12 Free Project Management Templates for Microsoft and Google

Managing a project involves a number of moving parts. To get you off to a good start with a new project or help you progress through a current one, you can use templates for handling and tracking those various pieces. For the five stages of project management, from planning to closeout, these templates for both Microsoft and Google applications can save you time and provide you with the tools for success. Best of all, each template is free!

Tip: Kanban is a project management technique suitable for agile project management. We explain how it works.

1. Project Kickoff Checklist

Availability: Microsoft Word and Google Docs

Preparing to manage a project involves planning. To make sure you have everything you need before the project begins, check out this Project Kickoff Checklist template. It lays the groundwork for what you need to get off to a solid start.

Begin by entering the basic project information, including its name, the client’s name, project manager, and date. Then, list all the activities or items you need to plan and manage the project.

Highlights:

• Spots for each activity with due dates and fields for completed items
• Space for notes or descriptions for each activity or item
• Suitable for small or large projects with an expandable number of rows

2. Simple Project Execution Plan Template

Availability: Microsoft Word and Google Docs

If you need an official project plan that you can present to your stakeholders, look at this Simple Project Execution Plan template. You can include the high-level details of your project or delve into more detail to present a solid implementation plan.

This fully customizable template gives you the basics – such as the objectives, scope, methodology, timeline, and team – along with a few extras you’ll appreciate.

Highlights:

• Text placeholders with sections for objectives, scope, and methodology
• Structured table for the timeline with the phases, descriptions, and due dates
• Action plan section that uses tables for each objective or phase
• Team area with image and text placeholders to add your members’ details easily
• Brief project budget section that can be expanded for more entries

Tip: you don’t necessarily need to pay for tools to execute a project. Check out this list of the best Microsoft Project alternatives.

3. Project Management Presentation Template

Availability: Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides

If you’re planning a project that’s on a larger scale, has several stakeholders, or is at the center of attention, you may want to begin with a formal presentation of the plan. With this Project Management Presentation template, you have a slide for each part, phase, and piece of the plan that you can share with ease.

You can pick and choose which slides you want to use and tailor them to your project. The image and text placeholders make it easy to swap out items with your own, and the casual appearance is suitable for projects in most industries.

Highlights:

• Over 20 slides with a variety of elements for images, charts, and timelines
• Table of contents slide for easy navigation
• Two slides with icons for use while creating the presentation
• Screenshot placeholders for a laptop, tablet, and mobile phone

4. Project Planning Risk Assessment Checklist

Availability: Microsoft Word and Google Docs

To go along with your project plan, use this Project Planning Risk Assessment Checklist to identify possible issues ahead of time. This is a basic template with sample risks, so you can enter your own items, then use the checkboxes to identify each level.

Highlights:

• Five risk levels from very low to immediately dangerous for a wide range of issues
• Simple and clean appearance for an easy-to-read assessment
• Signature line for the project manager, quality assurance engineer, or other assessor

5. Project Financial Plan Template

Availability: Microsoft Word and Google Docs

Similar to the project execution plan, you may need another written document that encompasses the financials for your project. This Project Financial Plan template lets you include the startup costs, profit and loss amounts, and a balance sheet.

Along with nicely structured tables for entering the project budget amounts, there are spots to describe the objectives, analysis, and strategy for a complete financial overview.

Highlights:

• Table and text formatting to highlight totals for startup costs, assets, liabilities, and equity
• Convenient text placeholders for objectives, analysis, and strategy
• Expandable tables to include additional amounts as needed

Note: you may also need an invoice template for Google Docs.

6. Detailed Project Budget Template

Availability: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets

As you progress through your project, keeping the budget on track is key. With this Detailed Project Budget template, you can make sure your actual costs are in line with your estimates, then adjust where needed.

The template has the formulas for totaling amounts per task and subtask, as well as calculating actual costs with the over or under amount corresponding to your estimates.

Highlights:

• Tasks and subtasks with amounts per phase or category
• Various amount options, including hours and rate, units and unit price, and flat amounts
• Clear budget, actual, and over or under amounts per line along with totals at the top

Tip: for additional options, check out these Microsoft Excel budget templates and Google Sheets budget templates.

7. Work Breakdown Structure Template

Availability: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets

If you need to create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for your project, this WBS template is perfect. Not only does it provide the fields you need for your task entries, but a convenient drop-down list for your WBS numbering.

