their agile team works on user stories, while the other is a product burndown chart. The latter shows the work that remains for the entire project, while the former is only what’s left to accomplish.

14. Decision Matrix

A decision matrix is a project management chart that helps project managers evaluate different choices by assigning a numeric value to them based on a set of decision-making criteria.

Let’s imagine a construction project manager is using a decision matrix to decide what’s the best type of flooring for a residential project. He has three alternatives to choose from, hardwood, cement or carpet. To make the best decision, he should consider criteria, such as the quality, cost, value to the customer and safety that each of these options offer. Depending on how each alternative is scored, the decision matrix helps the construction project manager to logically determine which is the best choice.

The image below shows how the decision matrix would look for this particular scenario. Download our free decision matrix template for Excel to create one for your projects.

15. Eisenhower Matrix

An Eisenhower matrix is a table with four quadrants that are used to prioritize projects or tasks by their level of importance and urgency. To understand how this project management chart works, it’s necessary to define what importance and urgency mean when creating one. In an Eisenhower matrix, importance refers to how impactful a task is for the success of a project, while its urgency defines how soon it should be completed.

By placing tasks in the four quadrants of the Eisenhower matrix, project managers can understand the relationship between these two variables. Depending on how important and urgent a task is, there are four possible courses of action, which are completing the task immediately, delaying its completion, delegating or eliminating it.

An Eisenhower matrix can also be used as a project prioritization tool by project management offices (PMO) that need to decide which projects or programs should be executed first.

16. Kanban Board

A kanban board is an essential project management chart that visually maps various phases that a task travels through. Tasks are represented by cards that are placed in the “to do” column and as progress is made, they move through various stages that the project manager defines. One main benefit of using a kanban board is that it allows for easy adjustments to priorities and workflows.

The goal of a kanban board is to maximize efficiency and limit work-in-progress. They offer a shared understanding of the project’s status to help facilitate communication and teamwork. They’re used in a variety of settings from software development to project management to personal task management. They’re a simple yet powerful tool to help boost productivity and achieve goals.

17. Decision Flowchart

A decision flowchart is an example of a project management diagram that helps map out a series of decisions and their potential outcomes. Think of it as a roadmap for the decision-making process as it offers insights through different paths based on the choices that are made. This flowchart includes key elements like start/end symbols, decision diamonds, process boxes and arrows.

Some benefits of using a decision flowchart include that it clarifies complex decisions into smaller and more manageable steps, improves decision making and helps visually communicate the decision-making process to others.

18. Swimlane Diagram

In most projects, different teams often handle different parts of a workflow, which can make responsibilities confusing without a clear map of who does what. A swimlane diagram solves that by dividing a process into horizontal “lanes,” each assigned to a role, department or stakeholder group. As tasks move across lanes, the diagram reveals handoffs, dependencies and potential bottlenecks, helping project managers streamline collaboration and ensure every participant understands their part in the overall process.

This swimlane diagram template visually breaks down a multi-step workflow into distinct lanes for functions like sales, escrow, mortgage, title services and customer relations. The flowchart shapes trace activities from initial engagement through closing day, allowing viewers to see how work passes between teams. With a clean layout and clear symbols, it supports faster process documentation, easier communication and more confidence that every milestone is handled by the right group at the right time.

19. SIPOC Diagram

SIPOC stands for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs and customers. Similar to other project management charts, this is a visual tool that helps document and understand a process, usually before starting on improvement efforts. The main goal of a SIPOC diagram is to offer a high-level overview of a process and its boundaries. It helps define the project scope, focus on the customer, identify improvement opportunities and gain a shared understanding of how the process works.

Ideally, SIPOC diagrams are used at the beginning of a process improvement process, typically when using methodologies like Six Sigma or lean project management.

20. Requirements Traceability Matrix

A requirements traceability matrix (RTM) helps map and trace project requirements throughout the project life cycle. It’s similar to a table that links requirements to different elements like test cases, design documents and risks. Typically, it includes requirements, design documents, risks and test cases. It acts like a roadmap that shows how each requirement is connected to everything else in the project.

