Project tracker template
About the project and task tracker template
Projects move fast—and priorities shift just as quickly. But when teams rely on disconnected tools and manual workarounds, momentum stalls. Airtable’s project tracking template brings everything into one place, giving you a flexible, real-time foundation to streamline planning, track project progress, and adapt on the fly.
It streamlines task management by helping you set deadlines, assign owners, and track progress in the view that fits your workflow—calendar, Kanban, timeline, and more. Whether you're managing a single project or an entire portfolio, the template helps your team stay organized, aligned, and moving forward with clarity.
What is a project tracker template?
A project tracker template is a flexible framework designed to support agile project management. With pre-built fields, views, and workflows, it removes the guesswork—so you can focus on managing tasks, milestones, and your project budget instead of building systems from scratch. Just add your project details, and you’re up and running.
Why use a project tracking template?
A project tracker keeps your work moving and your team in sync. Teams of all sizes use project tracking templates to:
- Stay on top of progress: Track tasks, deadlines, deliverables, and workflows—whether you're managing a simple to-do list or running agile sprints.
- Spot risks early: Catch blockers, delays, and resource gaps before they slow you down.
- Keep your team aligned: Everyone’s working from the same source of truth—with shared plans, updates, and priorities, no spreadsheets required.
- Move faster with less friction: Automate updates, assign tasks, and connect the tools you already use to streamline execution.
- Make smarter decisions: Real-time project data and project status summaries help you focus on the work that drives impact.
What does the project tracking template include?
AI and automation
Let AI take the grunt work off your plate. Automate repeatable tasks, surface blockers before they derail you, and get smart updates—so you can focus on what actually moves the needle.
Integrations
Connect the tools and apps you already use—like Slack, Gmail, and Jira—to keep updates flowing, teams aligned, and work moving.
Personalized views
Your project, your perspective. Switch between grid, calendar, Kanban, or project timeline to get the exact view you need, right when you need it.
Real-time collaboration
No more version chaos. Loop in your team, share updates instantly, and keep everyone moving in sync—whether you're side-by-side or miles apart.
Dashboards and graphs
Turn raw project data into clear, actionable insights. Use our dashboard template to visualize progress, track key metrics, and spot trends at a glance—so you always know where things stand and what needs attention.
How to get started with the task tracker template
Make it your own
We’ve populated each field with examples of tasks. While you begin to fill in your own work, don’t be afraid to reorder, delete, and reorganize the template to make it more intuitive to you and your process.
Try a new view
Views are a powerful feature in Airtable, which allows you to see your data in various ways. You can reorganize your data and track tasks with a calendar, on a kanban board, or across a timeline with just a few clicks.
Invite collaborators
Most projects include more than one person. Inviting colleagues, vendors, and stakeholders is a cinch with Airtable’s intuitive share options. You can easily set permissions while sharing to allow fellow collaborators to start updating data in real-time while ensuring others can drop comments without editing the data.
How to customize your task list tracker template
To customize your project tracker template, start by adding it to your workspace and editing the fields, views, and tables to match your workflow—whether you prefer Kanban boards, timelines, or calendars. You can also build automations to eliminate repetitive tasks, like sending reminders or flagging blockers. Plus, integrate with tools like Slack, Jira, and Gmail to keep project updates flowing seamlessly across your stack.
More free templates for planners and trackers
The project tracker is just the beginning. Discover more free project templates and project management tools built to help you plan smarter, move faster, and manage every project with ease.
Gantt chart template
Best for: Time-sensitive projects
Our Gantt chart template helps teams visualize project phases, deadlines, and dependencies in a clear timeline. It’s ideal for managing complex projects where sequencing and timing are key.
Project planning template
Best for: The early stages of a project
Use this project planning template for a straightforward way to manage your to-do list, deadlines, and deliverables—all in one place. With built-in visualization tools, like project timeline templates and graphs, it helps teams stay aligned and keep projects moving without the complexity.
Project management template
Best for: Simple project management
Plan, execute, and monitor projects in one centralized workspace with this project management template. Access customizable views, enable real-time collaboration, and automate workflows to streamline execution and keep your team aligned.
