Every project meets its end. And so - the project closure report is due. There are many phases to it, and we’ll go through each one, as the process is significant and exciting from start to finish.

In this guide, we’ll lead you through all the project closure steps – how to finish the entire project with class and improve future projects as well! Of course, your input is also significant, so be sure to leave a comment to let us know how it is done in your company.

The basic concept of project closure, or project closeout as some may call it, is to finish up all the necessary components that helped us through the project. We’re talking about basic stuff like releasing staff members, reviewing phases, and making payments to the stakeholders.

What Is Project Closure?

It’s an exciting idea to be explored. As you may have noticed from our introduction, project closure is one of the most critical aspects of the project, as it summarizes the entire idea and puts it all together.

This way, all the stakeholders get their fair share, everyone gets reviewed, and everything is settled. Closing projects may be a bit stressful and challenging, so it’s best to create a simple, visually apparent, and concise way of presenting all the information to all the stakeholders. Let’s now go through some basic information about the project closure and what to expect.

What Kind Of Software to Use For Your Project Closure?

It’s fundamental to ask yourself before diving into the project’s closure details. Well, there are many third-party solutions you can find on the market. Some are free, some have subscription plans and others are just commercial.

We highly recommend that you use Microsoft Office. You can find the MS Office CD Key at an affordable price on our site.

Why is this the single best solution for all your projects? Well, there are a couple of reasons.

Accessibility

The best thing about Microsoft Office is that the whole world uses this software for various purposes. So if you want to work on something that everyone is familiar with, it’s not necessary to explain the app to each and every one of them - Excel is the way to go.

You can also imagine that most people involved in the project closure phase have at least some experience with Microsoft Office, especially with Excel. Hence, it’s not a problem for anyone to get acquainted with your project.

Possibilities

Microsoft Excel is one of the most advanced spreadsheet software on the market. Of course, you can go with some spreadsheets created on a server that is much more powerful than that, but it’s just too expensive for a business that does not work with highly complex numbers, and we’d guess that 99,9% of people reading this article do not do that.

With Microsoft Excel, you can get your project team going with advanced tools, excellent visibility of the points, and the ability to work on a single spreadsheet without having to create different ones for different tasks.

Affordability

The days when Microsoft Office was pricey are too old even to mention. Thanks to critical resellers offering a reasonable price (such as yours truly, Royal Cd Keys), getting your hands on a copy is not a problem. 

You don’t even have to pay for a subscription, as you can get some of the latest versions for a fixed price.

How To Create Project Closeout in Excel?

You may be wondering how to create a project closeout in Excel. Well, it’s pretty simple. The most important thing to do is download a project closeout template that you can then work on. You can download a free template from Sinc. Business or download it from any provider you can find. 

Of course, you’ll need Excel to do so. If you don’t have any, you can get the latest Microsoft Office 2021 CD key for just about 4,25$!

It’s pretty easy to understand and straightforward, but we’ll explain it step by step, so you can understand everything going on. Of course, as with everything Excel related, you can modify this template to your needs and liking. 

There are many things to be considered here, so be sure not to stick to religious rules, but do as you like with them. Ultimately, it’s your project closure, so make the best of it.

Project Closeout Template

Project closure is effortless to use the template. You can use one of those we’ve prepared for you or something completely different that you can easily find online.

Template #1

The first template is a really basic one, with a category of the activity you want to close, a description, date, priority, and the status of said project. It’s a great start and surely will be more than enough for most project closeouts.

You can download it for free at SmartSheet.com.

Template #2

Here is something more advanced with multiple additional sheets for you to use. You can adapt it however you like. It’s also available for free at SmartSheet.com.

When to Start a Project Closure?

Well, as usual - it depends. To end a project properly, you and your team will need to answer some questions about the project. 

Did We Finish It?

It may seem whacky, but in reality, it is one of the most important things you’ll need to find out before getting started with closing the project. Did you accomplish the task at hand? Did the “thing” you were trying to put out went live? Is it available to customers? There are a lot of elements to check out before you can finally say it’s done.

Was the Project Delivered to the Client?

It’s as essential as the previous one. If your project, product, or service has been delivered to the client, you can consider the task to be done and start project closeout.

Quality Assurance

Did your team do a QA? Did the deliverables get tested? Has your client had a chance to review it? Those are essential elements to get your project going to the final phase.

Do You Have a Budget For It?

