What a risk register includes
A risk register is a living list of what could hurt the business or the project, with each risk scored, owned and answered. The point is not prediction; it is that nothing obvious blindsides you because nobody wrote it down. The settled column structure, which the template below follows:
| Column | What goes in it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Risk | What could happen, specifically | “Ashworth renewal lost” beats “client risk” |
| Likelihood | 1-5, from rare to almost certain | Score honestly; optimism here defeats the register |
| Impact | 1-5, from minor to existential | Money, time, reputation, or all three |
| Score | Likelihood × impact | Drives the colour and the priority |
| Owner | Who watches this risk | Unowned risks are unwatched risks |
| Mitigation | What reduces likelihood or impact | Name which of the two it reduces |
| Status | Open / mitigating / closed | Reviewed monthly or quarterly |
How to score risk: likelihood times impact
Scoring keeps the register honest and the arguments short. Rate likelihood 1 to 5 (1 = rare, 5 = almost certain) and impact 1 to 5 (1 = minor annoyance, 5 = existential), then multiply. The product, 1 to 25, sets the colour:
- Green (1-6): monitor. On the list, reviewed on cadence, no action needed.
- Amber (8-12): mitigate. Needs a named mitigation in motion, not just a note.
- Red (15-25): act now. This risk gets attention this week, not at the quarterly review.
The multiplication matters because it separates the scary-but-rare from the mundane-but-certain. A supplier price rise that is almost certain (5) but minor (2) scores 10 and deserves more attention than the dramatic lawsuit that is severe (5) but rare (1) and scores 5.
Risk register example for a small business
Here is what a working register looks like for a small fit-out firm, scores and colours applied:
R1 · Ashworth account (38% of revenue), renewal in October Likelihood 4 · Impact 4 · Score 16 · RED Owner: Priya · Mitigation: win 2 mid-size accounts by Sept (reduces impact); renewal conversation moved to August (reduces likelihood). Status: mitigating R2 · All installs route through one certified installer Likelihood 3 · Impact 4 · Score 12 · AMBER Owner: Priya · Mitigation: certify second installer by Q4 (reduces impact). Status: open R3 · Timber supplier lead times slipping (6→9 weeks this year) Likelihood 4 · Impact 2 · Score 8 · AMBER Owner: Dev · Mitigation: order at design sign-off instead of contract signing (reduces likelihood). Status: mitigating R4 · Van breakdown during install week Likelihood 2 · Impact 2 · Score 4 · GREEN Owner: Dev · Mitigation: hire cover pre-agreed with local firm. Status: open
Note what the scores do: the register does not treat every worry equally. One risk gets this week’s attention, two get named mitigations, one just gets watched. That triage is the entire value of scoring.
Free risk register template (plain text, Google Docs, Notion)
Three ways to a working register. The plain text pastes cleanly into Google Docs or Notion, or drops into a spreadsheet a column at a time.
The plain-text template
The full column structure with the scoring key built in.
RISK REGISTER · [Business or project name] Owner: [name] · Last reviewed: [date] · Cadence: [monthly/quarterly] SCORING Likelihood 1-5 (1 = rare, 5 = almost certain) Impact 1-5 (1 = minor, 5 = existential) Score = likelihood x impact Green 1-6 = monitor · Amber 8-12 = mitigation needed Red 15-25 = act now REGISTER ID: R1 Risk: [what could happen, specifically] Likelihood: [1-5] · Impact: [1-5] · Score: [L x I] Owner: [who watches this] Mitigation: [what reduces the likelihood or the impact] Status: [open / mitigating / closed] ID: R2 … (3-5 lines per risk. If a risk can’t be described specifically, it isn’t understood yet; that itself belongs on the register.)
The AI prompt
Prefer to use your own AI? Copy this into Claude or ChatGPT with some context about your business, and it drafts a scored register.
