Excel templates for work that needs structure, not another subscription
Track tasks, build repeatable project reports, show progress, and keep the underlying detail close by—all in the file your team already knows how to open.
Designed and documented by Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer, 2× Microsoft Excel MVP and creator of Big Excel Energy.Excel works well for project management when the task data needs to connect directly to analysis, a custom report, or a deliverable. Build one structured source table and let every board, calendar, chart, and summary read from it. If the team needs live comments, notifications, permissions, and heavy simultaneous use, choose a dedicated project-management app instead.
What does the workbook need to do?
| Job | Best starting point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Move tasks through a workflow | Excel Kanban Board | Formula-driven cards, editable stages, board and owner filters, a calendar, and an overview dashboard. |
| Make recurring reports update cleanly | Dynamic Reporting Template | Shows how connected text and visuals can update when new rows are added to a source table. |
| Show the dashboard and the detail together | Split Page Dashboard | Keeps the visual summary on top and the live data table directly underneath it. |
| Communicate progress against a target | Progress & Comparison Charts | Nine reusable visual patterns for actual-versus-target and budget-versus-spend reporting. |
Excel project-management templates
Excel Kanban Board
A fully working board with task cards, filters, a calendar, and overview dashboard. No macros or add-ins; works on older Excel versions too.
Dynamic Reporting Template
A sample file for learning how connected text and visuals update automatically when new data is added to an Excel table.
Split Page Dashboard
A layout worth using more often: dashboard visuals up top, the live data table underneath, and everything connected.
Progress & Comparison Charts
Nine ways to show progress against targets and budgets, built with editable sample data.
One source, several views
Structured project data
One row per task, milestone, update, or measurement, with controlled fields and dates.
Decision-ready outputs
Kanban board, calendar, progress chart, summary dashboard, and detailed table—without retyping the work.
Separate data from presentation
The workbook becomes easier to update when the source rows and designed views do different jobs.
Control the vocabulary
Validated stages, owners, projects, and priorities prevent small spelling differences from splitting the analysis.
Use color for exceptions
Overdue, blocked, or off-target work can earn attention. Everything else should be visually quieter.
Keep the detail available
Executives need the summary; project owners need the rows behind it. A good workbook respects both without mixing them.
How to make a Kanban board in Excel
The complete practical guide
Build one task table, create formula-driven stage views, design useful task cards, add filters, reuse the data for a calendar and dashboard, and avoid the mistakes that make spreadsheet boards fall apart.
Do not force the tool
Use a dedicated project-management platform when many people need to update work at once, every change needs an audit trail, tasks depend on complex automations, or the team relies on comments, alerts, attachments, and permissions all day. Excel is strongest when the project data and the report belong together—not when a workbook is pretending to be an enterprise collaboration platform.