project business plan template free

Filter by Keywords

20 Free Project Plan Templates in Excel & ClickUp

Senior Content Marketing Manager

March 19, 2024

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

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

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

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

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

What is a Project Planning Template?

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

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

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

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

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

What makes a good project planning template?

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

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

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

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

20 Best Free Project Plan Templates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Event Planning Template by ClickUp makes it easy! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The ClickUp Pi Planning Template helps teams:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Start Planning With Project Plan Templates

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

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

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

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

Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.

Receive the latest WriteClick Newsletter updates.

Thanks for subscribing to our blog!

Please enter a valid email

• Free training & 24-hour support
• Serious about security & privacy
• 99.99% uptime the last 12 months

Project Plan for Word, PDF, Google Docs

Download Free Template

Available for Word & PDF & Google Docs

Your download is available!

Click to download your document template in the format you need.

Your download is ready!

Download Project Plan for Word & PDF & Google Docs or email it to yourself later.

Download Project Plan for Word & PDF & Google Docs.

• Send to email

Plus, you've unlocked access to our full collection of 130 hand-built business templates!

Template Highlights

• This project plan template is available for download as a Microsoft Word document, Google doc, or PDF.
• Provide an overview of the project. Identify the client's needs and the problem that needs to be solved.
• In the Scope section, describe every activity that will occur during the project timeline. Clearly defining the scope before you begin work can prevent future confusion and issues.
• Describe the objectives of the project. You can outline them in a list format to keep things simple.
• Complete the roles and responsibilities table, explaining the duties of each member of the project team.
• List all of the products that you will submit to the client during the life of the project.
• Complete the schedule table, showing the project phase, specific task, and start and end dates. If your project is complex, consider also including a graphic timeline or Gantt chart.
• Complete the budget table according to the costs associated with your specific project.
• Include a section for approval and signatures. You can include signature lines directly in the document or request electronic signatures using DocuSign or a similar product.

Template Preview

Project plan.

Project Plan Template

A project plan is an essential project management tool that can help you stay on schedule and within budget. It describes the details of your project, from the scope and objectives to the timeline and cost estimates.

HubSpot Tip: A project plan can vary based on the size and complexity of the project. This template provides general guidelines, but you may need to add or remove sections to tailor it appropriately to the needs of your specific project.

In this section, you should introduce the key components of the project. Think about what your client needs and why they engaged you to complete the project. What is the problem that you need to solve? Who are the main stakeholders?

HubSpot Tip: Consider your project plan a living document. As circumstances, timelines, team members, and objectives change over the life of your project, make the appropriate adjustments in the project plan and redistribute it to the project team.

This section sets the foundation for your project and is important for gaining consensus from all stakeholders on what the project will entail. Include a broad description of all of the deliverables you will provide to the client and every activity that will occur.

In this section, it is important to not only delineate what is required in the project, but also to explain what will not be included.

HubSpot Tip: If your customer asks for additional work as the project progresses, the project plan, and in particular the Scope section, serves an excellent reference document to explain why the work cannot be completed without changes to the budget or timeline.

You already described the client’s needs in general terms in the Overview section. Now, you should list the objectives in more detail, quantifying the expected results with as much specificity as possible. Consider organizing the objectives in a list, as shown below.

1. Objective 1

2. Objective 2

3. Objective 3

HubSpot Tip: Whenever possible, design your project objectives to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely). Using this type of objective as a benchmark allows you to measure your success.

Roles and Responsibilities

When establishing a new team, it is important to ensure that every member understands their role and responsibilities at the outset of the project. Use a table like the one below to organize the necessary information about all of the team members.

Team Member

Responsibilities

Some common roles that are likely to be a part of a project team are:

Project sponsor - The person or organization who owns and funds the project.

Project manager - The person responsible for creating and executing the project plan and ensuring that the team adheres to the schedule and budget throughout the life of the project.

Project team - The individuals who create the end product or service.

End users - The group who utilizes the final project or service. It is important to include them in the decision-making process whenever possible.

HubSpot Tip: We have established that the project plan should focus on how you will meet the needs of the customer. In this section, be clear about which team member will serve as the primary contact and handle routine communications with the client. Also, be sure to denote who from your team is the ultimate decision-maker.

Deliverables

List the specific products or services that you will provide to the client. Provide a brief description of each and note who from the project team will be in charge of providing it. You can arrange this information in a table like the one below.

Deliverable

Description

Person Responsible

HubSpot Tip: Don’t forget to include routine deliverables like monthly reports and weekly status updates.

The timeline is one of the most important parts of the project plan. Rather than just adding dates to the deliverables list that you already developed, you should aim to provide a more granular look at each step in the process.

Begin by dividing the project into phases. Then, break each deliverable into smaller, more manageable tasks. List these in a table like the one below to provide a snapshot of the key activities and dates.

Task/Deliverable

HubSpot Tip: If your project has a complex timeline or many tasks that are dependent on one another, consider developing a Gantt Chart. This type of chart is simple to create in Microsoft Excel or Project.

Using the set of deliverables and tasks that you outlined in previous sections, calculate the cost of each item. The structure of your budget will vary based on the type of work you do, but the table below can be used as a starting point.

Budget Item

Overall Budget

HubSpot Tip: Include both hourly and fixed price items and recurring and one-time costs in your budget.

Approval and Signatures

Request that the client, project sponsor, and any other key stakeholders review and approve the project plan. Consider including a section for signatures like the one below.

______________________________ ______________________________

[Name], [Title], [Client Company] [Name], [Title], [Your Company]

HubSpot Tip: As mentioned above, if you take the time to create a thorough project plan and get the client’s approval, then you can use it to demonstrate how an additional request from the client is outside of the project scope.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should be included in a project plan, how do you present a project plan, is this template free, related tags:.

• Project Management
• Google Docs

Related Business Templates

Standard operating procedures (sop).

Describe the how, what, and where of your organizational tasks to employees with this free SOP templ...

Gap Analysis

Conduct thorough assessments of your current state vs. goals with this free gap analysis template.

Root Cause Analysis

Use this free root cause analysis template to identify the source of business issues and create a pl...

Business Case

Make a case for an upcoming project or investment with the help of this free business case template.

Progress Report

Share your project progress with other team members, departments, or relevant parties with this free...

Action Plan

Use our free action plan template to help get your business or project goals off the ground.

