business planning timeline template

How to Create a Business Plan Timeline

Below you will learn what a business plan timeline is and where it belongs in your business plan.  

What is a Business Plan Timeline?

A business plan timeline lays out the key milestones you hope to achieve in your business and when you plan to accomplish them.   

The Importance of a Timeline

In running a business, it is very easy to get caught up in day-to-day activities and putting out fires. When you do this, unfortunately, it’s hard to grow your business. Having a timeline that lists your key goals forces you to spend time each day, week, and month to work on key growth initiatives.

Also, if you are seeking funding, investors and lenders need to understand these milestones and your projected dates for accomplishing them. This helps give them confidence that you will successfully execute your plan. 

Also, having a timeline helps you better prioritize your time and hire the right people at the right time.

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Where does the timeline go in the business plan.

The timeline belongs primarily in the Operations Plan of your business plan, however, you may include some highlights within the Executive Summary as well. 

Using the established key milestones you have created, you will now assign a timeframe to those milestones to show when you expect to reach each milestone. Remember, use historical data and be realistic in your timeline so that you can meet these goals.  

What Should Be Included in the Timeline?

Your business is currently at point A. Where you want to go is to point B. Now getting from point A to point B requires you to complete milestones.

And the most important ones are what I call “risk-mitigating milestones.” These are the milestones that help eliminate the risk of your company failing.

Some examples of “risk mitigating milestones” may include:

• Finding a location for your business, store, warehouse, etc.
• Getting the permits and licenses
• Building the facility/store
• Hiring and training staff
• New products and services introductions
• Store opening date
• Key employee hires
• Revenue milestones (date when sales exceed $X, when sales exceed $Y, etc.)
• Key partnerships executed
• Key customer contracts secured
• Key financial events (future funding rounds, IPO, etc.)

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, it is your job to identify your risk-mitigating milestones and prioritize them so that you can take steps each day toward the larger business goals.  

How to Create & Prioritize Your Milestone List

Create your detailed risk-mitigating milestone list first. The goal should be to list approximately six major milestones in the next year, five milestones in the following year, and so on for up to five years (so include two in year 5). 

You can use this as a “To Do” list and ensure you achieve your goals each day, week, and month, further developing your business strategy.

Next to each milestone, include the expected timeframe, due date, and the budget you will need to attain them. For example, you may want to launch a billboard marketing campaign over a 6-month period (Expected Due Date: 6/30/2022), and the expected cost is $18,000.

After you create your milestone list, you need to prioritize them. Decide on which milestones you should achieve with the initial funding if needed. Ideally, these will get you to the point where you are generating revenues or profits. This is because the ability to generate revenues significantly reduces the risk of your venture; as it proves to lenders and investors that customers want the products and/or services you are offering.

By setting up your milestones, you will figure out what you can accomplish for less money. And the fact is, the less money you need to raise, the easier it generally is to raise it (mainly because the easiest to raise money sources offer lower dollar amounts).  

How to Develop a Timeline For Your Business Plan

You’ve already completed the hard part. 

Now, it’s time to schedule your milestone list and convert it into a timeline format to give you a quick visual reference. Be sure that your timeline includes all the milestones that you’ve deemed a priority.

There are many businesses that prefer to develop Gantt charts, while others may prefer a calendar, Excel sheet, or another preferred format. Choose the format that works best for you.

There are several format options and platforms to choose from if you do a quick search for “ create a timeline online .” However, keep in mind that it’s not how pretty the timeline is, it’s about functionality and the ease of use to track the progress of all the tasks completed. 

Here are a couple of options:

Source: SlideTeam

This one-page timeline is a downloadable template that is clean and easy to read and follow. While it doesn’t have all the details on this one page, it has enough information to help business leaders understand if the team is on track.

Source: Office Timeline

This is a PowerPoint Presentation add-in that allows you to create a custom Gantt chart with your Microsoft Office account. While the chart above says a 5-year plan, note that they did not include the parts of the milestones beyond Year 1. This may be to reduce clutter and keep focused on the near-future goals. 

Source: GanttPro

This Gantt chart online platform offers another alternative allowing you to assign tasks to others on your team and monitor their progress all in one place. It also tracks the time to complete each task so that you can better schedule in the future for similar projects.

These are only a few of the platforms available online to create an amazing timeline for your business plan. In the beginning, it may be a lot of work to set up, but once you obtain the funding you are seeking, it’ll be well worth the time and effort.

By creating a timeline as early as possible in the business planning process, you can begin to establish realistic goals that can help improve day-to-day decision-making and boost confidence among current and potential stakeholders.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Business Timeline

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Take pride in telling the story of your business, its growth and origination. This business timeline template is often used by both startups and established enterprises to communicate growth and progress over the years. This template is ideal when presenting to investors, employees, board members and shareholders.

Business Timeline Template is designed in a modern style and has all the necessary tools to prepare your company’s history. The first slide presents you with an opportunity to share your company’s achievements. You can inform your audience about your company’s key projects and future plans. Also, this slide can be used to familiarize yourself with the main topics that will be covered in your presentation. You can also use this slide to prepare a successful story about your new company director. What projects he has implemented throughout his career, in which companies and what positions he held before heading your company. The second slide can be used to create a roadmap for the project. You can also use it when preparing to discuss the main terms of the contract with the client. This slide will be useful for team leaders, project managers, department heads. You can use it to set weekly tasks for your employees. This slide will also be useful for research centers and scientific institutes. You can talk about your laboratory research in various fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, and others. The next slide is shown as a vertical timeline. This gives you the ability to split your presentation slide into two equal parts. You can use this slide to describe the story of the successful completion of the project. For example, a construction company might use this slide to prepare a presentation about the completion of a large complex or a modern hospital. You can also inform your audience about your strategic plans for the next few years, identify specific projects that you plan to complete. The last slide can be used by HR managers when preparing information about the company, its main achievements, development plans. This information will be very important for new employees of the company, which will help them to quickly understand the corporate rules and work standards. This slide can also be used in their work by start-up teams who can present their successfully implemented projects to investors.

Available in five design variations, this PowerPoint template presents horizontal and vertical timelines containing milestones, illustrations, data visualizations and text descriptions. This presentation is useful for demonstrating history review such as, company’s performance or growth. It can help display the breakthrough elements of company, project or forecast where the company is headed. The template can be modified to match your brand aesthetic. The colors, text and shapes are customizable and editable. The template will perfectly complement any of your presentation about the success of the company or the outstanding achievements of an employee.

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Business plan template

Streamline your strategic planning process with a free business plan template.

Leverage a professional business plan template to streamline your strategic planning process. It guides you through each critical aspect of your business, from market research to financial statements, ensuring that no essential detail is overlooked. With this template, organizing your business strategy and defining target customers becomes a more efficient, clear, and manageable task.

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The Importance of a Best Business Plan Template

A robust business plan is the foundation of any successful venture. It serves as a roadmap, guiding through the stages of growth and business development. A comprehensive business plan outlines objectives, strategies, and the means to achieve them, providing clarity and direction. It is essential not only for internal planning but also for communicating the business vision to potential investors and partners.

Overview of a Business Plan Template Structure

The structure of a business plan is critical to its effectiveness. It typically includes a summary, company overview, business model, market research, marketing plan, revenue and expense projections, and details about the management team. Each section plays a vital role in presenting a well-rounded view of the business, its goals, and its strategies. A well-structured business plan is not just a document; it's a strategic tool that can significantly influence the success of a business.

Crafting an Impactful Executive Summary with Simple Business Plan Templates

Key elements of a business plan executive summary.

The executive summary is a concise overview of the business plan, highlighting its key points. It should include the company description, business concept, primary objectives, market opportunity, income statement, and a summary of financial projections. This section is crucial as it's often the first part read by investors and stakeholders, and it sets the tone for the rest of the business plan.

Communicating Your Vision Effectively

Effectively communicating the business vision in the executive summary of the business plan template is vital. This section should encapsulate the essence of the business plan, conveying the ambition, potential, and direction of the business. It needs to be compelling enough to grab the reader's attention and encourage them to read further.

Conducting Thorough Market Analysis

Strategies for effective market analysis.

Market analysis is a critical component of the business plan. It involves examining the industry, target market, and competition. Effective competitive analysis requires gathering substantial data and insights to understand market trends, customer needs, and competitive dynamics. This analysis forms the basis for making informed decisions and strategies.

Interpreting Market Trends and Consumer Needs

Interpreting market trends and consumer needs is vital in positioning the existing business for success. This part of the competitor analysis helps in identifying opportunities and threats within the market and guides the development of strategies to address them. A thorough understanding of the market ensures that the business plan is grounded in reality and has a higher chance of success.

Developing a Strong Marketing Strategy with a Free Business Plan Template

Components of a successful marketing and business plan.

Marketing plans outline strategies for promoting products or services to the target audience. It should detail the marketing mix – product, price, place, and promotion – and explain how these elements will be utilized to reach the market effectively. Well-crafted marketing plans not only identify the target market but also outline specific actions for engaging with potential customers, enhancing brand visibility, and driving sales.

Aligning Marketing Strategies with Business Goals

Aligning marketing strategies with business goals is crucial for the success of any winning business plan. This alignment ensures that marketing efforts are not just tactical but strategic, contributing directly to the achievement of overall business objectives. It requires a deep understanding of both the business goals and the dynamics of the market to create a marketing plan that effectively bridges the gap between the two.

Building Financial Success

Projecting financials and managing budgets.

The finance plan section of the written business plan involves projecting financials, seeking financing, and managing budgets. This section should provide detailed financial forecasts, including income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets for the next few years. It's crucial for demonstrating the financial viability of the business and planning for future growth. Accurate financial projections help in making informed decisions about budget allocation, pricing strategies, and funding requirements.

Strategies to Secure Funding and Financial Growth

Strategies to secure funding are a key part of the financial plan. This involves identifying potential sources of funding, such as loans, investors, or grants, and developing a compelling case to secure these funds. The financial plan should convincingly show how the funds will be used to grow the business and how this growth will be financially sustainable in the long run.

Creating a Competitive Advantage

Identifying and leveraging competitive strengths.

Creating a competitive strength service offering is about identifying and leveraging the unique strengths or differentiators of the business. This could be through superior technology, innovative products, exceptional service, or strong brand positioning. The business plan should articulate these competitive strengths clearly and demonstrate how they will be used to capture market share and achieve business goals.

Sustaining Competitive Advantage in a Changing Market

Sustaining competitive business ideas in a constantly evolving market is challenging. The simple business plan template should outline strategies for maintaining this advantage, such as continuous innovation, adaptability to market changes, and consistent customer engagement. It's about creating a long-term financial plan to stay ahead of competitors and remain relevant in the market.

Assembling an Effective Management Team

Criteria for selecting management team members.

An effective managers team is essential for the success of any detailed business plan. The criteria for selecting key members should focus on diverse skills, experience, and leadership qualities. Each member should bring a unique set of abilities to the table, complementing each other and contributing to a well-rounded leadership team. A well-researched business plan should detail the roles, backgrounds, and responsibilities of each team member, showcasing how their collective expertise will drive the business forward.

Roles and Responsibilities within the Business Planning Team

Defining the roles and responsibilities within the managers' team and business partners is crucial for effective business plans. A successful business plan should clearly outline who is responsible for what areas of the business, ensuring accountability and efficiency. This clarity helps in avoiding overlaps and gaps in leadership, leading to better decision-making and a more cohesive team dynamic.

Navigating Legal and Regulatory Frameworks

Understanding legal requirements and compliance.

Navigating legal and regulatory frameworks is a non-negotiable aspect of any business plan. It involves understanding and complying with all relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards. This section should detail the legal considerations pertinent to the business, such as licenses, permits, and compliance requirements. Adequate attention to legalities not only protects the business from potential liabilities but also builds trust with stakeholders.

Mitigating Risks through Strategic Planning

Mitigating risks through strategic planning is essential for safeguarding a business idea. The business plan template should identify potential risks – financial, operational, legal, and market-related – and outline strategies to mitigate them. This includes plans for risk management, insurance, and contingency planning, ensuring the business is well-prepared for unforeseen challenges.

Utilizing Free Business Plan Templates

Advantages of using a printable business plan template.

Utilizing a free business template can be a practical starting point for drafting a new business plan. These templates provide a structured format and essential guidelines, which can be particularly beneficial for first-time entrepreneurs or small business owners. They help in organizing thoughts, ensuring all critical components of business plans are covered, and saving time in the planning process.

