ReportNivo / Guide

Review a client report before sending it

A useful client report makes a decision easier. It tells the reader what was measured, what changed, what is still uncertain and who owns the next step. Before delivery, review the report as a working record rather than a polished slideshow. The following checklist is an original editorial framework for agencies and in-house teams; it is not an automated ReportNivo feature or a guarantee of data accuracy.

1. Write the decision brief before choosing the charts

Start with one sentence describing why this report exists. Is the reader deciding what to investigate, whether a campaign needs a review or which question to take into the next meeting? That sentence determines which observations belong in the summary. A report can include background information without presenting every metric as equally consequential.

Name the audience, reporting period and person responsible for the report. Distinguish the recipient from the person authorised to approve a change. A client-facing summary and an analyst’s investigation notes have different jobs; they do not need the same level of detail. Keep account identifiers and private working material out of the document unless the recipient genuinely needs them.

2. Bind every important number to a definition

For each headline figure, record its source, metric name, selected scope and comparison period. A label such as leads needs an agreed meaning. Is it a recorded form action, a reviewed enquiry or another defined outcome? Do not silently replace one definition with another between reporting periods.

Check denominators before describing rates. State what is being divided by what and retain the counts beside the percentage. If a definition, filter or measurement process changed, identify that change rather than presenting an apparent improvement as a like-for-like result. A missing value should remain missing until resolved; it is not automatically zero.

3. Check freshness before describing the latest period

Google’s Analytics documentation explains that processing can take 24–48 hours and report values can change during that time. Treat this as a reason to record the retrieval time and check the source’s current status, not a universal promise that every figure becomes final on a particular schedule.

Google Analytics data freshness

Choose a cutoff suitable for the report’s purpose. If a recent period is included before review is complete, label it as provisional and say when it will be revisited. A later revision should identify which figures changed and why the report was updated. Preserve the previous version so that readers can distinguish a correction from a different reporting scope.

4. Separate observation, hypothesis and next action

Write the observation in terms the underlying record supports. Put a possible explanation in a separate sentence and state what evidence would help test it. A smooth narrative is not proof of a cause. Avoid attributing a result to a campaign, page edit or budget decision merely because it happened at roughly the same time.

The following example is entirely fictional. It represents no customer, account, campaign or measured ReportNivo result. Its purpose is to show how a reporting note can preserve uncertainty.

5. Give each unresolved issue a responsible owner

Use a short issue list rather than burying questions inside chart commentary. Record the question, the person expected to investigate it and what would count as an answer. Where the evidence is insufficient, say that a decision is deferred. Do not invent a resolution date or imply that an unanswered question has already been checked.

Keep suggested actions separate from approved actions. A reporting author can recommend a review without having authority to change budgets, contact customers or publish material. If the report includes a commitment, confirm who made it and whether it belongs in the version being sent. This is particularly useful when several people contribute to one report.

6. Review the actual delivery, not just the document

Open the final version and inspect the charts, labels, links and summary together. Check that source references point to the intended material and that fictional examples remain clearly marked. Confirm the recipient and the delivery approval through the team’s agreed process. A correct draft sent to the wrong audience is still the wrong delivery.

Leave a compact sign-off record with the approved version, reviewer, unresolved items and delivery status. This checklist describes a manual editorial process. ReportNivo remains planned reporting software: the website does not connect operating accounts, retrieve marketing data, send client reports or offer an available demo.

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