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Construction Progress Report Template: Free Excel Download

A ready to use Excel template that turns your daily site diary records into a weekly or monthly progress report your client and project manager can actually act on. Built by quantity surveyors.

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Will DoyleFounder and CEO, Gather · Chartered QS · Last reviewed 22 July 2026

A construction progress report is the periodic summary a contractor issues to the client and project team, converting daily site records into a single view of planned versus actual progress, key risks and forecast completion. It exists so decisions get made on the current position, not last month's.

Most standard forms of contract (including NEC4 clause 32) require the contractor to show progress against the Accepted Programme at each reporting date.

What a good progress report covers

Most progress reports fail in one of two ways. Either they are built from memory the night before the client meeting, or they are built from a diary nobody kept consistently through the month. Both produce a report that looks tidy and says nothing true. This template starts from the diary, not from memory.

FieldWhy it matters
Reporting period and activity referenceTies the report back to the programme line it is reporting against
Planned % complete vs actual % completeThe single number a client or PM reads first
RAG status per activityFlags where slippage is building before it becomes a delay claim
Narrative and cause of varianceTurns a number into a decision, and gives the QS a paper trail if the variance becomes a compensation event
Forecast completion dateRolls the period's actual progress into a revised programme forecast

The template, field by field

RefActivityPlanned %Actual %RAG
2.14Substructure, Block C65%70%Green
2.19M&E first fix, Level 240%22%Red
2.21Cladding, East elevation30%28%Amber

Each row links back to a programme activity code, and the narrative column carries guidance notes on what a defensible variance explanation looks like.

Download the free template

The Excel file with planned vs actual tracking, automatic RAG status and a forecast completion roll up, built around a weekly reporting cycle.

Free download. No email needed. Yours to use and share with your team.

How Gather automates this

A progress report is only as honest as the diary behind it. If an activity's real status lives in a supervisor's head rather than a daily record, the report inherits that gap, and the client meeting runs on a guess dressed up as a percentage.

If your site diaries would not stand up when a claim lands, that is a problem you can fix now.

Gather's AI QS reads every daily record as it comes in and flags the events, delays and instructions that turn into money later, so the entitlement is captured while the evidence is still fresh.

See how the AI QS reads your site diaries A 30 minute call. No commitment. See if it fits how your team already works.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What should a construction progress report include?

At minimum: the reporting period, planned versus actual percentage complete per activity, a RAG status, a narrative explaining any variance, and a forecast completion date rolled up from the period's actual progress.

How often should a progress report be issued?

Weekly for internal commercial and site management use, monthly for formal client and contract reporting. Most NEC4 contracts set the formal cycle in the contract data, but the weekly internal cycle is what catches slippage early.

Is Excel enough for progress reporting?

Excel works well for the report itself. What it cannot do is tell you when today's diary entry contradicts last week's planned progress, which is where the honest picture usually gets lost.

How is this different from an earned value report?

A progress report tracks physical percentage complete against the programme. Earned value adds cost, converting physical progress into planned value, earned value and cost variance. Use both together if the contract requires CVR.

Stop guessing at progress, start reading it

Gather reads your site diaries as they come in and turns them into a defensible progress position, every week.

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