Well, this may be one of the most important questions you may need to ask yourself. The complete and, in all fairness, the best way to close the project is to go through hours and hours of project closeout.

You can sometimes add this element at the start of your project so that it would not be a surprise addition but a welcome one.

Project Closure - Processes

You may have to consider many stages to project closure. Every project lifecycle has to go through them from the start to the end to finally get all the loose ends tied together, and every penny counted.

Some of the more important ones are:

• Reviewing the phases and giving feedback
• Creating documentation, project reports, and other project documents and archives in order to use them in the next project
• Paying all key stakeholders
• Returning equipment
• Releasing the staff
• Approving the whole project

Project Closure - Why Is It important?

Such closure is really important and brings many benefits to the company as it summarizes the whole project and lets the stakeholders and everyone involved evaluate the project and everyone’s participation in it.

It’s also a great tool to further improve your work and create a space for communication and collaboration. You can also give praise where praise is due and bash those who did not meet your expectations. Here are some of the more interesting benefits of creating a project closeout.

See How You and Your Team Advanced

It is no surprise that creating a workspace that is developing while you’re working with them is every manager’s dream. Well, in the case of project closure, it’s a great way to assess what worked and what was not optimal in the case of your project.

This is why so many stakeholders look forward to the project closure. Experiences you’ve had during fulfilling the project are documented knowledge you can build upon, especially in the next project where similar things may occur.

Better Understand Your Project

Creating a good project closure also allows you to go through all the elements of the project once more and understand what worked and what you have to improve. It’s a great tool to reevaluate everything you’ve accomplished once again.

As a manager, you’ll also gain an insight into how everything worked out in your project and how to better increase the productivity of everyone involved.

Loose Ends

Every project has things that need tying up. Doing a full-scope project closure, you’ll be able to see if anything was left out, if there were any issues with it and if you should investigate anything related to the project.

Also, you will review all the essential elements and can appropriately act when something feels off. There could be some payment issues, some errors in the process, or an atomic bomb of a problem that just could ruin everything. 

Strengthening the Team

Creating a good project closure means giving praise and appreciation and tightening the bonds with team members. As all managers know, team-building exercises and interpersonal relationships at work are crucial for the final success of the project and company.

With project closure, you can bond with your stakeholders and team members to create a good base for further projects in the future. Going through mistakes and giving credit where it is due is one of the most important elements of a successful project and company.

Closing a Project - Step by Step

There is a lot to take into consideration when closing a project. You need to have a good strategy on what you want to accomplish and how you will go about it. The best thing about this process is that it also allows you to check everything once more, and, as we’ve stated before, it’s really beneficial to your company. So, without further ado, let’s go over some of the more important steps of the project closure process.

Paperwork

Everyone loves doing paperwork, right? Well, no, but it must be done, so let’s start with this.

Paperwork is essential to project closure, as there are probably hundreds of pages left to revise at the end of every project. And by that, we mean all kinds of contracts, budgets, invoices, and everything that had to be done to finish the project. You can also update project documents while you’re at it and see if anything needs to be signed off by anyone before going off with the project.

Every project life cycle has its legal element, so check with the administrative team if everything is up and going. It’s vital as it may cause you some issues in the future if not addressed correctly.

Money

Money, budget, salaries, invoices - you need to consider it when creating a project closure. In the end, no one works just for the sake of it, as some companies would probably like to do, so be sure to consider that.

When talking about money, be sure to take all the salaries of your employees, stakeholders, and everyone involved under a rigorous investigation because money problems are the worst kind you want to have.

Also, check out if any invoices are left out, any commissions were not taken into account, or if everything is alright. The worst thing can happen after you close a project and some significant expenses come out.

Archiving Documents

The other thing to remember is to have a trail of paperwork everywhere you put your three cents in. That is why archiving documents is so essential during project closure. This way, you can keep track of everything and use the experience in future projects.

It also allows you to release yourself from the responsibility that could occur if everything crumbles. In case of any liabilities, if you did everything by the book, you can just show your archive documents as proof of your work. You can do it through some project management software from a third party, but a good Microsoft Office Excel will also suffice. 

Resources

With the project closure comes a question of what to do with resources. And really, it’s all kinds of help; whether we’re talking about HR or something more material, you need to think about how to align best whatever was left of the project resources.

Internal company resources are pretty easy to set as most people working on a project are probably in three others simultaneously. Hence, it’s not that burdensome in the end. In the case of freelancers, if they do a good job, you can indeed recommend them to the other branches of the business.