An RTM is important because it helps manage scope creep by linking requirements to other elements and ensures that all requirements are addressed in the project deliverables. It also helps testers understand what needs to be tested and ensures a shared understanding of requirements and their relationships.

21. RAID Log

RAID stands for risks, assumptions, issues and decisions. Like other project diagrams we have discussed, it acts as a central repository for information throughout the project life cycle, specifically focusing on risks, assumptions, issues and decisions. It’s created during the planning phase and updated regularly as the project progresses.

Primarily, RAID logs are used to help proactively manage risks by identifying and documenting them early. This allows teams to develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans. It also acts as a communication tool to keep stakeholders informed about potential risks, ongoing issues and key decisions.

22. Decision Tree

When a project team faces uncertainty, a decision tree offers a structured way to explore possible choices and their consequences. Each branch represents an action, outcome or risk, allowing teams to compare scenarios side by side. Financial implications, probabilities and potential benefits become easier to assess visually. By laying out decisions in sequence, this tool supports smarter planning, reduces guesswork and helps leaders choose options that maximize value while minimizing downside effects.

This decision tree template illustrates how a single decision can lead to different financial or operational outcomes. Starting with a central choice, it branches into “yes” or “no” paths, followed by results such as success, failure or a neutral outcome. The simple structure encourages teams to break down uncertainty into manageable steps. With clear labels and outcome visuals, this template is ideal for evaluating project investments, innovations or risk-driven decisions.

ProjectManager vs. Project Management Charts

Project management charts are great visual aids and are helpful tools to set up the procedures for your project, but static documents can only do so much. When you start to plan and execute the project, you need project management software to connect teams and streamline work. ProjectManager is award-winnng project and portfolio project management software that automatically updates with real-time data to help you better manage your project. program or portfolio.

Manage Resources to Boost Productivity

ProjectManager’s online Gantt charts are great for scheduling work and sharing plans with teams. When onboarding those teams, set their availability, such as PTO, vacation, global holidays and skill sets, to assign the right person for the right job at the right time. Then get an overview of resource allocation on the color-coded workload chart, which makes it quick and simple to see who’s overallocated or underutilized. Then, right from the chart, balance the team’s workload and keep everyone working at capacity without risking burnout. There’s also a team page that shows a daily or weekly summary of each team member’s activities, which can be filtered by priority, progress and more.

Track Time and Costs With Real-Time Dashboards

With static documents, data has to be manually updated. Who has time for that? Our software does that busywork for you. Real-time dashboards automatically collect live data from the project, crunch the numbers and display the results in project charts. These six project metrics include time, cost, workload and more, all updated in real time to give you an overview of your project whenever you want it. There’s no setup involved, either. Want to get more details than an overview of the project? Use our customizable reports, which can be filtered to see the data points you want or provide a general summary that can be shared with stakeholders. Even our secure timesheets, which streamline the payroll process, can help track labor costs to avoid breaking the budget.

Related Content

Check out our guides, blogs and templates where you can get in-depth information on more project planning charts and diagrams, so you can use them in all of your projects for better results.

• What Is SIPOC? How to Use a SIPOC Diagram
• Project Prioritization Matrix Template
• How to Make a Responsibility Assignment Matrix
• How to Make a Project Network Diagram
• An Intro to Precedence Diagrams
• Arrow Diagrams for Projects
• Gantt vs. PERT vs. Network Diagram
• PERT and CPM: Their Differences and How to Use Them Together

Planning can make or break a project, so you want to have the best tools at your disposal when going through the process. ProjectManager is online project management software that helps you plan, execute, monitor and report on all your projects. It works seamlessly with the project planning charts described above and has a robust set of project management tools to manage resources, time and cost. See how it can help you plan your project by taking this free 30-day trial today.

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ProjectManager has dozens of free project management templates that you can download to assist in managing every phase of your project. Here are a few project scheduling templates to help you get started right away.

