12 Best Project Timeline Templates for Excel (2023)

Project scheduling can be difficult, but software can make it more manageable. However, if you're not quite ready to make the leap to online project scheduling software, Project Schedule Templates for Excel can be a decent substitute to get you started.

ProjectManager has dozens offree project management templatesthat you can download to help manage each phase of your project. Here are some project timeline templates to help you get started right away.

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

Best Project Timeline Templates for Excel

Microsoft Excel is naturally not a good project scheduling tool. However, these free project timeline templates can help you create a timeline and stick to it. Without them, you'll have a hard time getting your project off the ground; with them, you are well on your way to a successful project. Transform your spreadsheets with these Excel timeline templates.

1. Gantt chart template

Project timelines are made up of tasks, lots of tasks. The crucial step in scheduling any project is organizing these tasks. You need to estimate the duration and prioritize each one so your team knows what to do and when to do it. A to-do list can start this process, but you'll quickly find yourself up against a wall unless you use a Gantt chart.

Gantt chartsare visual tools that take each project task and put it into atimeline. You can see each task in relation to the others as they are represented by bars. Our Gantt chart template helps you define start and end dates, shows dependencies between tasks, and divides project phases by color to easily differentiate from each other. It is an ideal project timeline template.

You can discuss creating the Gantt with your team, which will help you better estimate durations. Then, after creating the timeline on your Gantt, share the chart with stakeholders. It will provide you with a project roadmap and help guide them as you regularly update them during execution.

2. Work Breakdown Structure Model

Before you can program, you must know what you are programming. A work breakdown structure is a tool that captures all of your deliverables. It's a tree diagram with the final deliverable at the top and then a breakdown of each deliverable or task that got you there. It is an essential programming tool.

Our free work breakdown structure template has everything you need to see all the steps needed to schedule your project completion. First, you make a detailed list of tasks divided into the phases of your project. The second part of the model is the tree diagram, with the project at the top and the smaller and smaller deliverables below. Now you know everything you need to add to your project schedule.

3. Work schedule template

They arethe project scheduleit's just a collection of dates if you don't coordinate with your resources. Resources are all you need to get the job done; this includes equipment, materials, and most importantly, your equipment. Organizing these resources to work with your schedule and bring the project to a successful completion on time is where a work schedule comes in handy.

Our work hours template allows you to bring everyone on your team or organization together and designate where they are located (if they are working remotely), including their work hours and the work they are responsible for. All of this takes place over a period of time, usually over a week or a month.

The flexibility of this project schedule template stems from its ability to accommodate multiple work schedules. There is the traditional one, from 9 am to 5 pm, from Monday to Friday. But some projects or organizations are working all week, all day. These offsets can be fixed or set to rotary. Whether your employees work part-time or full-time, this work schedule template will help keep them organized.

If you use the ProjectManager, you can do a lot more in terms of programming. Models can only go so far. See what a schedule looks like in cloud-based project management software. Watch the embedded video below.

4. Task Tracker Template

Once you have a project timeline and your resources are organized, the real fun begins. When performing your tasks, it is important to have the means to monitor progress and ensure that actual progress matches plan. Our task tracking template lets you capture your work and helps you stay on schedule.

This project timeline template serves more like a to-do list, but less of what task management software can do. However, the template will allow you to track the status, priority, time and resources of your task. Track tasks through their lifecycle, from ready to assigned, terminated or overdue, resubmitted to completed or failed.

If you're looking for a more dynamic tool to track your tasks and stay on top of everything, upgrade to oneonline project management software.You'll get high-level views of progress with a dashboard and more detailed data from the various reporting features. You'll also want features to manage your resources and easily edit your schedule as changes occur.

5. Changelog template

The unexpected happens in even the best-planned projects. Your project schedule is a living document that must be able to respond to change requests from stakeholders. Or other variables such as weather, sick team members, or issues in your supply chain could hinder your progress. You must have a change log that tracks these changes.

Using our change log template helps you identify and track the change as it progresses through your project. This ensures nothing goes unnoticed and gives you the tools you need to monitor and manage this change. The change log provides process visibility. You assign someone on your team to solve it, which allows you to establish accountability.

You can also prioritize the change as not all changes are of equal importance. So 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 it belongs to, and its current status. Each row in the spreadsheet captures a change, so you have an organized document to manage the process.