Process Map

Streamline your workflow, enhance efficiency, and foster continuous improvement in your organization...

Download the free 5 whys template to identify the root cause of business challenges and develop prac...

Succession Plan

Enhance your organization’s leadership continuity, improve workforce readiness, and ensure smooth tr...

Decision Tree

Use this free decision tree template to understand the potential outcomes of your business decisions...

Business Label

Use this free label template to help promote your brand in marketing, packaging, and shipping.

Use this free heat map template to identify trends and patterns in your business.

Get this template for free!

• Product overview
• All features
• App integrations

CAPABILITIES

• project icon Project management
• Project views
• Custom fields
• Status updates
• goal icon Goals and reporting
• Reporting dashboards
• workflow icon Workflows and automation
• portfolio icon Resource management
• Time tracking
• my-task icon Admin and security
• Admin console
• asana-intelligence icon Asana Intelligence
• list icon Personal
• premium icon Starter
• briefcase icon Advanced
• Goal management
• Organizational planning
• Campaign management
• Creative production
• Content calendars
• Marketing strategic planning
• Resource planning
• Project intake
• Product launches
• Employee onboarding
• View all uses arrow-right icon
• Project plans
• Team goals & objectives
• Team continuity
• Meeting agenda
• View all templates arrow-right icon
• Work management resources Discover best practices, watch webinars, get insights
• What's new Learn about the latest and greatest from Asana
• Customer stories See how the world's best organizations drive work innovation with Asana
• Help Center Get lots of tips, tricks, and advice to get the most from Asana
• Asana Academy Sign up for interactive courses and webinars to learn Asana
• Developers Learn more about building apps on the Asana platform
• Community programs Connect with and learn from Asana customers around the world
• Events Find out about upcoming events near you
• Partners Learn more about our partner programs
• Support Need help? Contact the Asana support team
• Asana for nonprofits Get more information on our nonprofit discount program, and apply.

Featured Reads

• Project planning |
• 30 project plan templates to kickstart ...

30 project plan templates to kickstart your best work

Embarking on a new project can be daunting, but the right tools make all the difference. Discover a suite of versatile project planning templates, ranging from simple charts to comprehensive agile and waterfall plans, designed to streamline your project management process. Setting objectives, defining deadlines, and improving teamwork are all made simple with Asana's free project plan templates.

We all love it when a project runs smoothly. When there’s a clear plan, everyone knows what needs to get done, and they follow deadlines, projects tend to get completed on time and within budget. But all that doesn’t just happen—it takes a lot of careful planning. 

What is a project plan template?

A project plan template is a duplicatable resource that outlines all the steps in a project plan. Typically, a project plan template includes essential project information, such as the project timeline, task due dates, the goal of the entire project, and project milestones, among other things. Essentially, a project template allows you to “plug and play” and get a head start on your work.

Since project plan templates are reusable, they give you the building blocks you need to get started planning your project—so you don’t have to start every one from scratch. Depending on what type of project you’re planning, your project plan template could include high-level sections, upcoming tasks, color-coded custom tags, and more. 

How to create a project plan template

A project plan template is a blueprint of the key components your team needs to know in order to successfully achieve your project objectives. A good project plan outlines your project deliverables , project scope , and project schedule . In particular, a good plan should track seven key project elements:

Success metrics

Key stakeholders and team roles

Milestones and deliverables

Timeline and schedule

Communication plan

Not every project plan template will have all of these elements baked in. However, a good template will set you up with example tasks to help you and your team answer project needs, plan project deliverables, and get started in record time.

30 free project plan templates to standardize your project processes

Project plan templates aren’t one-size-fits-all. While a simple project plan template should cover essential project information—like timeline and milestones—the template format will vary depending on the type of project you’re planning. For example, the plan for a product launch will be pretty different from an IT project plan. 

That’s where different project plan templates come in. Whether you’re launching a small, straightforward initiative or planning a complex project, Asana’s project plan templates can help. Here are 30 free project plan templates to help you get your next project up and running in no time.

General project planning templates

1. simple project chart template: get started.

A project chart (also known as a Gantt chart template ) is a visual representation of your project plan on a bar-chart like graph. Project charts map out your project timeline, deliverable due dates, task dependencies, and milestones. 

A simple project chart template is a great jumping off point for breaking down projects into smaller, actionable steps. It helps you organize tasks, so you can see who on your team is responsible for what. Plus, since the template lets you quickly track progress in real-time, you can successfully plan and execute your project without missing any crucial steps.

2. Cross-functional project plan template: Collaborate across teams 

More often than not, projects require cross-team collaboration to be successful. When that’s the case, you need a way to easily communicate with each project team member, no matter what department they’re in. 

Our cross-functional project plan template can help. With this template, you can manage your entire project in one place—from assigning to-dos and tracking project status to communicating with other teams. Plus, Asana integrates with your other business apps, so you can attach important documents and collaborate right in the template. Say goodbye to long email threads and hard-to-find project information for good.

3. Capacity planning template: Manage team bandwidth 

Understanding the needed—and available—resources required for a project is a necessary step for every project team. But resource allocation can be tricky, and under-scoping a project can result in project creep. 

Creating a digital capacity planning template can help. Your template provides a place for you to calculate your project needs and determine the current capacity of your team—so you can compare the two and decide if you have enough resources. Custom, color-coded tags make it easy for you to quickly identify who is over- and under-capacity, so you can allocate resources accordingly.

4. Risk management plan template: Identify project risks

Project risk management , which identifies potential project risks and calculates their likelihood of happening, is a must-have for any project. Without an easy way to evaluate project risks, though, it’s a step that often falls by the wayside as project managers look to reduce steps in the project’s kick-off timeframe. Creating an easy-to-duplicate risk management plan template for your entire department or organization ensures you can elevate risks quickly—t even easier to get a handle on them.

Your template can be built at the start of your project, to determine the risk’s impact and likelihood before the project even kicks off. Then, you can use the template to monitor potential risks as the project begins, and to log new risks that come up once the project is underway. You can also assign each risk an owner, so everyone on your team knows who’s responsible for mitigating risks if they pop up.  

5. Agency collaboration template: Streamline external collaboration

Most projects involve a team of internal collaborators. In some cases, though, you might turn to a marketing or creative agency to execute your project. Whether it’s an advertising campaign, brand refresh, or research initiative, a successful partnership starts with a clear plan and tight coordination. If you’re collaborating primarily through email or weekly conference calls, keeping everyone on the same page can be a challenge.