But if you’re looking for project scheduling software that can take you to the next level of scheduling, then you want ProjectManager. Our cloud-based software can plan, monitor and report on your project schedule from start to finish. Make sure you’re meeting those milestones with our real-time dashboard, which, unlike templates or other software, requires no setup. Get started today for free.

Why Use a Project Scheduling Template?

This blog has several different scheduling templates, so whether you need to schedule a sprint with a kanban template, a weekly work schedule or a waterfall plan with a Gantt chart, it’s covered. There are project scheduling templates to help construction managers build schedules for projects, production schedules for manufacturing and project timelines for milestone tracking. Having different project scheduling templates means it’s easy to find a template that suits the job.

Other reasons to use project scheduling templates is that they save time because they’re already made and can be customized quickly. They provide consistency. A standardized template ensures all essential elements are included. Having a clear framework for outlining tasks, deadlines and resources improves organization.

Best Project Scheduling Templates for Excel

Microsoft Excel isn’t naturally a good project scheduling tool. However, these free project scheduling templates can help you build a schedule and stick to it. Without them, you’ll have a hard time getting your project off the ground; with them, you’re on your way to a successful project. Transform your spreadsheets with these Excel scheduling templates.

1. Gantt Chart Template

Project schedules are made up of tasks—a lot of tasks. The crucial step in scheduling any project is organizing those tasks. You need to estimate their duration and set a priority for each so your team knows what to do, and when to do it. A task list can start this process, but you’ll quickly find yourself hitting a wall unless you use a Gantt chart.

Gantt charts are visual tools that take every project task and place them on a timeline. You can see each task in relation to the others, since they’re represented as bars. Our Gantt chart template helps you set start and end dates, shows dependencies between tasks and breaks up the phases of your project by color to easily differentiate one from another. It’s an ideal project schedule template.

You can discuss building the Gantt with your team, who’ll help you better estimate durations. Then, once you’ve created the schedule on your Gantt, share the chart with your stakeholders. It will provide a map of the project and help to orient them when you regularly update them throughout execution.

2. Work Breakdown Structure Template

Before you can schedule, you have to know what you’re scheduling. A work breakdown structure is a tool that captures all your deliverables. It’s a tree diagram with the final deliverable on top and then a breakdown of each deliverable or task that got you there. It’s an essential scheduling tool.

Our free work breakdown structure template has everything you’ll need to see all the steps necessary to schedule in order to complete your project. First, you make a detailed task list broken up into the phases of your project. The second part of the template is the tree diagram, with the project on top and smaller and smaller deliverables beneath it. Now you know everything you have to add to your project schedule.

3. Work Schedule Template

Your project schedule is just a collection of dates if you don’t coordinate it with your resources. Resources are anything you need to get the job done—this includes equipment, materials and, most importantly, your team. Organizing these resources to work with your schedule, and bring the project to a successful conclusion on time, is where a work schedule comes in handy.

Our work schedule template allows you to collect all the people in your team or organization, and designate where they’re located (if they’re working remotely), including their working hours and what work they’re responsible for. All of this is laid out over a period of time, usually over a week or month.

The flexibility of this project schedule template stems from its ability to adapt to various work schedules. There is the traditional 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. But some projects or organizations are working all week, around the clock. These shifts can be fixed or set as rotating. Whether your workers are part-time or full-time, this work schedule template will help you keep them organized.

If you use ProjectManager, you’ll be able to do a lot more in terms of scheduling. Templates can only go so far. See what a schedule looks like on cloud-based project management software. Watch the video embedded below.

4. Task Tracking Template

Once you have a project schedule and your resources are organized, the real fun begins. When executing your tasks, it’s important to have the means to monitor progress and make sure the actual progress meets the planned progress. Our task tracking template lets you capture your work and helps you keep on schedule.

This project schedule template serves as more than a to-do list, but less than what task management software can do. However, the template will let you keep track of your task’s status, priority, time and resources. It follows the tasks through its life cycle from ready to assigned, terminated or expired, forwarded to finished or failed.

