Create baseline of a project

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 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 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 All > Project > Projects > All.
    2. Select the required project.
    3. To create schedule and financial baselines of a project, use any of the following options.
      OptionSteps
      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.
      From the Project Workspace
      1. Open a project from planning page in Project Workspace.
      2. Select the baseline icon ().
      3. In the Create Baseline pop-up, enter a suitable name and description.
      4. Select Save.
      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.
      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.
      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.