The simplest process mapping template is a swimlane: one horizontal lane for each person, team or system, boxes for the steps placed in the lane of whoever does them, diamonds for decisions, and arrows for the hand-offs between lanes. Under each step, write the system or spreadsheet it happens in and the information that moves on. Below you'll find that template laid out so you can copy it, three short worked examples, what to mark on the map once it's drawn, and an honest look at the tools, including the free ones. If you want the full step-by-step method, see our business process mapping guide.
The swimlane process mapping template
Use this structure on a whiteboard, a sheet of butcher's paper or in any diagram tool. Fill in the header first, then the lanes, then the steps.
Header
- Process name: [e.g. Quote to cash]
- Starts when: [The trigger, e.g. a customer asks for a quote]
- Ends when: [The finish point, e.g. payment is matched in Xero]
- Process owner: [The role responsible for the process as a whole]
- Mapped by and date: [Who drew it, when, and which real examples were followed]
Lanes
One lane for each person, team or outside party who does a step. Common lanes are the customer, sales or estimating, operations or the field team, the warehouse, accounts, and a manager who approves. Some people also add a lane for each main system, which makes it easy to see when information jumps from one system to another.
Steps
Each step is a box in the lane of whoever does it. Write each one as a verb and an object: "Prepare quote", "Approve order", "Enter bill". Under each box, note:
- System: where the step happens (job system, Xero, MYOB, email, a named spreadsheet, paper).
- Data: the information that comes in and goes out (quote amount, job number, purchase order, timesheet hours).
Decisions
A diamond with a yes/no question: "Quote accepted?", "Invoice matches order?", "Over approval limit?". Each answer gets its own arrow.
Hand-offs
An arrow that crosses from one lane to another is a hand-off. Label how it happens: email, phone call, a status change in a system, a printed docket. Hand-offs are where work most often waits or gets lost, so make them easy to see.
Problem markers
Leave room to mark problems once the map is drawn. Simple symbols work: a clock for waiting, an "R" for retyping, a person icon for steps only one person can do. More on these below.
Three worked examples
These examples are made-up and simplified to show the template in use. A real map has more steps and more exceptions. That's the point of drawing one.
Example 1: quote to cash for a trades business
Lanes: customer, estimator, field team, office/accounts.
- Customer asks for a quote by phone or email. (Hand-off to estimator by email.)
- Estimator prepares the quote in a spreadsheet and emails a PDF. System: spreadsheet, email.
- Decision: quote accepted? If no, the estimator follows up in a week. If yes, continue.
- Office creates the job in the job management system, retyping the customer details and quote lines. Retyping.
- Field team does the work and writes hours and materials on paper dockets. System: paper.
- Office types the dockets into the job system at the end of the week. Waiting, retyping.
- Office creates the invoice in Xero from the job, then chases payment.
- Accounts matches the payment in Xero.
What jumps out: the quote is typed twice, dockets wait up to a week before anyone sees them, and invoices go out late because of it.
Example 2: procure to pay for a wholesaler
Lanes: buyer, manager, supplier, warehouse, accounts.
- Buyer sees stock is low in a spreadsheet report and decides what to order.
- Decision: over the approval limit? If yes, the buyer emails the manager and waits for a reply. Waiting.
- Buyer raises a purchase order in the stock system and emails it to the supplier.
- Warehouse receives the goods and writes quantities on the packing slip. System: paper.
- Someone enters the receipt into the stock system later. Waiting, one person.
- Supplier invoice arrives in the accounts inbox. Accounts types it into Xero and checks it against the order by eye. Retyping.
- Accounts pays in the next payment run.
What jumps out: approvals live in email, receipts are entered late, and every invoice is retyped and matched by hand. Our post on the procure to pay process for wholesalers and manufacturers goes into this one in detail.
Example 3: month-end close
Lanes: accounts, operations, payroll, finance manager, owner.
- Accounts finishes entering bills and reconciles bank accounts in Xero or MYOB.
- Accounts emails operations for open jobs, stock counts and accruals. Waiting.
- Operations exports data from the job or stock system into a spreadsheet and sends it back. Retyping.
- Payroll confirms wages and super are posted.
