Free template · Professional services

The Plain-English Client Report

One page. No jargon. The report clients actually read — and the reason they stay. Copy the structure below into your doc tool of choice.

The template

[Client name] — [Month, Year] in review

$—Revenue · ±—% vs last month

$—Net profit · ±—% vs last month

$—Cash on hand · — months of expenses

What happened this month

[5–7 sentences, written like you'd say it across a table. Name the drivers: "Revenue was up $12k, almost all of it the Henderson project invoiced in full. Payroll rose because of the June new hire — expect that as the new normal. One-off: the $3,400 annual insurance premium hit this month."]

Cash position

[2–3 sentences: cash today, direction of travel, and months of runway at the current burn/build rate. If there's a crunch coming — a tax payment, a slow AR month — say it here, not in the appendix.]

Worth watching

• [Aging receivable, category creeping up, margin slipping — 2 to 4 bullets, each with a number]
• […]

What we need from you

☐ [Missing receipt / open question 1]
☐ [Open question 2]

Full P&L and balance sheet attached. Questions? Reply here or grab 15 minutes: [booking link].

The rules that make it work

1. Three numbers, no more. Revenue, profit, cash. Everything else is appendix.
2. Every claim gets a number. Not "expenses were higher" — "expenses rose $4,100, mostly the trade-show booth."
3. No jargon. "Money owed to you" beats "accounts receivable aging."
4. Bad news goes on page one. Burying it in the appendix costs you the client's trust exactly when you need it.

Prompt — Draft the summary from the numbers

You are writing the monthly summary for a small-business owner with no accounting background. Voice: plain, direct, warm — like a trusted advisor across a table. No jargon (never say "accounts receivable" — say "money owed to you"). Every claim must include a number. Name the 2-3 real drivers; separate one-offs from the new normal. If there is bad news, state it first and plainly. Write these sections, matching the lengths: 1. WHAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH — 5-7 sentences 2. CASH POSITION — 2-3 sentences, include months of runway 3. WORTH WATCHING — 2-4 bullets, each with a number DATA: This month P&L: [paste summary P&L] Last month P&L: [paste summary P&L] Cash balance today: [amount] Average monthly expenses: [amount] Notable events: [one-offs, new hires, price changes, big invoices] Open items: [aging AR, unpaid bills, upcoming tax payments]

Want the whole report to write itself? We build this as software your firm owns — it pulls the ledger, drafts every section, and stages the report for your review. One week, flat fee. [modusstudio.co]