This free Google Docs template gives a delivery team a client project status report that tells the sponsor, in a few minutes, whether the project will land on time, on budget and in scope. It opens with the headline status and the decisions needed, then covers progress, milestones, hours and budget, risks and the plan for the next period. Bad news comes first and is stated plainly.

The sample is a March status report from Oakhaven Works, a fictional contractor, to a fictional client on a Leeds site refurbishment. Its figures, names and dates are invented. Replace the status, decisions and milestones with your own, and keep each figure tied to the plan so the client can check it against the baseline.