Customizing Templates to Fit Specific Business Needs

While free business templates offer a solid foundation, customizing them to fit specific business needs is crucial. This customization involves adapting the template to reflect the unique aspects of the new business, its industry, and its market. Tailoring the template ensures that the business plan format is relevant, focused, and aligned with the business’s specific goals and strategies.

Integrating TimeCamp Planner in Business Planning

Enhancing solid business plan execution with timecamp planner.

Integrating TimeCamp Planner into writing a business plan can significantly enhance execution efficiency. TimeCamp Planner offers features that support task management, time tracking, and progress monitoring – all crucial for implementing the strategies outlined in the business plan. Its use can lead to better resource allocation, improved time management, and more effective project execution.

TimeCamp Planner’s Role in Streamlining Business Processes

TimeCamp Planner plays a pivotal role in the writing process and streamlining established business processes, aligning perfectly with the principles of effective business planning. It provides insights into productivity, helps in identifying bottlenecks, and offers data-driven analytics for continuous improvement. Incorporating TimeCamp Planner in the business plan demonstrates a commitment to using advanced tools for optimal business management.

Conclusion: Executing and Revising Your Simple Business Plan Template

The journey from business planning to business success.

The journey from drafting a business plan template to achieving business success involves diligent execution and constant revision. A well-crafted business plan sets the stage, but it is the ongoing effort, adaptability, and commitment to the plan that ultimately lead to success. Regularly reviewing and updating the business plan in response to market changes, business growth, and new opportunities is crucial.

The Importance of Continual Plan Evaluation and Adaptation

Continual evaluation and adaptation of a business plan template is essential in today's dynamic business environment. The business plan template should not be a static document; it needs to evolve as the business grows and the market changes. Periodic reviews and updates help in staying relevant, addressing new challenges, and seizing emerging opportunities.

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• 5 Year Plan

5-Year Plan Template

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A 5-year plan is a long-term strategic roadmap for reaching specific goals. It describes where you are now, what your objectives are and how you plan to achieve them. Whether your goals for the next five years are to carry out a complex project or grow your business and start exciting new projects, a 5-year plan helps you gain insight, communicate your vision and effectively run your initiatives.

Why you should have a 5-year plan

Creating a 5-year business plan can be challenging because it requires a lot of research, forecasting, and strategic thinking. But does it pay off? Let’s figure it out while going through the things that a 5-year plan can improve:

1. Communicate vision and goals

Built as a clear and specific roadmap for the company's future, a 5-year plan helps you share your vision with your team and clients by describing your long-term objectives and the key elements of your strategy.

2. Monitor progress

You can use a 5-year plan to measure your company’s progress, which helps identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth. It also promotes focusing on long-term objectives.

3. Enable strategic planning and policies

5-year plans help forecasting and improving strategy when making decisions. For instance, you can make strategic hiring decisions and adjust responsibilities among teams per forecast and estimated needs. Or redirect financial resources according to the assessed priorities.

4. Guide important decisions

A long-term plan clarifies business priorities and states the strategic objectives that will be the reference point during the decision-making process.

5. Build confidence and engagement among stakeholders

You’ve made a list of your business goals, but how do you think that your company can achieve them? What’s your plan to get there? Such questions are on the minds of your investors, your customers, and your employees. A long-term plan shows stakeholders why you exist, where you plan to go, how you intend to get there, and the impact of their voice on the decision-making process.

6. Attract potential investors (especially for start-up companies)

A 5-year plan is essential for both existing and potential investors. A well-written plan addresses investors’ top concerns and reassures them that your company is headed in the right direction to make a profit.

To help you set a clear direction to your plans and kickstart your business planning, this page offers you a free, downloadable 5-year plan timeline template and information on how to use this type of visual.

What should be included in a 5-year plan?

A well-thought-out 5-year plan used for business purposes is a well-rounded document or presentation that typically includes the following key sections:

• Executive summary – summarizing all the sections of your plan;
• Elevator pitch – a brief description of your business to clearly articulate it to important stakeholders;
• Mission statement – at an internal level, it helps employees align their efforts with the company’s overall goal; externally, it inspires third parties (investors, customers, partners) to take the actions you want and support you;
• SWOT analysis – helping you determine the best opportunities to pursue, and identify the areas which must be developed to improve your company;
• List of specific short- and long-term strategic goals – clearly outlining the trajectory your company needs to follow;
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) – metrics that indicate how your business is performing and what needs to be adjusted;
• Target customers – identifying the wants and needs of your target customer groups will guide your marketing efforts;
• Industry analysis – helping you identify new opportunities for growth;
• Competitive analysis and advantage – defining who your key competitors are, what their strengths and weaknesses are so you can determine your current competitive advantage and ways to develop additional ones;
• Marketing plan – describing methods and strategies of attracting prospects, converting them to paying customers and maximizing your lifetime customer value;
• Team – listing current team members and types of people you need to hire in the future, this section focuses on the human resources required to execute on the established goals and identified opportunities;
• Operations plan – mapping out all your initiatives and identifying each individual project that contains larger goals;
• Financial projections – assessing the potential results for each opportunity you consider pursuing;
• Timeline – illustrating the major tasks and milestones that will have an impact on your project.

How do I write a 5-year business plan?

When creating a 5-year business plan, here are the steps you need to follow:

• First, make an overall assessment of how your business is currently doing – clearly review your business mission and vision statements, your sales data and financial records; then, pinpoint your business’s strengths and weaknesses , along with the opportunities and risks that it faces in relation to the industry, economy and competition.
• State where you want your business to be in 5 years – how big do you want your business to grow? Would you like to start selling nationally? Do you want to develop your product line, expand your target market or selling channels?
• Establish a set of concrete steps to take in order to achieve your goals – start from your desired outcome and work backward to identify what you need to do to achieve them. The closer you get to today, the more details your plan of action will be.
• Decide how you will measure success – create specific and measurable goals and determine how you will measure the results (what will your KPIs be?)
• Gather all this information in a cohesive document that goes through the sections outlined above and regularly review your plan.

Using the 5-year plan timeline template

This 5-year plan timeline template was designed for professionals who need a hand to summarize long-term plans or roadmaps. It’s a quick way out when you need to prepare for an upcoming meeting with your clients or executives, or when you are prepping a business review meeting with your team.

You can use this 5-year plan timeline template to achieve the following goals:

1. Project planning

The template is structured on a well-defined timeline that includes placeholders for key milestones and tasks. Project planners and project managers can use our 5-year plan timeline template to:

- Estimate and forecast resource requirements and to define the stages, milestones and resources needed to deliver their initiatives.

- Help determine the sequence of tasks that must be accomplished by a certain time schedule, in order to achieve the objective.

2. Project tracking

As the project moves along, project managers can use the 5-year plan timeline template as a quick visual to track their progress vs. the original plan.

3. Project reporting and communication

Designed as a concise project overview, it displays the essential data on a single PowerPoint slide and is simple to understand and easy to read. This makes the five-year timeline template ideal for efficient reporting and communication.

How to customize the 5-year plan timeline template

Since the template is built directly in PowerPoint, you can easily edit it to fit the particular style guides or color schemes of your company. It is intended to replace complicated Gantt charts, Excel tables, and hard-to-follow milestone charts.

Easy automation with Office Timeline

This timeline template was created with the timeline creator from Office Timeline which helps you to automatically bring in your data into the slide with just a few clicks and keep it updated with one click.

Office Timeline is a free project planner add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint, and it integrates with tools such as Microsoft Project and Microsoft Excel. This allows you to quickly import or copy/paste existing project data into PowerPoint and instantly transform it into the 5-year plan you need.

You can find detailed instructions on how to automatically populate your slides with project data from other programs on these pages from our Support Center :

How to import from Excel

How to import from Microsoft Project

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Copying and pasting from Excel into Office Timeline

Frequently asked questions about 5-year planners and templates

Check out the answers to these frequently asked questions about 5-year planning:

How do you create a 5-year plan template?

To create a 5-year business plan template follow these three simple steps:

Outline the overall structure of the plan. Start by making a rough plan for each year.

Make sure that the 5-year plan includes sections for elements that are usually required in a long-term business plan, such as an executive summary, a SWOT analysis, an analysis of your market and competitors, and an estimate of your resources.

Save your template with a suggestive name so that you can easily find it. You’ll be able to re-use it whenever you need to draft a long-term plan for a new project. To do this, you’ll have to make the appropriate customizations and include relevant industry-specific information and market research, according to each project.

Why is it important to have a 5-year plan?

A 5-year business plan is important because it serves as a roadmap for the company's progress and growth. A well-crafted long-term plan can help a company to:

set long-term goals,

establish priorities,

make informed business decisions,

secure funding from investors or lenders,

identify potential opportunities for growth,

measure progress and success over time,

anticipate and prepare for changes in the market and industry.

In short, a strategic long-time plan helps you in the decisional process on the company's future. A business with a long-term business plan has an improved overall strategy and is more prepared for potential obstacles it may face.

What is a good 5-year plan for a business?

A good 5-year business plan should provide a clear description of the status of a company, an honest perspective of its future growth and realistic, achievable goals that align with the company's mission and vision.

A 5-year plan would include at the very least:

A clear and detailed description of the company's products or services, target market, and competitive landscape.

Projected financials and strategies.

A risk management plan that identifies potential risks and outlines strategies to mitigate them.

And finally, long-term planning needs flexibility. A 5-year plan would need to be reviewed and updated regularly, at least once a year, but ideally it would include several review milestones every year to ensure that the business stays on track to meet its goals. The plan should be adaptable, as the business environment may change and require adjustments.

What does a good strategic plan look like?

Strategic planning is a company’s process of defining its direction and the road to attain the intended goals. It can benefit your organization's vision and progress toward goals. Strategic planning typically means mid- to long-term goals (three to five years or longer) and differs from business planning, which typically focuses on short-term goals, such as budgeting estimations for the next quarter or year.

Simply put, a basic good strategic plan should answer these three questions:

Where is the company now?

Where is the company going? Or what are the objectives?

How is the company going to reach its objectives?

Lastly, a good strategic plan should be regularly reviewed, maintained up-to date and taken into consideration when decisions are made. For this, the document should be flexible and dynamic, adjustable to accommodate the changes that inevitably happen, especially with long-time planning.

How do you set a 5-year business goal?

To set a 5-year business goal, you first need to determine your company's mission and objectives. This is needed in order to align the goal with the company's mission and vision. Setting your business goal means that you have a clear and specific objective. It also means that you take into consideration the current market and industry analysis.

The next step is to craft a plan with specific steps to achieve the goal. A 5-year plan template like the one above can come in handy to help you kickstart your planning.

And finally, you need to find a system to monitor progress and make adjustments as needed. Changes are bound to happen when you plan on a long-term basis.

Communicating the goal and plan to stakeholders ensures that everyone is aligned and working towards the same objective. Some of the most efficient tools that you can use to this end are business plan presentations and executive summaries, enriched with suggestive and concise visuals, such as Gantt charts, timelines and roadmaps. Take a look at our timeline template gallery and find inspiration for your next presentation.

What does a 5-year strategy look like?

A typical 5-year strategy includes a mission statement, the description of the company’s defining features and status, a set of long-term goals that align with the company's vision and a plan for achieving those goals.

Business managers and project managers often resort to visual aids to create a material support of their vision that they can use to share their ideas and strategy in a suggestive and compelling way. An effective visual should bind the strategy (the “why”), the actions that need to be performed in order to achieve the goals (the “what”), and timeline for completion (the “when”).

Such complex roadmaps provide a clear overview of the strategic tasks and milestones, allow hierarchization, show prioritized effort and highlight interrelated work.

The 5-year plan template available on this page was built with the lightweight PowerPoint add-in from Office Timeline, that you can try for free for 14 days and take advantage of the full features the tens of templates that can be automatically customized and updated with just a few clicks in minutes instead of hours.

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Looking for an easy and efficient way to visualize your projects, plans, or events? Check out Creately’s Free Timeline Templates! These customizable templates are perfect for professionals, students, and anyone in need of a clear and concise way to present information over a period of time.

Modify timeline templates to fit your specific needs using Creately’s intuitive online editor. You can choose from a wide range of styles and formats to best represent your timeline. Once you’ve perfected your timeline, download it in multiple formats including PDF, PNG, and more.

