Reports Don't Change Behaviour, Conversations Do

A long time ago I stopped assuming that sending a client their monthly report meant the job was done.

The truth is that most business owners open that PDF, skim the numbers that look vaguely familiar and file it away in the top drawer, bury them in the sand whilst looking obliviously across the sea. Not because they don't care, but because nobody ever explained what gross margin or aged debtors actually means for the decisions they are making next week. And they are not going to put their hand up in a meeting, or ring you, to say that they are lost.

So what can accountants actually do about it?

Maybe it's time to stop treating the report as the deliverable. The report is just data, understanding is the deliverable.

That means picking up the phone and walking through the three most important numbers this month, not all thirty. It means asking 'what would you do differently now you know this?' instead of 'any questions?'. It means letting a client know the headlines before sending the report so that, by the time it lands in their inbox, they already know what they are looking for.

Reports don't change behaviour. Conversations do.

If your clients aren't using their numbers, that is not a reporting problem, it is a communication issue.

I would rather spend twenty minutes turning one number into a decision than hand over a beautifully formatted report that no-one reads. That is wasting my time and their money.

How we do management reporting

Whether you are on Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, we build monthly reporting around the handful of numbers that actually drive your business, then talk them through with you. If that sounds more useful than another PDF, get in touch.