# What to Put in a Monthly Client Delivery Report (With a Simple Template) > About Dora: Dora is the AI account manager for teams that do client work. An agentic client portal: Dora briefs every request and gets it signed off, and your team or your own AI agents do the work. Edin Abazi · Published 2026-11-10 · Updated 2026-11-10 > A monthly client delivery report should show what shipped, what the client approved, how fast work moved, and what comes next, tied to the goals the client cares about. Keep it to one page so a busy client can read it in two minutes. The article includes a copy-ready template and a filled-in example. Most retainer clients don't cancel because the work was bad. They cancel because, come renewal time, they can't remember what they got. A monthly client report is your chance to make that memory unnecessary. **TL;DR:** A monthly client delivery report should show what shipped, what the client approved, how fast it moved, and what's next, tied to the goals the client cares about. Keep it to one page so a busy client can read it in two minutes. The copy-ready monthly client report template is below. ## Why do retainer renewals turn into a debate? Renewals turn into debates when clients can't see the work. A delivery report is the plain record that fixes that, so the conversation starts from evidence instead of impressions. I've sat in enough renewal calls to know the opening line: "I honestly can't tell what we got this month." Nobody says it angrily. They just don't know, and a client who doesn't know starts weighing your fee against a vague feeling. ### The client can't see what happened Picture a design studio on a retainer. Over a month, the client emails fifteen small requests: a social tile, a deck fix, a new banner size, a packaging tweak. Fourteen go out on time and fine. Two go badly. One needed three rounds because the brief was thin, and one landed a day late. At renewal, the client talks about those two. That isn't unfair, exactly. It's memory working the way memory works. The fourteen good deliveries were scattered across inboxes and never summarized, so they carry no weight. ### Monthly report vs. status report According to [TapClicks](https://www.tapclicks.com/blog/monthly-client-report-template), a client report explains the work done, the results achieved and what needs to happen next. [Visme](https://visme.co/blog/monthly-report-template/) frames the monthly report as a periodic summary and separates it from weekly, quarterly and status reports. That distinction matters. A weekly note is a pulse check, and a quarterly review is for strategy. A monthly report is the natural rhythm for a retainer, and [Canva's template page](https://www.canva.com/reports/templates/monthly/) describes monthly templates as a common way to give a comprehensive status update on projects. My take: a delivery report for retainer work should lead with shipped work, approvals and turnaround, and add performance numbers only where they connect to a client goal. If the report is the first time the client sees the work, you're already late. ## What should a monthly client report include? Include shipped work, approvals, turnaround, performance tied to goals, and next steps. That covers the question clients actually have: what did I get, did I agree to it, and what happens now? If you're wondering how to write a monthly report, the mechanics are simple. Collect the month's data, use the same sections every time, and end with owners and dates. Consistency matters more than polish, because clients learn where to look. ### Status, progress, performance, financial: which ones you need [ProjectManager](https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/client-reporting-client-reports) breaks client reports into types, including status (a high-level overview), progress (incremental development), performance (KPIs) and financial (monetary health). Here's how I'd map those onto a delivery report: - **Status:** a two-line summary at the top. Yes, you need it. - **Progress:** the shipped list and what's in flight. Yes, this is the core. - **Performance:** a few results, only where they tie to a client goal. - **Financial:** skip it unless the client asks. Billing belongs in your invoicing tool, not in the delivery report. Dora doesn't do invoicing either, so keep that in your own system. ### The approvals and turnaround section most reports skip Most templates stop at "completed tasks." That misses the two things that make a retainer feel worth it: what the client signed off on, and how quickly work moved. Approvals give you a record the client themselves created. Turnaround shows speed, and it also shows where the delay was. Sometimes that's you, and sometimes it's a client who took six days to answer a question. Include risks and scope changes here too. If you sent extra work as an estimate and the client approved it, list it. It shows you're guarding scope without making it awkward. If the brief was the weak link last month, [a creative brief clients will actually fill in](https://dora.work/blog/creative-brief-template-clients-fill) is the fix, and it will show up in your first-round approval rate. ### What to leave out Leave out raw hours, every task ticket, and any chart you can't explain in one sentence. Leave out work the client never approved or asked for. If you want the detail, link to it instead of pasting it. ## How do you choose metrics that show value, not noise? Start from the client's goals and pick a few measures that connect to them. Everything else is decoration. ### Start with the client's goals [DashThis](https://dashthis.com/blog/monthly-business-reports/) recommends structuring a monthly report around essential business goals and metrics. TapClicks makes a related point: results should match the client's goals and connect to real outcomes, not just show numbers. So before you pick anything, write down the one or two things this client cares about this quarter. A launch date. A packaging line ready for retail. A site that finally ships. Then ask of each number: does it help the client see progress toward that? If not, cut it. ### Four delivery measures worth tracking For delivery work, these four cover most retainers: 1. **Requests completed:** how many items shipped this month. 