There's a quiet frustration buried in this question, and it's one we hear constantly from project professionals. You're already using MS Project for scheduling, but when it comes to tracking baseline versus actual work, you're being pushed back into Excel and asked to build something that should be straightforward. The fact that you've relied on subcontractors to generate S-curves in the past tells us you know what good performance tracking looks like. The problem is that the tools you've been handed don't make it easy to see the story your data is telling.
Here's the thing we actually believe: the S-curve baseline isn't a luxury or a reporting nicety. It's the clearest visual representation of whether your project is ahead, behind, or exactly where you planned it to be. When you compare cumulative planned work against cumulative actual work, you're not just drawing two lines. You're seeing the gap between intention and execution. That gap is where every project risk lives. And if you're relying on subcontractors to hand you that curve, you're giving away control over your own schedule's narrative. You should be able to produce this yourself, without a steep learning curve or a degree in spreadsheet gymnastics.
Excel can absolutely do this, but only if you approach it with the right framework. You don't need a complex add-in or a macro-heavy workbook. You need a simple structure: a column for time periods, a column for planned cumulative work, and a column for actual cumulative work. From there, a basic line chart gives you your S-curve. The real work is in the data hygiene, making sure your baseline is frozen at the right moment and that your actuals are logged consistently. It's not flashy, but it's honest. And that honesty is what lets you have a productive conversation with a subcontractor when their curve starts flattening in ways you didn't plan for.
What we'd push back on is the assumption that because MS Project generates schedules, it should also generate your performance visuals without extra effort. It doesn't, and that's okay. The skill you're building here, translating schedule data into a visual baseline you can defend, is exactly the kind of capability that separates a project coordinator from a project leader. So don't wait for a better tool or a friendlier subcontractor. Build the curve yourself, even if it's rough at first. Once you see that first comparison line, you'll never want to go back to waiting for someone else to tell you how your project is really doing.