How to Write a Progress Report

A progress report is a business document that provides updates on a project’s progress toward
meeting a goal. Typically, you’ll provide a progress report for a supervisor/manager, team
member, or business client to summarize a project’s status and what still needs to be completed
or improved.

But how do you write an effective progress report for your business’s projects? In our guide
below, we set out the typical structure of a progress report.

1. Header Information

A progress report should start with a header that includes key details about the report and the
project. Typically, this will include the:

 Reporting period and/or the date of submission.

 Name(s) and position(s) of the report’s recipient(s).
 Name(s) and position(s) of the report’s author(s).
 Subject or title of the report/project.

This will help the recipient to understand the contents of the report at a glance.

2. Introduction

The introductory paragraph of a progress report should outline the purpose and timeframe of the
project, plus any other important details or insights.

You can also include an overview of what the rest of your progress report will cover.

3. Work Completed

The next section of your report should be titled “Work Completed.” Here, you can provide a
chronological list of the project tasks that you have already completed and their corresponding
dates. You can also include key findings from those tasks.

4. Problems Encountered

The next section should outline any problems encountered in the project so far. You should then
explain either how those problems were solved or how they will be solved, and whether any
extra help will be required to do so. You will also need to mention if those problems prompted
any changes to the project.

5. Future Plans
To highlight the goals for the remainder of the project, the next section of your report should
outline any future project tasks with their corresponding dates or deadlines, anticipated problems,
and/or ideas for the project as you move forward.

6. Summary

End your progress report with a brief summary of key completed tasks, ongoing tasks, and major
issues encountered. You don’t need to go into too much detail here, though. Stick to the essential
details.

5 Tips on How to Write a Progress Report

We also have some helpful tips you can use when writing a progress report:

1. Adapt the structure – While the structure outlined above will work for most projects,
you can adapt it to suit your requirements. For instance, for a complex project with
multiple goals, you may need to break it down into sections, detailing the progress,
problems, and plans for each objective.
2. Choose an appropriate frequency – For ongoing progress reports, think about whether
to schedule daily, weekly, or monthly updates.
3. Write clearly – Make sure to write clearly and concisely. Keep your sentences simple,
straightforward, and easy to understand.
4. Know your audience – If you’re writing a report for someone outside of your
organization or team, explain any industry-specific language you use.
5. Keep it professional – Make sure to use a formal tone, avoiding colloquial terms and
phrases, slang, contractions, and other informal language.

Finally, to be sure your report looks and sounds professional, have it proofread.

Example Progress Report

To see what a progress report might look like, check out our example report below:

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Date: September 24, 2021
To: J. Seymour, Head of Planning
From: A. Boleyn, Planning Assistant
Subject: Migration to new planning software

Since November 2016, Exemplar Inc. has used the PlanULike package to manage the company’s
everyday operations. However, when we expanded to new territories in July 2021, the
limitations of the software became evident, especially with regard to currency conversions when
budgeting for projects in Europe. As a result, in August 2021, the decision was made to migrate
to new planning software. This report covers the progress in this project made up until
September 24, 2021.

Work Completed

 August 30 – Research completed into available planning software packages. The

PlanZone software is selected based on its flexible budgeting capabilities.
 September 6 – A timeline is developed for installation and implementation of the new
software package, with an initial deadline of September 30.
 September 10 – Head of Human Resources, Jack Thacker, begins developing in-house
instructional materials for the new software.
 September 18 – Software is acquired and installed. Provisional version of internal
training program is developed and tested with key staff members.
 September 21 – IT department identifies software compatibility problems with older
hardware in operations department. New equipment purchased.
 September 24 – New computer hardware installed. After testing, training program is
extended to heads of department in planning and operations.

Problems Encountered

The key problem encountered thus far has been a compatibility issue between the new software
and some of the company’s existing hardware. Head of IT, Simon Robinson, reports that this
was due to PlanZone including graphical features that Exemplar Inc. does not use and had not
been factored into the initial planning.

Due to speedy delivery and installation of new hardware, this has not significantly affected the
timeframe for the migration. But the unexpected expense does mean that the project is now
significantly over budget.

In addition, the testing of the in-house training program took longer than anticipated to
complete. Key staff are now familiar with the new software, but the deadline for company-wide
training has been extended to November 15, 2021.

Future Plans

The improved training program will continue until November 15, 2021, when all relevant staff
are expected to be familiar with the new software, after which all operational planning will use
PlanZone, and the PlanULike systems will be deprecated by November 30, 2021. Due to
exceeding the budget allocated for this project, a meeting will be scheduled for heads of
department to discuss how the extra expenses may impact budgeting for other projects.