Client Reporting

What to Include in a Monthly Client Report (With Examples)

A practical breakdown of what belongs in the report, and what usually doesn't need to be there.

Most monthly reports fail the same way: too many numbers, not enough of what they mean. Here's a structure that keeps the report useful without turning it into a data dump.

1. The headline number

Lead with the one metric that matters most to this specific client, front and center, before anything else. Don't make them dig for it.

2. What changed, and why

This is the part a dashboard can't do for you. Numbers without context just invite questions later — a short explanation up front heads that off.

3. Supporting metrics

Two to four secondary numbers that give context to the headline, not everything you happen to be tracking. If a metric isn't going to change a decision, it's noise on this report — it can live in a dashboard the client can dig into if they want, but it doesn't need to be in the report they skim.

4. What's happening next

A short section on what you're doing in response to this month's results. This is what turns a report from a scoreboard into something that shows you're actively managing the account.

What to leave out

Raw exports, every metric a platform offers, or anything you can't explain in a sentence if asked. If a number doesn't earn its place by changing what the client understands or does next, it's better left in the underlying data than padded into the report.