Which template should I start with?

The project charter. Everything else — plan, RACI, risks — assumes you’ve agreed why the project exists and what done means.

What is a RACI matrix?

A grid of tasks against people showing who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed for each.

How many people can be accountable for a task?

One. Two accountable people means nobody is. Several people can be responsible.

What goes in a project charter?

Purpose, objectives, scope and exclusions, key deliverables, sponsor, decision-makers, budget range and major risks.

How often should a status report go out?

Weekly for most projects, at the same time each week, including when everything is green.

What does red, amber and green mean?

Green: on track. Amber: at risk but recoverable within the team. Red: needs a decision or help from outside the team.

What is a decision log?

A running list of decisions with who made them and when, so they aren’t reopened later without a reason.

Do these suit agile teams?

Yes. The charter, RACI, risk register and decision log work alongside sprints; skip the timeline if you plan iteratively.

Do they work without Loop?

Yes. They are plain documents and spreadsheets.

How do they work inside Loop?

In Loop, RACI, risks, decisions and status become live project fields rather than files to keep in sync.

Can I request a template?

Yes. Tell us the document you keep rebuilding at every kickoff.

Treepie Loop · Project management

“I thought you were doing that.”

Twelve free project templates, kickoff to close, written so that sentence never gets said. Start with the RACI — tap a cell to change it.

RACI matrix

Tap to cycle R → A → C → I → blank

WorkstreamSponsorProject leadDesignerDeveloperClient

Define scope✓

Approve budget✓

Design✓

Build✓

Client sign-off✓

R does the workA owns the outcome — exactly oneC asked beforeI told after

Check: Every row has exactly one accountable owner and someone doing the work. Ready for kickoff.

In short

What are the Treepie Loop templates?

The Treepie Loop templates are twelve free project management templates covering a project from kickoff to close: a project charter, kickoff agenda, statement of work, RACI matrix, work breakdown structure, timeline, risk register, weekly status report, change request form, decision log, retrospective and closure report. They are short, editable and built for teams delivering client or internal projects.

Templates: 12 from kickoff to close
Best first: Project charter
Formats: Sheet and doc
Sign-up: None — download directly

Weekly status report

Four colours and one ask. That’s the whole report.

Set each area and the template writes the headline. Amber means the team can recover it; red means someone outside the team has to decide something.

Scope

Schedule

Budget

Risks

Halstead site rebuild · week 7Overall: Amber

Schedule and Risks are at risk; the team has a recovery plan and needs nothing from you yet.

Scope

Schedule

Budget

Risks

The ask this weekNothing needed yet. We’ll escalate if schedule is still amber next week.

Twelve templates

Kickoff to close.

Filter by project phase. Each is one or two pages and opens in any spreadsheet or doc tool.

Kickoff · Doc
Project charter
Why the project exists, what done looks like, who decides and what is out of scope — on one page.
Kickoff · Doc
Kickoff meeting agenda
Sixty minutes: goals, scope, roles, risks, ways of working and the first two weeks.
Kickoff · Doc
Statement of work
Deliverables, acceptance criteria, assumptions, timeline and fees for client projects.
Planning · Sheet
RACI matrix
Responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for every workstream — with one accountable owner per row.
Planning · Sheet
Work breakdown structure
Deliverables broken into work packages small enough to estimate honestly.
Planning · Sheet
Project timeline
Phases, dependencies, milestones and owners, with a finished state for every phase.
Tracking · Sheet
Risk register
Likelihood, impact, owner, mitigation and trigger date for each risk — reviewed weekly.
Tracking · Doc
Weekly status report
Red, amber or green for scope, schedule, budget and risk, with the one decision you need.
Change · Doc
Change request form
What changes, why, the effect on time and cost, and who approved it.
Change · Sheet
Decision log
Every decision, who made it, when and what it replaced — so nobody relitigates in month four.
Closing · Doc
Project retrospective
What to keep, change and stop, with estimate-vs-actual by phase as the opening slide.
Closing · Doc
Project closure report
Outcomes against the charter, final cost, open items and who owns them now.

Ready to download now

Published, with a page of guidance and a file that opens in Excel, Sheets or Numbers.

Sprint planning template →Capacity first, then commitment. The sheet works out the hours available after leave and meetings, and shows what is left before anybody commits to it.XLSX6 KB
Bug tracking template →Severity separated from priority, a reproduction field that is compulsory, and a status set short enough that everybody uses the same words.XLSX6 KB
Daily standup template →Three columns per person, a blockers section that names an owner, and a parking lot so the meeting stops turning into the meeting after it.XLSX6 KB
Client onboarding template →Four weeks from signature to steady state, with the internal handover in the first week where it belongs rather than after the kickoff.XLSX5 KB
Content calendar template →One row per piece with the query it targets and the stage it serves, and a month view that shows the gaps before they become a quiet fortnight.XLSX6 KB
SOP template →A numbered procedure with the decision points marked, the exceptions listed, and an owner and review date at the top so it does not quietly rot.XLSX6 KB
Marketing campaign template →One page of plan, one of deliverables and one of results, with the success measure agreed before launch rather than chosen afterwards to fit.XLSX6 KB

When to open which

One project, the five documents that carry it.

