---
sourceDocument: Australia Strategic Portfolio Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-business-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Strategic Portfolio Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itbm

bundleId :

    - itbm

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Create baseline of a project

# Create baseline of a project {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read

Create a schedule baseline and financial baseline of a project. A schedule baseline
captures planned dates of all tasks and milestones at a particular moment in time. A
financial baseline captures benefit and financial metric information (snapshot of cost plan,
benefit plan, and project-level financial metrics) at a particular moment in time.

## Before you begin

Role required: it_project_manager

## About this task

Schedule baseline

You can create as many schedule baselines as necessary and review the changes that
have been made to the project since the previous baseline. If a project is not on
schedule, you can create a schedule baseline to know how much schedule slippage has
occurred. It also helps to view the real-time deviations between actual and planned
values.

The baseline appears as a set of gray lines below the bars that represent the actual
tasks on the Gantt chart. These baselines represent planned dates, while the task
bars represent the actual dates. If the project tasks are shifted to the right of
the baselines, the project is running behind schedule.

Financial baseline

You can create as many financial baselines as necessary and [compare them](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/chIIW9m2VBwQPeNzm70Kdw "Compare baselines to review the variances in the financial data of a project and see what changed.") to review the
financial changes that have been made to the project since the previous baseline.
Any financial baseline does not capture actual cost component of the project.  
Note:  
Nested projects cannot have baselines. Baselines are allowed for the top-level projects only.

## Procedure

1. Navigate to AllProjectProjectsAll.
2. Select the required project.
3. To create schedule and financial baselines of a project, use any of the following options.

   | Option | Steps |
   | From the Financials tab | 1. Open a project from planning page in Project Workspace. 2. Select the Financials and select Create baseline. 3. In the Create Baseline pop-up, enter a suitable name and description. 4. Select Save. {#t_CreateAProjectBaseline__ol_fl3_y3b_xfb} |
   | From the Project Workspace | 1. Open a project from planning page in Project Workspace. 2. Select the baseline icon (![Baseline icon.]()). 3. In the Create Baseline pop-up, enter a suitable name and description. 4. Select Save. {#t_CreateAProjectBaseline__ol_ld4_qfn_1cb} |
   | From a related link | 1. Select the Create Baseline related link. 2. In the Create Baseline pop-up, enter a suitable description. 3. Select Save. {#t_CreateAProjectBaseline__ol_v4m_s2n_1cb} |
   | From a related list | 1. Select the Baselines related list. 2. Select the Create Baseline button. 3. In the Create Baseline pop-up, enter a suitable name and description. 4. Select Save. {#t_CreateAProjectBaseline__ol_ajf_dfn_1cb} |
   |-|-|

   {#t_CreateAProjectBaseline__choicetable_zvg_42n_1cb}  
   Note:  
   In the Create Baseline pop-up, the Create Schedule Baseline and the Create Financial Baseline check boxes are selected by default. Clear a check box if you do not intend to create a specific baseline.
{#t_CreateAProjectBaseline__steps_fcs_5xt_1cb}
* **[Compare financial baselines of a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/chIIW9m2VBwQPeNzm70Kdw)**   
  Compare baselines to review the variances in the financial data of a project and see what changed.
* **[Compare schedule baselines of a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/iAfIwCKeixmqc1WvBo~vAw)**   
  Compare baselines to review variance between tasks and identify which task has variance from the current planned end date and the baseline end date. The baseline variance column displays the amount of variance between the two date comparisons.

**Related concepts**   

* [Create and manage waterfall projects](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VM302MC6_riUIqWh0YOJew "Plan, create, and manage projects using the Waterfall methodology.")
* [Costing add-on in Project Management](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/SC3Q9Hv8wyzQWqY7_teklQ "The Project Management costing add-on connects the Project Management application to the Cost Management application to allow for estimating and tracking the costs associated with projects.")  
**Related tasks**   

