Monthly Business Review

Who this is for

This review is for owners of small businesses, freelancers and small teams who want a regular, honest look at how the business is doing, without a complicated system. It also helps when you want to prepare for a conversation with a partner, a mentor or your accountant, because the key facts are already written down.

You do not need accounting software. Any records that show your income, expenses, customers and sales are enough.

What is inside

• A quick-start page and a list of what to gather before you begin
• Monthly goals: last month's goals against results, and this month's top goals
• Revenue and expense overview with planned, actual and difference columns
• Customer acquisition by channel, with spend and new customers
• Sales performance: top products or services, orders and average order value
• Key achievements and who helped
• Problems and challenges with impact, cause, action and owner
• Lessons learned about customers, numbers and how you work
• Next month's priorities with a first step, a person and a deadline

A look at the pages

How to use it

Choose a fixed time each month, for example the last working day, and treat it as an appointment.

1. Gather your numbers (15 minutes). Bank or accounting records, sales reports, website statistics and customer messages.
2. Fill in the facts (20 minutes). Goals, revenue and expenses, customer acquisition and sales. Use the same categories each month.
3. Write the story (15 minutes). Wins, problems and lessons. Short, specific sentences are enough.
4. Choose priorities (10 minutes). Pick three, give each a first step and a deadline, and decide what to stop doing.
5. Book the next review. Write the date on the last page so the habit continues.

Printing tips

The planner is designed for US Letter paper with generous margins. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" in the print dialog and the layout will scale cleanly. Backgrounds are kept white and colors are light, so it prints well in black and white and uses very little ink. Print only the pages you need, and reprint any page you want to redo.

Why a monthly rhythm works

Small problems are easier to fix when you notice them early. A monthly review gives you a regular moment to look at the numbers calmly rather than only when something goes wrong. Because you use the same pages every month, trends appear: costs creeping up, a channel that keeps winning, a product that slows down. Our guides on writing your goals down and focusing on one big goal explain how to choose what deserves your attention.

Making sense of the numbers

The review asks you to record figures; these free calculators help you interpret them. The Profit Margin Calculator shows how much of each sale is left after direct costs, the Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator turns the acquisition page into a cost per customer, and the Break-Even Calculator shows how much you must sell to cover your costs. If your costs have crept up, cancelling forgotten subscriptions is a quick place to start.

Related tools and reading

• Profit Margin CalculatorCheck gross profit and margin on what you sell.
• Customer Acquisition Cost CalculatorWork out what each new customer costs to win.
• Break-Even CalculatorFind the sales you need to cover your costs.
• Unit Economics: Fix Your CAC and LTV Before You ScaleUnderstand what a customer costs and what a customer is worth.
• Delete Junk Tools: Cancel the Subscriptions You ForgotFixed costs you can cut lower your break-even point.
• Customer Retention: Why Keeping Customers Drives GrowthRepeat customers raise the value of every campaign you run.

Frequently asked questions