Free download
AV cable schedule template (free Excel download)
A ready-made cable schedule for AV and broadcast installs: 18 columns, a filled-in example from a two-camera studio and gallery, a blank sheet and a sheet explaining each column. No sign-up. The columns are the ones Patchify uses when it builds a schedule from a diagram, so you can move to that later without changing format.
Written by Callum Buckley ·
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Prefer plain text? Get the CSV version of the example sheet. Both open in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice.
What is a cable schedule?
A cable schedule is the list of every cable in an installation: its number, what it carries, its type and length, and exactly where each end lands. The installer pulls and terminates from it, the labels are printed from it, and it becomes the record of what was built.
Which columns should an AV cable schedule have?
Enough to pull, terminate and label a cable without opening the drawing. Each end gets the same six fields, so a cable can be found from either end:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| USE | What the cable carries, in the words the crew will say: CAM 1 PGM, PRES 1 MIC |
| CABLE NO. | The unique number printed on both labels |
| LENGTH [M] | Cut or ordered length in metres, including service loops |
| CABLE TYPE | The physical cable, not the signal: 12G-SDI coax, Cat6 U/UTP, mic cable |
| FROM / TO ROOM | Room or area at each end; ends in different rooms make it a tie line |
| FROM / TO RACK / DESK | The rack, desk or wall box at each end |
| FROM / TO U | Rack unit of the device, so it can be found without the elevation |
| FROM / TO KIT | The device name as labelled on site |
| FROM / TO PORT | The port name as printed on the device |
| FROM / TO CONN | The connector at that end, which matters for mixed-end cables |
| BOOT | Boot or sleeve colour, if your house style colour-codes |
| NOTES | Route, VLAN, termination, anything the person pulling it needs |
How should cables be numbered?
Use one scheme for the whole job and never reuse a number. The template uses a letter for each signal family and a running number: V-001 for video, A-001 for audio, N-101 for network, T-001 for tie lines between rooms. Leaving gaps between rooms (V-001 in the studio, V-101 in the gallery) lets you add cables later without renumbering.
Whatever the scheme, the number goes on both ends of the cable. The free cable label generator prints labels from a list.
What's the difference between a cable schedule and a patch list?
A cable schedule describes physical cables for the people installing them. A patch list describes signal routing for the people operating the system: which source is on which console channel or router input. One install usually needs both, and they share the cable numbers.
For live sound, a stage patch is its own list; the church AV page has a free one to copy.
How do I keep the schedule in step with the drawing?
In a spreadsheet you can't: every change has to be made twice, and the two drift apart on the first busy day. That's the problem Patchify solves. The schedule is read from the signal flow diagram, so a cable added, moved or deleted on the drawing changes the schedule at the same moment.
- Cable numbers are added as you draw and can be renumbered in one step, or set to your own labels.
- From and to columns fill in from the device, port and connector, plus the rack and rack unit if the device is in a rack.
- Cables are grouped by room when the drawing uses zones (Pro plan), with tie lines listed on their own.
- The schedule exports to Excel and CSV with the same columns as this template, alongside cable labels and order lists.
For the longer version, read our guide to writing a cable schedule.
Draw it once and get the schedule free: AV diagram softwareQuestions
Is the template really free?
Yes. Download it, change it and use it on paid work. There's no sign-up or email gate.
Can I use it in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload the .xlsx to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets, or import the CSV.
Why are the room names on their own rows?
It groups the schedule by room, so an installer working in one room reads one block. Patchify's export does the same.
Can Patchify import my existing schedule?
Patchify can import a kit list from Excel or CSV to place the devices, but not a cable schedule. Cables are drawn on the diagram, which is quick once the devices are in.
Try it on your next job
Draw the system once and get the cable schedule, rack and PDF pack from the same project.