Know how far the plan has moved
since the day it was agreed.
Save a baseline, see it under the Gantt, and read the slip by task in days. Earned value turns the same plan into cost and schedule performance.
What you get
The plan you agreed, kept beside the plan you have
A baseline is a saved copy of the schedule. Everything below reads it against the live plan, so nobody rebuilds the comparison in a spreadsheet.
Save a baseline when the plan is agreed
One click snapshots every task's dates, durations and links. Take as many as you need and keep each one. Project owners and managers take them.
The baseline under the Gantt
Pick a saved baseline and it sits under each bar, so the slip is visible on the chart you already read.
Variance by task, in days
Start, finish and duration variance for every task, when work actually began against the planned start, how far the finish has moved, and an on-track, at-risk or behind rating. Export it as CSV.
Keep the baseline from Microsoft Project
A new project from an .mpp or Project XML file brings the file's baseline in as its first saved baseline, so variance works from the first day.
Schedule quality against the baseline
The DCMA 14-point assessment counts missed tasks and the baseline execution index against the latest baseline or one you pick, beside its logic, float and constraint checks.
Earned value with an S-curve
Planned value, earned value and actual cost, with CPI, SPI, the estimate at completion and the S-curve. Actual cost comes from approved timesheets.
From slipped dates to cost and schedule performance
Variance says how far. Earned value says what it costs.
A task three days late is a schedule problem. Whether the project is spending more than the work it has finished is a different question, and earned value answers it.
Planned value and earned value come from the planned cost of each task and how far it has progressed.
Actual cost is the approved hours on timesheets at each person's cost rate, so it moves when the work is logged.
CPI, SPI and the estimate at completion sit above an S-curve of planned against actual, project by project.
Moving from Microsoft Project
Bring the baseline you already agreed
Import an .mpp or Project XML file as a new project and the file's baseline becomes its first saved baseline, so variance reads from the first day.
Appending a file to an existing project keeps its baseline dates on the tasks but saves no baseline. Take one on the Baseline tab when the merged plan is agreed.
A Primavera P6 file brings no baseline, so take one once the import is done.
Free, no account
Try it on the schedule you have
Upload a Microsoft Project file and see how sound the schedule is, and what would come across, before you move anything.
Guides
Step by step in the docs
Questions about baselines and variance
Which plan do I need?
Baselines, the overlay on the Gantt, variance by task and the baseline that comes in with an imported file are on every plan, including Free. The schedule quality checks are on every plan. Earned value is on every plan, including Free; the timesheets that supply its actual cost are on the Professional plan and up.
Where does actual cost come from?
Actual cost is the approved hours on timesheets at each person's cost rate, and timesheets are on the Professional plan and up. Planned value and earned value come from the budget, your rate cards or the costs imported with a Project file, so they read on any plan. Without timesheets, actual cost stays at zero.
Does the baseline come across from Microsoft Project?
Yes, into a new project. Import an .mpp or Project XML file as a new project and the file's baseline 0 becomes its first saved baseline. Appending a file to a project you already have keeps the baseline dates on its tasks but saves no baseline, because a baseline of one branch would report everything else as added; take one on the Baseline tab. A Primavera P6 file brings no baseline, so take one after the import.
How is variance counted?
Start and finish variance are calendar days, so a slip from a Friday to the next Monday reads as three days. Duration variance compares the stored durations. A plan reads on track while no task has slipped, at risk while the slips stay within a quarter of the scheduled tasks, and behind past that.
Will Onplana re-baseline for me?
No. A baseline is saved when a project owner or manager chooses to take one, and each new baseline is kept beside the earlier ones, so a re-plan never overwrites the record of what was agreed.
Report the slip before anyone asks.
Import the plan with its baseline, or save one today, and the variance is there on every review.