Flori / Templates

RACI chart template (with a client project example)

By the Flori team · Published 2026-10-29 · Updated 2026-10-29

A RACI chart is a table that lists a project's tasks or decisions down the side and the people across the top, and marks each cell R, A, C or I: Responsible (does the work), Accountable (owns the outcome and signs off), Consulted (gives input before) and Informed (hears after). Its job is to make sure every task has exactly one person accountable, so nothing stalls while two people each wait for the other.

What do R, A, C and I mean?

R, A, C and I are the four roles a person can have on a task, from doing the work to simply being told about it.

The rule that makes RACI work is the single A. If a row has two accountable people, it has none.

The template

Copy this table into a doc or sheet. Replace the people with names or roles, and the rows with the deliverables and decisions that actually come up on your projects.

What does a completed RACI chart look like?

A completed RACI chart gives every deliverable one accountable person, names who does the work, and keeps the consulted column short.

Fieldwork Studio, a three-person agency, builds a new website for Northwind Bakery. Names are invented.

1. Agree goals and scope: Dana (bakery owner) is Accountable; Priya (project lead) is Responsible and writes the scope; Sam (developer) is Consulted on what the ordering link needs.
2. Supply photos and logins: Dana is Accountable and Responsible; Priya is Informed when they arrive.
3. Page copy: Luis (Dana's marketing helper) is Responsible; Priya is Accountable for it being on time and on brief; Dana is Consulted.
4. Designs: Priya designs (R) and owns the deadline (A); Dana approves the final round (A for approval).
5. Build and testing: Sam is Responsible; Priya is Accountable; Dana is Informed of the staging link.
6. Launch approval: Dana alone is Accountable. Priya prepares the launch checklist (R).

The chart was agreed in the kickoff call and pinned to the project, so when copy ran late, everyone already knew Luis owned it and Priya would chase it.

How do I make a RACI chart useful?

Keep one accountable person per row, keep the consulted list short, and review the chart whenever the team or scope changes.

1. Start from deliverables and decisions, not departments. "Approve designs" is a row; "Design team" is not.
2. Exactly one A per row. If the client and you both feel accountable for launch, decide now who signs off.
3. Keep C small. Every Consulted person adds a round of feedback. Two is usually enough.
4. Make approvals explicit. Approval rows prevent the most common agency problem: feedback from whoever replies first.
5. Agree it at kickoff. A RACI chart the client never saw is just an internal note. Our project kickoff meeting agenda has a block for roles and approvals.
6. Update it when people change. A new stakeholder on the client side is the moment to revisit the A and C columns.

When should you not use a RACI chart?

A RACI chart is overkill for a one-person job or a project with two people who talk daily. It earns its keep when several people, on both sides, touch the same deliverables, especially when the client has more than one stakeholder. For very small projects, writing one approver and one owner per deliverable into the statement of work does the same job.

How do RACI charts compare with RASCI and DACI?

RASCI adds S for Supportive, people who help the Responsible person without owning the work. DACI is built for decisions rather than tasks: Driver, Approver, Contributors and Informed. For client projects, plain RACI is usually enough; reach for DACI when the hard part is a decision with many opinions, such as choosing a platform.

How can I keep a RACI chart with the project in Flori?

In Flori, the RACI chart can live as a doc on the client's project, and each task carries one owner, so the R and A for each deliverable are visible where the work happens.

Flori is a CRM with project management for freelancers, agencies and small teams. Tasks have a single owner and a due date, the project brief sits next to them, and on Core and up a client page shows the client what is waiting on them. If you connect Claude or ChatGPT to your workspace, an assistant can draft the RACI chart from the scope and turn the R entries into tasks for you to review.

FAQ

What is a RACI chart? A RACI chart is a responsibility assignment matrix. It lists tasks or decisions against people and marks each person as Responsible, Accountable, Consulted or Informed, so it is clear who does the work, who signs off, who gives input and who just needs to know.

Can one person be both Responsible and Accountable? Yes. On small teams the person who does the work often owns the result too, so a cell can read "A, R". What you should avoid is the reverse: a row with more than one Accountable person.

How many people should be Consulted? As few as possible, usually one or two per row. Each consulted person adds a feedback loop and slows the work. If many people want input, consult them once at the brief stage rather than on every deliverable.

Who fills in the RACI chart? The project lead drafts it and then agrees it with the client, usually at the kickoff meeting. The client's side matters most: their approvers and content owners are where projects tend to stall.

Is a RACI chart the same as a responsibility assignment matrix? Yes. RACI is the most common form of a responsibility assignment matrix, named after its four roles. Variants such as RASCI and DACI use different letters for the same idea.