Schedule of works template in Excel: dates that move themselves when one stage runs long.
A working-day schedule for a residential build, pre-filled with 21 typical stages from consent to handover. Change one duration and every later date, and the completion date, recalculates. Free, no email required.
How do you build a construction schedule in Excel?
List the stages in order, give each a working-day duration, and let each start the working day after the previous one finishes using WORKDAY(). Add a status column so a slipped stage is visible, and a completion cell that reads the latest finish date. That is what this file does. Punctuality is one of the most-praised traits in NZ construction reviews (38.3% of positive reviews for builders, 40.3% for outdoor and civil contractors); what clients notice is not one late day, it is the next stage inheriting the delay with nobody telling them.
The job this document is doing.
- —The programme lives on a whiteboard, or in one person’s head, and the client sees none of it
- —A sub runs a week over and every job booked behind it quietly moves, unannounced
- —Nobody can say what the completion date is now, only what it was at the quote
- —Decisions the client owes (selections, colours) have no date, so they arrive late and stall the site
Open it and use it today.
- 01Schedule sheet: 21 pre-filled stages across pre-start, site works, structure, lock-up, services, interior, finishing and completion
- 02Start and finish dates calculated in working days; a “Depends on” column; status dropdown (Not started, In progress, Done, Blocked, Delayed) with colour coding
- 03Overdue finish dates turn red automatically; estimated completion and total working days at the bottom
- 04Trades and contacts sheet with lead times
- 05A “How to use” sheet, including how to run two stages in parallel
Free to use and adapt for your own business. Not legal advice: check contract terms against your own terms of trade and, where it matters, with a lawyer.
Why this document, and not another one.
| Category | Punctuality praised (positive reviews) | Rank among 13 praise traits |
|---|---|---|
| Builders | 38.3% | 5th |
| Outdoor and civil construction | 40.3% | 4th |
From 13,567 publicly posted reviews of 328 NZ builders and outdoor and civil construction contractors, collected August 2026. Full corpus, method and thresholds: the construction methodology page. Full findings: the construction research study.
Use it alongside
Pre-construction meeting agenda
A printable agenda with attendees, timed items, an actions table and a client-decisions-by-date table.
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