Customizable project timeline and roadmap templates

Plotting your course isn't just clarifying, it can be captivating too. build your next project timeline or roadmap using designer-developed, customizable templates. no matter what kind of project you're planning or managing, there's a timeline template that'll keep you on track..

Show your plan at a glance with timeline templates

Don't waste any time—start your next project plan or production roadmap with a timeline template. Timelines are a great way to visually organize your thoughts, plotting each step that you plan to execute. Making planners and trackers into timelines is a snap when working with templates. You can also use timeline templates to show how far a project has come along, every milestone accounted for. Small businesses can find timelines helpful for pitching new business during presentations as well as planning new products. And adding a timeline to a wedding save the date or an invitation is a great way to let guests know everything they can look forward to during your celebration. Timelines aren't just for project planning. Resumes are themselves a kind of timeline, and there are some fantastic graphic resume layouts that incorporate easy-to-read timelines that make your work history stand out.

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Top 5 Business Timeline Templates with Samples and Examples

Mayuri Gangwal

Efficient project management and clear visual representation of business timelines are essential for creating a successful organization. SlideTeam’s business timeline templates offer a structured and organized way to represent project progress, milestones, and deadlines.

Check out our daily timeline templates to help you prioritize your daily activities.  

This article explores Top five Business Timeline Templates to streamline your project planning and communication processes. Whether you’re a project manager, entrepreneur, or business professional, having access to well-structured timeline templates saves you time and resources.

Each of these timelines is 100% customizable and editable. You get the much-wanted structure and a starting point for your presentations. The editability feature gives you the capability to tailor each presentation to unique audience profile. 

We will provide timelines and real-world examples to illustrate how you can use each template across business scenarios. The tools showcased in these templates include Gantt Charts, project roadmaps and linear timelines.

Each of the templates is 100% customizable and editable. The content-ready feature enables you to get a much-needed structure and a starting point. The editability means you can tailor it according to audience profile.  

This blog aims to equip you with the knowledge and tools required to create impactful visuals that drive productivity and success in your business strategy.

Let’s explore.

Template 1: implementing internet of things architecture in shipping business timeline .

This PPT Template provides insights into the deployment timeline of shipping industry logistics. It covers technologies and steps to implement the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture within the shipping business. It focuses on its integration into the logistics department. The timeline begins by exploring the foundational elements of IoT deployment. In this ecosystem, emerging technologies and intelligent devices play a crucial role.

Use this presentation template to showcase how IoT deployment timeline represents a remarkable leap in the shipping industry’s evolution. Also understand how the deployment architecture works. Fleet management takes center stage in the next phase by leveraging IoT implementation to optimize performance and efficiency. This PPT Template can also be used for real-time monitoring and the optimization of routes, leading to cost savings and reduced environmental impact.

Download Now

Template 2: Linkedin Marketing Strategies Growing Business Timeline For Implementing Advertising Campaigns

This PPT Template presents a simplified daily timeline for executing advertising campaigns week-after-week. The process commences with defining campaign goals, followed by planning and execution of advertising initiatives. The initial phase involves goal-setting, where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and target audience are identified. Once the creatives are ready, the campaign implementation begins with ads across selected platforms. Over time, it is crucial to analyze the data collected, assess the campaign's impact, and measure the achievement of set goals. Use this template to equip your businesses with an actionable roadmap to implement advertising campaigns and measure their effectiveness, contributing to the growth and success of the organization.

Template 3: Business Timeline Enterprise Software Company PPT Presentation Infographics Background

This PPT Template outlines the business performance timeline of ABC Company upon the initiation of subscription-based applications and services. The presentation template is structured around six key stages in the company’s journey. By employing this presentation template, businesses can showcase the evolution of their enterprise from the inception of subscription-based offerings to the subsequent stages of growth and development. The stages are market analysis, product development, marketing strategies, customer acquisition, user engagement, and overall business expansion. Use this template to communicate achievements, challenges, and milestones throughout the timeline of introducing and implementing subscription-based applications and services. The infographics featured in the template facilitate a clear and concise presentation of the company’s performance and growth that leaves a powerful impact on the audience.

Template 4: Creating Digital Transformation Roadmap For Your Business Timeline Inspiration

This template comes with five stages that lead your viewers through the transformative journey of your business. Whether you’re discussing adopting new technologies, strategic shifts, or growth milestones, this template provides the ideal platform to communicate the digital transformation story of your business.

Template 5: Business Timeline Planner with Referral Process  

This PPT Template gives you an yearly-calendar for planning recruitment as a business process in six steps. The six steps highlighted are planning, referral process, pre-screening, assessment, results and staffing. Use this template to ensure you always have the best talent on board and make rapid strides in creating an employer brand.  Download this template now to create long-term recall and win business.

TIMELINES ARE INDISPENSABLE

Business timeline templates offer invaluable advantages in organizing and visualizing key milestones, tasks, and events within a company's journey by simplifying complex information, fostering collaboration, and enhancing planning efficiency. Embracing timeline templates is prudent for any forward-thinking organization seeking to enhance productivity and streamline operations.

PS By incorporating our business plan timeline templates into your presentations, you can effortlessly impress your audience. It offers a compelling visual narrative of your business's day-to-day activities and successful referral process .

FAQs on BUSINESS TIMELINE

What is a business timeline.

A business timeline represents the order of significant events, milestones, and activities related to a business or project. It provides a clear and concise overview of critical events that have shaped the company’s history or the progress of a specific initiative over time.

Business timelines are used for: 

• Company History : They showcase the evolution of a business, from its establishment to current status, highlighting significant achievements, product launches, expansions, mergers, and other noteworthy developments.
• Project Management : In project management, timelines display the planned and actual schedule of tasks, helping team members track progress, identify delays, and stay on track with project deadlines.
• Marketing and Sales : In marketing campaigns or strategies, timelines can illustrate the rollout of promotional activities, product launches, and sales targets.
• Strategic Planning : Business timelines aid in outlining long-term goals and short-term objectives.
• Performance Analysis : They assist in evaluating the success of past initiatives, campaigns, or projects by comparing the intended timeline with the actual outcomes.
• Communication : Timelines are valuable tools for communicating business progress and achievements to stakeholders, investors, clients, and employees.

How do you write a Business Plan Timeline?

• Define your goals and objectives : Start by defining your business's overall goals and objectives. These could include product launches, market expansion, revenue targets, or measurable outcomes.
• Break down the plan into phases : Divide your business plan into manageable steps or sections. 
• Identify critical activities : List the key activities needed to move to the next phase within each phase. Be specific and ensure each activity is achievable and time-bound.
• Determine the duration for each activity : Estimate the time required to complete each training. Use historical data, expert opinions, or market research to make realistic time projections.
• Sequence activities : Arrange the activities in a logical order. As certain activities may be dependent on the completion of others, it’s critical to establish a proper sequence.
• Use visual aids : Create a visual representation of the timeline, such as a Gantt Chart, as these show each activity's start and end dates.
• Set milestones : Identify critical milestones that mark the timeline's significant achievements or essential events. 
• Be realistic : Ensure that the timeline is realistic and achievable. 
• Account for potential delays : Factor in possible delays or unforeseen challenges that may arise during the execution of the plan.
• Review and update regularly : A business plan timeline is not set in stone. Review and edit the timeline in real-time.
• Communicate the timeline : Share business plan timeline with team members and stakeholders.

How do Businesses use Timelines?

Here are some common ways companies use timelines:

• Project Management: Timelines are crucial in project management to outline the sequence of tasks, deadlines, and dependencies. They help teams stay organized, track progress, and meet deadlines.  
• Business Planning : Timelines are used in business plans to illustrate the company’s history, growth trajectory, and goals. They represent a strategic direction and serve as a roadmap for achieving objectives.
• Marketing and Sales : Timelines influence marketing and sales strategies. These outline the launch of new products, marketing campaigns, promotional events, and sales targets, enabling teams to coordinate efforts and maximize results.
• Product Development : Businesses use timelines to manage developing and launching new products. 
• Event Planning : For businesses organizing events, timelines are essential to manage tasks, deadlines, and logistics. 
• Performance Analysis : Timelines are valuable tools for assessing the success of past initiatives. 
• Employee Onboarding : Timelines assist HR departments in creating onboarding schedules for new employees, ensuring a smooth transition into the company.
• Financial Planning : Timelines are used to forecast revenue, expenses, and cash flow projections over a specific period.
• Regulatory Compliance : In industries with strict regulations and deadlines, businesses help in compliance. 
• Communication and Reporting : Timelines simplify complex information and provide a clear overview of progress or performance. They are used in presentations, reports, and meetings to communicate data to stakeholders.
• Crisis Management : Businesses use timelines to develop response plans and allocate resources.

Related posts:

• [Updated 2023] Top 35 Timeline And Milestone Templates for Clearly Visualizing A Project’s Progress
• Top 5 Research Timeline Samples with Templates and Examples
• Top 10 Product Launch Timeline Template with Examples and Samples
• Top 10 Visual Timeline Templates with Examples and Samples

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Blog Graphic Design 40+ Timeline Examples, Templates and Design Tips

40+ Timeline Examples, Templates and Design Tips

Written by: Midori Nediger May 30, 2022

Timelines are perfect for telling stories and visualizing projects and processes. You can use a timeline template to: 

• Provide an overview of events. 
• Break down an agenda or itinerary. 
• Highlight important points in time. 
• Distill important information that people might otherwise miss.

In this guide, we’ll share creative timeline ideas, outlines and templates to help you design timelines that will captivate your audience.

Here are our best timeline examples and tips on how you can use them. Click to jump ahead:

• Project timeline template
• Business timeline template
• Nonprofit timeline template
• Event timeline template
• Marketing timeline template
• Simple timeline template
• Historical timeline template
• Construction timeline template
• Internal communication timeline template
• More timeline templates
• FAQs about timeline templates

1. Project timeline templates

Project managers need to juggle multiple balls. A timeline presentation template is a perfect addition to your presentation, project plan, proposal, project management software or other documents where you need to share project details with stakeholders and keep the team on track.

Color-coding data in your timeline is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make your design readable, like in the project timeline example below.

The visual project timeline outline above uses shades of blue to differentiate different tasks. You can use color hues for each day, week, month, or even specific activities. This will help them stand out from each other on the timeline. This timeline was created for a nonprofit, but of course you can use it to visualize any timelines you have for your projects.

Pro Tip:  Consultants and freelancers will especially benefit from using this project timeline template . They’re an easy way to show the client what steps are required to complete a project and how each step impacts the next. The client will love having a visual timeline to refer when they can’t remember what’s supposed to happen when. And this means fewer emails and phone calls to you—we hope!

Monthly project timeline template

For shorter project sprints, a monthly timeline example may be more useful. A timeline, like this example below, can be customized to make it weekly or even hourly:

To make this a weekly or hourly timeline, simply click “Jun 2021” and change it to “Monday” or “9 a.m.”, for example. Note how, unlike the above timeline which uses different shades of blue, this one uses multiple colors to differentiate between time periods.

If you feel like this one uses too many colors and doesn’t coordinate well with your branding, you can always add your brand colors to My Brand Kit and apply them to the timeline in one click:

Consultants for projects can also add this free timeline template to their marketing plan  to improve their workflow. A more efficient workflow will help the team effectively carry out your recommendations.

Pro Tip:   Timeline infographics are great for nonprofits looking to become thought leaders. Pick a topic that shows the development of an idea in your industry. Plot it into a timeline template and insert it into your blog posts or guest posts or share it on social media. You can also add it to a  white paper .

Real estate project timeline template

The home-buying process can be confusing for first-time buyers. Real estate companies can ease their customers’ concerns by designing a project timeline template that uses numbers to emphasize each step:

2. Business timeline templates

Running a business is never easy, and the time crunches may be hard to manage.

Do you have too short a time duration to get things done? I thought you’d say that. Try experimenting with two-week project timelines instead to manage your business needs.

Here’s a project timeline example that can help you structure your monthly product releases:

Pro Tip:  Use Gantt charts to outline due dates and break down projects into smaller activities that are either assigned to individuals or entire teams. Our  guide on Gantt charts  will teach you how to use Gantt charts to deliver projects on time, every time.

Vertical timeline template

Sometimes the key to creating business timelines that stick is the right orientation. Maybe in your case, a vertical timeline outline makes more sense than a horizontal project milestone template.

