4/17/26, 4:06 PM 14 Free Project Report Templates for Excel & Word
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PROJECT DOCUMENTS, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, REPORTING
14 Free Project Report Templates for Excel &
Word
by Camilo Tristancho | Dec 10, 2025
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Throughout the life of a project, you must report on a wide variety of information. This
information will be compiled into different reports and passed along to managers, investors,
clients and other stakeholders. From there, reports can be used to make project decisions
and adjustments.
Using project report templates, like a weekly status report template, ensure these reports
are created quickly and effectively.
Why Use a Project Report Template?
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No matter how thoroughly a project is planned, the unexpected is bound to happen. Project
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reports document these changes, whether good or bad, and inform future strategies.
Without regularly completing project reports, valuable information and insights is missed out
on.
Status reports are an example of how reporting directly impacts a project, in both the short-
term and long-term. These weekly reports outline many details about a project, and using a
weekly status report template can save you from leaving gaps in the information. Project
report templates also keep these reports consistent and organized throughout the life of the
project. Disorganized, or “messy” project reporting is a major pitfall.
Using a project report template ensures you’re getting the most from the data and
presenting it to stakeholders in the right way.
Generate reports for your stakeholders in seconds with ProjectManager’s reporting
features. Learn more
Free Project Report Templates
Regardless of the project report, the document must convey information concisely—but that
doesn’t mean the data should suffer. The challenge is providing information most efficiently.
A project reporting template strikes a balance between too much detail and oversimplified
reports that are useless to stakeholders.
Project reporting templates make reporting easier and the data more straightforward. Each
of the following free project report templates is designed for a specific purpose and focuses
on different information.
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1. Weekly Status Report Template Start free trial
A weekly project status report does exactly what one would think — it documents specific
information during a project. These reports should be created throughout the life of a project
to illustrate changes, whether that be successes or failures. A weekly status report is the
first step toward understanding if a project is going smoothly.
Weekly status report template
Our weekly status report template covers all the bases and presents information efficiently.
This template includes major details such as an executive summary, project milestones,
issues, risks and past and future projections.
This status report template also ensures the information is presented in a way that makes
the most logical sense. The executive summary defines the project and discusses goals
and projections. It doesn’t make sense to present potential risks and changes to
stakeholders before they’re hooked on the executive summary.
2. Project Dashboard Template
A project dashboard is one of the most widely used project management tools. Our
dashboard template is a visual tool to view the project’s current status, health, calendar and
more. It’s a great complement to our weekly status report template.
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Project dashboard template
A dashboard should include tasks, task lengths, costs and workload, but it shouldn’t
necessarily illustrate the minutiae of them. Use this free project dashboard template to keep
it simple without needing an oversaturated dashboard. Or if you’re looking for a dashboard
for managing multiple projects or tracking the performance of your business operations, you
can use our free KPI dashboard template for projects and businesses.
3. Project Progress Report Template
A project progress template helps project managers compare actual progress against the
projections and estimates included in the project plan. A progress report is a critical project
management tool that works for both tracking and reporting.
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Progress report template
4. Risk Register Template
As the project continues, new risks are bound to crop up. There’s no way to foresee every
potential risk during the project planning phase, so reporting on new issues as they appear
is required. This way, problems are identified before they happen and you gain a better
understanding of what to look out for in future projects.
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Risk register template
A risk register should include each potential risk and the impact it could have. It should also
categorize the risk and describe what steps were taken in order to avoid it.
While many of these risks will never become reality, it’s crucial to document and plan for
them. Projects without risk registers walk the tightrope with no safety net. They also don’t
inform future projects. Keeping a running list with this risk register template turns risks into
references for the future.
5. Executive Project Status Report Template
Sometimes, senior leaders need a quick, clear snapshot of a project’s overall health. Unlike
detailed team reports, this template focuses on the information executives care about most:
project status, major milestones, key accomplishments, upcoming work, risks or issues,
budget or timeline concerns and any decisions or support needed.
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Executive project status report template
Its purpose is to simplify communication and keep leadership aligned without overwhelming
them with details. By using a template, project managers can present updates consistently,
highlight what truly matters and help executives make fast, informed decisions.
6. Change Log Template
A change log is similar to a risk register. However, in a risk register, these are potential
risks In a change log these are actual changes that took place A change log template is
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risks. In a change log, these are actual changes that took place. A change log template is
where major changes in the project, what actions were taken to resolve them when the
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matter was resolved and other details will be listed.
Change log template
Why not add this information to a weekly status report? These are specific, unusual
circumstances throughout the life of the project that need to be in one location.
A change log template organizes the information about changes and what steps were taken
to address them in one chronological list. Remember, a project report template is supposed
to be a point of reference for project managers experiencing changes in future projects. An
organized change log shows what responses worked in the past and what didn’t.
7. Project Update Template
Project updates are integral to project reporting. Using a project update template benefits
teams and stakeholders because it imposes consistency and clarity on reporting, making
updates faster to prepare and easier to read. It ensures essential information isn’t
overlooked, helps track progress, flag problems early, and communicate changes
transparently.