2. **First-round approval rate:** the share approved without a revision. It's a quiet signal of brief quality. 3. **Median days from request to delivery:** use the median so one slow outlier doesn't distort it. 4. **Items waiting on the client:** what's blocked on their side, with how long it's been waiting. Here's the contrarian part: don't build a dashboard first. Build the delivered-and-approved list first. Raw numbers invite debate about whether they're good enough. A plain record of shipped and signed-off work is hard to argue with. A client can question "median turnaround of three days," but they can't question a list of fourteen things they approved. The tradeoff is discipline. Sign-off times and open items only exist if requests and approvals are tracked in one place during the month. If they live across email threads and DMs, the report becomes a scramble on the last day. ## A simple monthly client report template you can copy Here's a one-page structure built on what I call the four-part delivery report: Shipped, Approved, Speed, Next. Add a short performance section only if you have results tied to a goal. [HubSpot](https://www.hubspot.com/resources/templates/monthly-report) offers a monthly report template as an Excel workbook, a Word document or a PDF, with a header for your details, and Canva has editable layouts too. Those formats are fine if you want a file; check the current options before you commit to one. The content below works in any of them, or just in an email. ### The template ``` MONTHLY CLIENT REPORT Client: Month: Prepared by: Date sent: SUMMARY (2-3 sentences) What this month was about, and the one thing to know. 1. SHIPPED - [Deliverable, in the client's words] (delivered [date]) - ... 2. APPROVED - Signed off: [items] - Waiting on you: [items, days waiting] - What changed along the way: [revisions, scope changes, extra work approved as estimates] 3. SPEED - Requests received / delivered: - Median days, request to delivery: - Where it stalled and why: PERFORMANCE (only if tied to a client goal) - Goal: [the client's goal] - Result: [one or two measures] RISKS AND SCOPE - [Anything that may affect next month] 4. NEXT MONTH - Priority: [item] | Owner: [name] | Due: [date] - Open decision: [question] | Owner: [name] | Needed by: [date] ``` ### A filled-in example This is a fictional illustration, not client data. Say a design studio runs a retainer for a small food brand, with a monthly allowance of 12 requests. - **Summary:** September was packaging-heavy. Fourteen items shipped; one slipped to October by agreement. - **Shipped:** 14 deliverables, including five packaging files, four social sets, three deck updates and two banner sizes. - **Approved:** 11 approved first round, 2 after one revision, 1 waiting on the client for 6 days. Three requests came in over the allowance; two were approved as estimates and delivered, and one moved to October. - **Speed:** Median of 3 working days from request to delivery. The slowest item took 9 days, 5 of them waiting on a logo file from the client. - **Performance:** Goal is retail-ready packaging by November. Five of eight packaging files are signed off. - **Next:** Finish the remaining three packaging files (owner: studio, due Oct 10). Client to choose the label finish (owner: client, needed by Oct 5). Notice the delay is stated plainly, including the part that was the client's. It reads as honest, not defensive. ### Monthly report checklist You can fill this in under 30 minutes if your records are tidy. Here's the order I'd work in: 1. Set a fixed send date, the same day each month. 2. Pull the shipped list and rename items in the client's words. 3. Pull approvals: signed off, waiting, and what changed. 4. Calculate turnaround, and note where it stalled. 5. Write the two-to-three sentence summary last. 6. List next steps with an owner and a date for each. 7. Send it and ask for one reply: "Anything here that looks off?" **How to know it's working.** There's no client case data behind this article, so here's a measurement plan instead. For one retainer client, note how long the last renewal conversation took and how many deliverables they could name unprompted. Then send the four-part report on the same day each month for three months. Track the number of "what are we paying for?" questions per month, the share of requests approved within your target window, and renewal conversation length. A simple spreadsheet or your request log is enough, comparing month one to month three. ## What mistakes make client reports go unread? Reports go unread when they're long, metric-heavy, late, or full of surprises. Most of the fixes are about habits during the month, not design. ### Too many numbers, too little work The classic mistake is opening with a wall of percentages. The client skims, can't find the work, and files it. Lead with what shipped and what they approved. A close cousin: reporting work the client never signed off on. If it's in the report but not in the approvals, you've given them something to dispute. ### Surprises and stale reports Hiding delays is the fastest way to lose trust. If something slipped, say so and say what changes. Clients forgive late work far more easily than late news. Also watch the timing. A report that lands three weeks into the next month reads as an afterthought. And if a sign-off is still hanging, that's usually an approvals problem, so it helps to [set up an approval process that doesn't stall when clients go quiet](https://dora.work/blog/client-approval-process-guide). Dora's approvals