* [Create a project task from a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Lw3IPIBtE838x_BQejJEjA "Create tasks from the project form to break down project objectives into manageable units of work.")
* [Create a parent-child relationship on the Project Task form](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r7utskfn5JncwTcJ9_xCEg "Create a child task from any project task form.")
* [Create a monetary benefit plan for a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/quzzbREwnaSkByZjb5HzMA "Create a monetary benefit plan to specify the estimated benefit in a category spanning one or more fiscal periods. Project benefit plans capture the potential benefits accrued by the project when the project is executed.")
* [Create a non-monetary benefit plan for a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/zSGvibU~RI5WXF9yM0POzA "Create a non-monetary benefit plan to specify the estimated benefit in a category spanning one or more fiscal periods. Project benefit plans capture the potential non-financial benefits accrued by the project when the project is executed.")
* [Associate monetary and non-monetary benefit plans](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/ECYt2tG6rFymkgjN2LM3Qg "Associate monetary and non-monetary benefit plans, so that you can capture the potential benefits (financial and non-financial) accrued by the project for the hybrid benefit plans.")
* [Create a project cost plan](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/BnG9nHAzYxV0YlqP2hAxug "Create a cost plan to specify the unit cost of a cost type for a fiscal period. Project cost plans capture the costs of projects.")
* [Recalculating costs of all resource plans in a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/jBCKP7qRub2NfYc8PgoRYw "Recalculate the resource costs of all resource plans in a project whenever the hourly rates change in the associated rate model so that the plan costs are up to date.")
* [Create an expense line](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/~rdf_pYUXyvuw~yPuVhsBg "A project expense line is cost associated with a specific source, such as a user, fixed asset, or a CI. Expense lines are part of project cost plans.")
* [Update a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/N0pXpN21A1ED4oJPhPU0qQ "Update the project and make adjustments in fields to handle scope, cost, and schedule. While a project is underway, keep actual values as current as possible. Continue to measure actual values, analyze the impact of any potential project risks.")
* [Copy a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/l2tWieRP37Yt9We~TbKAXw "Another option for creating a project is to copy an existing project with all its tasks and relationships. After you specify the start date for the copy, the system adjusts all task start and end dates automatically.")
* [Assign a project schedule](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/UxNxm1mWaW2zd3QQnAwcvQ "Without an assigned schedule, a project calculates a day as a full 24 work hours. To schedule tasks by a more realistic work day, assign a schedule to the project. If the schedules provided in the base system do not suit your needs, define a new one.")
* [Create a milestone](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/rMHrCmS24JZ7CoShHuoPYQ "A milestone is a project task with a duration of zero (0). Use milestones to mark key dates in your project, such as key decision points, approvals, and holidays. Milestones are treated like any other project task and you can create dependencies between tasks and milestones.")
* [Activate project task email notifications](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Qh0RwmdQRPgYehRKtD7R7A "The following email notifications for the Project Management application are available by default, but are inactive. You must activate them manually.")
* [Change the planned start date of a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/kGR0oAtgYKRrsMQSBIWQbw "Adjust the schedule of a project by changing the planned start date of a project and shifting it later or earlier than the current planned schedule.")
* [Create a cost type definition](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/OHPeJxA_u7nwMhPuen9kUQ "Create a cost type definition to associate a cost type, operating, or capital, to an account in the General Ledger from the Financial Management application. Create a cost type definition if you are using Project Portfolio Management with Financials.")
* [Generate labor costs](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/xmMsuWLs6NTNO526jAiBSA "Generate labor costs based on the planning attributes configured for financials in the planning attributes page for the resource assignments in a project.")
* [Create a project status report](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/XsjAV0McJlL4xnSsrHxGUQ "Create project status report from the related lists of the project form. The project status report created for the most recent status date updates the status of the project in portfolios.")
* [Allocate budget to a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/TmB5qhpOxDctUq~kKfQs7Q "Set the budget of a project according to the fiscal years.")
* [Migrate budget of active projects to Next Experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/u9QcFd4HOTjGFX3qIvhOGQ "Migrate the project budget to Next Experience to manage the financials using Project Workspace.")
* [Migrate financial baselines of projects to Next Experience](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/jK9r8GuJzs6E~LFarxrVuQ "Migrate the financial baselines of your project to Next Experience to manage the financial using Project Workspace.")
* [Compare financial baselines of a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/chIIW9m2VBwQPeNzm70Kdw "Compare baselines to review the variances in the financial data of a project and see what changed.")
* [Compare schedule baselines of a project](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/iAfIwCKeixmqc1WvBo~vAw "Compare baselines to review variance between tasks and identify which task has variance from the current planned end date and the baseline end date. The baseline variance column displays the amount of variance between the two date comparisons.")

*[\>]: and then