Content calendar template
Best for: Marketing teams
Track content across channels in one collaborative workspace with this marketing content calendar template. Customize views like calendar, Kanban, and gallery to manage campaigns, assign important tasks, and align your team on deadlines and priorities.
Event tracker
Best for: Event teams
Plan, schedule, and manage virtual events in one organized workspace with this events tracker template. Coordinate webinars, online conferences, and virtual meetups by tracking logistics, speakers, attendees, and follow-ups all in one place.
Grant tracker
Best for: Non-profits
Manage grant applications, deadlines, and funding statuses in one centralized workspace with this grant tracker template. Customize fields to track application stages, due dates, and linked programs to simplify the grant process and keep your team aligned.
Time tracker
Best for: Contractor time tracking
Log and manage contractor hours across multiple projects with this time tracking template. Track time, assign work, and keep projects moving smoothly with a simple, centralized system built for contractor workflows.
Applicant tracker
Best for: Recruiting teams
Manage job applicants throughout the hiring process with this streamlined applicant tracker template. Track candidates across stages, organize communications, and maintain a clear overview of each applicant’s progress in one centralized workspace.
Project portfolio management template
Best for: Portfolio management teams
Align projects with company-wide goals using this project portfolio management template. Track project schedules and progress, manage priorities, and ensure every initiative contributes to your organization’s strategic objectives—all from one centralized view.
Frequently asked questions
Does Excel have a project tracker template?
Yes, Microsoft Excel offers several project tracker templates you can download or access through its built-in template gallery, covering basic task lists, timelines, and Gantt charts. However, Excel templates may fall short for complex or evolving projects because it lacks real-time collaboration, automation, and easy scalability—leading to version control issues and manual upkeep as projects grow.
What should task tracker templates include?
Every task tracker should include fields for task names, assignees, due dates, status, and priority—plus space for notes, dependencies, project information, key project milestones, and links to related work.
What should task tracker templates avoid?
Task tracker templates should avoid cluttered layouts, overly complex fields, and rigid structures that slow teams down instead of speeding them up. Too many required fields, confusing labels, or irrelevant information can overwhelm users and make the tracker harder to maintain. A great task tracker stays clean, flexible, and focused on the essentials—helping your team track progress without getting bogged down.
How do I create a project tracker?
Start by listing your project tasks, setting start dates and end dates, assigning owners, and defining project stages and resource management needs. With Airtable, you can skip the setup and jump right in—use a pre-built project tracker template to customize fields, automate updates, and visualize progress in views that work for your team members.
What are the main types of project tracker templates?
- Spreadsheets: Excel can be a simple way to track tasks, dates, and project status—great for small projects or solo work. But as projects grow, spreadsheets quickly become cluttered, hard to update, and difficult to collaborate in real time.
- Project management software: Unlike basic spreadsheets, tools like Airtable offer flexible, collaborative ways to manage tasks, timelines, and team communication. They support automations, real-time updates, and customizable views to keep projects on track and teams aligned.
- Project portfolio management software: Ideal for managing multiple projects across teams or departments. These tools help prioritize work, allocate resources, and track progress at a high level—ensuring strategic alignment and better decision-making.
Put these Claude prompts to work in our project tracker template
If you connect our project tracker template to Claude using the Claude + Airtable MCP, you can ask Claude to build out projects, assign work, and surface what needs attention, all directly in this template. Here are some prompts you can try:
- I'm launching a new project called [PROJECT NAME]. Create the project record, set the kickoff date to [DATE] and due date to [DATE], assign [NAME] as project lead, and break it into these tasks with owners and due dates: [PASTE LIST].
- Review all tasks across my projects and give me a summary of everything currently marked Delayed or still in Kickoff — then update any tasks that are past their due date and still not complete to Delayed.
- I just had a project kickoff meeting. Here are the action items: [PASTE NOTES]. Create a task record for each one with the right assignee, due date, and status set to Planning.
- Look at my Overview table and tell me which projects have tasks due in the next 10 days with no assigned owner — list them and update those task records to flag them for follow-up.
More project tracker resources
Other Project Management templates
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