handle this with one-click sign-off, nudges, and auto-approval after the days you choose (default 7). Don't forget next steps. A report with no owners and dates is a diary, not a plan. ### Building it by hand every month If you assemble the report from scattered emails, you'll dread it, skip it, or get it wrong. The fix is upstream: keep requests, files and approvals in one place all month, so the report is a summary instead of a reconstruction. Scattered communication is also one of the [common client portal mistakes small agencies make](https://dora.work/blog/client-portal-mistakes-small-agencies). Automation can replace manual copying, and plenty of reporting tools exist, so pick whichever fits how you work. The principle is the same either way: tidy inputs, easy outputs. Want the report to nearly write itself? Dora keeps requests, files and approvals in one client portal and sends clients weekly summaries, so your monthly report is mostly a recap. Try Dora free; your first client is free, forever. What's the one deliverable your best client would forget you shipped? ## FAQ ### How do I write a monthly report for a client? Collect the month's delivered work, approvals and turnaround, then add a few results tied to the client's goals. End with next steps and owners. Keep the same sections every month so the client knows where to look. ### What should be included in a monthly report? Include header details (client, month, author, date), a short summary, completed and in-progress work, key metrics tied to goals, and any risks or scope changes. Close with next steps. For retainers, add approvals and turnaround, since they show value most clearly. ### How long should a monthly client report be? One page or one screen is enough for most retainers. Link to detail instead of pasting it. This is general guidance rather than a benchmark; the test is whether a busy client can read it in about two minutes. ### Can I use an Excel, Word or PDF monthly report template? Yes. Templates are commonly offered in those formats, including by [HubSpot](https://www.hubspot.com/resources/templates/monthly-report). Pick one you can fill in quickly and keep consistent, and check the current formats before relying on one. ### What's the difference between a status report and a delivery report? A status report gives a high-level overview of where things stand. A delivery report focuses on what shipped, what was approved, and how fast, which suits retainer renewals better because it's a record of the work, not just a snapshot. ### How can I stop building client reports by hand? Keep requests, files and approvals in one place during the month so the report is a summary, not a reconstruction. Dora's weekly summaries and approvals are one way to do this. Whatever you use, tidy records during the month are what make the report quick. ## References 1. [Client Report: Example Templates and Automation Tips](https://www.tapclicks.com/blog/monthly-client-report-template) 2. [How to Write an Effective Monthly Report [+ Templates]](https://visme.co/blog/monthly-report-template/) 3. [Free custom printable monthly report templates](https://www.canva.com/reports/templates/monthly/) 4. [Client Reporting: 10 Types of Client Reports (Templates Included)](https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/client-reporting-client-reports) 5. [5+ Monthly Business Report Templates & Examples | DashThis](https://dashthis.com/blog/monthly-business-reports/) 6. [Monthly Report Template - Word, Excel, PDF, Google Docs ...](https://www.hubspot.com/resources/templates/monthly-report) ## Questions ### How do I write a monthly report for a client? Collect the month's delivered work, approvals and turnaround, then add a few results tied to the client's goals. End with next steps and owners. Keep the same sections every month so the client knows where to look. ### What should be included in a monthly report? Include header details, a short summary, completed and in-progress work, key metrics tied to goals, and any risks or scope changes. Close with next steps. For retainers, add approvals and turnaround, since they show value most clearly. ### How long should a monthly client report be? One page or one screen is enough for most retainers, with detail linked rather than pasted. This is general guidance, not a benchmark. The test is whether a busy client can read it in about two minutes. ### Can I use an Excel, Word or PDF monthly report template? Yes, those formats are commonly offered, including by HubSpot. Pick one you can fill in quickly and keep consistent. Check the current formats before relying on one. ### What's the difference between a status report and a delivery report? A status report gives a high-level overview of where things stand. A delivery report focuses on what shipped, what was approved, and how fast, which suits retainer renewals better. ### How can I stop building client reports by hand? Keep requests, files and approvals in one place during the month so the report becomes a summary instead of a reconstruction. Tidy records during the month are what make the report quick. ## Sources - [Client Report: Example Templates and Automation Tips](https://www.tapclicks.com/blog/monthly-client-report-template) - [How to Write an Effective Monthly Report [+ Templates]](https://visme.co/blog/monthly-report-template/) - [Free custom printable monthly report templates](https://www.canva.com/reports/templates/monthly/) - [Client Reporting: 10 Types of Client Reports (Templates Included)](https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/client-reporting-client-reports) - [5+ Monthly Business Report Templates & Examples | DashThis](https://dashthis.com/blog/monthly-business-reports/) - [Monthly Report Template - Word, Excel, PDF, Google Docs ...](https://www.hubspot.com/resources/templates/monthly-report) [Try Dora free](https://dora.work/sign-up): your first client is free, forever.