# Annual Report Writer > Creates annual reports for stakeholders with narrative sections, metric highlights, and forward-looking statements. Use when summarizing yearly performance for investors, partners, or your team. - Skill: `reaperinvest/annual-report-writer` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add reaperinvest/annual-report-writer` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/reaperinvest/annual-report-writer/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: reaperinvest (https://skillmd.com/u/reaperinvest) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/reaperinvest/annual-report-writer --- # Annual Report Writer ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Write a yearly performance report for stakeholders, investors, or partners - Create an end-of-year summary for your team or community - Produce a public annual report that builds credibility and transparency - Summarize key metrics, milestones, and forward-looking plans in a professional document **DO NOT** use this skill for monthly reports, financial statements, or compliance filings. This is for narrative annual reports. --- ## Core Principle AN ANNUAL REPORT TELLS THE STORY OF YOUR YEAR — NUMBERS PROVIDE PROOF, BUT THE NARRATIVE PROVIDES MEANING AND DIRECTION. --- ## Phase 1: Brief ### Required Inputs | Input | What to Ask | Default | |-------|------------|---------| | **Business name** | "What is your business?" | No default — must be provided | | **Reporting period** | "What year or period does this cover?" | Previous calendar year | | **Audience** | "Who reads this? Investors, partners, team, public?" | Stakeholders and partners | | **Key metrics** | "Share your most important numbers: revenue, users, growth rate, etc." | No default — must be provided | | **Major milestones** | "What were the 3-5 biggest achievements this year?" | No default — must be provided | | **Challenges** | "What went wrong or was harder than expected?" | None stated — will probe | | **Next year goals** | "What are the top priorities for the coming year?" | No default — must be provided | **GATE: Confirm all inputs before outlining.** --- ## Phase 2: Outline ### Annual Report Structure ``` 1. Letter from the Founder/CEO (~300 words) 2. Year at a Glance — key metrics dashboard 3. Major Milestones & Achievements (~500 words) 4. Challenges & Lessons Learned (~300 words) 5. Financial Highlights (~300 words) 6. Team & Culture (~200 words) 7. Looking Ahead — goals and priorities for next year (~300 words) 8. Thank You / Closing Statement (~100 words) ``` **GATE: Approve outline before writing.** --- ## Phase 3: Write ### 1. Founder Letter ``` ## Letter from [Name], [Title] [Opening — personal reflection on the year, 2-3 sentences] [Key theme of the year — what defined this period] [Top 2-3 achievements in brief] [Honest acknowledgment of one challenge and what was learned] [Forward-looking statement — excitement about the year ahead] [Sign-off] [Name] ``` Rules: First person, conversational but professional. Authentic, not corporate. Under 300 words. ### 2. Year at a Glance ``` ## [Year] at a Glance | Metric | [Year] | [Previous Year] | Change | |--------|--------|-----------------|--------| | Revenue | $[X] | $[X] | [+/-X%] | | Customers | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] | | [Key metric 3] | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] | | [Key metric 4] | [X] | [X] | [+/-X%] | **Highlight:** [One standout number with context — e.g., "Revenue grew 47%, our fastest year of growth since launch."] ``` ### 3. Milestones Section For each milestone: ``` ### [Milestone Name] [What happened — 2-3 sentences] [Why it matters — 1-2 sentences on impact] [Supporting metric if available] ``` ### 4. Challenges Section ``` ## Challenges & Lessons Learned [Honest but constructive framing. Not "we failed at X" but "X was harder than expected, and here is what we learned."] - **[Challenge 1]:** [What happened + what was learned + what changed] - **[Challenge 2]:** [Same format] ``` ### 5. Looking Ahead ``` ## Looking Ahead: [Next Year] **Priority 1:** [Goal] — [Why it matters, 1 sentence] **Priority 2:** [Goal] — [Why it matters] **Priority 3:** [Goal] — [Why it matters] [Closing statement — confidence and gratitude, 2-3 sentences] ``` ### Writing Rules | Rule | Detail | |------|--------| | **Tone** | Professional, transparent, optimistic but honest | | **Data** | Every claim backed by a number | | **Challenges** | Acknowledge at least one — credibility requires honesty | | **Length** | 2,000-3,000 words total for a small business report | | **Visuals** | Mark where charts, graphs, and photos should appear | --- ## Phase 4: Polish ### 1. Report Checklist ``` ## Annual Report Checklist - [ ] Founder letter is personal and authentic (not corporate boilerplate) - [ ] Key metrics are presented with year-over-year comparison - [ ] At least 3 milestones are highlighted with context - [ ] Challenges are acknowledged honestly - [ ] Forward-looking section has 3 specific priorities - [ ] Visuals/chart placements are noted - [ ] Tone is consistent throughout - [ ] Word count is appropriate for the audience (2,000-3,000 for small business) - [ ] Report tells a coherent story from beginning to end ``` ### 2. Design Notes Provide layout suggestions for visual presentation (charts, photos, pull quotes). ### 3. Distribution Plan Suggest how to share the report: email to stakeholders, blog post, social media highlights, PDF download. --- ## Example: Annual Report for a SaaS Startup ``` Founder letter theme: "The year we proved the model works" Key metrics: Revenue $480K (+120%), 1,200 customers (+85%), churn 3.2% (-1.1pp) Milestones: Launched v2.0, hit $40K MRR, hired first 3 team members Challenge: Customer onboarding took 3x longer than expected — rebuilt the process Looking ahead: Reach $1M ARR, launch mobile app, expand to EU market ``` --- ## Anti-Patterns - **All positive, no challenges** — a report with zero challenges reads as dishonest. Acknowledge at least one difficulty. - **Numbers without context** — "$500K revenue" means nothing without comparison. Always show growth, benchmarks, or targets. - **Corporate buzzwords** — "Leveraged synergies to optimize stakeholder value" tells nobody anything. Use plain language. - **No forward-looking section** — a report that only looks backward misses the opportunity to build confidence in the future. - **Too long** — a 20-page annual report for a 5-person company is overkill. Match length to business size. --- ## Recovery - **No financial data to share:** Focus on operational metrics (customers, projects, milestones) and qualitative achievements. Note that financial data was excluded. - **Year was rough:** Frame around resilience and lessons. "This year tested us — here is what we learned and how we are stronger for it." - **No year-over-year comparison (first year):** Compare to goals or industry benchmarks instead. - **Multiple audiences:** Write one core report. Add an appendix for investors with detailed financials. - **User does not know their metrics:** Help them identify the 4-5 most important numbers to track. Flag this as a priority for next year.