Pro Tip:  Learning how to complete projects by dividing up deliverables and underlying tasks is key to getting things done across a project’s entire life cycle. Our  project life cycle guide  will give you a handy framework to guide projects from inception to completion.

Simple business timeline format

The best business planning timelines are simple but communicate the core message clearly.

Don’t be fooled by their simplicity. Vertical timelines can look basic but they’ll help you communicate project timelines and deliverables to your potential clients. This technology timeline sample can be easily customized to reflect your business plan.

Related : 30+ Project Plan Templates & Examples to Visualize Your Strategy

PowerPoint timeline template

Text-only  presentation  slides are boring. Timeline slide templates are perfect for making information visually engaging . Optimize your timeline outline for PowerPoint, Google Slides or SlideDeck by using landscape orientation and big, bold text.

Use a gradient color scheme to create a flow from the beginning of your timeline slide to the end:

For more creative timeline ideas and outlines you can use for PowerPoint and Google Slides, check out our collection of PowerPoint timeline templates and examples here .

3. Nonprofit timeline templates

Nonprofits often rely solely on fundraising to keep their projects running. To make things easier for your team, and yourself, a nonprofit timeline template helps to organize your processes. It is a great way to sum up the events and tasks for an important day.

Your tasks may consist of planning content, promotion, social media, etc. Using a horizontal timeline template allows you to be much more organized and summarize your successes:

This horizontal timeline format is perfect for social channels. The colors and images will hold people’s attention and stop them from scrolling past your post.

Social impact timeline templates

Nonprofits need to show that they are making an impact on the world. This is a great marketing tool to attract more investors.

But marketers are busy people. It isn’t possible to design an impactful document from a blank timeline template. This attractive editable timeline uses images to create a connection between the audience and the company.

If you want to use a horizontal timeline format instead, check out the example below:

4. Event timeline templates

A lot of event planning is virtual these days. As a marketer, you may feel overwhelmed by the changes. Using an event timeline template will help you block your hours, days, and weeks out so that you can visualize each step of the way.

Horizontal event timeline templates

Use color hues for each day, week, month, or even specific activities. This will help them stand out from each other on the timeline. This project management timeline template for a nonprofit uses red and blue to differentiate different activities:

Here’s an example of a horizontal event timeline template — this case of the cannabis legalization history in the US :

If you don’t have too many events, you can use this template instead:

This event timeline template portrays the nine-month period of Elon Musk taking over Twitter in 2022 . Not a lot of timeline milestones are added — the designer decides to use the given space to add more notes about each milestone instead.

On the other hand, this Adobe acquisition timeline infographic is perfect if you don’t need to add lots of background info to your timeline events…

Vertical event timeline templates

Scheduling your days in time blocks can be an effective way to organize and prioritize your tasks. Try using different color blocks for different types of tasks or appointments.

This is an opportunity where icons can help you code information and make your timeline scannable.

This vertical timeline template, for example, can make sharing an event planning schedule a breeze:

Or this vertical timeline template which depicts the major data breaches in September 2022 :

If you need to add lots of background info to your event timeline, this iPhone evolution infographic is a great choice:

Fundraising event timeline template

You want to show what your event or fundraiser has achieved. Instead of starting off with a blank timeline, use a creative timeline format to showcase goals reached.

This timeline example shows how the foundation has reached its goals every month. Notice how the timeline is cleverly designed based on a blood donation symbol (which makes it perfect if you’re looking for a visual timeline for your blood donation project!):

Event timeline examples

If you’re a busy small business that needs to budget its time, it’s important that you can indicate how much time should be spent on each activity in your timeline. One way to do this is to use bars of different lengths to visualize lengths of time.

Look at how this fundraising timeline template segments lengths of time for each activity:

Or this timeline infographic which depicts Parler’s business story before being acquired by Kanye :

Wedding timeline template

Another timeline example for an event that you may be planning as a small business is a wedding. You can include specific times and any important details people should know, just like in this wedding day timeline template:

Conference planning timeline template

Want your event to go off without a hitch? Give your attendees a timeline of what the day will look like. That way, they’ll know what to expect ahead of time.

Don’t forget to include information about where each part of the day will take place. Including photos or illustrations of what to expect can also help get your attendees excited about the day’s events.

For example, check out this sleek and minimalist event timeline template:

Pro Tip:  During timeline formatting, special event  consultants  and event planners of all stripes can add their  branding  to any templates of their liking. Then, save it as a template to use again and again. Meaning: less administrative work for you.

Calendar timeline example

Take a classic  calendar  and make it more effective by using icons. Pick icons to represent different types of events. Don’t be afraid to mix up the colors. Simple visuals make information easier to remember, so pick icons that will stick in your memory.

Choose icons to fit your event timeline templates using Venngage’s library of over 40,000 icons.

For another example of a calendar timeline outline, check out this template which is in a vertical format:

5. Marketing timeline templates

Social media timeline example.

If you need to report on how your company’s social media channels grow followers over a period of time, it’s best to do that in a creative visual format.

Adopt this timeline template that presents Instagram’s user growth over time and edit it for your own user growth timeline:

Creative visual timeline for marketing

Understanding your customers’ journey is a core component of a solid  customer experience . Create an infographic that visualizes your various customer profiles.

Use icons to emphasize key steps in their journey.  Take a look at how this timeline example uses icons to make each customer journey easy to understand:

Click the template above to enter our online  customer journey map  maker. Customize the template to your liking—no design experience needed.

Iconic editable timeline

Icons visualize information in one small graphic. That’s why they’re perfect for including in a visual timeline for your events.

Pick an  icon  with a widely recognizable meaning (such as social media platform logos) so people can scan your timeline for information about a specific topic.

This historical timeline example shows the history of social media platforms. It uses icons to identify which point is about each individual platform. You can always customize templates to fit your needs:

6. Simple timeline template

A simple timeline template allows you to make project planning easier for everyone involved. Your team will be grateful for the visualization of a difficult project or process. Here is a simple timeline example that shows how your audience can easily understand what you’re presenting:

7. Historical timeline template

People often like to learn about the history of people, places, and things that they’re interested in. The historical timeline example below highlights the evolution of the internet and technology.

Real estate history timeline example

Showing the history of an industry that has existed for almost a century can be difficult. You don’t want to include too much information. That can be overwhelming for your audience.

Breaking up the decades like in this printable timeline template is the better option. It will make the timeline easier for customers to read and understand.

Brand historical timeline slide

This historical timeline template uses Google’s iconic color palette to reflect the story. Icons and logos make it easy for readers to skim this timeline example and find their favorite products.

Use it to present about a company or an organization that has a rich history as it’s a really long and comprehensive timeline template (click to see the full infographic):

Related:   COVID-19 Timeline: Critical Moments in the First Year

Periodical history timeline

While most timelines typically use one connecting line down the middle to show progress over time, you can group years together using horizontal lines.

Group periods according to different technological breakthroughs, political movements, artistic and fashion trends, or any other broad theme.

Don’t be afraid to stray away from the classic branch timeline design. Get creative by moving events around the page and playing with different layouts.

Check out this history timeline example for some inspiration:

Historical infographic timeline

Educate and remind readers about important dates in history using a history timeline template. Emphasize certain dates by using big, colorful fonts. Offer brief, concise explanations for why the dates are important.

If you are pulling your information from other sources, be sure to cite your sources at the bottom of the infographic.

Arrow timeline example

This timeline example uses text bubbles and cute arrow graphics to create a natural flow of information:

Comparison timeline format

It’s fun to see how things have changed over the years—tech, fashion, event foods. Create a visual timeline that shows photos of a thing, to highlight how it has changed over the years. You can use a  comparison infographic template  to do this.

This timeline example shows how cameras have changed over the years, uses images and brief descriptions to inform readers:

Simple historical timeline template

While you can’t cover  everything  that has happened in history in one timeline, you  can  highlight the important, defining events. Summarize the history of a person, place or thing by showing key moments in history and offering concise explanations of why those moments are significant.

Use colorful icons to enforce and illustrate the information. If you have a resource where readers can go to get more information, cite it at the bottom of the infographic.

These  political infographic templates  are a good place to start.

8. Construction timeline templates

The way the construction industry has advanced over the years is quite a feat. This printable timeline template clearly states what movements took place for the industry to reach the heights it has now.

Construction progress timeline example

Sometimes, processes can be confusing, especially if there are a lot of steps to follow. It’s easy for people to forget steps in a process, especially in the construction industry.

A  construction schedule  timeline template visualizes the building process, organizes the steps, and shows the connections between steps.

This construction project timeline template uses color text boxes to neatly organize its milestones by month:

Pro Tip:   Consultants can use project timeline templates to keep a project on track, especially if there are multiple people involved (subcontractors, multiple stakeholders etc.). Assign a task to a different person and color-code these people/companies i.e. green for you, red for the client.

PS:  Looking for a  scheduling app  to help you book meetings without the back-and-forth? Check out HubSpot’s Meetings tool.

Home renovation timeline template

Alternatively, you can organize your timeline by steps and the number of days you need to complete them, like in this construction project timeline template:

Pro Tip:  Design newbie consultants and freelancers can use our “ My Brand Kit ” tool to import  brand colors  and  logos  from a website. Or enter them manually. Use your branding, or the client’s, as you like. It’s an easy way to impress the client, without any design work on your part!

9. Internal communications timeline templates

Visual timeline templates are an effective way to  plan your business goals  or detail a new process in your internal communications. You can lay it all out, summarize steps, and use visuals to emphasize points.

New hires at any company will understandably have a lot of information to process. This sprint timeline example details the first day on the job. It would be a welcome addition to the usual onboarding documents.

Pro Tip:  Timeline templates can help simplify the onboarding process. You don’t need to limit your timeline to a new hire’s first day at the company either! Consider providing a timeline for their first week, month, or even the entire probationary period. Chart important information, like the dates of their reviews, or when their benefits kick in. This will be much appreciated by your new hire, who likely has a lot to keep track of!

Annual printable timeline template

Zoom out even further and plan your entire year. Organize critical milestones by month using this vertical timeline template to share with your company:

Colorful printable timeline format

This timeline example takes a similar approach, but it color-codes the months and text for improved readability and impact.

Weekly timeline template

As mentioned earlier in this guide, you can keep track of your team’s progress week over week with a simple and organized timeline template.

Use  symbols and icons  to categorize different types of tasks so that readers will be able to skim the timeline and find the information quickly.

Alternate between two neutral background colors to increase the readability of your design. Here’s the two-week timeline from earlier that follows this scheme:

Pro Tip:  A project timeline template can be a fresh way for consultants to make progress  reports  for stakeholders. The client can see at a glance what you’ve been up and how the project’s progressing. No wading through walls of text—a timeline is easy to scan, understand and digest.

10. More timeline templates

Here are more timeline examples that you can customize.

Colorful text boxes use icons and punchy descriptions to keep the reader engaged in this history timeline template:

Process timeline example

Use your  brand guidelines  to spread brand awareness and make your content recognizable across multiple channels.

Numbered timeline template

A timeline doesn’t necessarily have to chronicle years. It can also be used to count down information. Take this timeline template that counts down New Year’s Eve facts. The line down the middle of the infographic creates a flow from fact to fact.

You could use a timeline example like this to rank products, websites, movies…anything!

Illustrative timeline example

The beauty of a timeline infographic is that you can create a design that really reflects the theme of your information.

Pick a flat icon that reflects the theme of your information and stretch it to fit the background of your page. Then, pick a color that stands out to create your timeline, text and smaller illustrations.

Look at how this timeline example uses an icon of a body as the background image:

Iconic timeline sample

If certain dates or events are particularly important, emphasize them on your timeline by making them bigger than other dates. You can do this by using bigger icons, bigger font sizes, or using a contrasting color.

Not only will using non-uniform design elements make certain points stand out, they will also make your timeline more interesting to look at.

Pro Tip:  Use a timeline template to show the history of your business. Put it on your website’s About page to grab the reader’s attention. You can also add it to  consulting proposals  or  pitch decks . We have plenty of  business proposal templates  to help you get started.

Bubble chart timeline infographic

This timeline template combines the use of bubble charts and timelines to visualize the explosive growth of AI technology over the past five years:

Note, we welcome sharing! You have permission to use this infographic on your blog or website. Simply copy the HTML code below to add this infographic to your site. Or, if you’d like to reference a specific statistic or fact, please include a link to this blog post as a source.