6. Project Plan Template

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

Free Project Plan Template for Word helps you organize all the important documents needed to plan and schedule a project. You can attach all relevant files like your feasibility study and then describe the scope of the project. After completing the project plan, you can finalize the project schedule.

7. Project status report template

Project status is a report that captures where the project is at a specific point in time. You can see your health and progress. This can be used to update stakeholders, but it is also a valuable asset for project managers. They can use the state plan to see if they are on time.

Using the free Project Status Report Template for Excel captures all the metrics you need to keep your project on track. There is general information, a summary of the status of the project, the health of the project, an overview of risk management, and recommendations and concerns. This free template is vital to delivering your project on time.

8. Resource Plan Model

Resources are an important part of any project schedule. They are the people and things you will need to complete your project tasks. Assigning them works hand in hand with the project schedule. You need to know what and when you need the resource.

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

9. Project Board Template

To ensure your schedule is in order once your team starts executing it, you need to monitor your progress and performance. The status report is one such tool. Another is a project dashboard, which measures various project metrics and displays them in charts and tables.

Free Project Board Template for Excel is a powerful tool that allows you to keep track of the status of your tasks, your team's workload, task duration and costs. However, all this data needs to be manually entered into the model and updated, whileSoftwareIt works for you.

10. Budget Model

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 collecting data and then calculating that data to determine what the project budget will be, which informs the project schedule.

To better predict project costs that will affect the project schedule, we have a free quote template. This timeline template is divided into project phases. Below each one is a task list with space to add the vendor or contractor, labor and material costs, and then a total. By adding up all the costs of your tasks, you will have a clear idea of ​​what the project will require financially.

11. Risk Register Template

Nothing can slow you down faster than when problems arise in your project. When planning a schedule, you need to be aware of risks that could arise so that you can quickly identify and resolve them before they negatively affect the project. For that, you need a risk register.

A free risk log template allows you to collect all potential issues that could affect your project. You can describe the risk in the left column, and in the next column write how it would affect the project. Below is a column to record your response, the level of risk and who is responsible for identifying and resolving it.

12. Project Budget Template

The budget is one of the most impactful elements of the project plan on your timeline. You cannot continue working if you are not funded. Therefore, a project manager must know what the project costs before he can schedule work to be completed ahead of schedule.

With the Project Budget Template for Excel, you have space to list all of your labor and material costs, what tasks they are being used for, and who is assigned to do that work. There are also other line items, such as travel expenses, equipment rentals and fixed items, where the quantity is defined and does not change. Capture the cost of your project with our free template.

Project manager helps with project schedule

You can schedule a project using these free templates, however you will feel overwhelmed and always late. What you need is project management software that has real-time data to plan the project, but also monitors the project as it runs to help keep you on track.Project managerIt's cloud-based that helps you plan your project schedule, monitor your progress, and track your team's performance so you can meet your deadlines.

Plan your schedule on interactive Gantt charts

Getting all the project tasks, resources, and costs on time is tricky. Gantt charts are a great tool for organizing all of these activities and visualizing them on a timeline that shows your entire project in one place. You can link dependencies to avoid delays and even filter the critical path. Then establish a baseline, and you can track project variance to ensure you're on schedule.

Use multiple design views

Managers love Gantt charts, but teams don't need to see the project schedule in this level of detail. They want to know what tasks they've been assigned and when they're due. All data scheduled in Gantt is simultaneously displayed in our other project views such as spreadsheets, task list, kanban and calendar views. There's a source of truth that keeps everyone working on the same page, but teams can keep track of their tasks with calendars for upcoming important 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. However, to see how each team member is progressing on their assigned tasks, you can view timesheets or generate a timesheet report. See how far your team has progressed in completing their tasks, and learn if you're on schedule or need to reallocate resources to get back on track. Timesheets are secure and also streamline the payroll process.

time sheetsthey are just one of many reports you can create with the press of a key. Get reports on time, cost, and more to help you meet your schedule. All reports can be filtered to show just the data you want to see, then easily shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. Our software not only helps you stay on schedule, it also offers task and resource management, workflow automation, and much more. It's the only software you need to manage your projects.

Project manageris 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 no matter where, when or how they work. Join the successful teams at NASA, Siemens and Nestles who are using our tool to deliver projects on time.start free today.