Fortunately, our agency collaboration template makes it easy for you to manage your next project with an external agency. Use it to draft your creative brief, keep an eye on start dates, monitor work in progress, and track deliverables, so you can focus on producing great work together.

6. Waterfall project management template: Update your project process

When managing projects that require a high level of sequential structure and clarity, the traditional approach of a waterfall project management plan comes into play. Unlike more flexible methodologies, the waterfall method excels in projects where each phase needs to be completed before the next begins. 

This is where a well-crafted waterfall project management template can be invaluable. It provides a clear, step-by-step roadmap of the project process to ensure all stages from conception to completion are meticulously planned and executed. For example, a waterfall project plan could detail every stage of a software development project, from initial requirements gathering to final testing to make certain each critical step is addressed.

Project planning templates for marketing and creative teams

7. product marketing template: plan your next launch.

Product marketing managers juggle many responsibilities. They do market research to inform product strategy, craft messaging and positioning, and bring new products to life. They’re often also the de facto project manager of a product launch, coordinating across product, marketing, and creative teams to ensure that new products are ready to ship.

Instead of reinventing the wheel for every launch you’re running, use our product marketing launch template to create your plan. It includes steps like setting launch targets and defining a channel strategy, so you don’t forget any product launch essentials. And, since it’s duplicatable, you’ll never have to create a product launch checklist from scratch again.

8. Editorial calendar template: Hit publishing deadlines

Managing a content calendar is an ongoing project that requires you to stay on top of many moving parts. Every piece of content you create is like its own mini project with clearly defined steps, like assigning work to writers, producing visual assets, and coordinating reviews and copy edits.

To keep your content production on track, try our editorial calendar template . With this template, you can manage all the content you’re writing, editing, and publishing in one place—from idea to completion. Our custom tags make it easy to track everything from the post’s due date and channel to important assets. It also lets you simplify your cross-team collaboration, bringing together your social media, PR, marketing, and design teams in one place.

9. Marketing campaign management template: Map out your campaign plan

Planning and execution are key to a great marketing campaign. But managing a campaign isn’t easy, and it can feel overwhelming to keep track of every piece of work that needs to get done. What assets need to be created? Who is going to create them? And what if something falls through the cracks?

With our marketing campaign management template , you can map out your entire campaign plan and manage day-to-day execution with your team. Use it to track assets and deliverables, plan and execute your channel strategy, and more.

10. Event marketing plan template: Map out your event marketing efforts

Building buzz is an important part of planning and organizing any event. Event marketing helps spread the word and generate excitement for your speakers and agenda—which in turn drives audience attendance. 

Asana’s event marketing plan template helps you organize your marketing plan for upcoming events. From planning the event all the way through day-of execution and post-event tasks, the template makes it easy for you to map out your promotional event efforts.

11. Marketing project plan template: Turn your strategy into action

Marketing projects are complex. No matter what type of project you’re planning—from launching a specific marketing campaign to mapping out your yearly marketing plan —there are a lot of steps and team members involved in making a marketing plan successful. 

Our marketing project plan template provides a place for you to detail your marketing objectives and the steps you need to take for them to be successful. Asana’s template makes it easy for you to communicate and collaborate across teams, and jumpstarts productivity by removing the need for multiple spreadsheets or email threads. 

12. Event planning template: Coordinate your events

There’s a lot that goes into planning a successful event. You have to manage everything from the event budget down to logistical details and day-of event tasks. The ability to see the event timeline—meaning every step that has to be completed for your event to launch successfully—is a must-have. 

Our event planning template makes planning and organizing events easy. With our template, you can visualize your event plan in a timeline, see task dependencies, and schedule milestones to track event progress. Plus, our mobile app lets you view your event plan from anywhere, so you can tick off day-of event tasks on the go. 

13. Public relations project plan: Create consistency across campaigns 

There are a lot of small—but essential—steps that need to be followed to run a successful public relations campaign. And, since PR efforts tend to be cross-functional, it can be confusing determining who is responsible for what. 

A public relations project plan helps streamline your PR campaign process by making it easy to track important project information and communicate across teams. This template can act as a step-by-step guide for launching and executing a PR campaign, so you can maintain consistency across campaigns, no matter the size of your organization or team. The template also serves as a single system of record to house essential campaign information, such as details about the campaign, journalist contact information, campaign resources, and more. 

14. Podcast planning template: Plan better episodes 

Looking to launch a successful podcast? Keeping your podcast plan organized is key. Building a digital podcast planning template streamlines your podcast planning process by giving you a single space to organize everything from your pre-production tasks to your post-production marketing efforts. 

Plus, you can easily duplicate the template at the start of your episode planning, ensuring that the structure of every episode is consistent. Use the template to house your podcast notes, the episode script, and more—like copy for promotional tweets. You can even collaborate with your episode guests directly in the template by using custom forms or assigning them specific tasks.  

15. Design project plan template: Streamline your creative process 

Web, graphic, and product design teams are a vital part of any business. From designing social and promotional assets to creating animations, videos, and web assets, a lot of what your customer sees—and what draws them in—comes from your design team. 

With so many responsibilities, it can be difficult to keep track of upcoming and in-progress design work. Plus, never-ending feedback chains and emails can stall progress. Our design project plan template makes it easy for you to streamline your creative project planning process. Easily collaborate, track files, and share asset updates and progress in one place.

Product, IT, and operations templates

16. product roadmap template: track your product initiatives.

There’s a lot that goes into tracking the product features, initiatives, and updates your team plans to launch within a given timeframe. With our product roadmap template , you can easily track and monitor each status of each launch, and provide greater visibility to stakeholders around what’s launching and when. 

Plus, since our product roadmap template allows you to organize your launches by different variables—such as priority or overarching theme—everyone in your organization can see how each launch corresponds to the company’s goals.

17. User research template: Organize UXR projects

User research is a critical part of the product development process. It’s during this phase that product managers and user experience researchers learn about the needs and goals of their customers, uncovering insights that unlock entirely new product opportunities.

Leading a research project is no small undertaking. From sourcing research participants and collecting data to analyzing that data and generating recommendations, there’s a lot to plan for and manage. Our user research template makes it easy to define research goals and questions with your team and keep your observations organized. This way, the fruits of your labor don’t become forgotten in a doc or Excel spreadsheet.

