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What is a customer success QBR template (and what should it include)?
A customer success QBR template is a repeatable agenda plus a slide deck structure for a quarterly meeting (every three months) that reviews performance vs goals, demonstrates value/ROI, aligns next-quarter objectives, and ends with actionable next steps. Gainsight’s QBR guidance emphasizes performance review, collaborative goal setting, value demonstration, and actionable next steps (Gainsight Essential Guide to QBRs; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
Totango defines a QBR as a recurring meeting to align on value delivery, review KPIs, and renew the partnership vision (Totango QBR glossary; accessed Jun 22, 2026). The template you use should force that outcome: numbers first, decisions second, owners and dates last.
Minimum components (copy-and-do)
- A 60-minute agenda and timeboxes (Gainsight and Totango both recommend keeping QBRs to about an hour; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
- A slide-by-slide deck outline: executive summary, goals and KPIs, ROI/value, progress vs last plan, adoption/health, risks, roadmap alignment, next-quarter goals, action plan (Gainsight Essential Guide; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
- A KPI table with definitions (what the KPI means and how it is calculated).
- A 90-day action plan table with initiative, owner, due date, success metric (Totango frames the plan as a 90-day roadmap; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What’s a good 60-minute customer success QBR agenda template?
A strong customer success QBR agenda is short (about 60 minutes) and organized around performance review, analysis, and strategic planning. Totango’s recommended sequence is KPIs and metrics, wins, challenges, opportunities, and an action plan that becomes a 90-day roadmap (Totango “QBR meeting agendas”; Sep 8, 2022; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
60-minute agenda (minute-by-minute)
| Time (min) | Section | What to do live | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–5 | Opening + outcomes | Confirm today’s goals and decisions needed | Decision list (1–2 items) |
| 5–15 | KPIs and metrics | Review KPI trends vs targets | Agree what improved and what slipped |
| 15–25 | Wins | Tie 2–3 wins to business outcomes and KPIs | Value proof points |
| 25–40 | Challenges and risks | Surface blockers, adoption gaps, open issues | Top 3 risks with owners and dates |
| 40–50 | Opportunities | Identify 1–2 expansion or optimization opportunities | Opportunity shortlist |
| 50–60 | Action plan (90-day roadmap) | Set next-quarter goals, KPIs, benchmarks | Signed-off 90-day plan (Totango; accessed Jun 22, 2026) |
Gainsight similarly recommends a QBR include strategic performance review, challenge exploration, collaborative goal setting, value demonstration, and actionable next steps (Gainsight Essential Guide to QBRs; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What slides should a customer success QBR deck include?
A customer success QBR deck template is a consistent slide sequence that proves value, shows measurable progress, and produces next-quarter decisions. Gainsight’s suggested QBR presentation structure includes executive summary, key performance metrics, ROI analysis, progress against previous goals, benchmarking data, customer health update, and action items/next steps (Gainsight Essential Guide; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
12-slide QBR deck outline (copy-and-do)
| Slide | Title | Data to include | Decision / output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Executive summary | 3 bullets plus 1 chart if possible | Agreement on today’s outcomes |
| 2 | Customer goals (this quarter) | 3–5 goals with 1 KPI each | Confirm priorities |
| 3 | KPI snapshot | KPI table: baseline, current, target, trend | Confirm which KPI matters most next quarter |
| 4 | Value and ROI | 2–3 quantified wins mapped to goals | Confirm value narrative |
| 5 | Progress vs last quarter plan | Checklist of prior action items with status | Close, re-scope, or escalate open items |
| 6 | Adoption and usage | Trend line plus adoption by feature/team | Pick 1 adoption goal |
| 7 | Support and reliability signals | Ticket trend, severity mix, top issues | Agree any escalation/process changes |
| 8 | Risks and blockers | Top 3 risks: impact, likelihood, mitigation, owner, date | Assign owners and dates |
| 9 | Opportunities | 1–2 opportunities with expected impact and effort | Agree what to explore next quarter |
| 10 | Roadmap alignment | Upcoming product items linked to customer goals | Confirm what to watch |
| 11 | Next-quarter goals (90 days) | 3–5 goals with KPI targets | Finalize targets |
| 12 | 90-day action plan | Initiative, owner, due date, success metric | Sign-off |
If your customer success motion includes training or enablement, Skilljar’s QBR template sections include program alignment, milestones and goals, metrics, features review, and roadmap review (Skilljar “Quarterly Business Review Template”; accessed Jun 22, 2026). You can map those directly to slides 2–6 and 10–12 above.
What KPIs and metrics should you include in a customer success QBR?
