Quarterly Business Review (QBR) Checklist Template

What the Quarterly Business Review (QBR) Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Set Up & Confirm the Goals

   6 tasks

   Start about four weeks before the meeting. The goals agreed last quarter are what this QBR is judged against, and a QBR without the customer’s executive sponsor rarely produces decisions.

   • Set up the QBR — the account, the quarter, the meeting date, the renewal date, whether the account is at risk and the people on your side; later tasks are assigned from these fields
   • Confirm the goals the customer set last quarter — from the success plan or the last QBR recap, each with its measure, its target and the customer’s owner
   • Confirm the customer’s executive sponsor will attend — the person who owns the budget and the goals on the customer side, not only the day-to-day admin
   • Agree the attendees on both sides — the sponsor, champion and admin for the customer; the CSM, account executive and anyone presenting for you
   • Book the meeting and send the agenda — with the topics and the decisions you will ask for, so the sponsor can see why the time matters
   • Ask the customer what has changed — new priorities, team or leadership changes, budget timing and what they want to get out of the meeting
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Pull the Account Data

   6 tasks

   Gather the facts before anyone builds a slide: what the customer used, what they achieved against their goals, what went wrong in support and where the contract stands.

   • Pull product usage for the quarter — active users against licences, use of the features tied to the customer’s goals and the trend since last quarter
   • Score each goal against its target — met, partly met or missed, with the evidence and the reason for each
   • Review the support history — tickets raised, open escalations, recurring themes and anything still unresolved
   • Check the commercial position — contract value, renewal date, notice period, overdue invoices and any discount that ends at renewal
   • Gather the customer’s feedback from the quarter — survey responses, comments to your team and open feature requests
   • Update the health score and note what moved it — this quarter’s rating, last quarter’s and the signals behind the change
3. 3
   Phase 3 — At-risk account

   Phase 3: At-Risk Account Plan

   5 tasks

   Applies only when the first task says the account is at risk. The QBR is where the customer hears your plan, so draft it and get it approved before the meeting rather than discussing the risk for the first time in it.

   • Name the risk and its causes — low usage, a missed goal, a lost champion, open escalations, budget pressure or a competitor, with the evidence for each
   • Brief CS leadership and agree who owns the save — the CS lead and, where the sponsor relationship needs it, an executive on your side who will speak to theirs
   • Draft the save plan — the actions, owners and dates that address each cause, ready to agree with the customer at the QBR
   • Decide how to raise the risk in the meeting — name it openly, show what you will do about it and ask what the customer needs to see
   • CS lead approves the save plan — what you will commit to, what help or commercial terms can be offered and what cannot
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Internal Pre-Brief

   6 tasks

   A short meeting with sales and support about a week before the QBR, so nobody on your side is surprised in front of the customer.

   • Hold the pre-brief with sales and support — the CSM, account executive and support lead go through the data, the risks and the open issues together
   • Agree the story of the quarter — the two or three results to lead with, and the problems to own before the customer raises them
   • Agree what you will ask the customer for — the decisions, introductions or commitments you want from the meeting, such as a new team to roll out to
   • Agree who answers each open issue — open escalations, roadmap gaps and commercial questions, each with the person who will answer it in the meeting
   • Confirm the roadmap items you can share — only items your product team has approved for customers, without dates you cannot keep
   • Prepare the expansion proposal — shown only when there is an expansion opportunity; options tied to the customer’s goals, agreed with the CSM
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Build the Agenda & Deck

   6 tasks

   Build the deck from the customer’s goals outwards. Every slide should answer a question the sponsor would ask, and the CS lead signs it off before anything goes to the customer.

   • Build the deck around the customer’s goals — open with their goals and results, not a product tour or a list of releases
   • Show the value delivered — results against each goal in the customer’s own measures, with the evidence and what got in the way
   • Propose next quarter’s goals and recommendations — specific and measurable, each with a suggested owner on both sides
   • CS lead signs off the deck and the asks — the story, the numbers and the asks are checked, and nothing goes to the customer until they are approved
   • Send the pre-read to the customer — the agenda and a one-page summary two or three working days before, so the sponsor arrives ready to decide
   • Rehearse who presents what — one owner per section, with timings that leave at least half the meeting for the customer to talk
6. 6
   Phase 6 — Meeting day

   Phase 6: Run the QBR

   7 tasks

   Ask before you present. The customer’s view of the quarter matters more than your slides, and the meeting should end with goals and actions that both sides have agreed.

   • Recap last quarter’s actions — what was agreed, what was done and what is still open
   • Ask about the customer’s priorities first — what has changed in the business since the last review and what they need next quarter
   • Present the value delivered against each goal — the results, the evidence and what got in the way, in the customer’s own measures
   • Share the relevant roadmap items — only those that support the customer’s goals, and note their feedback
   • Discuss risks and open issues — adoption gaps, open escalations, stakeholder changes and, for an at-risk account, the save plan
   • Agree next quarter’s goals — each with a measure, a target and an owner on both sides
   • Record decisions and actions — every decision, and every action with an owner and a date
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: Follow Up & Plan the Next Quarter

   7 tasks

   What happens in the fortnight after the meeting decides whether the customer takes the next QBR seriously. Send the recap while it is fresh and put the agreed goals where your whole team can see them.

   • Send the recap email within two working days — decisions, actions, owners, dates and next quarter’s goals, to every attendee
   • Update the CRM — health rating, risks, contacts, renewal outlook and the QBR notes
   • Raise the internal actions — product feedback, support escalations and commercial follow-ups, each with an owner
   • Update the success plan for next quarter — the agreed goals, milestones and the check-ins between now and the next QBR
   • Book the next QBR — with the sponsor, in the diary now rather than at the end of next quarter
   • Review the QBR with the CS lead — what worked, what to change for the next one and whether next quarter’s goals are realistic
   • Review the save plan 30 days after the QBR — shown only for an at-risk account; progress on each action and whether the risk rating can change