FAQ about timeline templates

What is a timeline.

A timeline graphically represents the passing of time. It also showcases important events, activities, or tasks in a chronological manner.

What does a timeline include?

The timeline format generally includes the following components:

• Dates or times
• Short descriptions
• Images or icons

How can you create a timeline?

Making a blank timeline and building on it will take time and energy. Instead, use a timeline template, like the ones Venngage offers, to design timelines.

As you can see from this guide, Venngage has over 40 editable timeline templates. Each can be customized to your brand’s needs.

Where can you make a timeline?

Use Venngage’s Timeline Maker  to design timeline templates for free. You can choose a template that suits your needs and edit it according to your content.

With Venngage’s diverse icons and stock photo library, you can design timelines that appeal to wider audiences.

Is there a timeline template in Google Docs?

Google Docs doesn’t have a default timeline template, but you can create one yourself by manually inserting lines and shapes from Google Drawing:

Of course, it takes lots of time to polish a timeline created manually this way, and even then you can’t guarantee that it will turn out “good”. This is because Google Docs by itself isn’t designed for creating timeline templates, unlike Venngage which is a simple solution for non-designers.

If you still would like to have a timeline in Google Docs, you can create one using Venngage instead and export it as a PNG—which then can be uploaded to Google Docs as an image.

Is there a timeline template in Word?

Similar to Google Docs, Word doesn’t have a default timeline template. Of course you can still manually create one using the lines and shapes, or by using the SmartArt function. Check out this guide on how to create a timeline in Word if you want to go that route.

But, also similar to Google Docs, timelines created in Word take too much time and don’t look as good as the ones created using a design solution like Venngage.

A simple fix would be to choose a timeline template from Venngage’s library, edit it and export it as a PNG so you can upload it to your Word document.

How can you create a timeline with Venngage?

Watch this video to learn how to create a timeline template .

Follow these steps to customize your timeline templates on Venngage:

Step 1 : Pick a timeline template with the layout that best fits the story you want to tell.

Just so you know, some of our templates are free, some exclusive templates are paid. But you can always create an account and test out our editor for free.

Step 2 : Add, remove, or rearrange points with the smart templates in our  timeline maker  (screenshot below).

Step 3 : Insert your own dates and events using the text boxes.

Step 4 : Customize the  colors ,  fonts  and  icons  to make the final design your own.

Step 5 : Share your timeline design with a share link, or upgrade to download in multiple formats.

Not a designer? No problem. Create an engaging timeline template with Venngage, the simple design solution for businesses.

PS: Looking for a different kind of infographic? Venngage can help you:

• Create a business strategy or brainstorm new ideas with a mind map
• Explain a complex process with  process infographics  or product roadmaps
• Compare and contrast multiple options with  comparison infographics
• Raise awareness about an issue or cause with  nonprofit infographics  

Need some timeline formatting tips? Read our guide on  how to create a timeline in 6 easy steps .

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• Infographics

Timeline Templates

Access a vast library of free timeline templates for any business use case and for any size including Infographics Presentations, and Reports. Need to visualize a series of events or the timeline of a project? With Visme's beautiful timeline graphic templates, you can easily create professional and easy-to-follow visualizations of chronological events or the phases of a project. Simply choose your favorite timeline design from the templates below and customize with your own text and modify the colors, fonts and icons to fit your needs.

Timeline 104

Choose a timeline infographic template below to get started.

Website Design Project Timeline Infographic

Guide businesses through the typical timeline of a website design with this elegant infographic template.

Voyager Mission Milestones Timeline Infographic

Create a timeline of the Voyager Mission milestones with this bright timeline template.

Launch an Online Store Timeline Infographic

Visually present business plans to your team or investors using the launch-an-online-store timeline infographic template. 

Paper Company History Timeline Roadmap Infographic

Take stock of your company’s history with this dazzling roadmap infographic template.

Production Process Timeline Infographic

Illustrate your company’s production methods and stepwise processes using this production process timeline infographic template.  

Crystal Diner Company Timeline Infographic

Make people want to taste your delicious food with this bright-colored template.

Pet Day Launch Roadmap Infographic

Prepare your pet daycare business for opening with this timeline roadmap infographic template.

History of Email Timeline Infographic

Spark people’s interest in the history of email development with this groovy infographic template.

The Business Plan Competition Timeline Infographic

Announce the next business plan competition in style with this timeline template.

General Motors History Timeline Infographic

Explain history in the form of a visually engaging timeline with this beautiful timeline infographic template.

Social Media Platform Timeline Infographic

Give people insights into the history of social media platforms they use daily in an easily comprehensible way with this structured template.

History of Money Timeline Infographic

Help people understand the history of money with this engaging infographic template.

Ice Cream Timeline Infographic

Get started creating your own interesting and fun historical timelines using the ice cream timeline infographic template.

Company History Timeline Infographic

History can be boring, but not when you have this easily customizable company history timeline infographic template to illustrate your company’s eventful dates. 

Website Design Timeline Infographic

Create a comprehensive process for your website design projects using this website design timeline infographic template.

Ecommerce Website Project Milestones Infographic

Customize this sleek e-commerce website project milestone to keep track of your project progress.

Coca Cola Logo Evolution Timeline Infographic

Showcase your knowledge of Coca-Cola logo evolution with this groovy timeline template.

Dissertation Writing Services Workflow - Infographic

Use this project workflow infographic template to illustrate step-by-step processes in a visual way.

History of Solar Technology Timeline Infographic

Share the most important moments in the history of solar technology with this neat infographic template.

History of Graphic Design Timeline Infographic

Show people why the history of graphic design is important in a fun way with this timeline template.

Headlines Timeline Infographic

Crack a laugh or two whilst educating people about history with this rewritten headlines timeline template.

Nestlé Company History Timeline Infographic

Share your company’s history with clients, customers and coworkers with this impactful timeline infographic template.

The Story of Your Company Timeline Infographic

Tell your company’s story in a visually compelling way with this bright-colored template.

Medical Timeline Infographic

Illustrate medical history and progression of different disorders and diseases using this medical timeline infographic template.

Professional Timeline Templates by Visme

Visme's timeline templates allow anyone to create captivating and informative timelines in minutes. Choose from a horizontal or vertical timeline design and customize it with your own information. Choose from millions of free images and icons. You can also crop images, apply color overlays and filters to your images and adjust the color schemes of icons to fit your content or brand colors.

You can even animate elements in your timeline graphic and share via a unique URL, or download as a PDF file or high-resolution image for offline use. Make your timeline interactive by inserting pop-ups, rollovers, interactive buttons and embed any third-party content such as polls, maps, surveys or quizzes. Visme's timeline templates allow anyone to easily visualize dense and boring information in minutes to take your communication to the next level. Get started with our timeline maker today.

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• How to create a project timeline in 7 s ...

How to create a project timeline in 7 simple steps

Wondering how to transform your project management game? Learn how to streamline your tasks and dependencies by creating an adaptable project management timeline that's suitable for any industry and profession.

Fret no more. This guide offers a comprehensive example of how to create a project timeline suitable for any professional, regardless of their job title, industry, or department. Follow these steps and learn how to build project timelines that put you in the driver’s seat and build your own project timeline template .

What is a project timeline?

A project timeline is an important project management tool that visually represents the schedule and details the sequence and duration of tasks. It breaks down a project into parts and supports effective workload management by using integrations such as a work breakdown structure (WBS). A project timeline is more than a static calendar; it functions as a dynamic guide that adapts to the project's developing needs, ensuring that goals are completed quickly and within anticipated timescales, whether in a major enterprise project or a small business initiative.

How to create a project timeline

Creating a project timeline is a structured process that lays the foundation for successful project execution. It begins with defining the project’s scope and objectives.

A good timeline not only displays tasks in chronological order but also incorporates critical elements like task dependencies, resource allocation, and milestones. 

This is where the functionality of the timeline comes into play. It should provide a clear, visual representation of the project’s flow and allow for easy tracking and updates. The timeline should be both comprehensive and flexible, able to adapt to changes while keeping the project on track.

1. Create a project brief

To keep all project stakeholders aligned on the plan, every project should start with a project brief . It serves as a roadmap and is a way to explain big picture details, like the purpose, goals, milestones, and vision of the overall project. Here are a few questions to answer in your brief:

What are your goals for the project, both internally and externally? What are the project deliverables?

Which internal and external stakeholders are a part of the project? What are their roles?

What is the timeframe for the project? What are the most important dates?

What is the project scope ? Do you have a project scope statement?

What are the key milestones of the project?

Let’s put this step into practice. You’re responsible for planning this year’s client appreciation dinner. Your personal goal for the event is to be as organized, productive, and efficient as possible . You’re confident you can do it, and understand it all starts by putting together a cohesive brief for your event. Your answers to the four questions listed above are:

What are your project goals, both internally and externally?

The internal goal is to plan a high-impact client event under $15,000. The external goal is to achieve a 50% RSVP rate and 80% attendance rate.

Which internal and external stakeholders are a part of the project?

The internal stakeholders are the event’s planning committee (John, Sam, Tara, Linda), the VP of Client Success, and the Marketing team. Externally, the stakeholders include all current clients, and certain vendors (catering company, event venue, etc.).

What is the time frame for the project?

The project planning kicks off on January 15, and the event will happen on August 30.

Which tasks should be considered project milestones?

Publishing the registration page, securing the venue, and signing certain vendors.

Once you have your project brief and goals outlined, you’ll be ready to work backwards and figure out all of the steps you need to take to get there, and you can start creating a project timeline.

2. List your to-dos

In order to have a successful project timeline, you’ll need to create a list of everything that will need to happen throughout the project planning process, all the way to your final deliverable, whether it is a report or an event. Think both big and small in terms of steps. Any tasks that will help you get your project completed on time and on budget should go on this list.

At this point, don’t worry too much about the order of all of your steps or when you need to get them done—we’ll cover that later.

For example, the breakdown for our client appreciation dinner might look like this:

Write an event plan

Finalize budget

Confirm event venue

Select catering

Choose event theme

Design creative concepts for event

Set up an RSVP page

Send invitations

Advertise event

Finalize presentations

Prepare all event collateral and swag

Create a day-of checklist

For longer or more complex steps, break them into smaller, easy-to-digest subtasks. Not only will it help you figure out the true scope of a step, but it’ll also ensure you don’t forget any small details and make tackling it more manageable.

In our event example, to make the "Select catering" step less overwhelming, we would split this part of the project into a digestible task list:

Create a list of possible caterers

Get quotes from each caterer

Compare quotes and menus

Meet with top picks

Choose caterer

Finalize contract

3. Estimate how long each step will take

Once you have a comprehensive list of every step in your project, you’ll allocate an amount of time each will take to complete. When doing this, balance giving your team enough time to get project tasks finished and staying within your overall time frame. Once you know how much time each task will take, you’ll be able to properly plan and sequence each task to create a project roadmap.

Continuing on with our client appreciation event example, let’s take the “Select catering” step, along with each of its subtasks, and estimate how much time the smaller tasks will take, in chronological order.

Select catering (9 weeks)

Create a list of possible caterers (1 week)

Get quotes from each caterer (3 weeks)

Compare quotes and menus (1 week)

Meet with top picks (2 weeks)

Choose caterer (1 week)

Finalize contract (1 week)

Based on our time projections, the process of selecting a catering company will take a total of nine weeks. By working backwards, you can determine when you need to start on this particular step and fill in your project timeline with actual dates.

4. Map out dependencies

As you’re running a project, some steps can be worked on simultaneously—especially if different teammates are responsible for each of the overlapping tasks. However, others cannot be started or completed until another step is finished. In other words, some steps are dependent on others getting completed first. This is why proper work management is important, particularly for complex projects with multiple dependencies, like new site openings and clinical trial management .

For instance, you can’t order food before you’ve selected the caterer. This is one of the many reasons why a timeline is so important. Visually seeing each step, how the steps overlap, and the amount of time each one takes will keep you on course.

This is also the time to figure out who’s responsible for each step. Assigning who’s responsible for what to every part of the project early on will help you spot and adjust timing or resource conflicts, and avoid future surprises and delays. In Step 6, you’ll learn how to share your project timeline with those involved, making responsibilities crystal clear.

