A project timeline (project schedule) lists every task in a project with an owner, a start date, a duration and a percentage complete. Enter your tasks in the sheet above: end dates and statuses are calculated, the Gantt chart is drawn, and tasks that have passed their end date turn red. The other tabs hold a risk register, a weekly status report, a change request and the project budget, all reading from the same figures.
End date = start + duration − 1, and a task is late when its end date has passed and it is below 100%. The branch-opening example has 8 tasks, 2 of them late, overall progress of 47.6% and 26 days left until the last task ends.
How to use the project timeline template
- Enter your tasks on the Schedule and Gantt chart tab, and give each task one owner.
- Enter the start date and duration in days. The end date is calculated and the status is compared with today.
- Update the Complete % column once a week and review the red rows first.
- Open the Weekly status report tab, write what was achieved, then download it as a PDF and send it to the project sponsor.
What goes in each column
| Column | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Task | A verb and a result: "Furniture and equipment delivery", not "Furniture". |
| Owner | A person, not a department, spelled the same way in every row so their load adds up in Resource allocation. |
| Start date and duration | Duration in calendar days, Fridays and Saturdays included. |
| Complete % | Type 40 for 40%. A task does not count as done before 100. |
| Predecessor | In advanced mode: the row number of the task that must finish first. If a task starts before it ends, the chart shows a warning. |
What a Gantt chart is
A Gantt chart draws each task as a horizontal bar that starts on its start date and runs for its duration, so tasks, durations and overlaps fit in one picture. It is named after the American engineer Henry Gantt, who developed it in the 1910s, and it is still the most common way a project manager shows the plan to management.
In the template time runs from left to right, and the dashed line is today: a bar that ends before it without being complete is red, labelled "Late" with the number of days, and the dark part inside a blue bar is the percentage complete. In the example, "Electrical and network wiring" is 5 days late at 50%, and "Furniture and equipment delivery" is 3 days late at 70%.
How to build a project timeline
- Break the project into tasks that can each be delivered in two weeks or less, because a long task only shows its delay at the end.
- Estimate durations from a past project or a supplier's quote, not from hope.
- Link dependencies: enter in the Predecessor column what must finish first, such as wiring before painting.
- Find the critical path: the longest chain of linked tasks, where every day of delay moves the whole end date. The template flags a broken dependency; the critical path you trace yourself along the chain.
Overall progress is weighted by duration, because half of a 21-day task weighs more than finishing a 3-day one: (10×100% + 12×100% + 8×50% + 12×70% + 21×40%) ÷ 90 days = 42.8 ÷ 90 = 47.6%.
A Gantt chart in Excel instead of project management software
Dedicated project software helps when hundreds of tasks depend on each other or several projects share the same people, but it needs a license and training. A project with dozens of tasks run by a small team, such as opening a branch or fitting out a warehouse, is well served by an Excel template everyone can open without installing anything.
The Download Excel button gives you the task sheet with formulas for end date, status and days late, plus a summary sheet with overall progress. Because the status uses the TODAY() function, the file updates late tasks by itself each time you open it on a new day. Twelve week columns form a text Gantt chart: ■ marks a task in its week and × a late task, filled by formulas from your dates.
Tips for updating the schedule and tracking progress
- Update progress weekly from what was actually delivered, on a fixed day before the follow-up meeting.
- Reschedule late work: change the start date or duration of a red task, and check the tasks that follow it.
- Link the schedule to the report: the weekly status report pulls late, in-progress and next-two-weeks tasks, plus high risks from the risk register, which multiplies probability by impact: a delayed Civil Defense certificate in the example scores 3 × 5 = 15, rated High.
- Record every change before carrying it out in a change request: adding a cold room at SAR 18,000 and six days raises the approved budget from SAR 585,000 to SAR 603,000.
- Compare the forecast at completion with the budget on the budget sheet, organised by work breakdown structure (WBS): in the example 70.4% has been spent and the forecast variance is −SAR 24,500, largest in fit-out (−SAR 15,000).
Common mistakes in project schedules
- A two-month task with no milestones, so its delay only shows at the end.
- Updating % complete by feel before the meeting rather than by what was delivered.
- Comparing spend to date with the full budget of an unfinished item instead of comparing the forecast at completion.
- Giving one person overlapping tasks beyond their available days; Resource allocation in advanced mode shows it, and the site supervisor in the example is loaded at 131.8%.
Notes on the calculation
Durations are in calendar days. If your tasks run on working days, add the weekly days off and the public holidays in Saudi Arabia that fall inside each task. Project costs in the sheet are management figures for tracking; how they are booked, such as capitalising a branch fit-out as an asset or expensing it, is a question for the company's accountant and the standards it applies.
When the project budget is paid from the company's accounts
Microtec accounting software is built for businesses in Saudi Arabia. When project purchases and expenses are posted in the company's own accounts, the Spent to date column becomes a figure from the books rather than an estimate added up from invoices.
Project timeline questions
Does the Gantt chart work on a phone?
Yes, for viewing and quick updates: the sheet and chart show on a phone, and you can update % complete on site. Entering a whole project is easier on a bigger screen.
Does the template support task dependencies?
Yes. In advanced mode you enter the predecessor's row number for each task, and if a task starts before its predecessor ends, the chart shows a warning. It does not move dates for you, so adjust the start date yourself.
How many tasks can the sheet hold?
It opens with eight tasks and 30 empty rows, and the + Add row button adds more. The chart stays readable up to about a hundred tasks; beyond that, dedicated software suits you better.
Is this a free online Gantt chart maker?
Yes. The page runs in your browser with no installation or account, and what you type stays in your browser on this device. We ask for your name, email and mobile number once, before your first download.
How do I get a ready Gantt chart in Excel?
Enter your tasks, dates and % complete, then press Download Excel. The end-date formula (start + duration − 1), the status formula and the week columns are ready, and the formulas work in any rows you add.