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Project status report: template for ongoing trades jobs

A project status report records where an ongoing job currently stands. It shows completed work and open points; where there is a delay, it also needs to show which dates are affected.

For a small trades business, the overview becomes useful when an open point turns into a next task. “Materials are missing” leaves it unclear who will deal with it. With a person responsible and a deadline, you can follow up the enquiry in the next report. ^[b]

The following template is intended for a single trades job. You can keep it in a text document or spreadsheet. An entirely fictional bathroom renovation shows the difference between a confirmed plan and a conditional date forecast. Work awaiting inspection stays visible too. ^[a]

What belongs in the status report

The report shows the position at a specific point in time, the reporting cut-off. Completed and outstanding work therefore appear alongside each other. Dates at risk need an explanation so the reader can understand the effects on the remaining work. This connection between status and problems also appears in the European Commission’s project reporting. ^[1] In this short template, every open point also needs a next action, a person responsible and a deadline. ^[b]

A missing delivery illustrates the difference. “Materials are missing” describes the obstacle. “The job lead obtains delivery confirmation by Tuesday, 12:00; the start of tiling depends on it” connects it to a specific enquiry. At the next update, the report records whether that information has arrived. ^[a]

The recipients also help determine how much detail the report needs. The team needs the prerequisites for the next piece of work. For the client, the main concerns are the current position and possible effects on dates, along with decisions awaiting their response. PM² recommends sharing project information to suit each recipient and the time when it is needed. ^[1] Before preparing your report, you can record who will update it and which information each recipient needs for the job. ^[b]

Template for your project status report

The square brackets mark the information to fill in. The header links the report to a job and a version. Each agreed task then gets its own row. This leaves room for its status and the record supporting it. You can copy the following block as a working template. ^[b]

PROJECT STATUS REPORT

Task overview at the reporting cut-off

Completed during the reporting period: [Work, actual date and relevant evidence]. Work completed earlier remains visible in the task overview but does not count as a new result for this period.

Delays and effects: [What happened? Since when? Which later step or milestone is affected? What action is planned?]

Outstanding decisions: [Question; person responsible; response needed by; consequence if no answer is received].

Unconfirmed assumptions and unknowns: [Conditional forecast; missing information; who will clarify it and by when?].

Changes to the scope of work: [Request; requested/confirmed/rejected; date and record of the decision; effect on tasks and dates].

Task status: [Number complete] out of [number of agreed tasks in the plan version]. This count describes tasks, rather than physical construction progress.

Five terms for task status

Here, a status describes a task’s current position. This template uses fixed terms so that “Complete” means the same thing in the next report as it does today. These are the working rules of this example. ^[b]

Record a delay in the report alongside the task status. Work can continue and still finish later than planned. “In progress” alone does not explain that effect on dates. For a change request, also keep it clear whether the change has only been requested or has already been confirmed. ^[b]

In this overview, “Complete” refers to a defined work step that has been checked internally. Any agreed handover or acceptance gets its own documentation, as does confirmation of a change. The internal job form records the confirmed scope and outstanding change requests. A reference to that decision is enough in the status report; the regular update does not take its place. ^[b]

Fictional example: bathroom renovation MUSTER-BAD-026

All details, roles and supporting records in this example are fictional. It is not a real client job. The dates only show how to distinguish plan, actual and forecast; they do not prescribe the technical schedule of a bathroom renovation.

At the reporting cut-off, the job is still open. The task overview includes work that has already been checked, while delivery information and an inspection note are still missing for the next steps. The report therefore keeps the agreed completion date and shows the conditional forecast alongside it. ^[a]

Six tasks at the reporting cut-off

Completed during the reporting period: Pipework on 08.10.2026, with a fictional test report and updated plan. The strip-out of 06.10. was completed earlier and appears only in the overall position.

Overall position at the reporting cut-off: 2 of 6 agreed tasks complete; 1 under review, 1 waiting, 2 planned. The total is 6. The count shows task status. ^[a]

Fact and date forecast

Within the example, the delivery delay is established: the fictional delivery information dated 12.10. states that the original delivery date of 13.10. will be missed. This puts the planned start of tiling on 14.10. at risk. ^[a]

The supplier suggests 15.10. as a possible replacement date, without commitment. For the report, this is an unconfirmed forecast. If delivery and inspection are confirmed in time, tiling is expected to start on 16.10.; this gives the example its conditional completion forecast of 23.10. ^[a]

It remains unclear whether delivery will actually take place on 15.10. and whether the prerequisites for the later steps will be in place in time. The job lead obtains definitive delivery information by 13.10., 12:00. If the supplier gives different information, she reviews the schedule again. No new completion date has been confirmed so far. ^[a]

Decisions and next steps in the example

You can carry the open points from the overview forward as a short action list. An outstanding result stays open until the person responsible has provided the relevant response. ^[a]

• Clarify delivery arrangements: Job lead; by 13.10.2026, 12:00. Record the result in the next report.

• Add the inspection note: Responsible trade; by 13.10.2026, 15:00. An outstanding inspection result stays open.

• Confirm grout colour: Client; response requested by 13.10.2026, 12:00. The job lead checks whether a missing decision would create an additional obstacle to the next step.

• Coordinate revised dates: Job lead; after receiving delivery information and the inspection note, with an update on 13.10.2026 at 16:00.

• Review the additional request: Heated towel rail requested on 09.10., not yet approved. The job lead prepares a decision on scope and effects on dates by 14.10., 12:00. The additional work is not part of the 6 agreed tasks and is excluded from their count.

