Skip to content

We've built 200+ tools — open your toolbox, there's something in here you probably need.

← TemplatesHR & team

Gantt Chart & Project Plan (Excel) — timeline that draws itself

A project plan is only useful if it stays current, and hand-drawing a Gantt chart never does. This workbook draws it for you: type each task's start date, how many days it takes, and how far along it is, and the end date, the status, the days left and a real Gantt bar across a weekly timeline all work themselves out.

Get it — KES 500 · Excel (.xlsx) ↓Pay once via M-Pesa (Kenya) · yours to keep
Prefer Google Sheets? You don't need Microsoft Excel →
  1. Unlock and download the file above.
  2. Open Google Drive, then New → File upload and choose the file.
  3. Right-click it in Drive → Open with → Google Sheets. It becomes a fully editable Google Sheet — every formula and tab intact — and works on your phone too.

The .xlsx format opens free in Google Sheets, LibreOffice, or Excel for the web — no paid software required.

What's inside

  • One row per task: owner, start, duration and % done
  • A real Gantt bar drawn across a weekly timeline, automatically
  • Green fill shows the completed share of each task's bar
  • Automatic status: Not started / In progress / Done / OVERDUE
  • Dashboard with task counts by status and overall completion
  • Formulas locked; only the yellow cells accept typing

The tabs

  • Read me (guide)
  • Plan (tasks + Gantt timeline)
  • Dashboard

Yellow cells only. You type in the yellow cells; the rest are locked formulas. Gridlines are off and it prints clean on A4.

On the Plan tab, put one task per row: the task, who owns it, the start date, the duration in days, and % done. The End date, Status (Not started, In progress, Done, or OVERDUE), Days left, and the timeline bar are locked formulas — the navy bar is the planned span and the green part is what you've finished. Set the timeline's first week in cell I3; it defaults to this week, so overtype it with your project's real start.

The Dashboard counts tasks by status and shows overall completion, so a glance tells you where the project stands. Yellow cells are the only ones you type in; everything else is protected so nothing breaks. Opens in Excel or Google Sheets.

Do it online instead

Track the team's goals free with our OKR tool

Open the free tool →

Custom work

Need a template made just for you?

Can't find the exact workbook, or want one branded and built around how your business actually runs? We build custom Excel & Google Sheets — bespoke financial models, dashboards, sector trackers, data clean-up and automation. Need it in English or Kiswahili, or another language? Just ask. Tell us what you need and we'll quote.

Frequently asked questions

How does the timeline bar work?

Each column on the Plan tab is one week, starting from the date in cell I3. A task's bar lights up across every week its span touches — navy for planned, green for the share you've marked done. Change a start date or duration and the bar moves itself.

Can I change where the timeline starts?

Yes — cell I3 sets the first week and defaults to the current week's Monday. Type your project's own start date there and every column and bar shifts to match.

Does it work in Google Sheets?

Yes — upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. The formulas and the conditional-formatting Gantt bar carry over.