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Who should attend a QBR
The right people in the room matter more than the slides. Invite the people who can approve spending and change priorities, not only the day-to-day contact.
| Side | Role | Why they are there |
|---|---|---|
| Client | Owner or managing director | Approves priorities and spending |
| Client | Finance lead | Budget, renewals and approvals |
| Client | Office or operations manager | Day-to-day experience of IT, staff feedback |
| Client | Compliance or department lead, when relevant | Audit, insurance or regulatory questions |
| MSP | Account manager or vCIO | Leads the meeting and owns the recommendations |
| MSP | Service or technical lead, when needed | Answers questions on recurring issues or projects |
Keep the MSP side small. Two people is usually enough. If the client's decision-maker cannot attend, consider moving the meeting rather than holding a review where nothing can be approved.
Before the meeting
- Book the cadence in advance. Agree a recurring slot for the year so reviews do not slip.
- Confirm attendees and concerns. Ask the main contact a week ahead whether there is anything they want covered.
- Send a pre-read. A one-page summary with the decisions you will ask for lets people arrive ready to decide.
- Rehearse the story. The presenter should be able to explain the quarter in two minutes without the slides.
- Raise urgent problems early. Do not save a serious issue for the meeting.
How to build a QBR covers the preparation step by step.
A practical QBR agenda
This agenda fits a 60-minute review. Scale it down for small clients, but keep the order.
| Time | Item | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 5 min | Welcome and goals | Confirm the agenda and ask what the client wants to leave with |
| 5 min | Last quarter's commitments | Status of each agreed action, including what slipped |
| 10 min | Quarter in review | Service, security, devices and compliance highlights, as trends with explanations |
| 10 min | Risks and findings | The three or four issues that matter most to the business |
| 15 min | Roadmap and budget | Proposed projects, renewals and replacements, with costs and timing |
| 10 min | Decisions and next steps | Approve, defer or reject each recommendation; confirm owners and dates |
| 5 min | Wrap-up | Read back decisions, agree the next review date |
If the meeting runs short, cut the review section, not the decisions.
How to present results to clients
- Start with the summary. Say what the quarter means before showing any chart.
- Speak in business terms. "Every device is backing up successfully" beats a backup success percentage with no context. Avoid tool names and acronyms the client does not use.
- Show trends, not snapshots. Compare with last quarter so the client can see direction.
- Explain every number you show. If a chart does not lead to a point, skip it.
- Ask questions. Find out what changed in the business: new hires, new offices, new software, insurance renewals. That shapes the roadmap more than any metric.
- Check what you share on screen. If you present from internal tools, make sure staff notes and other clients' data are not visible.
How to record decisions in the meeting
Capture decisions as they happen, on screen if possible, so everyone agrees on the wording. For each item, record:
- What was decided: approved, deferred or rejected
- Who owns it, on the client side and on yours
- The due date or target quarter
- Any cost or budget change that follows
Read the list back before the meeting ends. Deferred items are still useful: note why and when to revisit them.
Following up after the QBR
Send a written summary within a day or two while the meeting is fresh. Include the decisions, action items with owners and dates, and any updated roadmap or budget. Then:
- Turn approved items into projects, quotes or tickets
- Update the client's technology roadmap and budget
- Add the action items to the next review's agenda so the client sees follow-through
- Keep an internal note of what the client cared about and any concerns raised
If you record the meeting to produce notes, tell participants and get their agreement before recording.
How MSPortal runs a QBR meeting
MSPortal keeps the meeting, the report and the follow-up in the same place as the client's tickets and roadmap. The vCIO tools cover:
- Booking. Where recurring meeting booking is enabled for your tenant, you set a business review cadence per company and send the client a booking link. The client picks from recommended times and MSPortal checks the host's availability before creating the recurring series.
- Agenda from real records. Build the agenda from budgets, Planner items, reports, tickets, compliance checks, goals, projects, devices, training, invoices, licences and quotes, plus your own text blocks. Each item links to its record.
- Presenting. Present the agenda as slides from the meeting page. A Planner item, for example, shows status, dates, estimated hours, cost and business value. Presentation mode uses the presenter's own access, so review the slides before sharing your screen. Linked reports with a saved presentation expand into their slides where report presentations are enabled.
- Action items. Add action items from the presentation as decisions are made, then set priority and due date on the meeting page.
- Wrap-up. After the meeting, upload or paste a transcript and AI drafts notes and action items, which reach the meeting only when you add them. The wrap-up then drafts a summary email for the client, which you review and send.
- QBR log. An internal record of what was discussed, agreed and actioned for each review, with owners, due dates and a done tick for each commitment. It can be written by AI after the summary is sent and edited afterwards. Clients do not see it.
The meeting steps are described in the presenting guide and the meeting summaries guide. To prepare the report itself, see how to automate QBR preparation.
Related questions
How long should a QBR meeting last?
Most QBRs fit in 30 to 60 minutes. A small client with a stable environment may need only 20 to 30 minutes, while a larger client with several locations or an active project list may need the full hour. Protect the time for decisions whatever the length.
Should a QBR be in person or on a video call?
Either works. In-person reviews suit larger clients and relationship-building, while video calls make it easier to get busy decision-makers to attend. On a call, share a clean deck rather than live internal tools, and send the pre-read in advance.
What should an MSP send after a QBR?
A written summary within a day or two: the decisions made, each action item with its owner and due date, and any updated roadmap or budget. It gives the client a record of what was agreed and gives the next review a starting point.
What if a client keeps cancelling QBRs?
Shorten the meeting, send the report as a pre-read and ask for 20 minutes focused only on decisions. If the client still does not engage, check whether you are inviting the right person and whether past reviews led to visible results.