18. Product development plan template: Standardize the development process

Product development is the process of launching a new product, from ideation through the product launch. The entire product development process—which includes prototyping and testing—is complex and time-consuming. Add in the different teams you need for product development to be successful, and you have a recipe for a complicated process.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Creating a product development plan template streamlines your product development process, from coordinating cross-functional team communication to tracking development progress. Since it’s reusable, the template also helps standardize the workflow for future projects. 

19. Operations project plan template: Streamline business efficiency

The operations department is responsible for keeping business-critical processes running smoothly. Our operations project plan template helps you track key details by creating a single system of record for all your work. Since the template is reusable, it makes it easy to document recurring operational processes. Plus, you can assign work directly in the template, so everyone knows what they’re responsible for and can communicate where work is being done. 

20. IT project plan: Organize your IT work

Your IT team deals with a lot of important cross-team tasks, like launching software deployments, ordering equipment, and helping onboard new employees. Plus, everything they do requires a certain level of security. They need to be able to connect teams and tools in a way that’s scalable and secure. 

Asana’s IT project plan template helps your IT department manage and organize all their upcoming and completed tasks. Since you’re able to tailor project permissions to your organization, you can make sure the right people have access to information. Plus, Asana’s 200+ integrations make it easy for your team to work seamlessly with cross-functional partners.

21. Work requests template: Simplify the intake process

Work requests can quickly spiral out of control when they’re submitted through different avenues and in different formats. In order to make sure no requests are falling through the cracks, you need a central place to track and manage requests. And, to simplify the workflow for your team, you also need a project intake process to guarantee you’re getting the same information in each request.

Simply put, you need a work request template . Whether you’re receiving incoming creative briefs, work orders, or IT requests, having a single system of record for these requests is critical. Then, combine our work request template with Forms to guarantee you’re getting all of the critical details directly when requests are submitted.

22. Sales plan template: Set strong goals

Your sales and operation plan shouldn’t be a document you create at the beginning of a sales cycle and then put aside. In order for your sales teams to create and maintain a solid foundation, they need access to a finalized, structured sales plan—available where they work.

With an effective sales plan template , you have an easy, centralized way to record your sales teams’ objectives, target audience, revenue goals, strategies, and obstacles that might stand in your way. Try our sales plan template to get the structure you need to to close deals.

Project plan templates for HR teams 

23. hr project plan template: plan out hr work  .

Your HR team is responsible for many processes and projects that empower employees and shape your organization’s culture. An HR project plan templat e makes it easy for you to plan and organize HR initiatives, track their progress, and manage priorities. Whether you’re launching new company goals, updating the hiring plan, or collecting employee feedback, Asana’s HR project plan template makes it easy to map out—and execute—your HR work. 

24. New employee onboarding: Standardize the onboarding process

Onboarding can feel hectic for new hires. There are so many systems to set up, documents to sign, and tasks to complete. Plus, new hires have to learn all the nuances of their new company, like preferred communication methods and company policies. 

To ensure every new hire has the best experience—and is set up for success in their new role—it’s crucial to streamline the onboarding process. An employee onboarding template does just that by providing a single place where new hires can go to view their upcoming tasks, find reference documents, learn about their team, and more. Since onboarding templates outline everything the new hire needs to know from the beginning to the end of the onboarding process, it sets expectations from the start—smoothing out the process for you and your new employee.

25. Employee offboarding: Organize your offboarding process

Like employee onboarding, employee offboarding can be labor-intensive—and, unlike onboarding, it’s a process that’s often overlooked. An employee offboarding template can help you streamline your offboarding process. With a single place to map out your offboarding tasks—from the paperwork that needs to be completed to the work transition plan—you can easily track your offboarding process. Plus, since templates are duplicatable, you can feel confident that you’re following the same steps for every outgoing employee.

26. Conference agenda template: Plan seamless events

Planning a productive conference takes work. In addition to coordinating with speakers and vendors, you also have to keep track of event details, including when and where conference events are happening. 

A conference agenda template can help you plan effective conferences with ease. Whether you’re planning a one- or multi-day conference or a virtual event, creating a conference agenda template in Asana is a great starting point for capturing all the information you need to run the event smoothly.

Cross-functional project planning templates

27. agile project plan template: team collaboration made easy.

In today's fast-paced project environments, teams often struggle with keeping everyone on the same page, especially when it comes to adapting to changes without disrupting the project lifecycle. This is where an agile project plan template can be a game-changer. An agile project plan is not just about flexibility; it's a strategic planning tool that allows for quick adjustments while keeping the project budget and overall objectives in sight. It’s designed to evolve as project needs change, ensuring that all team members are aligned and can collaborate effectively, regardless of project phase or complexity.

Agile methodology fosters a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. It breaks down the traditional barriers of rigid planning and enables teams to respond swiftly to new information or changes in project scope. By regularly revisiting and adjusting the plan, teams can ensure their strategies are always aligned with the project's evolving needs and goals.

28. Sprint planning template: Keep your team on the same page

Part of the larger Agile project process , sprint planning helps Agile project teams prioritize work and decide who has the capacity to take on certain projects. 

Your team is busy, and if you’re not communicating directly where work happens, it’s easy for team members to get confused about who’s working on what, what the status of the work is, and when the work is due. Our sprint planning template simplifies your sprint by creating a single system of record where everyone can see what’s coming up, what’s in progress, and what’s completed—freeing up time for your team to move quickly, build fast, and ship often.

29. Implementation plan template: Achieve business goals

Planning and implementing your business goals can feel overwhelming. To be successful, you need the ability to break down each go into an achievable, actionable plan. That’s where an implementation plan template comes in.

By creating an implementation plan template, you can view every step you need to take to achieve your business goal, from planning all the way to execution. Since a template breaks down each phase of the plan into bite-sized steps, it’s easy to monitor goal progress and view upcoming milestones. You can also include custom tags that add even more context to your tasks—like the task duration and percent completed—so you know the status of every task as work gets underway.  

30. Project timeline template: Visualize milestones and bottlenecks

Have you ever found yourself facing unexpected delays and struggling to keep track of progress? Thankfully there's a solution that can turn the tide: a project timeline template. A project timeline template is more than just a list of start and end dates; it's a strategic project management tool that maps out the entire project lifecycle, offering a clear visualization of phases, key deliverables, and deadlines.