Planned, actual or estimated?

Plan and actual serve different purposes in the report. The plan records what was agreed. The actual position describes what demonstrably happened. The forecast looks ahead and remains an estimate subject to stated prerequisites. These terms still apply when all three columns contain a date. ^[b]

In the example, the planned start of tiling on 14.10. and the agreed completion date of 21.10. remain visible. The conditional forecasts appear alongside them. Simply overwriting the original plan with the new proposal would make the change harder to trace later. A confirmed new date therefore needs its confirmation date and a reference to the decision in the report. ^[a]

And if additional work is agreed, the basis of the task overview changes. A new plan version records that change. If a later report says “3 of 7”, it is then clear why more tasks are being counted. A “2 of 6” based on a different scope would no longer be the same point of comparison. ^[a]

The same applies to a progress bar: what it means depends on what it counts. One completed task can involve much more work than another. Task counts, quantities of work carried out and checked work steps therefore provide different information. State the chosen basis beside the display. ^[b]

How to keep the report up to date

An agreed reporting schedule makes clear when the next version will be available. For an ongoing job, this might be a weekly update. If a critical delay arises earlier, the person affected needs the information as soon as a decision is required. Keep that separate from the normal report date. ^[b]

You can reuse the same short process for each update:

1. Set the reporting cut-off: Enter the version and period; keep the previous report for comparison.

2. Check the information: Compare responses from the people responsible with relevant photos, inspection notes, reports or delivery information.

3. Update the status: Mark a task as “Complete” only when the defined criteria have been met. Explicitly flag missing information as open.

4. Explain variances: Name the affected milestones, meaning important intermediate targets, the next task and any conditional dates.

5. Assign responsibility: For every open point, record who will resolve it and by when.

6. Check and distribute the report: Count the tasks, check the reporting period and recipients, and file the version under the job ID and date.

A photo records the visible condition. Whether that is sufficient evidence for a work step depends on the agreed check. The “Evidence” column may therefore also refer to a test report or a document that is still missing. ^[b]

Status, progress and changes

For this template, two questions can be distinguished. Status describes the position at the cut-off, including obstacles and outstanding decisions. Progress concerns what has changed compared with the plan or the previous report. Both can appear in the same short overview, as long as the reporting period and earlier point of comparison remain clear. ^[b]

PM² is a European Commission project management method that organisations and teams can adapt to their needs. This is described in the introduction to the PM² method. ^[2] The European Commission’s PM² artefacts list Project Status Report and Project Progress Report as separate templates. There is a Change Request Form for change requests and a Deliverables Acceptance Checklist for accepting results. ^[3]

This short template adopts that separation for the ongoing job overview. It is our own working aid for a trades job. Decisions on changes and any agreed handover or acceptance remain separate processes, each with their own supporting records. ^[b]

Work note, status report or customer overview?

A daily note may mention a late delivery. The status report relates that information to the rest of the job. The customer overview, in turn, links the job to the right customer. Each record has its own purpose. ^[a]

A CRM system can also be used for the customer overview: software for managing customer information and customer relationships. ^[4] The features available in your existing system depend on the product you use. The template does not require an automatic reporting feature; it can be kept as a separate document with the job. ^[b]

Notes and photos provide individual details from which the report builds the overall picture. For linking customers and jobs, the customer overview explains a suitable approach. Your first status report can start with a manageable scope: one ongoing job and its reporting cut-off. The confirmed scope defines the tasks; existing evidence and outstanding prerequisites establish the current position. The report then shows who needs to act next and when the next update is due. ^[b]

Related templates

• Job form: document the confirmed version, property and change request.

• Customer database in Excel: link customers and individual cases while keeping them separate.

Sources and publication date

Sources checked on 16.10.2026. The report template and the entirely fictional bathroom renovation case are our own editorial working aids.

Sources for the previous version checked on 16.10.2026; editorially revised on 17.10.2026. Numbers link to sources; letters explain editorial examples or recommendations. Each note states what the source supports.

[b] Practical recommendations. The suggested processes and decision aids are editorial applications of the principles cited. Their specific effect on enquiries or jobs has not been measured here.

[a] Editorial examples. Content labelled as a sample or fictional illustrates possible situations. These are not real client cases or evidence of a measured effect.

Sources and context (4 sources)

1. Introduction to PM²: Project Reporting and Information Distribution — European Commission, Centre of Excellence in PM²

   The 2018 training slides explain the purpose of project reporting and how it relates to recipients. They do not substantiate construction processes or the legal effects of a report for a trades job. The sections named here were read, rather than all the slides or the complete current PM² Guide. Checked: 2026-10-16.

2. PM² Project Management — European Commission, Directorate-General for Digital Services

   The official overview describes PM² as an adaptable project management method. This does not establish a mandatory report format in Austria or validate the professional suitability of our own short template. No promises of success have been taken from the page. Checked: 2026-10-16.

3. PM² Artefacts — European Commission, Directorate-General for Digital Services

   The HTML page read lists the reporting, change and acceptance templates named here separately. The complete artefacts PDF was not read because it exceeded the web reader’s size limit. The list does not establish any legal effects of acceptance or any mandatory fields for our own template. Checked: 2026-10-16.

4. What is CRM (customer relationship management)? — Microsoft

   Used only for the brief definition of CRM software as support for customer management and customer relationships. The vendor’s page is not an independent study of benefits; no specific features, automation or product suitability are claimed or recommended here. Checked: 2026-10-16.