A quarterly business review is a meeting held every three months between a vendor and a client to look at results and plan the next quarter. It works when it ends with clear decisions and named owners. It fails when it turns into a slide show of the vendor's own numbers.
This guide gives you a simple agenda, a short list of data to bring, and tips for keeping the meeting useful. It is written for both sides of the table: the account team that runs the review and the client who attends it.
What a quarterly business review is
People often shorten it to QBR. Some firms call it an executive business review, especially when it is held on a different schedule, such as a few months before a renewal. The goal is the same: align on goals, performance, problems and next steps.
Vendors have reasons to care. Gainsight, a customer success software firm, wrote in 2024 that a study by Staircase AI found customers who have regular reviews are twice as likely to renew. That figure comes from a software vendor's study, so treat it as a signal, not a promise. The client has reasons too. A review is a standing chance to raise problems early and to ask whether the service still fits the business.
Sources: Gainsight, "How to Conduct Effective Quarterly Business Reviews, QBRs" (February 2024); Dock, "Quarterly Business Reviews: QBR Tips, Template and Agenda" (February 2025)
Why most reviews fall flat
Gainsight describes the "traditional" review in four parts, and each one is a trap:
- Prepared alone. The vendor builds the deck with little input from the client.
- Vendor metrics. The numbers are logins and support tickets, not the client's own goals.
- The vendor talks. One side presents while the other side listens.
- A sales motive. The meeting exists mainly to set up an upsell.
Clients can feel this within minutes. Dock makes a related point: tracking product use is not always in the client's interest, so ask whether higher use ties to a goal the client actually has.
Sources: Gainsight, "How to Conduct Effective Quarterly Business Reviews, QBRs"; Dock, "Quarterly Business Reviews: QBR Tips, Template and Agenda"
A simple agenda that leads to decisions
Keep the agenda short. Send it ahead of time so people can prepare. Here is a sixty minute outline built from the topics Dock recommends:
| Time | Topic | Output |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | Open and review last quarter's action items | Each item marked done, open or dropped |
| 10 minutes | Goals and desired outcomes | Agreement on what the client wants most |
| 15 minutes | Results against agreed measures | A shared view of what worked |
| 15 minutes | Problems and risks | Each issue has an owner and a date |
| 10 minutes | Recommendations for next quarter | A short list of changes to try |
| 5 minutes | Next steps | Who does what, by when |
The times are an example, not a rule. Cut a topic before you rush the discussion. Dock's outline also lists outstanding items from earlier reviews, and checking them first shows the client that the meeting leads to action.
Sources: Dock, "Quarterly Business Reviews: QBR Tips, Template and Agenda" (agenda topics). The time split is the editors' example.
What data to bring
Bring less data, tied to goals the client set. A good list has five parts:
- The goals. The success measures agreed at the start of the contract, plus any change in the client's plans.
- Results against those goals. Show the trend over the quarter, not one number.
- Problems. Open support issues, missed targets and anything the client has complained about.
- Lessons. What the numbers taught both sides.
- Upcoming dates. Renewal, new releases and planned changes in the service.
Gainsight suggests framing results in the client's own terms, such as retention or cost, instead of generic usage counts. If the client tracks objectives and key results (OKRs) or key performance indicators (KPIs), borrow those words. Ask the client what they want to see before you build the deck.
Sources: Dock, "Quarterly Business Reviews: QBR Tips, Template and Agenda"; Gainsight, "How to Conduct Effective Quarterly Business Reviews, QBRs"
Who should attend
The right people matter more than the right slides. Dock lists three groups on the client side: the executive sponsor who holds the budget, the daily users, and the operations staff who deal with technical issues. On the vendor side, the account or success manager leads. A salesperson or a technical expert can join when the topic calls for one.
Gainsight notes a common problem: the person who bought the service has often moved on. Check the attendee list before each review and ask who now owns the result on the client side. Dock advises that to win over busy people, you personalize the invitation and say what is in it for them. Gainsight suggests co-presenting with your client champion.
Sources: Dock, "Quarterly Business Reviews: QBR Tips, Template and Agenda"; Gainsight, "How to Conduct Effective Quarterly Business Reviews, QBRs"
Tips for a better meeting
- Talk about problems early. Dock advises giving the client room to raise issues, because it is better to hear them now than at renewal time. Serious risks should not first appear in the review.
- Listen more than you present. Ask what changed in the client's business: new priorities, staff changes, budget pressure.
- Skip the long deck. Use a one page summary and spend the time in discussion.
- Offer a plan, not just a report. Gainsight suggests a mutual action plan with realistic targets for the quarter.
- Send notes within a day. List decisions, owners and dates, and ask the client to correct them.
Not every account needs a full review. Dock says low-touch accounts with simple needs may do better with short calls or automated reports.
Sources: Dock, "Quarterly Business Reviews: QBR Tips, Template and Agenda"; Gainsight, "How to Conduct Effective Quarterly Business Reviews, QBRs"
A checklist before you book it
- Ask the client for their top three goals for the quarter.
- Confirm who will attend and who owns the decisions.
- Send the agenda at least a few days ahead.
- Pull results that match the client's goals, and note what went wrong.
- List the decisions you want from the meeting.
- Block ten minutes at the end for next steps.
- Send written notes after the meeting, then track the actions until the next review.
If the meeting ends with a list of owners and dates, it did its job. If it ends with only a feeling of progress, change the format before the next one.
Sources: the editors' summary of the Gainsight and Dock guidance cited above
Sources
- Gainsight, "How to Conduct Effective Quarterly Business Reviews, QBRs," February 8, 2024. gainsight.com
- Dock, "Quarterly Business Reviews: QBR Tips, Template and Agenda," February 13, 2025. dock.us