By clearly laying out the project progress, this type of template helps pinpoint exactly where bottlenecks are likely to occur or where they're already happening. And with regular updates to the project’s timeline, stakeholders can receive comprehensive status reports, fostering better communication and alignment throughout the project. In essence, a well-utilized project timeline template not only solves the problem of lost transparency in your workflow, but it also serves as a visual dashboard for smooth and efficient project execution.

Better project templates mean better project planning

Kicking off a new project can be stressful, especially if you’re the one in charge of planning and managing that project. Reusable product templates make planning easier by standardizing your project processes, facilitating cross-team collaboration, and reducing upfront work. 

No matter what kind of project you’re leading—product launches, marketing campaigns, you name it—templates give you a starting point so you don’t have to build a plan from scratch. And when you use a work management platform like Asana, your project will stay on track, too.

Related resources

How to use a feasibility study in project management

How to track utilization rate and drive team profitability

How to accomplish big things with long-term goals

Smooth product launches are simpler than you think

550+ Business Plan Examples to Launch Your Business

Need help writing your business plan? Explore over 550 industry-specific business plan examples for inspiration.

Find your business plan example

Accounting, Insurance & Compliance Business Plans

• View All 25

Children & Pets Business Plans

• Children's Education & Recreation
• View All 33

Cleaning, Repairs & Maintenance Business Plans

• Auto Detail & Repair
• Cleaning Products
• View All 39

Clothing & Fashion Brand Business Plans

• Clothing & Fashion Design
• View All 26

Construction, Architecture & Engineering Business Plans

• Architecture
• Construction
• View All 46

Consulting, Advertising & Marketing Business Plans

• Advertising
• View All 54

Education Business Plans

• Education Consulting
• Education Products

Business plan template: There's an easier way to get your business plan done.

Entertainment & Recreation Business Plans

• Entertainment
• Film & Television
• View All 60

Events Business Plans

• Event Planning
• View All 17

Farm & Agriculture Business Plans

• Agri-tourism
• Agriculture Consulting
• View All 16

Finance & Investing Business Plans

• Financial Planning
• View All 10

Fine Art & Crafts Business Plans

Fitness & Beauty Business Plans

• Salon & Spa
• View All 36

Food and Beverage Business Plans

• Bar & Brewery
• View All 77

Hotel & Lodging Business Plans

• Bed and Breakfast

Brought to you by

Create a professional business plan

Using ai and step-by-step instructions.

Secure funding

Validate ideas

Build a strategy

IT, Staffing & Customer Service Business Plans

• Administrative Services
• Customer Service
• View All 22

Manufacturing & Wholesale Business Plans

• Cleaning & Cosmetics Manufacturing
• View All 68

Medical & Health Business Plans

• Dental Practice
• Health Administration
• View All 41

Nonprofit Business Plans

• Co-op Nonprofit
• Food & Housing Nonprofit
• View All 13

Real Estate & Rentals Business Plans

• Equipment Rental

Retail & Ecommerce Business Plans

• Car Dealership
• View All 116

Technology Business Plans

• Apps & Software
• Communication Technology

Transportation, Travel & Logistics Business Plans

• Airline, Taxi & Shuttle
• View All 62

View all sample business plans

Example business plan format

Before you start exploring our library of business plan examples, it's worth taking the time to understand the traditional business plan format . You'll find that the plans in this library and most investor-approved business plans will include the following sections:

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. You should also plan to write this section last after you've written your full business plan.

Your executive summary should include a summary of the problem you are solving, a description of your product or service, an overview of your target market, a brief description of your team, a summary of your financials, and your funding requirements (if you are raising money).

Products & services

The products & services chapter of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives. It includes information about the problem that you're solving, your solution, and any traction that proves that it truly meets the need you identified.

This is your chance to explain why you're in business and that people care about what you offer. It needs to go beyond a simple product or service description and get to the heart of why your business works and benefits your customers.

Market analysis

Conducting a market analysis ensures that you fully understand the market that you're entering and who you'll be selling to. This section is where you will showcase all of the information about your potential customers. You'll cover your target market as well as information about the growth of your market and your industry. Focus on outlining why the market you're entering is viable and creating a realistic persona for your ideal customer base.

Competition

Part of defining your opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage may be. To do this effectively you need to get to know your competitors just as well as your target customers. Every business will have competition, if you don't then you're either in a very young industry or there's a good reason no one is pursuing this specific venture.

To succeed, you want to be sure you know who your competitors are, how they operate, necessary financial benchmarks, and how you're business will be positioned. Start by identifying who your competitors are or will be during your market research. Then leverage competitive analysis tools like the competitive matrix and positioning map to solidify where your business stands in relation to the competition.

Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments. You'll address how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success.

The operations section covers the day-to-day workflows for your business to deliver your product or service. What's included here fully depends on the type of business. Typically you can expect to add details on your business location, sourcing and fulfillment, use of technology, and any partnerships or agreements that are in place.

Milestones & metrics

The milestones section is where you lay out strategic milestones to reach your business goals.

A good milestone clearly lays out the parameters of the task at hand and sets expectations for its execution. You'll want to include a description of the task, a proposed due date, who is responsible, and eventually a budget that's attached. You don't need extensive project planning in this section, just key milestones that you want to hit and when you plan to hit them.

You should also discuss key metrics, which are the numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common data points worth tracking include conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, profit, etc.

Company & team

Use this section to describe your current team and who you need to hire. If you intend to pursue funding, you'll need to highlight the relevant experience of your team members. Basically, this is where you prove that this is the right team to successfully start and grow the business. You will also need to provide a quick overview of your legal structure and history if you're already up and running.

Financial projections

Your financial plan should include a sales and revenue forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and a balance sheet. You may not have established financials of any kind at this stage. Not to worry, rather than getting all of the details ironed out, focus on making projections and strategic forecasts for your business. You can always update your financial statements as you begin operations and start bringing in actual accounting data.

Now, if you intend to pitch to investors or submit a loan application, you'll also need a "use of funds" report in this section. This outlines how you intend to leverage any funding for your business and how much you're looking to acquire. Like the rest of your financials, this can always be updated later on.

