Project status report template

What a project status report should include

• The basics: project name, the date the status is as of, who it's from and who it's for.
• Overall status with a reason: Green, Amber or Red, and one line on why and what would change it. The color alone tells readers nothing they can act on.
• A short summary: two or three sentences on what changed since the last report. Readers who stop here should still know what matters.
• Milestones and tasks: each with its owner, baseline finish, forecast finish and the slip in days between them. List what's due soon and what moved, not the whole plan.
• Risks and issues: what could go wrong (or has), who owns it and what's being done, by when.
• Decisions needed: the question, who has to decide and the date you need it by.
• Next steps: the few actions that happen before the next report, with owners.

Weekly vs monthly status reports

A weekly status report is for the team and the sponsor while work is moving. Keep it to one screen: the color and why, what changed this week, the dates that moved and anything you need. List the milestones due in the next few weeks.

A monthly status report is for a steering group or leadership. Less detail, more direction: milestones hit and missed this month, how far the key dates have moved from the baseline, the risks where you need their help, and the decisions you need from them.

Use the same template and the same order every time. Readers learn where to look, and a change from one report to the next stands out.

Example: a weekly status report email

This is the example from the builder above, as plain text. The project and names are made up.

Q4 Product Launch: weekly status report
Status as of Nov 6, 2026
Prepared by Leah Grant for Launch steering group

OVERALL STATUS: AMBER
Onboarding flow is 7 days late; the Dec 1 launch holds if pricing is signed off by Nov 13.

SUMMARY
Beta feedback is in and reviewed. It added two screens to the onboarding flow, which now finishes Nov 20 instead of Nov 13. The marketing site is 2 days ahead. The Dec 1 launch still holds if pricing is signed off by Nov 13.

MILESTONES AND TASKS
- Beta feedback review (Ana Lopez): Done. Baseline Oct 30, 2026; finished Oct 30, 2026; on baseline.
- Onboarding flow (Ben Ortiz): Amber. Baseline Nov 13, 2026; forecast Nov 20, 2026; 7 days late.
- Pricing sign-off (Ana Lopez): Green. Baseline Nov 13, 2026; forecast Nov 13, 2026; on baseline.
- Marketing site (Ben Ortiz): Green. Baseline Nov 20, 2026; forecast Nov 18, 2026; 2 days ahead.
- Launch (Ana Lopez): Green. Baseline Dec 1, 2026; forecast Dec 1, 2026; on baseline.
Slip is forecast finish minus baseline finish, in calendar days.

RISKS AND ISSUES
- Onboarding could slip again if the payment provider's test environment stays down past Nov 10. Ben Ortiz is checking daily.
- One QA tester for launch week. Ana Lopez is asking for a second by Nov 9.

DECISIONS NEEDED
- Approve launch pricing (steering group, by Nov 13).

NEXT STEPS
- Ben Ortiz: finish the two new onboarding screens by Nov 18.
- Ana Lopez: send pricing options to the steering group by Nov 9.
- Next report: Nov 13.

Notice what makes it useful: the reason line says what would turn it Green, every date is compared with the baseline, each risk has an owner and an action, and the one decision names who makes it and by when.

Tips for a status report people trust

• Measure slip against the baseline. Compare the forecast with the original finish date, not last week's, so a slow drift adds up and shows. The schedule slip calculator does this for a whole task list. Re-baseline only with sign-off; see when to re-baseline a project schedule.
• Ask owners for a forecast date. “80% done” doesn't say when something will finish. Ask each owner whether they're on track, and for a new date when they aren't. The status update request email generator writes that message.
• Write down what Red, Amber and Green mean. Agree thresholds with the sponsor before the first report so the color means the same thing every week. The RAG status criteria generator turns your thresholds into written rules.
• Say what you need. If there's a decision to make, mention it in the summary too, so it isn't missed at the bottom.

The Word and Excel versions

• Word template (.docx, 38 KB): report details, summary, a milestone table with baseline finish, forecast finish, slip and status columns, risks, decisions, next steps and a status key. Opens in Word or Google Docs.
• Excel template (.xlsx, 9 KB): the same sections. Slip is calculated from the two finish dates, Status has a Green / Amber / Red / Done list with colors, and the overall status has its own list. Opens in Excel or Google Sheets.

Both are blank, with gray notes in [brackets] to replace or delete.

Questions

Get the forecast dates without chasing

The slow part of a status report is getting a current date from every owner. PingCadence asks each task owner on the cadence you set, from your own Outlook or Gmail after you approve the batch, collects a new date when something's late, and keeps your baseline, so the report shows slip in days for every task. See how it works.