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Project update template
With a consistent format, stakeholders always know where to find key information like
accomplishments, upcoming work, risks and overall project health. This reduces confusion,
saves time and ensures nothing critical is overlooked.
8. Project Closure Report Template
At the end of the project, it’s time to wrap up and get stakeholder sign-offs with a project
closure template. This report is the final sprint in the marathon of managing a successful
project. Without this final push, all the hard work up to this point loses value.
Project closure template
A project closure report includes documentation of everything needed to complete the
project, as well as any outstanding items that have not been completed. This report should
summarize objectives, criteria for completion, successes, failures and lessons learned. It
should also provide information about time spent, budget, scope and schedule.
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A project closure report sometimes asks for abstract information. Listing all the major
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takeaways from a project sounds challenging, but this free project closure template makes
it as simple as following a checklist.
9. Post-Mortem Project Report Template
A post-mortem is a medical term that refers to the examination of a dead body to determine
the cause of death. In project management, the post-mortem is a report on a project that
has just been completed, reviewing what worked and what didn’t.
Download this free port-mortem template for Word and get a project report template that
details the good, bad and ugly of a recently delivered project. This allows the project
manager, team and stakeholders to honestly assess the project, issues and all, to apply
what’s learned to the next project.
Post-mortem project report template
This free project report template crucially outlines what the initial expectations were.
There’s space to list the project milestones, achievements and obstacles. Stakeholders has
a place to give their perspective, too, making this a comprehensive look at past projects to
improve future ones.
10. KPI Dashboard Template
Project report templates don’t have to look back at a closed project; they can be very
helpful for tracking the progress of a current one. Being able to get a lot of data on the
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performance, cost, workload and more when managing a project provides information to
make more insightful decisions. Start free trial
Download this KPI dashboard template for Excel to get valuable data that helps deliver
projects on time, within budget and meeting quality standards. Project managers can use
this project report template to quickly identify trends and respond to challenges or
opportunities when they arise.
KPI dashboard template
This project report has charts and graphs that help deliver projects and businesses alike.
There are key performance indicators for budget, a yearly pay/loss overview, task status,
resource planning, workload analysis and more.
11. Lessons Learned Report Template
When a project is over, it’s not finished. There are documents to sign, teams to release to
other projects and more paperwork. But the last and possibly most important item of
business is documenting the knowledge obtained from the execution of the project.
This free lessons learned template for Excel is a way to capture that knowledge, both
positive and negative. Like the post-mortem, this project report template allows the team to
reflect on the project and figure out how the next one can be better managed.
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Lessons learned template
The lessons learned template divides each topic discussed as a win or an issue. From
there, the team will describe what happened and its impact on the project. That leads to
how it might change future projects and then a list of action items to address the win or
issue.
12. Change Impact Report Template
Change is a given when managing a project. That doesn’t mean project managers and
business leaders just let it happen. They use this free change impact assessment template
for Excel to understand how the change will affect the people, process and projects they’re
involved with.
Using this project report template can inform resource allocation and reduce the risk
associated with the change. It helps analyze the type and extent of the change, and its
impact on different departments in the organization, from employees to project teams,
processes, technology and more.
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Change impact report template
The free project report template has space to describe the current state of the operation or
business process. Then there’s a place to define the desired state. Next, the proposed
change is explained and a list of questions will be provided to estimate the impact of the
change.
13. Highlight Report Template
A highlight report is a brief, high-level summary that gives stakeholders a snapshot of a
project’s current status over a defined reporting period. This highlight report template keeps
sponsors and stakeholders informed without overwhelming them with detail.
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Highlight report template
It focuses on what has changed since the last report, what needs attention and whether the
project remains on track. Regular highlight reports improve transparency, support timely
decision-making and help maintain alignment across teams.
14. After Action Report Template
This structured document is used after a project, event, campaign or any major initiative is
completed. It helps teams review what happened, compare outcomes to what was planned
and reflect on successes and failures.
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After action report template
Using an after-action report template benefits stakeholders by ensuring that insights and
outcomes are consistently documented and shared. Rather than leaving conclusions in
people’s heads (or scattered notes), the template forces teams to articulate what worked,
what failed and why, which builds organizational memory.
The Value of a Perfect Report
All too often, projects are managed without reflecting on the successes and failures of past
projects. The best projects are informed by past reports and create reports with the future in
mind. Using project reporting templates means each report created is part of a larger
reference for the future.
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Whether reporting on agile projects, programs, products, or managing any other type of
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project, there is a template that will benefit your reporting and results. This can mean
simplifying your workflow and improving deliverables.
Take Project Reporting Further with ProjectManager
Using project templates is an excellent first step in the project reporting process, but
templates can only take you so far.
Fortunately, you can take project reports even further by using them in combination with
project management software. Online project management software such as
ProjectManager can create and share automated reports with the most up-to-date data.
Take a free trial of ProjectManager and see just how much we can improve your project
reporting experience.
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Understanding the Exception Report in Project Management
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reports from anywhere. Import your project in minutes and create reports with ease. The
ProjectManager dashboard shows an easy-to-navigate overview of your project, and our
reporting tools give you the power to report on the information with the click of a button.
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