A useful weekly report fits on one screen: a handful of numbers compared with last week, the three things that happened, the decisions the owner needs to make, and the plan for next week. Everything else belongs in a separate sheet the owner opens only when needed.
Why most reports are not read
Many reports are long tables exported from a dashboard. They contain everything, so the owner has to find the meaning alone, and after a few weeks he stops opening them. A report is useful only if it helps someone decide something.
My background is in accounting and data analysis, and I send weekly reports to the business owners I work with. This is the structure that gets read.
The four parts of the report
1. The numbers that matter, compared with last week
Choose five to eight numbers at most. For an online store, for example:
- Orders and revenue
- Average order value
- Returns or cancellations
- Products out of stock or about to run out
- Open customer messages or complaints
Show each number next to last week's and mark the direction. A number on its own says little; the change is the story.
2. What happened this week
Three to five short lines: a supplier delay, a successful offer, a technical issue that was fixed, a new product added. Facts, not activity lists.
3. What needs your decision
This is the most important part. Each item is one line with a recommendation:
- "Supplier raised the price of this product. I recommend adjusting our price or switching to the alternative supplier. Which do you prefer?"
If there is nothing to decide, say so.
4. Plan for next week
Three to five priorities, so the owner knows what to expect and can redirect early.
Building it in Excel or Google Sheets
Use three tabs:
- Data: raw exports or entries, updated each week, never edited by hand after import.
- Calculations: formulas that turn the data into the weekly numbers and the change from last week.
- Report: one screen that shows only the numbers and the text sections.
Some tips:
- Keep dates in a real date format so weekly grouping works
- Use the same definitions every week; if "revenue" changes meaning, the trend is useless
- Add simple conditional formatting so a drop stands out
- Automate the import where possible, with a connected sheet or a short script
Send it the same way, every week
Pick a day and a channel and keep them. A short message with the report link and the "decisions needed" lines copied into the message body works well, because the owner can answer from his phone.
Summary
A good weekly report is short: a few numbers with their change, what happened, what needs a decision and what is next. Build it once in a sheet with separate data, calculations and report tabs, then send it on the same day every week.
Data and reporting is one of the services I offer. See my services.