In short
A quarterly business review meeting checks results against the goals agreed last quarter, hears the customer's plans for the next one in their own words, and ends with commitments on both sides. Send the numbers beforehand, spend the meeting on what they mean, and write the commitments down.
A quarterly business review meeting has three jobs: check what the last quarter delivered against the goals you agreed, hear what the customer plans for the next one in their own words, and leave with commitments on both sides. The numbers go out before the meeting; the meeting is for what they mean and what happens next.
This guide covers preparing and running a customer-facing QBR, a QBR template and agenda you can copy, the notes worth keeping, and recording one with the customer's agreement.
How to run a quarterly business review
- Find last quarter's commitments. Open the notes from the previous QBR and list every goal and commitment, on both sides. A QBR that does not start from what was promised last time is a sales presentation.
- Measure each one. For every goal, write the result and a sentence on why it came out that way. Use the customer's measures where you agreed them, not ones that flatter you.
- Send a pre-read three to five days ahead. The goals, the results, and two or three questions you want to discuss. Ask the customer what they want to add to the agenda.
- Confirm who is coming. Check that someone on the customer's side can speak for their plans next quarter, not only for day-to-day use.
- Open by agreeing the agenda. Two minutes, and ask whether anything has changed since the pre-read.
- Spend most of the meeting on their plans. Ask what they are trying to achieve next quarter and write down their words.
- Close with commitments. Read them back before the meeting ends: what, who, by when, on each side.
- Send the follow-up within a day. Commitments first, then a short summary.
A QBR agenda for 60 minutes
| Time | Item | Led by |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Agenda and anything new since the pre-read | Account owner |
| 0:05 | Last quarter: goals against results | Account owner |
| 0:20 | What the customer is working on next quarter | Customer |
| 0:40 | Risks, blockers and open issues | Both |
| 0:50 | Commitments and goals for next quarter | Both |
| 0:58 | Next QBR date | Account owner |
The block led by the customer is the longest on purpose. A QBR where the supplier talks for 50 minutes teaches the customer to send someone junior next time.
The QBR template
Use this for the pre-read and fill in the second half during the meeting.
# QBR — <customer> — <quarter>
**Attending:** <names and roles, both sides>
**Previous QBR notes:** <link>
## Last quarter: goals and results
| Goal (as agreed) | Result | Why |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------- | -------------- |
| <goal> | <met / partly / missed, with the figure> | <one sentence> |
## Our commitments from last time
- <what we promised> — <done / not done, and why>
## Their commitments from last time
- <what they promised> — <status>
## Next quarter, in their words
- "<quote>"
- "<quote>"
## Risks and open issues
- <issue> — <owner>
## Commitments for next quarter
- <what> — <who> — <by when>
## Goals for next quarter
- <goal, with how it will be measured>
**Next QBR:** <date>What to listen for
The most useful part of the QBR is the customer describing their next quarter. Write down their phrasing, not your interpretation of it. "We have to get the Northwind integration live before the audit in March" tells you the deadline, the reason and what matters; "customer interested in integration work" tells you almost nothing.
Listen especially for:
- Changes on their side. A new manager, a reorganisation, a budget review. These change the account more than anything in your numbers.
- What they compare you with. "Our other supplier sends this weekly" is a request, phrased politely.
- Hesitation about renewal, however indirect. Write it down exactly, and raise it with your team the same day.
- Things they say they will do. Customers make commitments in QBRs too: to give access, to nominate a contact, to share data. They go on the list with an owner and a date.
QBR meeting notes
Keep the notes in two layers:
- The record: the filled-in template above, which both sides receive.
- Your working notes: anything the account team needs that the customer does not, such as a concern to raise internally. Keep these separate so nothing internal ends up in the customer's copy.
The record goes in the follow-up email, commitments first. How to write a follow-up email after a meeting has a template for that. For the habits that apply to any customer meeting, not only QBRs, see client meeting notes.
Recording a QBR
A recording helps you get the customer's words right, and lets a colleague who could not attend hear what the customer said. It needs the customer's agreement:
- Ask when you send the invite. "We'd like to record the review so we get your plans down accurately. Let us know if you'd rather we didn't."
- Ask again at the start, and accept a no. Take notes by hand instead.
- Check their policy. Some customers' contracts or security policies do not allow recording by suppliers, and in some places the law requires everyone on a call to agree.
If the QBR is a video call, recording client calls on a Mac covers the options in detail. With Notey, the call is recorded and transcribed on your Mac, with your side and the customer's side on separate tracks, and nothing joins the call; the customer knows only because you asked them, which is why you ask. Notey notices calls in Zoom, Teams, Slack, FaceTime and supported browsers and asks on its floating button before anything is saved; in any other app, press Start. Afterwards you can search for the moment the customer described their next quarter and play it back from there. If you sign in and ask for notes, only the transcript text is sent to be written up, and the summary is labelled as AI-generated. Check every figure in it against the transcript before it goes to the customer. Notey does not connect to a CRM; export the notes as Markdown and put them where your team keeps accounts.
Internal QBRs
The same structure works for a team reviewing its own quarter with leadership: goals against results, the next quarter's plans, risks, commitments. The difference is that the "customer" is the team's stakeholders, and the notes usually live in the team's planning documents rather than an email. The recording question is the same: say so in advance, and follow the company's policy.
Common mistakes
- Reading the slides aloud. Send them in advance.
- Goals rewritten after the fact. Report against what was agreed.
- Only your commitments. A QBR that records only what you owe misses half the relationship.
- Paraphrasing their plans. Keep their words.
- No next date. Set it before everyone leaves.
For how a QBR sits among the other meetings a team holds, and what record each needs, see types of meetings.
Frequently asked questions
What is a QBR meeting?
A quarterly business review is a scheduled meeting, usually between a supplier and a customer, to look at what the last quarter delivered against the goals set for it and agree the goals for the next one. Internal teams hold them too, with the same structure.
Who should attend a QBR?
On the customer's side, the person who owns the relationship and ideally someone who decides on renewal or budget. On yours, the account owner and whoever can answer questions about the product or service. Keep it small enough for a conversation.
How long should a quarterly business review be?
Usually 45 to 90 minutes. If the results take more than a quarter of the time to present, send them in advance and discuss them instead.
What should a QBR template include?
Last quarter's goals and the results against each, what the customer plans next quarter in their own words, risks, and commitments on both sides with owners and dates.
Can I record a QBR?
Only with the customer's agreement. Ask when you send the invite and again at the start; some customers' policies do not allow it, and in some places the law requires everyone on a call to agree.