Field Notes
What belongs in an owner pack (and what does not)
A readable monthly pack for the owner is short on purpose. Here is what we keep in — and what we leave for the ledger.
Bookkeepers and accountants already produce detail. The owner pack is a different document: it should be readable between meetings, not as a weekend project.
Keep
- Gross margin versus the prior month and the same month last year, with one sentence on what moved
- Cash position and the next known trough
- Aged receivables over 60 days — names, not only totals
- Owner drawings year-to-date against what the firm can sustain
- Two or three exceptions that need a decision
Leave out
- Every general-ledger code
- Vanity charts that do not change a decision
- Industry averages that ignore your mix of work
- Forward strategy essays — those belong in a separate session
Cadence matters more than polish
A plain pack that arrives eight business days after month-end beats a beautiful pack that arrives in week five. Agree the calendar with your bookkeeper before you redesign the template.
If you want a pack built around your firm’s actual levers, ask about the Owner Reporting Pack.