If you’re looking for a more dynamic tool to track your tasks and keep you on schedule, then you’ll want to upgrade to an online project management software. You’ll get high-level views of progress with a dashboard and more in-depth data from the various reporting features. You’ll also want features to manage your resources and easily edit your schedule as changes occur.

5. Change Log Template

The unexpected happens to even the best-planned projects. Your project schedule is a living document that needs to be able to respond to change requests from stakeholders. Or, other variables such as weather, sick team members or problems in your supply chain can interrupt your progress. You need to have a change log that keeps track of these changes.

Using our change log template helps you identify and follow the change as it moves through your project. This makes sure nothing falls through the cracks and gives you the tools you need to control and manage that change. The change log provides visibility into the process. You assign someone on your team to resolve it, which lets you establish accountability.

You also get to prioritize the change, as not every change is equal in importance. Then, you can track the change from start to finish. The template has a place for you to number the change, when it was first identified, who owns it and its current status. Each row of the spreadsheet captures one change, so you have an orderly document to manage the process.

6. Project Plan Template

A project schedule is part of the larger project plan. It must work in congress with all the other aspects of your project, such as resource allocation, costs and more. The project plan includes a lot of guiding documents that will inform you schedule, too, from the business case to the project charter.

The free project plan template for Word helps you to organize all the important papers necessary to plan and schedule a project. You can attach all the pertinent files, such as your feasibility study, and then outline the scope of the project. Once you have completed your project plan, you can finalize your project schedule.

7. Project Milestones Template

A milestone plan marks the key events, deliverables or checkpoints in a project timeline. Rather than tracking every small task, it highlights major achievements, like phase completions, approvals, or major deliverables, that signal meaningful progress. By defining these milestones early, teams and stakeholders get a shared roadmap of when important outcomes should occur, which helps align expectations, track progress and avoid surprises.

With this Excel milestone chart, you lay out each milestone name, who’s responsible (“owner”), the expected date (or a start & end date), and status. As you update the sheet, the template builds a visual timeline, showing where each milestone falls over the project duration. It makes it easy to see upcoming deadlines or completed checkpoints at a glance, helping you coordinate phases, monitor overall progress and communicate key dates clearly to your team or stakeholders.

8. Project Network Diagram Template

A project network diagram is a visual layout showing every task in a project and how those tasks relate to each other — which ones must happen first, which depend on others and the overall sequence of work. By mapping dependencies and the logical flow, it helps you spot the critical path, estimate overall schedule duration, avoid bottlenecks and organize tasks so the project runs smoothly from start to finish.

With this Excel template, you can list all project activities and draw the relationships between them; tasks become nodes, arrows or lines show dependencies and the flow of work is visible at a glance. It helps you plan the order of tasks, track which ones depend on others and maintain a clear, organized workflow as the project progresses. Perfect for projects with many interdependent tasks where sequence and timing are key.

9. Daily Task Tracker Template

A daily task tracker helps you organize and monitor all the tasks you need to complete in one day, from start to finish. It brings structure and clarity to your day by listing what needs to be done, when it should be done and whether it’s completed or still pending. This keeps priorities visible, reduces the chance of forgetting important work and helps you stay focused and productive.

This Excel template lays out your tasks by day and time, with columns for task description, deliverable details and status. You can plan each hour or block of time, track what you need to accomplish and mark tasks as finished once done. It’s flexible enough for personal to‑dos, work tasks or team assignments, giving you a simple, clear way to manage daily workload, track progress and avoid things slipping through the cracks.

10. PERT Chart Template

A PERT (program evaluation review technique) chart is a project scheduling technique that helps project managers organize and coordinate tasks. This free PERT chart template for Excel is a visual representation of the project timeline.

The PERT chart template can be used by project managers to break down tasks and analyze them to estimate the minimum time needed to deliver the project. This allows for the scheduling of complex projects by visualizing the dependencies between tasks. This project scheduling template helps project managers calculate the PERT chart formula, which relies on the weighted average of three numbers that are based on the most pessimistic, most optimistic and most likely estimate for the project’s length.

