In short
A board pack is the report the board and investors receive regularly – monthly at most companies with outside investors, with a more detailed version for each meeting. It works when a reader knows after five minutes:
- what happened and why,
- how long the cash will last,
- what changes in the outlook for the year,
- which decision is needed now.
This article is for startups and scale-ups with venture capital investors and for mid-sized companies with an advisory board. For private equity portfolio companies there is a separate completed example with an Excel template: PE reporting package.
Monthly report and meeting pack: two rhythms
The two are often mixed up. The monthly report is short and goes out on the same date every month. The meeting pack for the board – usually quarterly – builds on it and adds strategy, forecast and proposals for decisions. If the monthly report is in good shape, two thirds of the meeting pack is already done.
What does the law say? In Germany, the management board of a stock corporation (AG) must report to the supervisory board at least quarterly on the course of business, in particular revenue, and the company's position (section 90 of the German Stock Corporation Act). A voluntary advisory board of a GmbH has no such statutory rule – content and frequency are set by the articles, the board's rules or the investment agreement. In US venture capital agreements, quarterly financials within 45 days and a budget before the start of the financial year are common; monthly financials are sometimes agreed on top. Your own agreement is what counts.
The template: eight sections
An outline that has proven itself in our engagements. It fits on around seven pages plus appendix.
| No. | Section | Content | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summary | Three to five key messages, traffic light for revenue, profit and cash, decisions needed | 1 page |
| 2 | KPIs at a glance | 8 to 12 KPIs with month, plan, variance, prior year and trend | 1 page |
| 3 | Profit and loss | Month and year to date against plan and prior year, comment on each material variance | 1 page |
| 4 | Cash | Bank balance, burn or cash flow, runway in months, 13-week outlook | 1 page |
| 5 | Sales and customers | Pipeline, new customers, churn – depending on the business model | ½ page |
| 6 | Team | Headcount against plan, open roles, departures in key roles | ½ page |
| 7 | Forecast for the year | Old and new full-year outlook, reasons for the change | 1 page |
| 8 | Risks, actions, decisions | Open items with owner and date, proposals for decisions | 1 page |
The appendix holds the balance sheet, detailed tables and – if a loan agreement contains covenants – the covenant certificate. How that works is described in covenant reporting.
Which KPIs belong in it
A few, always the same, always defined the same way. Which ones depends on the business model. The selection below is guidance from practice:
| Business model | Typical KPIs |
|---|---|
| Software (SaaS) | Annual recurring revenue (ARR), new ARR, churn, net revenue retention (NRR), burn multiple, runway |
| E-commerce and retail | Revenue, gross margin, marketing cost per new customer, inventory days, return rate |
| Services and agencies | Utilisation, revenue per head, project margin, order backlog |
| Manufacturing and mid-sized companies | Order intake, order backlog, material cost ratio, EBITDA margin, working capital |
For all of them: cash and runway go on page 1. A 13-week cash flow forecast makes section 4 reliable. Eight basic metrics with a traffic light are in the financial health check.
The commentary: the most important part
Numbers without commentary trigger questions. Good commentary answers three questions for each material variance:
- What happened? The fact, with an amount.
- Why? The cause – not the number repeated in words.
- So what? Action, effect on the forecast, decision needed.
A made-up example. Weak: “Revenue is 8% below plan.” Better: “Revenue is EUR 40k below plan because two project starts slipped from October to December. Both contracts are signed; the full-year outlook is unchanged. No decision needed.”
Separate facts, assumptions and open points. Bad news goes at the top, not in the appendix.
Timing: a fixed calendar
| When | Step |
|---|---|
| Working days 1–10 | Month-end close |
| By working day 12 | KPIs and commentary, review with management |
| By working day 15 | Monthly report sent |
| At least 1 week before the meeting | Meeting pack sent |
The working days are guidance from our practice. How to close in ten working days is shown in the month-end close calendar and in Closing backlog and fast close. The provider Board Intelligence recommends sending meeting papers at least one week in advance; according to its own survey, 55% of board members receive them fewer than five days before. Better a fixed, realistic date than an ambitious one that keeps slipping.
The most common mistakes
- Too long. Board Intelligence puts the average board pack at 226 pages. The monthly report belongs on a few pages, with detail in the appendix.
- Only the past. Without a forecast and cash outlook, the board can only comment, not steer.
- Changing definitions. If ARR or EBITDA is calculated differently every month, nobody trusts the number. Fix definitions once and flag any change.
- No plan to compare against. Without a budget there is no variance, only a number.
- Surprises in the meeting. Bad news belongs in the report or in a call beforehand – not on a new slide in the meeting.
- Numbers without reconciliation. Figures copied and pasted from three systems without checking them against the books.
Who prepares the report
Management is responsible; the finance function prepares it. If there is none or it is stretched, a fractional CFO can set up the report and deliver it monthly, or Interim Accounting & FP&A takes over the close and the analysis. For private equity portfolios see Private Equity. If investors ask more and more follow-up questions, that is itself a warning sign – more in Warning signs: when does your company need a CFO?. Day rates by role are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What is a board pack?
The document the board or investors receive at month-end or before a meeting: summary, KPIs, results, cash, forecast, plus risks and decisions.
How often should you report to the board and investors?
Companies with outside investors usually send a short monthly report, plus a more detailed pack for each meeting, typically quarterly. The articles of association, board rules or investment agreement are what counts.
How long should the monthly report be?
Short enough for a reader to grasp the key messages in five minutes – in practice around seven pages plus appendix. Detail belongs in the appendix, not in the summary.
When should the report be sent?
On a fixed date, in practice by around the 15th working day after month-end. Papers for a meeting should reach participants at least one week in advance.
Which KPIs belong in the report?
A few, always defined the same way: cash and runway every time, plus the drivers of the business model – for software, for example, recurring revenue, churn and burn multiple.
How is this different from reporting to private equity owners?
PE owners usually also expect an EBITDA bridge, a cash bridge and covenant figures in a fixed format. A completed example is in the article “PE reporting package: monthly report”.
Further reading
- PE reporting package – the completed example for private equity owners.
- Covenant reporting – what banks and debt funds want to see.
- Month-end close calendar – closing in ten working days.
- Warning signs: when does your company need a CFO?
- Month-end close backlog – when the report fails for lack of numbers.
Sources
Reporting duties of an AG's management board: section 90 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG). Common information rights in US VC agreements: Morrison Foerster, “Ask a MoFo: Common Provisions in Venture Capital Term Sheets – Information and Observer Rights”. Timing, length and survey figures: Board Intelligence, “A guide to creating effective board packs” (the provider's own research, sample size not stated). Outline, timeline, KPI selection and example: nugrow engagement practice. As of October 2026.
