Project plan template with a Gantt chart in Excel
A free Excel template for a project plan with a Gantt chart: enter tasks with start and end dates, and the bars on the 10-week grid draw themselves. The file has phases, owners, percent complete and status, and it opens with a filled-in example.
What’s inside
One sheet, Plan: the project name and its start date at the top, the task table and a 10-week grid below. The date in each week’s header is calculated from the project start.
- Phase
- A stage of the project. In the example: Preparation, Design, Build and Launch.
- Task
- What needs doing, in one line.
- Owner
- Who does the task.
- Start and End
- The task dates. In the example rows formulas calculate them from the project start; you can type your own dates over them.
- Days
- The duration from start to end inclusive — a formula.
- Done, %
- Percent complete, with a colour scale from white to green.
- Status
- A drop-down list: Not started, In progress, In review, Done, Cancelled.
- 10 weeks
- A week cell is filled when the task falls in that week.
What the file does by itself
- Conditional formatting draws the bars on the grid: change a date and the bar moves; a task that is 100% done turns darker.
- The current week is highlighted in the grid’s header.
- Change the project start date and the week headers and the example tasks’ dates move with it.
- 20 rows: 8 example tasks and 12 empty ones, already formatted and with the status list.
- The header and the first three columns stay in place when you scroll, and the sheet prints landscape, one page wide.
How to use it
- Download and open the file.If Excel opens it in Protected View, enable editing — the formulas then recalculate and the dates appear.
- Set the project and its start date.The name goes in the Project row, the date in cell C4 next to Project start. The week headers follow it.
- Replace the example tasks with yours.For each task: phase, owner, start and end dates. A bar appears on the grid as soon as the task has both dates.
- Update the plan every week.Set percent complete and status. The current week is highlighted, so you can see what should already be done.
Questions and answers
Does Syntra have a Gantt chart?
No, Syntra has no Gantt chart — this template is a separate Excel file. In Syntra dates show up in task and project deadlines, in the team calendar and in the project’s forecast completion.
How many tasks and weeks does the template hold?
The grid covers 10 weeks and the table 20 tasks: 8 example tasks and 12 empty rows that are already formatted and have the status list.
Why is the Days column empty in new rows?
Only the 8 example rows have formulas. For new tasks type the start and end dates and copy the duration formula from the row above; the bar on the grid appears without it.
Can I print the plan?
Yes: the sheet is set to landscape and one page wide, so the whole 10-week grid fits on the page.
Keep the plan alive in Syntra
A plan file goes stale the moment someone forgets to update it. In Syntra tasks have assignees and deadlines, the morning digest shows what is overdue, and the team calendar shows the dates. There is no Gantt chart there: the plan lives in tasks, not in bars.
Try for free →Free for up to 3 people, no card needed. Syntra is in closed beta: the team reviews a new workspace before activating it.