11. Precedence Diagram Template

A precedence diagram is a visual tool that illustrates the sequence and dependencies of all tasks in a project. Each task is represented as a node, and arrows indicate which tasks must be completed before others can start. By mapping out these relationships, teams can identify critical tasks, understand task flow and optimize scheduling. Using a precedence diagram early helps prevent bottlenecks and ensures projects stay on track.

With this Excel template, you list every activity, define which tasks must precede others, and set durations to build a project‑wide dependency map. The template generates a visual network diagram showing how tasks connect so you can immediately see which tasks depend on others, which run in parallel, and which form your project’s critical path. It’s a straightforward tool to help teams coordinate complex task sequences and plan project flow with clarity and precision.

12. Critical Path Template

This project scheduling template uses critical path analysis to allow project managers to identify tasks that must be done in order to deliver a successful project. The free critical path template for Excel calculates the critical path, which is a valuable tool in creating a realistic schedule.

A critical path chart is a network diagram. It shows tasks as nodes or boxes, which are connected by arrows that represent the dependencies between those tasks and point to the proper sequence of the task. Rather than have to do the calculation by hand, this project scheduling template does most of the work for the project manager. It’s ideal for scheduling complicated project timelines. It visualizes the longest, most important chain of tasks that must be completed to deliver the project on time. Now, project managers know which tasks must be prioritized and which can be set aside until later.

13. Task Tracker Dashboard

A task tracker dashboard gives you a consolidated view of all tasks within a project, showing which ones are due, in progress, completed, or overdue, along with priorities, assignment and timing. It helps teams and managers stay organized, spot bottlenecks or overdue items, coordinate responsibilities and deadlines and keep the project moving smoothly. With a dashboard, you don’t rely on scattered notes or static lists: instead, you get a real-time (or regularly updated) snapshot of where work stands.

With this template, you create a structured task list, assigning each task a name, responsible person, start and end dates, priority level, and current status (not started, in progress, on hold, overdue, or complete). It automatically generates visual charts and summary graphics showing how many tasks are completed, in progress or overdue, making it easy to grasp the overall workload at a glance. The layout keeps everything centralized, so you can quickly filter, sort, and monitor tasks across dates, priorities and assignees.

14. Project Status Report Template

The project status is a report that captures where the project is at a specific time. You can see it’s health and progress. This can be used to update stakeholders, but is also a valuable asset for project managers. They can use the status plan to see if they’re on schedule.

Using the free project status report template for Excel captures all the metrics you need to keep your project on track. There’s general information, a summary of the project status, the project health, a risk management overview and recommendations and concerns. This free template is vital to deliver your project on time.

15. Resource Plan Template

Resources are a major part of any project schedule. They are the people and things that you’ll need to complete the tasks in your project. Allocating them works hand-in-glove with your project schedule. You need to know what and when you require the resource.

Using our free resource plan template for Excel helps you organize all your resources for the project. You can list all the team members on one side and then define them by which department they’re working in. Next, you can add their rate, cost and availability. It’s the free project scheduling template you need to track the availability of your resources.

16. Project Dashboard Template

To make sure your schedule is on track once your team starts to execute it, you need to monitor its progress and performance. The status report is one such tool. Another is a project dashboard, which measures several project metrics and displays them in graphs and charts.

The free project dashboard template for Excel is a powerful tool that allows you to track the status of your tasks, the workload of your team, task lengths and costs. However, all that data has to be manually put into the template and updated, whereas software does that work for you.

17. Estimate Template

Another part of creating a project schedule is estimating. The more accurately you can forecast your project costs, the more accurate your project schedule will be. Estimating requires gathering data and then calculating that data to come up with what your project budget will be, which informs your project schedule.