One of the tasks for our example event is to send out invitations. While this particular step seems like an easy one, there are several other things that need to happen before we can even think about sending invitations. The invites must be designed, and we can’t design them until a theme has been chosen for our event. One task needs to occur before another starts. For example:

Event theme (Event Planning team) → Design concepts (Linda) → Choose design (Event Planning team) → Create invitation (Linda) → Send invitations (Tara)

It’s worth the time to map out each dependency and the sequence (or order) of each task. You’ll quickly start to see your project puzzle coming together. Deciding who will do what is critical as well. Who will be working on finalizing the event theme? Who will design the invitations? Don’t wait until it is time for a task to start before assigning it to someone—get everything ironed out early to avoid conflicts or hiccups.

The good news is the invitation process and catering selections can happen at the same time, which will be shown on our project timeline.

5. Create your timeline

Are you beginning to visualize what your project timeline could look like ? While it’s not practical to keep that image (and all those tasks and due dates) in your head, it is realistic to get them down on paper (or on screen). Your first instinct might be to open up an Excel spreadsheet or Microsoft presentation—but wait. Since neither were designed to plan or manage projects, you’ll run into some challenges you could avoid by choosing a better tool .

Instead, opt for a project management tool that’s designed to build and manage project timelines —like Asana. Not only will it save you time drawing your timeline (since you won’t have to attempt to hack merge cells and add formulas to turn a spreadsheet into a project timeline), it will allow you to continue managing your timeline after the project kickoff. Dedicated project management software allows you to easily adapt your timeline as you work, and update your stakeholders on changes and progress in real time.

With the right tool, your timeline will be tied to your underlying work and will always stay up to date. It can be the difference between a project running on track and one going haywire.

How to create a timeline in Asana

Use Asana’s Timeline feature to create your own project schedule :

Enter all of your project steps as tasks in a list

Add start and end dates to each task

Add a task owner for each one

Draw dependencies between tasks

Click "Timeline" view to see your list translated into a visual timeline.

Tip: If you’ve already created your plan in a spreadsheet, you can quickly import it into Asana using our CSV importer integration , and skip to step four.

Project timeline templates to get you started

The easiest way to set up a project timeline quickly is to start with a project template . Below are a couple of project templates, created by Asana, that you can use now. Each type of project starts as a List View, but you can click the "Timeline" tab to convert it into a Timeline:

Product marketing launch template

Event planning template

Product roadmap template

General project plan template

6. Share it with stakeholders

Remember when you added a list of all project stakeholders to your brief at the very beginning of this process? Now that you’ve built your timeline, it’s important to share it with everyone involved. We can promise they will be thrilled to see how clear your plan is. The easier you make their part of the project, the more kudos will come your way throughout the process.

When you use a project management tool to build your timeline, sharing it is quick and seamless. Forget emails and multiple docs—in no time, your stakeholders will know who’s doing what by when.

For the client appreciation event, we will want to share our timeline with everyone involved in the entire project, not just those who have immediate responsibilities. At any time, someone will be able to track their part of the project and its dependencies without having to ping you for information.

7. Manage and adapt as you go

If you’ve ever worked on any project, you know things don’t always go as planned. However, when you’re prepared to adapt, changes don’t seem so difficult to handle. Timelines aren’t just great for planning; they will also help you adjust as delays or changes inevitably happen.

Moving tasks around doesn’t have to be daunting or disrupt the entire project. If one part of the project runs into a delay, as the project owner, you will have clarity on the impact of the rest of the project. Then, you’ll be empowered to move things around accordingly so the overall project can still move forward productively.

As The Balance Careers notes, project changes can be managed within their own specific steps, but once the change is final, it’s time to update your timeline. Because timelines go out of date quickly when plans change, relying on a project management tool , rather than email or spreadsheets, offers a major benefit. As the project owner, it’s your responsibility to communicate to all stakeholders what the single source of truth is (your timeline) and make sure it’s always updated.

Take immediate action. As soon as the change is confirmed, update your timeline to reflect it.

Notify stakeholders. Anyone that is affected by the change to your project timeline should understand how it impacts them and be able to visually see the change on the project timeline.

Determine the impact. Once your timeline is updated, you’ll be able to see if there are time periods that are overcrowded and stakeholders that have too many tasks. Can you move a task to ensure more time? Can someone else take over that responsibility or lend a hand?

To wrap up our event example, let’s say you managed to choose a caterer for the client appreciation dinner. You’re about to finalize the contract when a call comes in that the catering company double-booked themselves. Unfortunately, you must find a new catering company.

With a timeline, it's easy to adjust due dates for any task or any team members that are impacted by this change. The positive part of this challenge is that we’ve already gone through several of the initial tasks and can see that reflected on the timeline. While this is a frustrating problem, it feels more manageable because our timeline has kept us organized and on track.

Types of project timelines

Project timelines are as diverse as the projects themselves. The reason for this variety lies in the distinct nature of each project, where factors like scope, complexity, industry, and team size dictate the most suitable timeline format. This diversity ensures that every project can have a timeline tailored to its specific needs.

Choosing the right type of project timeline is an important step in project management. The key is to assess the project’s requirements and consider factors like: 

Project duration

Level of detail needed

Team's working style 

For instance, projects requiring close monitoring of deadlines might benefit from a Gantt chart, while those emphasizing flexibility might opt for a Kanban timeline. Additionally, the availability of project timeline software and tools should also be considered to ensure compatibility and ease of use.

Knowing you've selected the right type of timeline often comes down to its effectiveness in project execution. A suitable timeline will streamline the planning process, facilitate clear communication among team members, and provide a realistic overview of the project’s progress. 

If the timeline allows for easy identification of bottlenecks , supports effective time management , and aligns with the team’s workflow, it's likely a good fit for the project.

Gantt chart timeline

A Gantt chart is a popular project timeline tool that provides a visual overview of tasks scheduled over time. It helps teams see the start and end dates of project phases, helping with time management and identifying potential bottlenecks.

For example, a Gantt chart can be used to manage deadlines and identify potential delays in a construction project by outlining stages such as design, procurement, and construction.

Vertical chart timeline

This timeline is a variant of the traditional Gantt chart, displaying tasks along a vertical line. It's effective for smaller projects or when you need a concise list of tasks without detailed scheduling.

In event planning, such as organizing a conference, a vertical timeline can efficiently display the sequence of tasks like venue booking, speaker confirmation, and marketing.

Historical timeline

Particularly useful in educational or retrospective projects, a historical timeline outlines key events in chronological order. When dealing with complex projects, this format can help streamline the visualization of project phases.

A historical timeline, for instance, could be used to help with the educational component of a museum exhibit project by listing important historical events or eras in chronological order.

Kanban timeline

Kanban timelines, inspired by Kanban boards , focus on the progress of tasks from "to-do" to "done." They're excellent for teams emphasizing teamwork and agile methodologies, where tasks move through different stages.

For example, software development teams often use a Kanban board to track the progress of features from conception to implementation. 

Critical Path Method (CPM)

The Critical Path Method is a more sophisticated approach that identifies the sequence of interdependent tasks that affect the project's timeline. It's pivotal in complex projects where time tracking and precise planning are key.

In a big manufacturing project, for instance, CPM can identify and keep track of important steps like design, production, and quality control to make sure the job is finished on time.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

PERT is similar to CPM but focuses more on the time each task takes. It's beneficial in projects where time estimation is challenging by providing a project plan timeline that considers uncertainty.

In a research and development project, for example, PERT can be used to estimate the time needed for various phases like conceptualization, experimentation, and product testing.

Project timeline examples

Effective project timelines are more than just theoretical concepts; they are proven tools that drive successful project outcomes. They enable precise coordination, effective resource allocation, and timely completion of tasks.

A notable example is NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity Project. The mission's success was heavily reliant on a meticulously crafted timeline, coordinating hundreds of scientists and engineers. This precise planning facilitated the rover's successful landing on Mars in 2012, demonstrating how a well-managed timeline can lead to extraordinary achievements in highly complex projects.

Project timeline example 1: Digital marketing campaign

In a digital marketing project, a Gantt chart timeline could delineate phases like market research, content creation, and campaign execution. The project team might use timeline tools to track critical tasks, ensuring effective time management when meeting campaign deadlines.

Scenario: A digital marketing team at a tech startup is launching a new app.

Market research phase: The team sets a two-week period for market analysis to understand the target audience.

Content creation phase: Over the next month, the team develops blog posts, social media content, and email campaigns.

Campaign execution: The final phase involves a six-week rollout of the created content across different platforms, with weekly reviews.

With the Gantt chart timeline, the team can see how each phase is progressing, adjust to delays in content creation, and move resources around more efficiently, all of which led to a successful campaign launch.

Project timeline example 2: Boutique retail business

For a small business project, a simple vertical chart timeline or a Kanban timeline might be more suitable. Businesses can use this kind of timeline to make project timelines that are easy to follow and keep up-to-date by showing important tasks like product development, marketing, and sales.

Scenario: A boutique clothing store is planning to expand its online presence.

Product development stage: Tasks include selecting new products and setting up an online store. Each task is moved from "to do" to "doing" to "done."

Marketing stage: This involves social media marketing and email marketing tasks, tracked similarly through the Kanban board.

Sales monitoring: The final stage tracks online sales performance and customer feedback.

Using a Kanban timeline, the store effectively handles its growth into e-commerce, keeping task management flexible and ensuring a smooth transition to online sales.

Common questions about project timelines

Knowing how to create a well-organized project timeline is a great first step towards understanding how to use this powerful tool, but you may still have a few more questions. You’re not alone. Here are answers to a couple common questions people have about project timelines:

What’s the difference between a timeline and a Gantt chart?

Gantt charts focus more on workflow and task dependencies. They are more linear and don’t account for changes or multiple things happening at once. Timelines are flexible and adapt easily to changes in project plans. They allow the workflow to be updated effortlessly. Both are organized as bar charts and serve as visual tools.

How can you track project progress, especially if you’re managing multiple projects?

This is tough to do in spreadsheets, but easier in a project management tool. There are multiple views to be able to see one project at a time, or you can manage multiple projects through a portfolio-style view .

In other words, you can visualize when you’ll have more time to work on specific tasks, and when you’re at capacity, you can adjust as needed to even out your entire team’s workload .

Create your next project timeline confidently

It’s not enough to just come up with a project plan. Determining how to execute it is just as important . Developing a timeline of how the plan will evolve is critical to the planning phase and also makes managing the project more efficient.

Using this step-by-step process for every project management timeline will keep you on task and less stressed. Try it out, adapt it to your business, and share it!

To take your project timelines even further, create your next timeline using Asana .

Related resources

Everything you need to know about requirements management

Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Adaptive Project Management and Reporting

How Asana drives impactful product launches in 3 steps

Waterfall, Agile, Kanban, and Scrum: What’s the difference?

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15 Free Project Timeline Templates in Excel, Word, & ClickUp

Praburam Srinivasan

Growth Marketing Manager

February 14, 2024

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Project timeline templates are an essential tool for any project manager who wants to keep their team aligned towards a common goal. There are multiple stakeholders to keep in mind, deadlines to meet, and budgets to manage.

You can find a wide range of templates that cater to different types of projects and team structures. Some are designed specifically for Agile project management, while others are better suited for more traditional waterfall projects. Some templates focus on visual representations of the project timeline , while others offer more detailed descriptions of each task and milestone.

We’ve shortlisted 15 free project timeline templates to better manage your tasks, timeline, resources, and objectives to achieve your goals.

Let’s get started!

What is a Project Timeline Template?

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A project timeline template is a resource used to outline the sequence of events in a project. It is used as a visual mapping tool to show how individual tasks, activities, and events should be organized to meet project goals. 

Timelines also allow for detailed estimation of the duration of key activities in a project plan . They can also be used to predict future events and anticipate potential resource needs!

Once you add each task to the project timeline in ClickUp, you can use it to calculate the start and end dates of the entire project. Additionally, you can compare milestones against the actual progress to identify any potential blockers and make plan revisions if necessary.

It’s crucial to keep all stakeholders in the loop regarding the timeline’s progression, so everyone has the same information. This level of transparency and communication can help foster a culture of accountability and improve overall project performance!

A good project timeline template offers a comprehensive overview of the project’s objectives, milestones, deadlines, and tasks. The template should be easy to understand and scalable, with color coding and different shapes representing different types of tasks.

Project timeline templates must adapt to various project management methodologies , including Agile and waterfall approaches, and allow the team to include task-specific details such as resources and estimated timeframes. ⏰

An effective project timeline template should promote collaboration and transparency, allowing for easy updates by all team members. This encourages communication and teamwork, creating a united effort toward a shared objective.