If you only use five, use these — in this order.

Week 0

Project charter

Agree why, what and who decides.

Kickoff

RACI matrix

One accountable owner per workstream.

Every week

Status report

Four colours and one ask.

When it changes

Change request

Priced against the original scope.

At the end

Retrospective

Estimate vs actual, by phase.

Habits

Four habits that make templates stick.

The document is the easy part. These habits are what make the next project calmer than the last.

Write the charter before the plan
If the team can’t agree on one page of why and what, a Gantt chart won’t help.
Agree RACI in the kickoff
Ten minutes in the room saves weeks of “I thought you were doing that”.
Send status every week, even when green
A green report costs five minutes and makes the amber one believable.
Log decisions as they happen
Not in the minutes three days later. The decision log is the project’s memory.

Who it’s for

Which template each role starts with.

The sponsor wants status. The team wants clarity. The client wants no surprises.

Project managersCharter, RACI and weekly status report.“Who is accountable for client sign-off?”

Agency & studio leadsStatement of work and change request form.“Was that request in scope or not?”

Delivery directorsRisk register and retrospective.“Which risks keep recurring across projects?”

Sponsors & clientsStatus report and decision log.“What do you need from me this week?”

Compared

Ways to run projects consistently, compared.

Every project manager has a favourite template. Few teams share one.

	Spreadsheets & email	Formal methodology template packs	Treepie Loop
Length	Grows each project	Long and exhaustive	One to two pages each
Accountability	Implied	Defined in a separate document	One accountable owner per row, checked
Status reporting	Free text	Many fields	RAG for four areas plus one ask
Change control	Remembered selectively	Heavy approval process	One form, priced against scope
Cost	Free but inconsistent	Often paid or certified	Free

Across Treepie

Templates for the rest of the business.

Plus free Loop calculators for utilisation, margin and sprint capacity.

Loop tools →Free project calculators Flow templatesSales & customer management Nest templatesHR & employee management Desk templatesCustomer support & ticketing Books templatesFinance & accounting Growth templatesSEO & growth intelligence Pulse templatesAI customer & employee assistant

Loop templates, answered.

Anything else — ask a person.

Yes. All twelve are free to download with no sign-up.

Charter agreed?

Bring it to a walkthrough. We’ll set it up in Loop with RACI, risks and status built into the project.

Start free with Loop →Book a walkthrough

Four habits that make templates stick

Step 1Write the charter before the plan
Step 2Agree RACI in the kickoff
Step 3Send status every week, even when green
Step 4Log decisions as they happen

The other sixCompare all →

FlowCRM & sales NestHR & employee management DeskCustomer support & ticketing BooksFinance & accounting GrowthSEO & website growth PulseAI assistant

What are the Treepie Loop templates?

Spreadsheets & email

Formal methodology template packs

Treepie Loop

Length

Grows each project

Long and exhaustive

One to two pages each

Accountability

Implied

Defined in a separate document

One accountable owner per row, checked

Status reporting

Free text

Many fields

RAG for four areas plus one ask

Change control

Remembered selectively

Heavy approval process

One form, priced against scope

Cost

Free but inconsistent

Often paid or certified

Free

“I thought you were doing that.”

RACI matrix

What are the Treepie Loop templates?

Four colours and one ask. That’s the whole report.

Kickoff to close.

Project charter

Kickoff meeting agenda

Statement of work

RACI matrix

Work breakdown structure

Project timeline

Risk register

Weekly status report

Change request form

Decision log

Project retrospective

Project closure report

Ready to download now

One project, the five documents that carry it.

Project charter

RACI matrix

Status report

Change request

Retrospective

Four habits that make templates stick.

Write the charter before the plan

Agree RACI in the kickoff

Send status every week, even when green

Log decisions as they happen

Which template each role starts with.

Ways to run projects consistently, compared.

Templates for the rest of the business.

Loop templates, answered.

Charter agreed?

“I thought you were doing that.”

RACI matrix

What are the Treepie Loop templates?

Four colours and one ask. That’s the whole report.

Kickoff to close.

Project charter

Kickoff meeting agenda

Statement of work

RACI matrix

Work breakdown structure

Project timeline

Risk register

Weekly status report

Change request form

Decision log

Project retrospective

Project closure report

Ready to download now

One project, the five documents that carry it.

Project charter

RACI matrix

Status report

Change request

Retrospective

Four habits that make templates stick.

Write the charter before the plan

Agree RACI in the kickoff

Send status every week, even when green

Log decisions as they happen

Which template each role starts with.

Ways to run projects consistently, compared.

Templates for the rest of the business.

Loop templates, answered.

Charter agreed?