The appendix isn't a required element of your business plan. However, it is a useful place to add any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that supports your plan. These are often lengthier or out-of-place information that simply didn't work naturally into the structure of your plan. You'll notice that in these business plan examples, the appendix mainly includes extended financial statements.

Types of business plans explained

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. To get the most out of your plan, it's best to find a format that suits your needs. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan

The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used for external purposes. Typically this is the type of plan you'll need when applying for funding or pitching to investors. It can also be used when training or hiring employees, working with vendors, or in any other situation where the full details of your business must be understood by another individual.

Business model canvas

The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

The structure ditches a linear format in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It's faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan . This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business.

By starting with a one-page plan , you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You'll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan.

Growth planning

Growth planning is more than a specific type of business plan. It's a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, forecast, review, and refine based on your performance.

It holds all of the benefits of the single-page plan, including the potential to complete it in as little as 27 minutes . However, it's even easier to convert into a more detailed plan thanks to how heavily it's tied to your financials. The overall goal of growth planning isn't to just produce documents that you use once and shelve. Instead, the growth planning process helps you build a healthier company that thrives in times of growth and remain stable through times of crisis.

It's faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

Download a free sample business plan template

Ready to start writing your own plan but aren't sure where to start? Download our free business plan template that's been updated for 2024.

This simple, modern, investor-approved business plan template is designed to make planning easy. It's a proven format that has helped over 1 million businesses write business plans for bank loans, funding pitches, business expansion, and even business sales. It includes additional instructions for how to write each section and is formatted to be SBA-lender approved. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

How to use an example business plan to help you write your own

How do you know what elements need to be included in your business plan, especially if you've never written one before? Looking at examples can help you visualize what a full, traditional plan looks like, so you know what you're aiming for before you get started. Here's how to get the most out of a sample business plan.

Choose a business plan example from a similar type of company

You don't need to find an example business plan that's an exact fit for your business. Your business location, target market, and even your particular product or service may not match up exactly with the plans in our gallery. But, you don't need an exact match for it to be helpful. Instead, look for a plan that's related to the type of business you're starting.

For example, if you want to start a vegetarian restaurant, a plan for a steakhouse can be a great match. While the specifics of your actual startup will differ, the elements you'd want to include in your restaurant's business plan are likely to be very similar.

Use a business plan example as a guide

Every startup and small business is unique, so you'll want to avoid copying an example business plan word for word. It just won't be as helpful, since each business is unique. You want your plan to be a useful tool for starting a business —and getting funding if you need it.

One of the key benefits of writing a business plan is simply going through the process. When you sit down to write, you'll naturally think through important pieces, like your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you'll need to do to be successful.

You'll also look at where you stand among your competition (and everyone has competition), and lay out your goals and the milestones you'll need to meet. Looking at an example business plan's financials section can be helpful because you can see what should be included, but take them with a grain of salt. Don't assume that financial projections for a sample company will fit your own small business.

If you're looking for more resources to help you get started, our business planning guide is a good place to start. You can also download our free business plan template .

Think of business planning as a process, instead of a document

Think about business planning as something you do often , rather than a document you create once and never look at again. If you take the time to write a plan that really fits your own company, it will be a better, more useful tool to grow your business. It should also make it easier to share your vision and strategy so everyone on your team is on the same page.

Adjust your plan regularly to use it as a business management tool

Keep in mind that businesses that use their plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30 percent faster than those businesses that don't. For that to be true for your company, you'll think of a part of your business planning process as tracking your actual results against your financial forecast on a regular basis.

If things are going well, your plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. If you find that you're not meeting goals, you might need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan can help you adjust quickly when you identify challenges and opportunities—it's one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

Prepare to pitch your business

If you're planning to pitch your business to investors or seek out any funding, you'll need a pitch deck to accompany your business plan. A pitch deck is designed to inform people about your business. You want your pitch deck to be short and easy to follow, so it's best to keep your presentation under 20 slides.

Your pitch deck and pitch presentation are likely some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. So, you need to be informative and pique their interest. Luckily we have a round-up of real-world pitch deck examples used by successful startups that you can review and reference as you build your pitch.

For more resources, check out our full Business Pitch Guide .

Ready to get started?

Now that you know how to use an example business plan to help you write a plan for your business, it's time to find the right one.

Use the search bar below to get started and find the right match for your business idea.

The quickest way to turn a business idea into a business plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

No thanks, I prefer writing 40-page documents.

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software

Free PowerPoint Project Plan Templates and Examples

By Lulu Richter | May 20, 2024

• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

We’ve compiled the top project plan templates in PowerPoint so you can easily visualize your processes from start to finish.

Included in this article, you’ll find the following:  

• Agile project plan template
• High-level project plan template
• Project plan template by project phase
• Yearly high-level project plan template

PowerPoint Simple Project Plan Template

Download the Sample Simple Project Plan Template for PowerPoint Download the Blank Simple Project Plan Template for PowerPoint

When to Use This Template:  Project managers can use this simple, single-slide template to track deliverables, tasks, and timelines over a one-year period. 

Notable Template Features: This template features a straightforward table layout with a horizontal bar chart that illustrates the duration of each task. Use the Today marker to see the status of each task (examples: finished, ongoing, or pending). The template comes with sample data that you can customize to align with your project, or you can choose the blank option and start from scratch.

PowerPoint Agile Project Plan Template

Download the Sample Agile Project Plan Template for PowerPoint Download the Blank Agile Project Plan Template for PowerPoint

When to Use This Template:  Use this two-slide template to share the details of an Agile project plan with your team and stakeholders. It provides a clear picture of the project’s journey over a specific timeline and is available blank or with sample data, so you can customize it to fit your needs. 

Notable Template Features: On the first slide, enter the project deliverables and scope. The template also provides space to list the project tasks, owners, start and end dates, and task status. Use the  Risk column to indicate whether a task runs the chance of being overdue, and visualize your sprints with the customizable, color-coded bar chart on the second slide.

PowerPoint High-Level Project Plan Template

Download the Sample High-Level Project Plan Template for PowerPoint Download the Blank High-Level Project Plan Template for PowerPoint

When to Use This Template:  This high-level, single-slide project plan template is ideal for tracking and communicating project timelines and milestones in each project phase. Use this template to inform stakeholders about the project’s progress. 

Notable Template Features: This template, available with sample data and as a blank option, provides a six-month timeline that differentiates the project phases with colors, and it uses icons to highlight project milestones. You can also designate priority level with icons (high, medium, low), and customize the display of the phases, task timelines, colors, and milestone icons.