Other features of a good project timeline template include:

• Milestones : The template clearly defines milestones so teams can easily identify the most important tasks and project deliverables
• Flexibility : The timeline is flexible enough to accommodate changes in scope or unexpected obstacles as the project progresses
• Progress tracking : The timeline automatically tracks progress as tasks are completed and updated over time
• Resource allocation : The timeline offers the ability to allocate resources to tasks according to project needs
• Detailed deadlines : The timeline is detailed enough to include specific deadlines for each task and subtask
• Automation : Automation helps simplify the timeline management process, allowing team members to focus on the important work
• Cross-platform compatibility : A simple project timeline template works across multiple platforms, making it accessible to project stakeholders
• Task dependencies : The template shows the relationship between two or more tasks in a project where the completion of one task depends on the completion of another

We’ve compiled a list of 15 free project timeline templates in ClickUp, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint to help you organize your tasks and activities. With these templates, you can customize your project timeline to fit the specific needs of your team and processes!

15 Project Timeline Templates to Get Your Projects on Schedule

Digital whiteboards are visual tools for project planning and organization . One of their most valuable features is the ability to quickly and easily braindump and categorize the major activities involved in a project. This can help project managers and teams to develop a clear and comprehensive understanding of the project’s scope, timeline, and resource requirements. 🧑‍💻

The number of activities included in a project timeline will depend on the size and complexity of the project. For small projects, this list may only include a few key activities, while larger projects may require dozens of activities to be fully planned out .

Regardless of the project’s size, creating a project timeline on a digital whiteboard allows the project team to break down the project into manageable components and identify any potential roadblocks or dependencies.

For remote teams, ClickUp’s Project Timeline Template is particularly useful because it provides a centralized location for all project-related information. Instead of relying on email threads or separate documents to track project progress, team members can access the timeline and see updates in real time!

The ClickUp Gantt Project Timeline Template is a perfect tool to manage new and ongoing projects that span for a long period of time. The template provides project teams with a daily, monthly, and yearly process overview, making it easy to track progress and forecast plans.

The daily view monitors the day-to-day work. The monthly view provides an overview of the progress made in a month, allowing teams to call out any potential roadblocks. The yearly view offers a high-level perspective of the entire project, helping businesses to identify long-term trends and plan accordingly. 📈

By using the Gantt timeline template, businesses can improve their project management process, streamline operations, and boost productivity.

Learn the differences between a Gantt chart and a timeline !

The ClickUp Marketing Project Timeline Template is a powerful tool for marketing teams looking to streamline their workflow and manage their campaigns and projects more effectively. One of the main benefits of this template is that it allows teams to build repeatable timelines that can be easily adapted to any marketing campaign or project. 🌐

This template will help promote consistency in marketing campaigns and projects by organizing custom project views:

• Timeline view : Start and end dates of marketing activities or important meetings grouped by quarter
• Box view : Marketing project managers, team members, partners, and their assigned activities
• List view : Different marketing activities grouped by quarter
• Board view : Different marketing activities grouped by status

Streamline processes, including content creation, promotion, reviews, and launches—all within one place. It provides a consistent structure and branding for materials and can be used to quickly create similar versions of content depending on the specific needs of a project.

A blank timeline is an excellent tool for planning any project or event where the sequence of activities is essential. It allows you to outline the necessary steps and visualize the timeline of your project, providing you with a clear overview of the tasks and deadlines involved.

The ClickUp Fillable Timeline Template takes this a step further with detailed Custom Fields, so everyone sees the most important information in one view! Custom Fields allow teams to add relevant details to your timelines, such as task descriptions, due dates, assignees, and major milestones.

We’ve included Custom Fields to help speed up your creation process:

• Days (Suggested Formula)
• Allocated Days
• Task Completion
• Actual Cost
• Project Phase
• Allocated Budget

ClickUp’s Project Timeline Whiteboard Template features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface to easily organize sticky notes, objects, and other items.

This template is perfect for a team who needs to collaborate with cross-functional partners on complex projects. This could include designers, copywriters, developers, product managers, and other stakeholders. This makes it easier for cross-functional partners to understand the tasks involved in the project and to identify their specific roles and responsibilities.

With clear requirements in place, team members can focus their efforts on specific tasks and avoid wasting time on unnecessary or irrelevant work. This helps to reduce the risk of miscommunications and misunderstandings, which can lead to delays or rework!

The Creative Project Timeline Template by ClickUp is an effective tool for organizing and managing creative projects of any size or level of complexity. This template offers a structured framework that allows for the clear visualization of project milestones and critical tasks, providing an organized and streamlined approach to project management. 🎨

Whether you are working on a small-scale creative project or a large, complex initiative, the template is designed to explore any idea. With its intuitive drag-and-drop interface, you can quickly and easily create a detailed timeline that highlights important milestones and tasks, ensuring that everyone involved in the project is aware of the project’s progress and key deadlines.

The ClickUp Software Rollout Project Timeline Template gives development teams the tools to collaborate and plan their software rollout timelines. With the ability to create visual representations of tasks, timelines, and dependencies, everyone can easily identify critical tasks and progress in real-time.

Additionally, the intuitive drag-and-drop features allow teams to rapidly move and organize their cards, making adjustments to their rollout timeline as necessary. This agility lets teams adapt quickly to changes in project scope or timeline, so all tasks are completed on schedule. 🗓️

Bonus: Build timelines with timeline software !

ClickUp’s Roadmap Template is designed to manage all of your timelines and production stages in one centralized location. It comes with pre-built Views, Custom Statuses, and Custom Fields for personalized project management.

This template not only provides a macro-level view of your project’s vision and direction but also allows you to track progress, surface real-time insights, and align work, teams, and individuals.

The Business Roadmap Template by ClickUp is built to help you create a timeline that outlines your company’s major objectives and strategies and keep you on track to hit your long-term goals.

This template comes with pre-built Views, such as Timeline and List view, to visualize your project objectives in an organized way.

ClickUp’s Simple Gantt Chart Template is a remarkable tool for visualizing your project timeline. This resource offers a comprehensive overview of the various stages involved in your project, with a particular emphasis on identifying dependencies and potential obstacles before they occur.

The Excel project timeline template highlights important milestones and critical tasks along the way. You can easily identify key deadlines, dependencies, and potential delays in your project plan. This level of organization and clarity is essential for effective project management, allowing you to allocate resources, manage expectations, and stay on track to meet your project goals.

By breaking down your project into specific milestones and critical tasks, you can easily see the big picture of your project and make informed decisions about how to allocate resources and manage risks.

Learn how to create a timeline in Excel !

The PowerPoint timeline template is a tool for a project manager to visually represent the key milestones in a project schedule. This can help to clarify the project timeline and make it easier for team members or stakeholders to understand the overall plan.

This simple timeline template offers a selection of infographic icons. The icons can be used to represent various stages of the project or key tasks. Adding a visual element that can help to make the timeline more engaging and informative!

Microsoft Word project timeline template is a document to input your event’s milestones, deadlines, and dependencies to create a project timeline. The template also allows for customization, with the option to add elements and images so your timeline reflects your event’s theme.

With a pre-designed template, you can easily create a comprehensive plan to cover all aspects of the event, from logistics to marketing to budgeting. The Word project management template includes sections for important details such as the event name, date, location, and project phase.

An Excel Gantt Chart Timeline Template is a powerful tool that helps in project management by providing a visual representation of tasks scheduled over time. It’s a type of bar chart that shows the start and end times for each task in a project schedule, allowing you to track the status of tasks as work progresses.

The template allows you to manage complex projects and better organize multiple projects simultaneously. It simplifies complex projects into a weekly or monthly timeline, making it easier to understand and follow. The tasks in the chart are usually categorized using a work breakdown structure, which further aids in keeping track of the project’s progress.

This timeline template is a user-friendly tool designed to help you visually map out project milestones in an easy-to-understand timeline diagram.

The template allows you to list your project milestones and creates a visual representation of them, highlighting their statuses. It’s a milestone-driven tool that provides a clear illustration of your project’s primary events. The template is highly customizable, allowing you to adjust colors, styles, and fonts according to your project theme or brand.

Stay Ahead of Schedule With ClickUp’s Powerful Project Timelines

Creating the right project timeline template is key to staying organized and on track. Whether you prefer a timeline, a Gantt chart, or a digital whiteboard, documenting your project adds structure and clarity to your project.

ClickUp offers advanced prioritization features, so you can customize priorities based on urgency, importance, or any other criteria that fit your team’s needs. Plus, with ClickUp’s intelligent dependency-path tracking, you can easily make adjustments with a simple drag-and-drop action. ⚡️

Get started in ClickUp for free today!

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Free Project Timeline Templates for Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and More

By Kate Eby | July 17, 2019 (updated March 23, 2024)

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We’ve compiled the most useful collection of free project timeline templates for project managers, sponsors, team members, and other project stakeholders to better track and manage their projects. 

Included on this page, you’ll find a simple project timeline template , a project milestone chart template , a weekly project timeline template , an annual project timeline template , and a multiple project timeline template , among others. We’ve also included a list of helpful tips for completing these project timeline templates .

Project Timeline Template

Download a Sample Project Timeline Template for Excel | Google Sheets

Download a Blank Project Timeline Template for Excel | Google Sheets | Smartsheet

Display key project information, like tasks and important milestones, using this simple project  timeline template. Track task start and end dates, and view them against each other in weekly, monthly, or yearly views. Color-code the tasks based on phases or categories to gain a quick overview of how your project is progressing.

You can also make your own timeline from scratch — learn how to create a timeline in Microsoft Word .

Project Timeline Presentation Template for PowerPoint

Download the Project Timeline Presentation Template for PowerPoint  

Use this simple presentation-ready project timeline presentation template to introduce key milestones to project team members and other stakeholders, or update them on project progress. Enter your project timeline details about its conception and initiation, definition and planning, the project launch and its execution, its overall performance and the project closing. With drag-and-drop project features, tasks, and milestones, this template is the perfect solution for all project team members and sponsors to ensure your project remains on track.

For Microsoft Project Gantt chart solutions and resources, learn how to create a Gantt chart in Microsoft Project .

Weekly Project Timeline Template

Download a Project Timeline Template for Excel | Microsoft Word | PowerPoint  

See your project at a glance with this timeline template designed for weekly viewing. Track each task by the week, identify who is responsible for what task, and document task names — or color-code them — with this easy-to-use, weekly project timeline template.

Project Milestone Chart Template

Download a Project Milestone Chart Template for Excel | Google Sheets | Smartsheet

Plot important project milestones and view their dates of delivery, their status, and the person responsible with this visual project milestone chart template. Stay on top of each important project date and task, and share among team members to improve visibility into how a project is progressing.

Learn how to Learn how to make a free Excel timeline template with step-by-step instructions.

Event Marketing Timeline Template

Download an Event Marketing Timeline Template for Excel | Google Sheets | Smartsheet

List all the important information for a specific marketing campaign or initiative, like campaign type, phase name, and start and end dates, so you’re always on top of the marketing projects that are going live. You can plan, track, and monitor the success of your efforts and customize the template for all sizes and types of events.

Marketing Project Timeline Template

Download a Marketing Project Timeline Template for Excel | PowerPoint | Smartsheet

Visually show each stage of your marketing plan with this colorful, customizable marketing project timeline template. Use this template to show the phases of the plan and all associated details, and present specific information to key stakeholders in order to keep them informed of your progress. With this professionally designed template, you’re bound to gain buy-in and streamline your planning process.

Simple Project Timeline Template

Download a Simple Project Timeline Template for  Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

With this simple timeline template, document tasks and subtasks, assign them to team members, and mark them off as the team completes them to stay on top of your project. Identify start and end dates for each task, and the duration will automatically be calculated (in days).

Strategic Project Planning Timeline Template

Download a Strategic Project Planning Timeline Template for  Excel | Google Sheets  

Designed to help you strategically think through and plan out your project, this timeline template highlights specific goals and tasks over a predetermined period of time. Use this template to separate tasks by category and facilitate discussion around the most important tasks and when team members should complete them.

Annual Project Timeline Template

Download an Annual Project Timeline Template for  Excel | Google Sheets  

Track every task or initiative that goes into a project on a visual, 12-month timeline, so you can better prepare for all project efforts over the course of the year. This template gives you the ability to track current projects and view past tasks in a summary view in order to assess performance and make future business decisions.

