Free template · Maintenance
Preventive maintenance plan template in Excel, with a 52-week schedule
A preventive maintenance plan answers five questions for every piece of equipment on a site: what must be done, how often, how long it takes, who does it and when it is next due. This free Excel template puts those answers on one sheet, one row per task. It computes the next due date, the days left and the status of each task, then lays the whole plan out over the 52 weeks of the year, with the number of tasks and the hours of work that fall in each week.
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In short
A preventive maintenance plan lists every recurring task on every piece of equipment, with its frequency, duration, owner, last completion date and next due date. The next due date is the last completion plus the frequency. Spread over the 52 weeks of the year, the plan shows the workload week by week, so peaks can be levelled before they happen. FreeMaint turns each plan into scheduled work orders.
Updated October 30, 2026
What the template and FreeMaint give you
A complete PM plan with real formulas
Fourteen columns per task: equipment code, equipment, location, task, task type, frequency, unit, duration, skill or assignee, last done, next due, days left, status and reference. Type the frequency, its unit and the last done date; the grey columns compute the rest. Overdue tasks turn red, tasks due within 7 days turn amber.
A 52-week schedule with the weekly workload
Type the year and every row of the plan is laid out over 52 ISO weeks, with the Monday of each week shown. A mark appears in each week where a due date falls, and two rows at the bottom add up the tasks due and the hours of work per week.
Time-based plans that create the work orders
In FreeMaint, a time-based plan generates its work order when it comes due, or a set number of days before with auto-create and an advance notification. The next date is recalculated from the completion date or kept on a fixed calendar, as you choose for each plan.
Included in Core (free)A preventive maintenance calendar
Every plan appears on the calendar in month, week or day view: green when on time, orange when upcoming, red when overdue. Filter by asset, location or team to prepare the week with each technician.
Included in Core (free)Plans on running hours, kilometres or cycles
When wear follows usage rather than the calendar, a meter-based plan creates a work order each time the usage since the last service reaches its threshold, for example every 500 running hours. A hybrid plan triggers on whichever comes first, time or meter.
Included in StarterNested plans: one work order per milestone
On equipment whose service intervals are nested, a nested plan folds the tasks of the lower intervals into the higher one. The larger service then arrives as one cumulative work order instead of several overlapping ones.
Included in BusinessWhat a preventive maintenance plan contains
A preventive maintenance plan is the list of recurring tasks a site commits to before anything breaks. It is not a work order log, which records jobs once they are done, and it is not a library of standard operations: it is your own list, for your own equipment, with the dates that apply to it. One row per task on one piece of equipment keeps it readable. A compressor with three tasks takes three rows.
The template groups its fourteen columns into four blocks.
- Identification: equipment code, equipment and location. Use the same codes as the nameplates, the drawings or your asset register, so a technician finds the machine without asking.
- The task itself: what to do, written as an action, and its type, picked from a drop-down list: inspection, servicing, replacement or regulatory check.
- Frequency and resources: a whole number, a unit (days, weeks or months), the estimated duration in hours and the skill or person assigned.
- Dates and follow-up: the date the task was last done, then three computed columns, next due, days left and status (Overdue, Due within 7 days, Scheduled), plus a reference column for the manual page or the standard behind the task.
How to build the plan: equipment, sources, frequencies
Do not try to cover every asset on day one. Start with the equipment whose failure would hurt most: a safety risk, a production line that stops, a long or costly repair, a legal obligation. A short list of critical machines maintained on time is worth more than a complete list that nobody follows.
For each machine, collect the tasks from four sources, and note in the reference column where each one comes from.
- The manufacturer: the operation and maintenance manual gives the recommended tasks and intervals. It is the starting point, written for average conditions.
- Your own history: repeated breakdowns, findings from past inspections and what the technicians know about the machine. A bearing that fails every winter needs a task the manual does not mention.
- Regulations and insurers: lifting equipment, pressure equipment, fire safety systems and electrical installations often carry periodic checks set by local rules. The template does not list them for you; check what applies to your site and country.
- Operating conditions: dust, heat, humidity, continuous running or seasonal use shorten or stretch the intervals the manual assumes.
Choosing the frequency, and how the next date is computed
Each task gets a whole number and a unit: days, weeks or months. Pick the unit people actually use for that task. A daily round counts in days, a lubrication route in weeks, an inspection or a regulatory check in months. If the manual gives an interval in running hours or cycles, convert it to calendar time from your real usage and review it when usage changes, or move that task to a meter-based plan.
The next due date is the last done date plus the frequency. For days and weeks the template adds them. For months it uses the Excel EDATE function, so a task last done on 31 January and due every month falls due on 28 February, or 29 in a leap year, not in early March. Days left is the next due date minus today, and the status follows: Overdue below zero, Due within 7 days up to a week, Scheduled beyond.
Start with the manufacturer’s interval, then adjust with evidence. If an inspection finds nothing cycle after cycle, the interval can probably be lengthened. If it keeps finding wear that is already advanced, shorten it. Write the reason for each change in the reference column so that the next person understands it.
Reading the 52-week schedule and levelling the workload
The second sheet turns the plan into a calendar. Type the year at the top: the template computes the Monday of each ISO week, from week 1 to week 52, and mirrors every row of the Plan sheet with its equipment, task, period in days and duration. Starting from the last done date, it marks every week in which a due date falls, not only the next one.
The two bottom rows are the point of the sheet: the number of tasks due and the hours of work in each week. Compare them with the hours your team really has for preventive work once breakdowns, projects and leave are taken out. A plan that asks for more hours than a week holds will slip, and a plan that slips soon stops being trusted.
