Quarterly Review
When to use
Use this at quarter-end to step back from the weekly grind and tell the story of the quarter — for the owner, a co-founder, a board, or a lender — as a clear deck rather than a spreadsheet dump.
Not for: the weekly pulse (use smb-monday-brief); tax filing prep (use smb-tax-season-organizer); sharing externally before the owner approves the narrative and priorities.
Method
- Set the frame. The quarter, the prior quarter, and the same quarter last year.
- Revenue story. Total revenue vs prior quarter and year-over-year, split by product/service and by new vs repeat customer.
- Margin story. Gross and net margin trend, and what moved them (pricing, cost, mix).
- Customer story. New customers acquired, retention/churn, top accounts, satisfaction signals.
- Wins, misses, lessons. What worked, what didn't, and why. Decision point: every miss needs a stated cause, or it becomes next quarter's repeat.
- Next-quarter priorities. Propose 3-5 goals, each with the metric it'll be judged on.
- Lay it out as a deck. One idea per slide: title, headline takeaway, supporting chart/figures, speaker note. Present for owner approval before it's shared externally.
Example
Q1 vs Q4 and Q1-LY. Revenue $210K, +8% QoQ, +19% YoY; repeat customers now 62% of revenue (was 51%). Margin: gross 44% → 47%, driven by a supplier switch. Customers: 34 new, churn 6%, top account 14% of revenue (concentration risk). Wins: repeat-buyer growth. Misses: new-customer acquisition flat — cause: paused ads mid-quarter. Priorities: (1) diversify off top account, metric = top-account share <10%; (2) restart acquisition, metric = 50 new customers.
Pitfalls
- One giant summary slide instead of one idea per slide — the story gets lost.
- Reporting margin moved without naming the cause (pricing vs cost vs mix).
- Listing misses with no root cause, so nothing changes next quarter.
- Vanity goals with no success metric; every priority needs a number to be judged on.
Output format
- Slide-by-slide outline: each with title | headline takeaway | key figures/chart | speaker note.
- Suggested slides: Summary, Revenue, Margin, Customers, Wins/Misses, Next-Quarter Priorities.
- KPI table: metric | this Q | prior Q | YoY.
- Priorities: goal + success metric (for owner approval before external sharing).
Reference
QBR deck skeleton (one idea per slide)
- Title / period — quarter, prep date, audience.
- Executive summary — 3 bullets: the headline number, the biggest win, the one thing to fix.
- Revenue — total vs. prior Q and YoY; split new vs. repeat.
- Margin — gross + net trend with the cause named.
- Customers — new, churn, retention, top-account concentration.
- Product / service mix — what's growing, what's fading.
- Cash / runway (if relevant to the audience) — closing cash, burn or build.
- Wins & misses — each miss with a root cause.
- Next-quarter priorities — 3-5 goals, each with a metric.
- Asks — what the owner needs (budget, hire, decision).
QBR narrative template (fill the blanks)
"This quarter we did $___ in revenue, __% [up/down] QoQ and __% YoY. The story was [one driver]. Margin [held/moved] to __% because of [pricing / cost / mix]. We added __ customers and [kept/lost] retention at __%; [top account] is __% of revenue, which is [healthy / a concentration risk]. Our biggest win was ___; our biggest miss was ___, caused by ___. Next quarter we're betting on [1-3 priorities], and we'll know we won if [metrics]."
Core SMB KPI set
| KPI |
Formula / definition |
Healthy signal |
| Revenue growth |
(this − prior) / prior |
Positive and steady QoQ |
| Gross margin % |
(rev − COGS) / rev |
At/above category band |
| Net margin % |
net profit / rev |
10%+ is solid for most SMBs |
| Repeat-revenue share |
repeat-customer rev / total |
Rising; > 40% is sticky |
| New customers |
count acquired |
Meets acquisition goal |
| Churn rate |
lost / start-of-period |
Lower each quarter |
| Customer concentration |
top account / total rev |
< 10-15% (else risk) |
| CAC |
sales+mktg spend / new customers |
Falling or flat |
| LTV:CAC |
lifetime value / CAC |
3:1 or better |
| Cash runway |
cash / monthly burn |
Trend, not just level |
| AR days |
(AR / rev) × days |
Lower = faster cash |
Trend-framing rules
- Always show three columns: this Q, prior Q, same Q last year — YoY strips out seasonality that QoQ hides.
- State direction + magnitude + cause for every metric that moved; a number with no cause is a slide nobody can act on.
- Separate a genuine trend from a one-off (a single large contract is not "growth").
Priority-setting discipline
- 3-5 priorities, no more — a QBR with 12 goals has none.
- Every priority gets a success metric with a number and a date; "improve marketing" is not a goal, "50 new customers by end of Q3" is.
- Tie each priority back to a miss or a risk surfaced earlier in the deck.
- Concentration risk (one account or one channel > ~15%) deserves an explicit diversification goal.
Audience tailoring
Owner-only review → candid, cash-and-cause heavy. Board/investor → growth, unit economics, runway. Lender → cash coverage, DSCR, AR quality. Adjust which slides lead, but never share externally before the owner approves the narrative and priorities.
