What a pack is for
A reporting pack exists to prompt decisions, not to demonstrate that the bookkeeping was done. The test of any page in it is whether somebody would act differently having read it. Anything that fails that test is making the pack longer and less likely to be read.
What belongs in it
Cash position and short forecast
First, because it is the one that ends the business. Where the balance is, what is committed against it, and what the next weeks look like. Answers: can we meet what we have promised?
Profit and loss, against last month and against plan
The month and the year to date, with comparatives. A single month's figures with nothing to compare them to prompt nothing. Answers: did the month work, and was it the month we expected?
Balance sheet
Where the checking happens. Unexplained movements in receivables, stock or owner accounts surface here before they surface anywhere else. Answers: is the story the other pages tell actually true?
Aged receivables and payables
Who owes you, how long it has been, who you owe and when. Answers: is next month's cash going to arrive?
Two or three operating metrics
Whatever genuinely drives your business, and no more: margin by line, utilisation, return rate, cost per acquisition. Answers: is the thing underneath the numbers moving?
A short commentary
Half a page in plain words: what moved, why, and what is being done. This is the part that gets read and the part most often left out.
What to ask of it every month
- What were the three largest movements against last month, and why
- Where did the profit go, if cash did not move the way profit did
- Which customers are slipping, and what is being done about them
- What in here would a lender or an investor ask about, and do we have the answer
- What did we decide last month, and did it show up in these numbers
What keeps a pack useful
- The same format every month, so a change stands out rather than hiding in a new layout
- Delivered by an agreed date, early enough to act on
- Short. A pack nobody finishes is worse than a shorter one that gets read
- Reviewed with somebody, out loud, even briefly
If a page in the pack has never once changed a decision, take it out. The pack is not a record, the books are. The pack is a prompt.
Where this applies
Explore related services
Often paired with Chart Of Accounts Starter, First Finance Hire Vs Outsourcing and Year Round Tax Ready Records.
Want This Arriving Every Month?
Book a free consultation and we will build the pack around your business.