To level a heavy week, do not move dates on paper. Bring some of its tasks forward to a quieter week, carry them out, and record the real date as last done: the following occurrences shift with it. Put the tasks that need the machine stopped in the weeks of a planned shutdown, and keep holiday weeks light.
- On the 52-week grid a month counts as 30.4 days, so a monthly task can show one week early or late. The exact date is always the one on the Plan sheet.
- The grid works week by week: a task due several times in the same week, such as a daily round, shows one mark and counts its duration once.
- The grid stops at week 52. In a year that has an ISO week 53, the last days of December do not appear on it.
- A row with no last done date stays empty. For a task never done yet, enter the commissioning date or the date of the last known intervention.
When the Excel plan reaches its limits
A single file works well for one person planning one site. It gets harder when several technicians need the plan at the same time, when there are several sites or several copies of the file, when completions are noted on paper and typed in later, and when an auditor asks who did a given task, on what date, and what they found. A spreadsheet does not send reminders, and it does not go to the machine with the technician.
FreeMaint keeps the same logic and adds the follow-up. On the free Core tier, time-based preventive plans are unlimited. Each one generates its work order when it comes due, with the plan’s tasks, required parts and tools copied onto it, and technicians complete it on the mobile app. The plan keeps its execution history by week, month or year with a completion rate, and it exports as a PDF. Meter-based plans are on Starter at $29; nested plans and the planned workload chart by week are on Business at $99. Both prices are per company per month, flat, never per user.
Moving the plan is direct: the Preventive Maintenance page has an Import button with a CSV or Excel template, one row per plan. Your Excel file stays useful as it is, as a planning draft or for a site that is not in the app yet.
How to fill in the template
- 1
List the equipment
Start with your critical equipment. Enter its code, name and location on each of its rows: a machine with four tasks takes four rows. The Plan sheet has 100 rows ready to fill in.
- 2
Describe each task
Write the task as an action with what counts as acceptable, for example “check V-belt tension and wear, replace if cracked”. Pick its type in the drop-down list and note the manual page or the standard in the reference column.
- 3
Set the frequency, unit and duration
Enter a whole number and choose days, weeks or months. Add the estimated duration in hours and the skill or person assigned. The duration is what feeds the weekly workload.
- 4
Enter the last done date
Type the date the task was last carried out. Next due, days left and status compute themselves. Without this date, the row stays empty on both sheets.
- 5
Check the year on the 52-week sheet
The year cell shows the current year by default; type another year to plan ahead. Read the two bottom rows and level any week that asks for more hours than your team has.
- 6
Update after each task
Each time a task is done, replace the last done date with the real date. Sort or filter the Status column every week: Overdue first, then Due within 7 days.
Planning preventive maintenance: FreeMaint, Excel template or paper
| Criterion | FreeMaint | Excel plan template | Paper plan or wall chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to start | Core tier free, with unlimited time-based plans | Free | Next to nothing |
| Next due date | Recalculated at each completion, from the completion date or on a fixed calendar | Formula from the last done date and the frequency | Worked out and written by hand |
| Work orders | Generated automatically when due, or ahead of the due date | None; each job is created separately | None |
| Weekly workload | Planned workload chart by week over 8, 13 or 26 weeks, on Business | 52-week grid with tasks and hours per week | Counted by hand |
| Running hours, kilometres, cycles | Meter-based and hybrid plans, on Starter | Not covered: calendar frequencies only | Not covered |
| Proof of execution | History by period with completion rate; plan exported as a PDF | Only the last done date | Signed sheets, if they are archived |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a preventive maintenance plan and a schedule?
The plan is the list of what must be done, on which equipment, how often and by whom. The schedule places those tasks on the calendar. In this template the Plan sheet is the plan and the 52-week sheet is the schedule computed from it, so changing a frequency or a last done date updates both.
How do I choose the frequency of a preventive task?
Start from the manufacturer’s recommendation, adjust it to your operating conditions, add any periodic check required by the regulations that apply to your site, then refine it with your own findings. If inspections keep finding nothing, the interval can usually be lengthened; if they find advanced wear, shorten it.
Why does a monthly task sometimes show a week early or late on the 52-week sheet?
Months have different lengths, so the grid places each occurrence with an average of 30.4 days per month. Over a year, a monthly task can drift into the neighbouring week. The Plan sheet uses the exact calendar month, and its next due date is the one to follow.
Should the next date count from the last completion or from the planned date?
From the completion when wear depends on the time since the last intervention, such as lubrication or a filter: a late task shifts the whole cycle. From the planned date when a fixed calendar matters, such as a regulatory check. The template counts from the last done date; FreeMaint lets you choose for each plan.
Can I import this plan into FreeMaint?
Yes. On the Preventive Maintenance page, click Import and download the CSV or Excel template: one row per plan, with name, asset, location, frequency, duration, start date, assignee and team. Two conversions: the frequency is in days, so turn weeks and months into days (30 for a monthly task, for example), and the duration is in minutes. Use your next due date as the start date: in FreeMaint it is the first scheduled occurrence. Tasks are then added to each plan in the app.
Does the template handle maintenance based on running hours or kilometres?
No. The template works with calendar frequencies only: days, weeks and months. Convert a usage interval into calendar time from your average usage, and review it regularly. In FreeMaint, meter-based plans trigger on the actual reading, on the Starter plan at $29 per company per month.
Do I need an account to use the Excel file?
No. The file downloads directly and works offline. It is blank, with no example rows: fill in your own equipment and keep the grey formula columns intact.
Related pages
Run your preventive plan where the work happens
Start on the free Core tier with your equipment, unlimited time-based preventive plans, work orders and the mobile app. Add meter-based plans on Starter, and nested plans and the weekly workload chart on Business, at one flat price per company.
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