1---2name: smb-quarterly-review3description: Build a quarterly business review as a presentable deck — revenue, margin, and customer trends, with next-quarter priorities.4---56# Quarterly Review78## When to use9Use this at quarter-end to step back from the weekly grind and tell the story of the quarter — for the owner, a co-founder, a board, or a lender — as a clear deck rather than a spreadsheet dump.1011**Not for:** the weekly pulse (use smb-monday-brief); tax filing prep (use smb-tax-season-organizer); sharing externally before the owner approves the narrative and priorities.1213## Method141. **Set the frame.** The quarter, the prior quarter, and the same quarter last year.152. **Revenue story.** Total revenue vs prior quarter and year-over-year, split by product/service and by new vs repeat customer.163. **Margin story.** Gross and net margin trend, and what moved them (pricing, cost, mix).174. **Customer story.** New customers acquired, retention/churn, top accounts, satisfaction signals.185. **Wins, misses, lessons.** What worked, what didn't, and why. Decision point: every miss needs a stated cause, or it becomes next quarter's repeat.196. **Next-quarter priorities.** Propose 3-5 goals, each with the metric it'll be judged on.207. **Lay it out as a deck.** One idea per slide: title, headline takeaway, supporting chart/figures, speaker note. Present for owner approval before it's shared externally.2122## Example23Q1 vs Q4 and Q1-LY. Revenue $210K, +8% QoQ, +19% YoY; repeat customers now 62% of revenue (was 51%). Margin: gross 44% → 47%, driven by a supplier switch. Customers: 34 new, churn 6%, top account 14% of revenue (concentration risk). Wins: repeat-buyer growth. Misses: new-customer acquisition flat — cause: paused ads mid-quarter. Priorities: (1) diversify off top account, metric = top-account share <10%; (2) restart acquisition, metric = 50 new customers.2425## Pitfalls26- One giant summary slide instead of one idea per slide — the story gets lost.27- Reporting margin moved without naming the cause (pricing vs cost vs mix).28- Listing misses with no root cause, so nothing changes next quarter.29- Vanity goals with no success metric; every priority needs a number to be judged on.3031## Output format32- **Slide-by-slide outline:** each with title | headline takeaway | key figures/chart | speaker note.33- **Suggested slides:** Summary, Revenue, Margin, Customers, Wins/Misses, Next-Quarter Priorities.34- **KPI table:** metric | this Q | prior Q | YoY.35- **Priorities:** goal + success metric (for owner approval before external sharing).3637## Reference3839### QBR deck skeleton (one idea per slide)401. **Title / period** — quarter, prep date, audience.412. **Executive summary** — 3 bullets: the headline number, the biggest win, the one thing to fix.423. **Revenue** — total vs. prior Q and YoY; split new vs. repeat.434. **Margin** — gross + net trend with the *cause* named.445. **Customers** — new, churn, retention, top-account concentration.456. **Product / service mix** — what's growing, what's fading.467. **Cash / runway** (if relevant to the audience) — closing cash, burn or build.478. **Wins & misses** — each miss with a root cause.489. **Next-quarter priorities** — 3-5 goals, each with a metric.4910. **Asks** — what the owner needs (budget, hire, decision).5051### QBR narrative template (fill the blanks)52> "This quarter we did **$___ in revenue**, **__% [up/down] QoQ** and **__% YoY**. The story was **[one driver]**. Margin **[held/moved] to __%** because of **[pricing / cost / mix]**. We added **__ customers** and **[kept/lost]** retention at **__%**; **[top account]** is **__% of revenue**, which is **[healthy / a concentration risk]**. Our biggest win was **___**; our biggest miss was **___**, caused by **___**. Next quarter we're betting on **[1-3 priorities]**, and we'll know we won if **[metrics]**."5354### Core SMB KPI set55| KPI | Formula / definition | Healthy signal |56|-----|----------------------|----------------|57| Revenue growth | (this − prior) / prior | Positive and steady QoQ |58| Gross margin % | (rev − COGS) / rev | At/above category band |59| Net margin % | net profit / rev | 10%+ is solid for most SMBs |60| Repeat-revenue share | repeat-customer rev / total | Rising; > 40% is sticky |61| New customers | count acquired | Meets acquisition goal |62| Churn rate | lost / start-of-period | Lower each quarter |63| Customer concentration | top account / total rev | < 10-15% (else risk) |64| CAC | sales+mktg spend / new customers | Falling or flat |65| LTV:CAC | lifetime value / CAC | 3:1 or better |66| Cash runway | cash / monthly burn | Trend, not just level |67| AR days | (AR / rev) × days | Lower = faster cash |6869### Trend-framing rules70- Always show **three columns**: this Q, prior Q, same Q last year — YoY strips out seasonality that QoQ hides.71- State **direction + magnitude + cause** for every metric that moved; a number with no cause is a slide nobody can act on.72- Separate a genuine trend from a one-off (a single large contract is not "growth").7374### Priority-setting discipline75- 3-5 priorities, no more — a QBR with 12 goals has none.76- Every priority gets a **success metric with a number and a date**; "improve marketing" is not a goal, "50 new customers by end of Q3" is.77- Tie each priority back to a miss or a risk surfaced earlier in the deck.78- Concentration risk (one account or one channel > ~15%) deserves an explicit diversification goal.7980### Audience tailoring81Owner-only review → candid, cash-and-cause heavy. Board/investor → growth, unit economics, runway. Lender → cash coverage, DSCR, AR quality. Adjust which slides lead, but never share externally before the owner approves the narrative and priorities.
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