Free consultant and staff planning template

    Compare capacity, skills, client demand and future allocations without losing critical constraints.

    Template preview

    ConsultantRoleSkillsSeniorityAvailable fromClientProjectAllocation %Expected endCost rateBill rateStatus
    Anna GreenData EngineerPython; SQL; AWSSenior2026-08-01AcmeCloud migration80%2026-12-31420750Proposed

    How to use it

    1

    Download the CSV and open it in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice.

    2

    Adapt categories and stages without removing stable identifiers.

    3

    When the file becomes hard to maintain, create a free HICE workspace and manage the process directly there.

    Headcount is not available capacity

    Forty people are not forty available people. There is holiday, training, absence, management time, sales support, new joiners ramping up, and skills that only serve part of the demand. Planning on the number of contracts produces commitments that delivery cannot meet.

    The useful subtraction starts from the calendar and deducts absences, internal work and already confirmed assignments, always per person before aggregating. And it is worth distinguishing confirmed from tentative visibly: when both are painted the same, capacity disappears on paper long before it does in reality.

    • Working hours, holidays and absences deducted from the calendar
    • Management time and sales support reserved
    • Confirmed assignments kept separate from tentative ones
    • An allocation percentage on every assignment

    The weekly routine that keeps it useful

    The weekly meeting should be short and cover only exceptions. If it reviews the whole plan it becomes a report and stops producing decisions. A format that works spends fifteen minutes on changes since last week, fifteen on conflicts that need arbitration, and five on commitments with a date and an owner.

    Every tentative reservation should carry the written condition that releases it: if the project is not signed by a specific date, the people are released and the commercial search for their slot begins. Without that sentence, the reservation continues by inertia and nobody wants to be the one who cancels it.

    • Only exceptions in the meeting, the rest read beforehand
    • An explicit condition that releases each reservation
    • Assignment endings visible weeks in advance
    • A record of decisions, to detect systematic optimism

    When the spreadsheet is no longer enough

    When you are ready to move beyond the sheet, create a HICE workspace and manage data, roles, approvals and history in one place.

    Move to HICE for free
    Free staffing planner with skills, availability, allocation, client, rate and future load.

    Frequently asked questions

    Do I need to register to download it?+

    No. Download the template without email or payment card.

    Does it work with Excel and Google Sheets?+

    Yes. The UTF-8 CSV works with mainstream spreadsheet tools.

    Is the template imported into HICE?+

    No. The template is a standalone tool. In HICE, add candidates by uploading CVs and configure the other workflows directly in the workspace.

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