A QBR preparation checklist is the list of numbers and decisions a revenue team locks before the quarterly business review. Prepared well, the meeting opens on the first real question. Prepared poorly, half the hour disappears into arguing about which report is right.
Lock the Numbers Two Days Out
Every figure presented needs one owner and one source. Reconcile before the meeting, never during it.
- Attainment against plan by segment, by team, and by rep - Bookings split into new business, expansion, and renewal - The ARR waterfall for the quarter, running from beginning ARR through churn and contraction and expansion to ending ARR - Forecast accuracy for the quarter that just closed, measured against what was committed on day one rather than in the final week
That last item is the one teams skip. ORM's benchmark is worth setting against your own: manually produced forecasts on new and expansion business typically land near 90% accuracy, and getting there takes significant effort that does not adapt as conditions change. ORM targets 95% and holds it from day 1 through day 90 of the quarter without manual adjustment. See forecast accuracy for how to measure your baseline.
Build the Retention View
Retention deserves its own section rather than a line in the bookings summary. Bring gross and net retention on the same chart as the ARR waterfall, plus the churn and contraction detail behind them. Name the accounts that drove the movement. Net revenue retention explains the construction.
Bring the Forward Look, Not Only the Rear View
A QBR that reviews the closed quarter and stops has done half a job. The forward section carries the decisions.
- Pipeline entering the quarter, with coverage by segment and the concentration in the largest deals - Aged and stale pipeline flagged and separated from the coverage figure - The forecast for the new quarter, decomposed into carry-over deals, pipeline that must be created and closed inside the quarter, and anything expected to pull forward from later periods - Capacity and ramp assumptions behind the plan
Coverage of 3x to 5x is the standard range across ORM customers, with most sitting near 3.5x. Treat it as an input to the discussion. Pipeline coverage alone will not tell you whether the quarter works.
Plan for Seasonality, Then Cut the Rest
Quarters are not interchangeable. In ORM's customer data, Q2 and Q4 run stronger than Q1 and Q3, and the third month of a quarter runs stronger than the first two. A plan that spreads the number evenly across three months will look behind in month one every single quarter. Show the expected shape of the quarter, then compare actual pacing against that shape rather than against a straight line.
Then cut hard. Every slide should end in a choice. Where a slide only reports a number, move it to the appendix and reclaim the time for the debate the quarter actually needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be prepared before a QBR?
Lock the attainment numbers, the ARR waterfall, the entering pipeline with its coverage and composition, and the forecast for the new quarter. Circulate them at least two business days ahead so the meeting starts with questions rather than with a walkthrough.
How far in advance should QBR prep start?
Two weeks before the meeting. The first week closes and reconciles the data, the second week builds the narrative and the decision list. Prep that starts the week of the meeting produces a presentation instead of a review.
Who prepares the QBR materials?
RevOps assembles and reconciles the data. Sales leaders write the narrative for their own segments. Finance signs off that the revenue figures match the books before anything is circulated.
What should be cut from a QBR deck?
Any slide that reports a number without implying a decision. Activity dashboards, logo walls, and repeated definitions belong in an appendix. The meeting is for the choices that change next quarter's plan.
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