Creating Effective Client Reports

Client reports let you share progress updates, key metrics, and summaries with your clients in a structured format. Clients can view these reports directly in their portal. This guide walks you through creating a report from scratch.

Step 1: Go to Reports

Go to Sidebar → Reports in your Agency Dashboard
You’ll see a list of existing reports (if any)
Click “New Report” in the top-right corner

Step 2: Choose Client and Report Type

Fill in the basic details:

Client (required) — Select which client this report is for
Project — Optionally link it to a specific project
Report Type — Choose the cadence:
- Weekly — For short, frequent updates
- Monthly — For more detailed monthly summaries
- Quarterly — For comprehensive quarterly reviews

Weekly reports work best for active projects where the client wants to stay closely involved. Monthly or quarterly reports are better for long-term retainers or less hands-on clients.

Step 3: Write a Clear Summary

The summary is the first thing the client reads, so make it count.

Keep it 2-3 sentences long
Focus on the big picture — What happened this period? Are things on track?
Example: “This month we completed the homepage redesign and began development on the product pages. The project is on track for the April 15th launch.”

Step 4: Add Key Metrics

Metrics give the client hard numbers to understand progress. Add relevant metrics like:

Tasks Completed — e.g., 12 of 20 tasks done
Hours Logged — e.g., 45 hours this month
Budget Used — e.g., 60% of total budget
Revenue Generated — If applicable
Milestones Hit — e.g., 2 of 4 milestones complete

Each metric can have a label and a value. Add as many as are relevant.

Step 5: Add Detailed Sections

Sections let you organize the report into clear parts. Common sections to include:

Highlights

What went well this period. List accomplishments, delivered features, or positive outcomes.

Challenges

Any issues or blockers that came up. Be honest — clients appreciate transparency.

Next Steps

What’s planned for the next period. Give the client a clear picture of what’s coming.

Other Sections

You can add any custom sections that make sense for your client. Some ideas:

Team Updates — New members, role changes
Design Progress — Visual progress on design work
Technical Notes — For technically-savvy clients

Structure your report consistently. If you use Highlights, Challenges, and Next Steps every time, clients know exactly where to look and can quickly scan for what they care about.

Step 6: Toggle Visibility and Publish

Before publishing:

Review everything one last time for accuracy
Set the visibility — Toggle whether the client can see this report in their portal
Click Publish to make the report live

If visibility is on, the report will appear in the client’s portal under Reports immediately after publishing.

You can create a report with visibility turned off if you want to draft it first and publish later. Just come back and toggle visibility on when you’re ready.

Step 7: What the Client Sees

When a client opens a report in their portal, they see:

The report title and type (Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly)
The summary at the top
Key metrics displayed as a clean, easy-to-read layout
Sections in the order you added them, with headings and content
The date the report was published

Reports are grouped by project in the client’s portal, so they can easily find reports related to a specific project.

Best Practices

Be consistent — Send reports on the same day each period (e.g., every Friday for weekly, first Monday for monthly)
Lead with the good news — Start with Highlights before moving to Challenges
Use real numbers — Metrics make reports credible. “We completed 12 tasks” is better than “We made progress”
Keep it readable — Short paragraphs, bullet points, and clear headings. Nobody wants to read a wall of text
Include next steps — Always end with what’s coming next. It shows you’re thinking ahead