To make better forecasts on project costs that will impact your project schedule, we have a free estimate template. This scheduling template is broken up into project phases. Under each of these is a list of tasks that has space to add the vendor or contractor, the labor and material costs and then a total. When you add up all the costs of your tasks, you’ll have a clear idea of what the project will require financially.

18. Risk Register Template

Nothing can take you off schedule faster than when issues arise in your project. When planning a schedule, you need to be aware of what risks might show up, so you can quickly identify them and resolve them before they negatively impact the project. For that, you need a risk register.

A free risk register template allows you to collect all the potential issues that might impact your project. You can describe the risk in the far left column, then in the next column write how it would impact the project. Following that, there is a column to note your response, the level of the risk and who is responsible for identifying and resolving it.

19. Project Budget Template

The budget is one of the most impactful elements of the project plan on your scheduling. You can’t keep working if you’re not funded. Therefore, a project manager must know what the costs of the project are before they can schedule the work to be completed by the deadline.

With the project budget template for Excel, you have space to list all the labor and material costs, which tasks they are being used for and who is assigned to do that work. There are other line items, too, such as travel expenses, equipment rentals and fixed items, where the amount is set and doesn’t change. Capture the cost of your project with our free template.

20. Kanban Board Template

One of the best project scheduling templates for visualizing workflow is the free kanban board template for Excel. A kanban board is made up of columns that represent each stage of a process or production cycle, while kanban cards are used to capture specific tasks. These cards then move from one column to another as they go through the process.

This scheduling template provides project managers with a window into the workflow of their team. They can foresee where there is potential for a bottleneck and reallocate resources to remove it before it impacts the schedule. Meanwhile, teams are able to manage their backlog and plan together as they collaborate on the board. While kanban boards are often thought of as tools used in scrum teams or when managing a project in an agile environment, they are more versatile than that. Managers might plan on Gantt charts and teams execute their tasks on kanban boards.

ProjectManager Helps with Project Scheduling

You can schedule a project using these free templates; however, you’ll find yourself overburdened and always behind. What you need is project management software that has real-time data to plan the project, but also monitor it as it’s being executed to help you stay on track. ProjectManager is an online tool that helps you plan your project schedule, monitor its progress and keep track of your team’s performance so you can meet your deadlines.

Plan Your Schedule on Interactive Gantt Charts

Getting all your project tasks, resources and costs to come in on time is complicated. Gantt charts are a great tool to organize all those activities and see them on a timeline that shows you the entire project in one place. You can link dependencies to avoid delays and even filter for the critical path. Then set a baseline and you’ll be able to track project variance to make sure you’re staying on schedule.

Use Multiple Project Views

Managers love Gantt charts but teams don’t need to view the project schedule with that level of detail. They want to know which tasks are assigned to them and when they’re due. All the data scheduled on the Gantt simultaneously shows up on our other project views, such as the sheet, task list, kanban and calendar views. There’s one source of truth keeping everyone working on the same page but teams can track their tasks on calendars for important upcoming dates, robust task lists or the visual workflow of a kanban.

Track Your Team’s Progress on Tasks

As mentioned above, you can get a high-level view of the project with our real-time dashboard. To see how each team member is progressing on their assigned tasks, though, you can view the timesheets or generate a timesheet report. See how far your team has progressed in completing their tasks and know if you’re meeting the schedule or if you need to re-allocate resources to get back on track. Timesheets are secure and also streamline the payroll process.

Timesheets are just one of the many reports you can create with a keystroke. Get reports on time, cost and more to help you keep to your schedule. All reports can be filtered to show only the data you want to see and then easily shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. Our software not only helps you stay on schedule but has task and resource management, workflow automation and much more. It’s the only software you’ll need to manage your projects.

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• Excel Spreadsheet Templates for Tracking Tasks, Costs and Time
• Project Planning Templates for Excel and Word
• 13 Plantillas de programación de proyectos para Excel

ProjectManager is award-winning software that plans, schedules and controls every aspect of your project. Our collaborative platform connects hybrid teams and helps them work better together regardless of where, when or how they work. Get started today for free.

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