PowerPoint Project Plan Template by Project Phase

Download the Sample Project Plan Template by Project Phase for PowerPoint   Download the Blank Project Plan Template by Project Phase for PowerPoint  

When to Use This Template:  Use this single-slide template to visualize your project in the five official project management phases (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, closure), as well as the tasks associated with each one. 

Notable Template Features: This template visually separates the five phases of project management with distinct colors, and it illustrates the sequential steps from project initiation to closure. Customize the sample data to fit your project and show the deliverables of each phase, or download the blank version and enter your project details.

PowerPoint Three-Year High-Level Project Plan Template

Download the Sample Three-Year High-Level Project Plan PowerPoint Template Download the Blank Three-Year High-Level Project Plan PowerPoint Template

When to Use This Template:  Project managers can use this multiple-slide template to communicate the basics of a three-year project plan to stakeholders, including timeline, budget, and resources.

Notable Template Features: This template provides a slide for you to enter the deliverables for a consecutive three-year project plan. It also includes a slide for budget details and another for resource information, and it comes in both blank and sample data versions that you can customize.

PowerPoint Team Project Plan Template

Download the Team Project Plan Template for PowerPoint  

When to Use This Template:  Use this single-slide template to present how each team is progressing through their assigned tasks, as compared to the planned durations.

Notable Template Features: This template displays task progress with two duration bars: one shows the planned duration, and the other shows the actual duration. This comparison enables you to adjust deadlines as needed and forecast the timeline of future project tasks. The template also includes milestone markers so that you can assess your progress.

PowerPoint Project Work Plan Template

Download the Project Work Plan Template for PowerPoint

When to Use This Template:  Use this single-slide template to present the objectives, budget, team members, and schedule of your work plan.

Notable Template Features: This template includes space to note the key elements of a project plan, such as timelines, objectives, budget, and team. The numbered columns show tasks moving from left to right, making it easy for team members to understand the project’s scope and to grasp each section’s information.

Project Plan Related Templates

Check out these customizable project plan templates to support all aspects of your project planning process. 

Gantt Chart Template

Use a  Gantt chart template to show the durations of each successive task and progress toward deliverables.

Work Breakdown Structure Template

Use a  work breakdown structure (WBS) template to list and organize the tasks associated with each deliverable.

Project Timeline Template

Use a  project timeline template to track and monitor the project’s timeline. You can also use this as a visual tool to communicate progress with stakeholders.

Communication Plan Template

Use a  communication plan template to detail the project stakeholders and the agreed-upon plan for communicating with each other, including platform, frequency, and point person(s).

Resource Plan Template

Choose from this  variety of resource plan templates to list and manage your project resources, including personnel, budget, key pieces of equipment, and more.

Risk Management Template

Use a  risk management plan template to identify and manage your project’s risks and decide which are worth the potential opportunity.

Project Plan Budget Template

Use a  project plan budget template to track and manage your project’s budget.

Project Summary Template

Use a  project summary template to write a high-level overview of your project to share with stakeholders or higher-ups who need a bird’s-eye view of your work.

Effectively Track, Manage, and Execute Your Project Plan with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet

From simple task management and project planning to complex resource and portfolio management, Smartsheet helps you improve collaboration and increase work velocity -- empowering you to get more done. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

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

Discover a better way to streamline workflows and eliminate silos for good.

FREE Project Plan Templates

• Project Action
• Project Action Plan
• Project Agreement
• Project Analysis
• Project Budget
• Project Budget Estimate
• Project Calendar
• Project Certificate
• Project Chart
• Project Charter
• Project Checklist
• Project Communication Plan
• Project Completion Certificate
• Project Contract
• Project Coordinator
• Project Cost
• Project Dashboard
• Project Debrief
• Project Deployment Plan
• Project Desk
• Project Desk Calendar
• Project Development
• Project Engineer Resume
• Project Estimate
• Project Execution Plan
• Project Financial Plan
• Project FlowChart
• Project Gantt Chart
• Project Goals
• Project Implementation
• Project Letter
• Project List
• Project Magazine
• Project Management
• Project Management Communication Plan
• Project Management Gantt Chart
• Project Management Organizational Chart
• Project Management Plan
• Project Management Proposal
• Project Management Report
• Project Management Sheet
• Project Manager
• Project Manager Cover Letter
• Project Manager Letter
• Project Manager Resume
• Project Meeting Minutes
• Project Memo
• Project Mindmap
• Project Plan
• Project Plan Sheet
• Project Planner
• Project Planning
• Project Post
• Project Presentation
• Project Progress
• Project Proposal
• Project Quotation
• Project Quote
• Project Report
• Project Resume
• Project Risk
• Project Risk Register
• Project Roadmap
• Project Safety
• Project Schedule
• Project Scope
• Project Sheet
• Project Status
• Project Status Report
• Project Timeline
• Project Tracker
• Project Tracking
• Project Transition
• Project Transition Plan
• Project Work
• Project Work Plan

Get Access to World's largest Template Library & Tools

• Access to 1 Million+ Templates & Tools
• Unlimited access to Design & Documents AI editors
• Professionally Made Content and Beautifully Designed
• Instant Download & 100% Customizable

• Contact sales

Start free trial

Batch Production: Examples, Advantages and Disadvantages

Manufacturers have a handful of processes they use to make their products. There are five types of manufacturing processes: repetitive, discrete, job shop, continuous process and batch process manufacturing. Let’s take a closer look at the last one, batch production.

First, we’ll define batch production and list examples of industries that use it to manufacture their products. Next, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of batch production and compare it to other production methods.

What Is Batch Production?

Batch production is a manufacturing process in which a group of identical products are produced at the same time, rather than one at a time. The manufacturer decides how big the batch will be and how often those batches will be produced.

In batch production, each batch will go through separate stages of the manufacturing process together. That means another batch can’t start a stage unless the previous batch has completed that part of the production cycle. Throughout the batch production process, there are quality checks done at each stage of the production cycle. Machinery is tested between batches to make sure it’s performing as expected. This flexibility is only found in batch production and is unheard of when employing other production processes.