This template saves you the time from working out the WBS numbering by simply choosing the level from the list. You can zip through your work breakdown structure in no time.

Highlights:

• Conditional formatting for first-level tasks
• Automatic WBS numbering based on the drop-down list selection
• Useful fields for level, number, task, assignee, start date, end date, and notes

How will you manage project tasks? Consider using one of these project management tools. We can also help you decide whether to use Asana or Trello.

8. Project Management Report Template

Availability: Microsoft Word and Google Docs

For an inclusive template to report every aspect of your project, check out this Project Management Report template. With 15 sections, you can add all the details from an introduction and objectives to the project results and materials list.

The template provides a helpful table of contents where you can just insert the correct page numbers. But you can also swap it out for the built-in table of contents feature in Word or Docs if you prefer. You’ll also find much language included to ease the burden of composing each section from scratch.

Highlights:

• Introductory page for adding project partners, the project lead time, and report author details
• Structured tables with preset captions for objectives, milestones and achievements, meetings, and media details
• Highlighted placeholders for quickly inserting information, such as dates, names, and descriptions

Tip: if you use email to communicate with your team or clients, check out this tutorial on how to create email templates in Microsoft Outlook.

9. Project Schedule Template

Availability: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets

If there’s one piece of managing a project that you’ll definitely need, it’s a project schedule. This Project Schedule template not only provides a clean table for phases, dates, durations, and more, but gives you a handy delivery timeline, too.

Enter the details for each phase or task in the Timeline columns, then include necessary project notes, such as budget, resource, risk, and issue. As you adjust the start and end dates, you’ll see the durations at the top and timeline at the bottom update automatically.

Highlights:

• Formulas for calculating the durations based on the start and end dates.
• Automatically updating timeline in the form of a bar chart showing each phase of the project
• Sample project schedule for assistance, along with a blank schedule for you to use

10. Gantt Chart Template

Availability: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets

One of the most useful tools in a project manager’s arsenal is the Gantt chart. This Gantt Chart template provides a helpful visual that lets you track tasks, start and end dates, resources, and statuses with a clean and clear chart of the project’s progress all in one spot.

Use the Assignees and Status tabs to enter your resource names and the task statuses you want to use. Then use the drop-down lists on the Gantt chart to choose these items for your project.

Highlights:

• Automatically-updating Gantt chart based on the start and end dates
• Time-saving drop-down lists for picking resources and statuses
• Space for multiple projects with many tasks and subtasks within each

11. Action Item Tracker

Availability: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets

A project isn’t a project unless it spawns action items. Using this Action Item Tracker template, you can ensure nothing goes unnoticed or undone. Although the template looks basic, it has everything you need to track your items and customize the entries at the same time.

You can use the “Settings” tab to enter the assignees and priority indicators you want to use, which is a great feature. Then, just start your list of actions.

Highlights:

• Fields for date, assignee, priority, action item, and notes, with checkboxes for completed items
• Drop-down lists for assignee and priority for error-free tracking
• Checkboxes to mark completed tasks and apply strikethrough text formatting for the entire line

12. Project Closeout Plan Template

Availability: Microsoft Word and Excel

Once a project is complete, there are usually a few things that still need wrapping up. With this Project Closeout Plan template, you can list those items and track them until completion.

Fill out the planned and actual dates for both the work and the project at the top. Then, just list those remaining activities with the owner, due date, status, and any additional comments.

Highlights:

• Prefilled fields to guide you through the closeout plan
• Blank Status fields for entering terms that are meaningful to you or your project
• ID numbers for each line item to use as references in documents and communication

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the five stages of project management?

Although not set in stone, most are familiar with the five stages of project management: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure.

You’ll find a template on this list for each of these stages to help you manage the project successfully.

How can I find templates directly from Microsoft and Google?

Each application offers a set of templates if you don’t want to use a third-party option.

For Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, go to the Home screen or select “File -> New.” Use the Search box to find a template or choose a suggested category.

For Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, go to the Home page and select “Template Gallery” at the top. You’ll see the templates listed by category.

Which is better for project management, Microsoft Word or Google Docs?

Each application is strong, solid, and has its own unique set of features in addition to those they share.

If you plan to work offline or want an extensive set of formatting tools and features, Microsoft Word has you covered. But if you prefer a free option that’s web-based, Google Docs is the one.

For more on these two applications, look at our comparison of Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs.

Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Sandy Writtenhouse.