MONTHLY BUSINESS REVIEW - 45 MINUTE CHECKLIST
For owners of small and mid-sized businesses. Print it, or copy it into your calendar invite.
BEFORE THE MEETING (10 min, one person)
[ ] All numbers for last month are in. If one is missing, write "missing", don't guess.
[ ] Mark each KPI: green (on target), amber (between target and minimum), red (below minimum).
[ ] Write one line under each red KPI: what we think happened.
IN THE MEETING
0-5 min Overall picture
[ ] Is the business healthier or weaker than last month? One sentence.
[ ] Cash: how many weeks of fixed costs do we have in the bank?
5-25 min Red KPIs only
[ ] For each red KPI: what happened, is it a one-off or a trend?
[ ] Decide one action, one owner, one date. If nobody owns it, it won't happen.
[ ] Do not discuss green KPIs. Amber gets one sentence each, maximum.
25-35 min Goals
[ ] For each goal of the year: on track, behind, or off?
[ ] Anything we should stop doing? (This question is skipped most often and pays most.)
35-45 min Wrap-up
[ ] Read the action list out loud: action, owner, date.
[ ] Check last month's actions: done / not done / dropped (and why).
[ ] Book next month's review now.
RULES
- Targets do not change mid-period to make a month look better.
- "Lower is better" KPIs (waste, late deliveries, churn): the minimum sits ABOVE the target.
- If the meeting runs over 45 minutes, there are too many KPIs. Cut some.
TOOLING
A spreadsheet is enough. If you want the colours, history and one 0-100 health score
done for you, ExploreKPI does this setup: every KPI has a target and a minimum,
reports can be imported from PDF or photo, and an AI analyst running on private servers
answers questions about your own numbers. Free plan: 1 business, 10 KPIs.
https://explorekpi.com/
For owners of small and mid-sized businesses. Print it, or copy it into your calendar invite.
BEFORE THE MEETING (10 min, one person)
[ ] All numbers for last month are in. If one is missing, write "missing", don't guess.
[ ] Mark each KPI: green (on target), amber (between target and minimum), red (below minimum).
[ ] Write one line under each red KPI: what we think happened.
IN THE MEETING
0-5 min Overall picture
[ ] Is the business healthier or weaker than last month? One sentence.
[ ] Cash: how many weeks of fixed costs do we have in the bank?
5-25 min Red KPIs only
[ ] For each red KPI: what happened, is it a one-off or a trend?
[ ] Decide one action, one owner, one date. If nobody owns it, it won't happen.
[ ] Do not discuss green KPIs. Amber gets one sentence each, maximum.
25-35 min Goals
[ ] For each goal of the year: on track, behind, or off?
[ ] Anything we should stop doing? (This question is skipped most often and pays most.)
35-45 min Wrap-up
[ ] Read the action list out loud: action, owner, date.
[ ] Check last month's actions: done / not done / dropped (and why).
[ ] Book next month's review now.
RULES
- Targets do not change mid-period to make a month look better.
- "Lower is better" KPIs (waste, late deliveries, churn): the minimum sits ABOVE the target.
- If the meeting runs over 45 minutes, there are too many KPIs. Cut some.
TOOLING
A spreadsheet is enough. If you want the colours, history and one 0-100 health score
done for you, ExploreKPI does this setup: every KPI has a target and a minimum,
reports can be imported from PDF or photo, and an AI analyst running on private servers
answers questions about your own numbers. Free plan: 1 business, 10 KPIs.
https://explorekpi.com/