6-Month Project Timeline Template

Download a 6-Month Project Timeline Template for  Excel | PowerPoint

Track your project in increments of six months, or plan a six-month-long project, with this timeline template specifically designed for half-year-long projects. List your start and end dates and their durations, and compare them against other project tasks to get an accurate picture of how your project is progressing.

3-Month Project Timeline Template

Download a 3-Month Project Timeline Template for PowerPoint | Google Slides  

Use this presentation-ready, 3-month project timeline template to keep track of quarterly project progress, and share it with team members and other project stakeholders. The template enables you to list each task and show month-by-month progression towards completion. Use the drag-and-drop start and end-date bar charts to set task durations, and provide a status of each project’s task progress and percentage of completion. 

Download free PowerPoint project timeline templates to help ensure your team is on track.

Multiple Project Timeline Template

Download a Multiple Project Timeline Template for Microsoft Word | Google Docs

Track multiple projects’ progress across a customizable timeline with this multiple project timeline template. Create tasks for each individual project, and extend or shorten task duration with the drag-and-drop feature. The template also includes a way to add color-coded status (e.g., planning, approved, development) and risk level (high, medium, and low) so any project sponsor or team member can see how the project is doing at a glance.

Construction Project Timeline Template

Download a Construction Project Timeline Template for Excel | Google Sheets

Use this construction-specific project timeline template to schedule all your construction project’s deliverables in chronological order. The template includes editable example construction tasks (e.g., demo prep, framing, electrical) to show how you can schedule each task sequentially and keep the whole construction project moving. Plus, the built-in Gantt chart provides a visual record of each task’s due date, duration, and status.

IT Project Timeline Template

Download an IT Project Timeline Template for Excel | Google Sheets

With this project timeline template designed for IT projects, you can list sprints, assign each one to a specific team member, and track their progress. Maintain visibility into any project changes as you view the status of each sprint to ensure your time-sensitive project conforms to the proposed timeline.

What Is a Project Timeline Template?

A project timeline template is a tool that displays the project schedule, including individual tasks, key milestones, and due dates. Use the template to plan your project, and to keep team members and other stakeholders up to date on progress. 

Project managers, project sponsors, team members, and clients know that having an accurate project plan is crucial for ensuring that you proactively define the project’s objectives and goals, anticipate individual project tasks, as well as how you will implement the project. While a project plan defines all project work and the individuals who will complete it, a project timeline puts all of this information into a visually dynamic, chronological format so that you can better track and manage your project. 

Project timeline templates also include your project’s key milestones, task owners, start and end dates, and individual task statuses. A thorough project timeline template provides project managers, team members, and project sponsors with phase-by-phase and task-by-task details and their current – and collective – status, so that the project can be successfully completed on time. 

While project timeline templates may vary, most of them include the following components: 

• Project Name: Enter the name of the project. 
• Project Manager: List the name of the project manager ultimately responsible for managing project day-to-day tasks and ensuring successful project delivery.  
• Start Date: Set the project start date. 
• End Date: Set the project end date. 
• Phase Title: Enter a name for each phase or stage of your project timeline. 
• Task Name: List each individual task.  
• Assigned To: List the team member responsible for completing each individual project task. 
• Task Start and End Dates: Set the date the task owner is scheduled to begin and finish working on each individual task. 
• Duration: Review the task duration to ensure that the task owner has sufficient time to complete it. 
• Status: Provide the status for each individual task (e.g., not started, in progress, on hold, complete, etc.).  

Additionally, some project timeline templates include the following additional components: 

• Milestones: List the project’s key milestones. 
• Project Scope: Provide brief details of the scope of the project (i.e., product or project features).  
• Objectives and Goals: List the project’s key goals or objectives.   
• Task ID: Provide a unique task ID for each project task for easier task-by-task status tracking. 
• Department: List the department responsible for each project phase or individual task.  To keep track of the time spent by individual teams or department members, use one of our free timesheet templates.
• At Risk: Mark tasks that are at risk of not being completed on time, and whether this jeopardizes project delivery.  
• Sprint: If your project timeline is structured according to Agile sprints , enter the name or number of the sprint.  
• Project Notes: Provide any notes about schedule, budget, resources, risks, or other issues that may affect successful project delivery.
• Status Key: Provide a color-coded status for each project phase, feature, or task (e.g., planning, approved, development, launched). 
• Risk Level: Provide a level for any particular project phase, feature, or task that is at risk of not being completed (e.g., high, medium, low).

Create Powerful Project Timelines with Smartsheet for Project Management

From simple task management and project planning to complex resource and portfolio management, Smartsheet helps you improve collaboration and increase work velocity -- empowering you to get more done. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover a better way to streamline workflows and eliminate silos for good.

10 Project Timeline Templates To Kick Start Planning

Every project starts with a plan.

But how does a blank document become a solid, detailed project timeline? How do you present your ideas in the most coherent, logical way? Where do you start?

It helps if you have a framework to build upon.

Project timeline templates can provide that initial plan structure, spark some ideas, and get you going quickly.

We’ll show you a couple of useful free and paid project timeline templates, each with context including:

• What they look like
• Who and what they’re good for
• Pros and cons

But before that…

How to create custom project timeline templates in Toggl Plan?

Boilerplate templates are often either too simple or too complex for your needs. And more often than not you have to change a ton of things before you can fit a template to your project.

That’s why, instead of templates, Toggl Plan comes with a “Duplicate” feature.

With this feature, you can duplicate any of your existing project timelines to create a new timeline in a couple of clicks.

Once you’ve created a duplicate plan, you can:

• Drag and drop tasks to adjust the project’s timeline
• Create color-coded milestones
• Assign tasks to new team members right from the timeline
• Add task-related information using notes, checklists, and file attachments
• Collaborate on tasks to “@” mentions and feedback comments

Now that you know how to create your own timeline templates in Toggl Plan, let’s get on with the templates.

1. Microsoft Excel project timeline template

If you want to share project milestones visually with project stakeholders, Excel has an inbuilt project timeline template. You can find this template by searching for “project timeline” when you create a new Excel spreadsheet.

The best thing about this timeline is that most project teams already have access to and know how to use Excel. So getting started with this template should be a piece of cake.

A few clicks and you’re ready to track phases and milestones like a pro. 

But what if you’re not so well-versed in Excel? Don’t worry—you can see how to create an Excel project timeline template here.

Be warned, though, that this template falls short as you dive into the details of the project and start planning individual tasks.

And we wouldn’t recommend using this as a long-term solution for a growing company. By the way, if you need a more detailed plan for your team, we recommend you use the “ Project timeline with milestones ” template from the Office library to create an overview of the entire project.

It creates a simple chart that’s automatically updated as you change the timeline information.

Super straightforward.

2. Microsoft Word project timeline template

MS Word doesn’t give you a lot of options, but it’s quite useful for printed reports.

This “Business Timeline” template is your best shot. It’s the high-level timeline you’d show the clients at the beginning of your project planning, so they know what to expect.

For example, if you’re a software company and you’re communicating the early roadmap of your two-year project, this template is sufficient. After all, your client just needs assurance you’ll deliver the product on time.

This project timeline template will help you build this trust with the client.

But in terms of your internal team management, the Business Timeline doesn’t give you what you need:

• A visual overview of everyone’s schedule in the same place
• Task timelines with individual due dates
• Scheduling conflicts with other projects or employee time off
• A way to track progress

So you’ll need a different solution for that part of the picture.

3. Powerpoint project timeline template

Office Timeline is a free PowerPoint add-on that lets you start with a “timeline from scratch” to save and reuse a custom template.

But if you want to kickstart your planning, you can use one of their free pre-made PowerPoint templates like the “PowerPoint Timeline:”

This template shows the standard elements like:

• Key project milestones
• Tasks with due dates
• Project progress via “% complete”

You can easily adjust it to reflect your business and update it as you make progress. If you’re already a PowerPoint user, this could be the perfect choice for you.

Overall, it’s a good visual for keeping all the stakeholders in the loop, but functional for team use as well.

4. Google Docs project timeline template

Google Docs doesn’t have any native project timeline templates.

But if you still want to create a project schedule in Google Docs, you have two options:

• Create your own template manually
• Import one from a third-party template provider site like Template

Even if you’re building your own from scratch, you can still look at the readily-available project timeline templates for guidance and inspiration.

Here’s an example of a DIY timeline template in Google Docs:

Learn more about creating project timelines in Google Docs .

5. Google Sheets project timeline template

You can find this template in the “Project management” section of Google Sheets templates.

The “Project timeline” template is best suited for managing client-facing engagements. For planning team tasks, the “Gantt chart” template is a better choice since it enables you to dive deep into the details. Gantt charts are similar to project timelines, but they offer a more detailed, task-level overview of the project. 

This project planning template allows you to:

• Break the project into tasks
• Prioritize tasks according to the importance and dependencies
• Monitor the team schedule
• Spot any scheduling conflicts or potential risks in the project’s schedule

This Google Sheets Gantt chart template comes with a progress indicator to see what percentage of work on a task is completed.

Overall, this Google Sheets template is definitely a better, more functional option than some of the previous items on the list.

6. Google Slides project timeline template

Google Slides is intended for presentations. It can be useful for creating convincing, inspiring, beautifully laid-out plans and reports.

But it’s not so well-suited for day-to-day work. 

So it’s not really surprising then that Google Slides doesn’t have native timeline management planning templates.

But, when you want to create a presentation for the stakeholders and show them your vision of the project in Google Slides, there are plenty of templates you can import, so you don’t have to start from scratch.

Like this template by Envato Elements :

You can download it for a quick start, or use it for inspiration as you build your own Google Slides timeline template.

7. Wrike Project timeline template

Wrike’s Gantt Chart breaks down your project into sections with tasks and due dates, but then it goes a bit further:

• You can adjust and manage your tasks and items as you go (it’s not static)
• Generate real-time reports directly from the board
• Have a clear overview of the upcoming period

8. Preceden Project timeline template

What do Netflix, Slack, and NASA have in common?

This timeline planner, apparently.

Preceden is a timeline maker known for its ability to turn complex projects into clear processes— fast.

Add your team to the same board, collaborate on tasks, identify gaps between original estimates and reality, and solve problems before they derail your project.

9. Teamgantt Project timeline template

To nobody’s surprise, TeamGantt offers a fantastic Gantt chart to make your project timeline planning simple and efficient.

It’s drag and drop timeline helps you create:

• Tasks and subtasks you can duplicate for no double work
• Dependencies, so you work in the correct order
• Milestones for important meetings, tasks, etc.

You can switch between Gantt, calendar, and list views. Thus making it easy to plan and manage tasks in one place.

TeamGantt also allows you to stack up your progress against your original estimate, so you instantly know where you’re at.

10. Zoho Project timeline template

Zoho’s Project Timeline Gantt is convenient and interactive.

It lets you create and edit milestones, quickly extend or shorten deadlines, and visualize project tasks.

In addition, this project management timeline template is easy to update on the spot and has the “% completed” bar.

However, it’s not available for free. To access the Project Timeline Gantt, you must be on one of the paid plans.

Frequently asked questions

A project timeline is a chronological overview of your project’s tasks and milestones laid out on a horizontal timeline. Project timelines can be used for planning projects or for managing your team’s schedule and tasks.

You can create a project timeline using templates, timeline software , or in some cases, even paper and stationery .

To create a project timeline: • Finalize the project scope • Identify the tasks that need to be done to complete the project • Estimate the time required to complete each task • Layout tasks on a timeline in order of their dependencies Learn more in our article: How To Create A Project Timeline In 8 Actionable Steps .

A project timeline is a visual tool that has many applications. You can use a project timeline to: • Communicate project schedule to the team and the stakeholders • Track planned vs actual project progress • Identify bottlenecks in the project’s schedule and fix them

Kick start your next project with a project timeline template

A project timeline template helps you get your project planning off the ground quickly.

Depending on your goal, there are ready-made templates available today.

• Powerpoint and Google Slides timeline templates for presentations
• Microsoft Word timeline templates for project proposals
• Gantt chart templates for task-level planning in Excel and Google Sheets

In addition, there are a number of online tools that can help you create project roadmaps and detailed timelines collaboratively.

Whatever tool or template you choose, it would make sense to learn more about creating project task lists and project milestones next. Happy planning!

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