How to use · Reporting & ongoing work
Let the weekly report start the next conversation
Case background
A professional services team has arranged a review every Friday at 5 p.m. For Oct 19–23, recognized revenue is $180k, direct project costs are $136k and receipts are $140k. Revenue and cash use their respective timing; contribution excludes fixed overhead and taxes.
CaiGeekHow did our projects perform this week?
CaiGeekProjects contributed $44k this week, led by brand design. The website project used 10 extra person-days and merits a closer look. Two payments are due next week.
This week’s projects
Oct 19–23Direct costs total $136k; contribution excludes fixed overhead and taxes. Receipts of $140k and revenue are tracked by their respective timing.
Why did the website project contribute only $12k?
CaiGeekRecognized revenue was $60k. Effort rose from 50 planned to 60 actual person-days. At $800 per day, the extra effort reduced contribution by $8k; the cause needs checking against change records.
Website project · Effort change
This weekFor future reviews, lead with the next two weeks’ collections and projects over plan, then show profit.
CaiGeekFuture reviews lead with collections and effort changes, followed by business results. The Friday 5 p.m. timing stays the same.
Weekly project review
- Upcoming collections firstDue dates, status and payments needing follow-up
- Then projects over planEffort changes, known causes and open questions
- Then business resultsRevenue, direct costs and contribution
Priorities follow this request; the existing Friday 5 p.m. schedule stays unchanged.
Where would you like to take this?
Prepare a short update for my business partner. Why did the website project contribute only $12k?Prepare a short update for my business partner.
CaiGeekThe update brings together this week’s results, the project to watch and next week’s follow-up, keeping the unresolved cause visible.
This week’s project updateRead the full brief
Work output
This week’s project update
October 19–23 · Professional services team
- This week
- Recognized revenue $180k, direct costs $136k, contribution $44k. Receipts of $140k are tracked separately by collection date.
- Worth a closer look
- The website project used 60 person-days, 10 above plan, reducing contribution by $8k. The reason needs checking against change records.
- Next week
- Follow the two payments coming due; review extra effort on the website project; update using the latest records.
Contribution excludes fixed overhead and taxes. Recognized revenue and cash receipts use different timing.
Specify the timing and focus of recurring work. Continue from each result, and change the focus of future reviews in the conversation.
Start with my own question