- Finance manager pulls everything into the management report spreadsheet, checks it against the accounts and fixes differences. One person, checking and fixing.
- Decision: numbers look right? If no, back to step 2.
- Owner gets the report.
What jumps out: the report depends on one person and one spreadsheet, and most of the time is spent waiting for information and then reconciling it. See why month-end takes too long for more on this one.
What to mark on the map
Once the map is drawn, walk through it with the people who do the work and mark:
- Waits. Anywhere work sits in an inbox, tray, queue or until "end of the week". Note roughly how long.
- Retyping. Anywhere the same information is entered into a second system or spreadsheet. This is where errors creep in.
- Single-person dependencies. Steps only one person knows how to do, or that stop when they're on leave.
- Checking and fixing. Steps that exist only to catch mistakes made earlier.
- Loops. Arrows that go back to an earlier step. Each one is rework.
- Steps that add nothing. Approvals nobody really checks, copies kept just in case.
For each mark, note how often it happens. A short wait on something that happens fifty times a week matters more than a long wait on something that happens once a quarter.
Process mapping tools
The method matters far more than the tool. That said, here is a fair overview. We checked each product's own website in October 2026. Plans change, so check the current details before you commit.
- Whiteboard, paper and sticky notes. Free and the best way to run the first session with the team in the room. Sticky notes are easy to move as people correct each other. Take a photo, then redraw it neatly in a tool.
- Microsoft Visio. Microsoft says a basic web version of Visio is included in its commercial Microsoft 365 plans, with limited templates for simple flowcharts. Visio Plan 1 and Plan 2 are paid subscriptions with more shapes, and Plan 2 includes the desktop app. A sensible choice if your business already runs on Microsoft.
- Lucidchart. Browser-based diagramming with good swimlane templates and sharing. There is a free plan, but it limits how many documents you can edit and how many shapes each document can hold, so most businesses mapping more than a couple of processes end up on a paid plan.
- Miro. An online whiteboard that works well for running a mapping session with people in different locations. The free plan allows three editable boards. Paid plans add more boards and more control over sharing.
- draw.io (diagrams.net). Free, open source and with no sign-up needed. It runs in the browser or as a desktop app, and saves to your own computer, Google Drive or OneDrive/SharePoint. It does swimlanes well. The trade-off is less polish and fewer collaboration features than the paid tools.
A simple way to choose: run the first session on a whiteboard, then use whatever your team can already open. If you're already on Microsoft, try the Visio web version. If you want free and no account, use draw.io. If you need people in several places drawing together, Miro or Lucidchart.
When the map shows the problem sits between systems
Most businesses can map a process themselves with the template above. The harder part is what comes next. If your map is full of retyping marks and waits at the hand-offs between systems, the fix is usually to simplify the process and then connect the systems so information moves by itself.
That's the work we do. Our business process mapping service maps processes with your team and turns the map into practical fixes. For an outside view across several processes at once, the $5,000 Process & Systems Audit maps your key processes and systems and gives you a written, prioritised plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is a process mapping template?
A ready-made layout for drawing a process: usually a swimlane with a lane for each person or team, boxes for steps, diamonds for decisions and arrows for hand-offs, plus a header with the process name, start and end points and owner.
What is the best free process mapping tool?
draw.io (diagrams.net) is free with no sign-up and handles swimlanes well. Miro and Lucidchart have free plans with limits. If your business has a commercial Microsoft 365 plan, a basic web version of Visio may already be included. For a first session, a whiteboard is hard to beat.
What are common examples of business processes to map?
Quote to cash, procure to pay, order to delivery, month-end close, payroll, and onboarding a new staff member or subcontractor. Start with whichever one causes the most delays or complaints.
How detailed should a process map be?
Enough to show every hand-off, decision and system, but not every click. If someone new could read it and understand how the work flows and where it waits, it's about right. Detailed steps for a single task belong in an SOP.
What's the difference between a flowchart and a swimlane diagram?
A flowchart shows steps in order. A swimlane diagram is a flowchart split into lanes by who does each step, which makes hand-offs between people and teams easy to see.
If your map shows work waiting and being retyped between systems, book a free initial chat. We'll tell you which fixes you can make yourselves and where we can help.