For batch production to run smoothly, project management software can be used to plan, schedule and track all production activities. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software wfith a sheet view that can organize batch production activities, link all four types of task dependencies to avoid costly delays and set a baseline to track planned progress against actual progress in real time to help stay on schedule. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Batch Production Example

Almost any consumer good can be manufactured using batch production. Items consumers use daily are most commonly created by batch production because they’re needed quickly and are delivered in different forms, designs or styles. Batch production can handle these constraints and produce them faster with better quality control. The following are some examples of batch production.

• Food & Beverage Industry
• Clothing & Apparel
• Furniture & Household Appliances
• Electronic Components
• Automotive Parts
• Pharmaceutical Products
• Chemical Products
• Semi-Finished Goods for Manufacturing

Advantages of Batch Production

We’ve been singing the praises of batch production and for good reason as there are many advantages of using batch production. For one, batch production produces smaller quantities, allowing for more variety of goods to be produced. It also means that the manufacturer can decrease lead times , if necessary.

Batch production is also cost-effective. More products can be manufactured on the same production line, which spreads the manufacturing costs across commodities, lowering costs. That’s because machinery can be continually active, reducing running costs. Maintenance can be scheduled for downtimes, rather than stopping production.

There’s also greater quality control with batch production. That’s because manufacturers can check and test products at each stage of the production process . Faults are found and repaired before they derail product assembly. This, and producing the correct number of goods required, helps reduce waste.

Disadvantages of Batch Production

That doesn’t mean that batch production is without criticism. It’s not the best production planning method for all manufacturers or industries. Here are some reasons why. For example, because there are so many variables required for batch production it can be difficult to automate the system. That will impact attempts to streamline production.

Another issue is the potential for employee downtime. That’s because where there’s a reset or adjustment between stages of production, as well as quality control checks and testing, there can be more time with employees not doing their jobs. This is true also as machinery needs maintenance or cleaning, such as in food production.

Batch production can also be more expensive than mass production. There are more stages in a batch production schedule . Also, initial outlays of batch production equipment and technology can be costly as they need to be specifically designed to perform a range of functions.

Finally, batch production can take longer than other types of production. That’s because the products are being produced in a series of steps. One item cannot move into the next stage until every item in the batch is ready. This extends the manufacturing period and more so if there are alterations to machinery or delays.

How Does Batch Production Compare to Other Production Planning Methods

We’ve already gone in-depth about batch production, but as mentioned earlier, it’s not the only method by which manufacturers can plan production processes. Batch production tends to be done in smaller quantities, which makes it more suitable for products with fluctuating demand. Let’s see how it compares to a few other production approaches.

Batch Production vs. Mass Production

The difference between batch production and mass production is that the former is usually done in small quantities, while the latter is for large-scale manufacturing. Mass production is usually producing a high quantity of the same product. It also focuses on standardization, which makes it hard to customize like batch production. Mass production is continuous and consistent quality is a challenge due to the high-speed, high-volume nature of this production management approach.

Batch Production vs. Flow Production

The key differences between batch and flow production methods is that flow, unlike batch production, schedules involve the production of a continuous flow of goods with minimal interruption. Setup time is also different, as batch production has to be set up between production runs, but flow production has little to no setup time between runs, as its process is continuous and consistent. Flow production has lower inventory levels than batch production and needs less time for quality control measures as its production is more predictable. Flow production usually has short lead times and is more efficient in resource utilization.

Batch Production vs. Continuous Method

The biggest difference between batch production and the continuous method or process production, which is a derivative of flow production, is that the continuous method production is ongoing without a defined start or end. It produces products constantly without interruption, unlike batch production. In batch production, all ingredients can be mixed first and then processed while with the continuous method, ingredients go through the process without interruption, moving from one step to the next without waiting for other ingredients to catch up.

Free Production Management Templates

Batch production, as with other manufacturing processes, can benefit from production management templates. Our site has over 100 project management templates for Excel and Word that can be downloaded for free. These free templates span many industries and cover all aspects of the project life cycle. Here are a few that manufacturers can use to streamline their production process.

Production Schedule Template

Using a production schedule helps to balance the supply and demand for a product. Use our free production schedule template for Excel to track the production of a product over a period of time. This flexible template can also respond to fluctuating demand and set up inventory to avoid stockouts.

Capacity Planning Template

Capacity planning helps managers determine how much production capacity is needed to meet the demand for their products. That is a moving target, as demand changes, which is why our free capacity planning template for Excel is so important. The free template lists all the tasks and estimates their duration, adds the needed resources and hour rates for them and calculates the resource utilization.

Resource Plan Template

Managing resources and making sure that the production has who it needs when it needs them is critical to batch production or any manufacturing process. This free resource plan template for Excel allows managers to list their employees, which department they’re in and their rates. Then there’s a weekly calendar to assign each to the production schedule.

How ProjectManager Helps Manage Batch Production Processes

These free production management templates are helpful, but real efficiency is delivered through project management software. That’s because templates are static documents that have to be manually updated, which takes time and money, plus they’re not collaborative. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that can do more than any template. Let’s see how it can help with resource management and labor costs.

Manage Resources & Monitor Production Costs

Once the production schedule has been completed and is being executed, managers need to monitor and control what’s happening to ensure that it aligns with their plan. They can toggle to the real-time project dashboard (or portfolio dashboard for viewing multiple projects) and get a high-level overview.

The dashboard automatically collects live data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more. For a more detailed look, use customizable reports on status, portfolio, variance and more. Filter the reports to show specific data and share them easily with stakeholders to keep them updated.

Manage Team Work Hours With Workload Charts & Timesheets

Resource management starts when onboarding the production team. Employee availability can be set up at this time, including vacation time, PTO and global holidays, which makes assignments easier and faster. Then go to the color-coded workload chart or the team page to get an overview of the allocation of the team. From there, balance their workload to ensure that everyone is working at capacity and staying productive. To track labor costs, use secure time to see how far each team member is in completing their tasks.

Related Production Management Content

For those who want to explore project management more thoroughly before pulling the trigger on project management software, here are a handful of related articles on everything from making a production flow chart on how to calculate production capacity.

• How to Make a Production Flow Chart for Manufacturing
• Cost of Production: Types of Production Costs
• How to Make a Production Order for Manufacturing
• Production vs. Manufacturing: Key Differences
• How to Calculate Production Capacity: Formula & Examples

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office, on the production line or anywhere else. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay up to date with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Deliver your projects on time and on budget

Start planning your projects.