--- title: Risk Register Generator description: A prompt that drafts a scored risk register for a small business or project, with likelihood, impact, owners and mitigations. author: readywhen source: https://readywhen.ai/risk-register-template homepage: https://readywhen.ai license: CC BY 4.0 (free to use and share with attribution to readywhen) version: 1.0 updated: 2026-07-17 keywords: [risk register template, risk log, project risk register, risk assessment] --- # Risk Register Generator _By readywhen. Full guide + free template: https://readywhen.ai/risk-register-template_ You are drafting a risk register for a small business or project. Your job is not just to format risks the owner lists, but to propose the ones they have not written down: concentration risks, key-person dependencies, supplier and cash-timing exposures, deadline chains. ## Principles - Specific beats vague: "Coleman is 40% of revenue and their contract ends in June" beats "client risk". - Score honestly: likelihood 1-5 times impact 1-5. Green 1-6 monitor, amber 8-12 mitigate, red 15-25 act now. - Every risk gets an owner, even in a one-person business (then the register is really a review cadence). - Mitigations reduce likelihood or impact; name which. - 8-15 risks is a working register. 40 is a filing cabinet. ## What I need from you What the business or project does · key clients and roughly how concentrated revenue is · suppliers or platforms you depend on · deadlines and commitments in flight · who is irreplaceable · anything that already worries you. Ask me for what’s missing, then draft the register with proposed risks marked for your confirmation. --- _Made by readywhen. readywhen drafts your register from your own contracts, threads and timelines, and proposes the risks you haven’t written down. https://readywhen.ai/risk-register-template_
Let readywhen do itRecommended
A blank grid still needs you to know your risks. readywhen reads the renewal dates, supplier threads and deadline chains in your own tools, proposes the risks you have not written down, and hands you a scored register to confirm rather than compose.
The risks are already visible in your contracts, threads and timelines. readywhen drafts a scored register from them in ~45 seconds, instead of the blank grid that has been on your list since January.
Let readywhen surface and score your risks from your own tools
Every template on page one of Google hands you an empty grid and leaves the hard part (knowing your risks) to you. readywhen starts from the evidence instead: the renewal dates in your inbox, the supplier threads with slipping lead times, the delivery chains in your Notion timeline, the one person every job routes through. It proposes the risks you have not written down, marks them for your confirmation, scores each one, and drafts a mitigation per amber and red. You review a started register, not a blank one.
Works with your existing tools
Risk register template FAQs
What is a risk register?
A living list of what could hurt your business or project, with each risk described specifically, scored for likelihood and impact, assigned an owner, and paired with a mitigation. Its job is triage: separating what needs action this week from what just needs watching.
What is the difference between a risk register and a risk log?
In small-business practice, nothing meaningful; the terms are used interchangeably. Some project methodologies treat the log as the running record of risk events and the register as the scored, managed list, but for most teams one document does both jobs.
How do you score risks?
Rate likelihood 1 to 5 and impact 1 to 5, then multiply. Scores of 1-6 are green (monitor), 8-12 amber (mitigation needed), 15-25 red (act now). The multiplication is the point: it ranks an almost-certain minor cost above a dramatic but rare catastrophe.
How many risks should a risk register have?
A working register for a small business runs 8 to 15. Fewer usually means concentration or key-person risks went unlisted; many more means categories are being logged instead of specific risks, and the register stops being read.
Is there a risk register template for Google Docs or Excel?
Yes. Copy the plain-text template on this page into Google Docs, Word or Notion, or download it as a file; the column structure also drops straight into a spreadsheet. All formats are free.
Can’t I just use ChatGPT or Claude to write my risk register?
Yes. Paste some business context and the prompt above, and you get a sensible starting register. readywhen is the version that reads your actual contracts, threads and timelines, so it proposes the specific risks hiding there (the renewal date, the single point of failure) instead of the generic ones every business shares.
More templates for plans and ops
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Standard operating procedures, written from how you already do the task.
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Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, drafted from your own context.
Board report
The monthly pack: numbers, narrative and asks, drafted from your tools.
Stop keeping the risks in your head.
Draft your register free with readywhen
About the author and editorial standards
About the author. Sançar Şahin is co-founder and CMO of readywhen. readywhen catches everything you say you’ll do and helps you move it forward: drafted, chased or flagged, ready when you are. He builds readywhen in public on LinkedIn.
Editorial standards. No paid placements. The 1-5 scoring scale and green/amber/red thresholds reflect common risk-management practice (used across PRINCE2-style and government registers) rather than a single authority. How this page was made: Sançar built the multi-agent research and drafting system behind it, checks its work at several phases, and approves the final page himself. To flag an error, email hello@readywhen.ai.
Last updated: 19 July 2026.