Pre-Close Merger Integration Plans by Workstream: How to Begin

Start detailed integration planning by reviewing the free Excel workstream plans in this section for Human Resources, Information Technology, Communications, Finance, Sales, and Legal. Each workbook includes these completed templates:

• Pre-Close Integration Plan is the source of truth. Every task before close, every owner, every risk level, every synergy dollar is documented here.
• Milestones tab is that same plan with almost everything stripped out — just the handful of checkpoints that mark major progress.
• Risk Register pulls a different thread out of the same plan — not what's being done, but what could stop it from getting done.
• Next 14 Days is a rolling window into the Integration Plan, not a separate list — it's whatever subset of tasks has a due date inside the next two weeks.
• Executive Dashboard sits above all of it, and it is a high-level view built entirely from the other four.

These reports act as a funnel: the Integration Plan is at the top with all the raw detail, Milestones and Risk Register each extract one dimension from it (progress and risk), Next 14 Days extracts a time slice from it, and the Executive Dashboard sums up everything on one page.

This is an example of what integration planning and reporting looks like when started early and done right. Begin with these documents and tailor them for the specifics of your transaction.