When it comes to the material resources, they can be redistributed to other projects, or you can just store them for the next one. Throwing stuff away is not a good idea as you will probably have to buy new ones in bulk for higher prices, so it’s best to let it be.

Celebration

Every good project must end, which is why - you need to make a big thing of closure. With many people working together on this project, it’s finally time to make them feel appreciated and wanted.

You have to consider that while all of your stakeholders were working together on this case, they also had their struggles in their personal life. And it’s not always easy and fun out there, so being appreciated and feeling accomplished is something that should not be overlooked.

It’s elementary psychology - if you give people value when they do something, they feel better and can work better in the future. If they feel good in your work environment, they will put more effort into their tasks and strive to be better to advance in this job.

Every team member who receives a good word after a long, windy road they’ve been on for months will surely appreciate it. Also, you can invite all the stakeholders to get client feedback and thank the management or anyone else involved.

Project Closure Checklist

…and after that - a little checklist to be sure. We tried to be as concise as possible, but it’s always great to have a list you can always look back at when finishing a project. With so many project accounts on hand, you can avoid repeating the same mistakes if you check everything once more. Let’s go over some of the more essential elements of the project closure checklist that every project manager has to mind.

Finance

Once again, budgeting is something that can go out of hand quickly, so to be sure, check if those elements are taken care of:

• Did you create a client invoice so that you can get paid?
• Have you paid for all the resources generated during the project?
• Have all the employees and freelancers been paid for their work (including taking care of the necessary commissions)?
• Did you have any extended costs that were not included in the initial project?
• Have you checked out any software subscriptions generated during the project that are not necessary anymore and can be closed off?
• Is anything rented or leased during the project returned or paid for?

Administrative

The administration is the other important thing in project closure, as we’ve stated many times before. You should have legal proof of your work and documentation that will allow you to not worry about any legal issues in the future. Here are some of the more critical things to check out at the end:

• Have all the documents been delivered to the client?
• Did you close the contract in any official way?
• Did all of the internal resources and outside resources been taken care of?
• Have the documents been delivered to official government offices?
• Did you get all the necessary documents and permits from the government offices?

Project Review

Now, it’s time to check if all of the initial goals were achieved during the completion of the project. It’s a project closure stage that will grant you insight into the reality of your work. Here are some of the more essential elements to consider:

• Did you accomplish the project's initial goal?
• Have all the secondary project objectives been achieved?
• Have any changes been made to the project, and if so, what were those?
• If any modifications were introduced to the project, did we accomplish them, and in what stages have they occurred?
• Did everything go as planned and according to the schedule?

Improvements

This is an addition but necessary for all project managers who want to improve their work. In this checklist, you can see what kind of insight this project gave into the structure of your work and office and how you can use it in future projects. Here are some things to take into consideration for future reference:

• Did you learn anything new about this project or the company?
• What kind of things could be improved upon, and what exceeded the expectations?
• Were there any conflicts in the team? What kind of conflicts? Were those handled well? What kind of resolutions were made?

Project Closure - Final Thoughts

It’s important to create a good project closure plan, as we’ve recently seen in this article. It allows your work to be free of any problematic elements you may have missed and gives you an opportunity to create a great project and strengthen your bonds with employees.

With an excellent project closure comes even greater responsibility, and being responsible is something that a company strives for. If you manage to create a good project closure, you will thank your future self for doing so. It’s a great tool to use in a project plan and lets you deeply understand what kind of idea you and your team accomplished.

As usual in those cases, we highly recommend that you use an Excel spreadsheet for this kind of project. It is one of the most reliable and understood software on the planet, so literally, anyone can use it and use it well! Here at Royal Cd Keys, we’ve got some fantastic offers for Microsoft Office that you will surely appreciate.

We hope that we managed to convince you to use a little bit of closure in your future projects, as it is a tool used by professionals in all fields of life. It’s one of the more exciting ways to finalize a good project, so be sure to use it when the right time comes.

Thanks For Reading!

As usual, thanks for checking out our article on project closure. 

We have a lot more of that kind of article with ideas on many business-related topics. We hope the lessons learned in this article will get you ahead in your company or your private life. 

If you have any questions about this or any other article on our side concerning business/software/gaming or anything in between - feel free to let us know. We’ll gladly help you out with any of your needs.