Use a mix of outcome KPIs (the customer’s business results) and enablement indicators (adoption, support, training) that explain why outcomes moved. Totango’s QBR definition explicitly centers on reviewing KPIs and aligning on value delivery (Totango QBR glossary; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
KPI menu (pick 6–10 total)
| Category | Examples | Where to put it |
|---|---|---|
| Business outcomes | Cost saved, time saved, revenue influenced, SLA attainment, conversion lift | Slides 2–4 |
| Adoption and usage | Active users, frequency, feature adoption, workflow completion | Slide 6 |
| Support health | Ticket volume, severity mix, top root causes, time-to-resolution | Slide 7 |
| Training and enablement (if relevant) | Course registrations, course completions, session time, completion rate; lesson views per course; last activity day by month | Slides 3–6 (Skilljar; accessed Jun 22, 2026) |
| Retention and expansion (optional to share externally) | NRR, GRR, renewal status, expansion opportunities tied to outcomes | Slide 4 and/or Slide 9 |
NRR and GRR (definitions and formulas)
If you use retention metrics, define them precisely. ChurnZero provides explicit MRR-based formulas for Net Revenue Retention (NRR) and Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) (ChurnZero Churnopedia “Net revenue retention”; accessed Jun 22, 2026). Stripe provides an NRR formula and notes it excludes revenue from new customers, focusing on existing customers only (Stripe “Net revenue retention”; last updated May 7, 2026; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
| Metric | Formula (MRR-based) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NRR | (MRR at start + expansions + upsells − churn − contractions) / MRR at start | Includes expansion; subtracts churn and contractions (ChurnZero; accessed Jun 22, 2026). |
| GRR | (MRR at start − churn − contractions) / MRR at start | Excludes expansion revenue; shows pure retention quality (ChurnZero; accessed Jun 22, 2026). |
Worked example (sanity-check)
Example quarter: Starting MRR 100,000; expansions 20,000; upsells 5,000; churn 10,000; contractions 5,000. NRR = (100,000 + 20,000 + 5,000 − 10,000 − 5,000) / 100,000 = 110%. GRR = (100,000 − 10,000 − 5,000) / 100,000 = 85%.
How do you prepare a customer success QBR (checklist + timeline)?
QBR quality is mostly preparation. Totango recommends logistics (leader and note-taker, attendee list, invitations), using a QBR template, reviewing the previous QBR and action steps, analyzing KPI trends, preparing visuals, and rehearsing internally (Totango “QBR meeting agendas”; Sep 8, 2022; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
Preparation timeline (copy-and-do)
| When | Task | Concrete output |
|---|---|---|
| T-14 days | Confirm attendees and outcomes | Invite day-to-day users plus executive stakeholders (Gainsight; accessed Jun 22, 2026). |
| T-10 days | Draft agenda and request customer priorities | Agenda sent; list the decisions you need in the room. |
| T-7 days | Pull KPIs and analyze trends | KPI table with baseline/current/target and notes on drivers. |
| T-5 days | Build deck and run internal preview | Team preview and rehearsal completed (Totango; accessed Jun 22, 2026). |
| T-2 days | Send pre-read | Deck plus KPI appendix sent to all attendees. |
| T+1 day | Send recap and 90-day plan; schedule next QBR | Recap message with action plan table and next meeting booked (Gainsight follow-through guidance; accessed Jun 22, 2026). |
Roles to assign
- Facilitator: keeps time, moves from review to decisions.
- Note-taker: captures decisions, owners, due dates (Totango recommends a designated note-taker; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
- Data owner: confirms KPI definitions and anomalies.
- Exec sponsor (optional): reinforces strategic partnership vision (Totango QBR glossary; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What should you send after a customer success QBR (recap + 90-day plan template)?
A QBR isn’t done until the follow-up locks in commitments. Totango’s QBR guidance emphasizes an action plan as a 90-day roadmap, and Gainsight emphasizes leaving with actionable next steps and follow-through (Totango “QBR meeting agendas”; Gainsight Essential Guide; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
Recap email template (paste-ready)
Subject: QBR recap + 90-day plan. Body: Thanks for the QBR today. Decisions made: (1) [decision]. (2) [decision]. Value delivered last quarter: [KPI win 1], [KPI win 2]. Top risks and mitigations: [risk 1 owner/date], [risk 2 owner/date], [risk 3 owner/date]. Next-quarter goals and targets: [goal 1 target], [goal 2 target], [goal 3 target]. The 90-day action plan is below. Please reply with edits by [date], and we’ll track progress in our monthly check-ins.
90-day action plan table (paste into email/doc)
| Initiative | Why it matters (goal/KPI) | Owner (customer) | Owner (vendor) | Due date | Success metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onboard Team B | Improve adoption KPI | Customer Ops lead | CSM | Within 30 days | Active users up; target feature adoption achieved |
| Resolve top blocker | Reduce risk to outcome KPI | Process owner | Support lead | Within 14 days | Severity reduced; recurrence prevented |
| Expand use case pilot | Unlock additional business value | Business sponsor | CSM | Within 60 days | Pilot KPI hits target; go/no-go decision made |
How do I make a customer success QBR template with AnyGen?
If you want a reusable customer success QBR template you can run every quarter, AnyGen helps you generate the agenda, slide-by-slide deck structure, KPI tables, and the follow-up 90-day plan in one consistent package. This is most useful when you already have source-of-truth numbers and want a clean, executive-ready narrative and layout.
10–15 minute workflow
- Provide customer goals (3–5) and the KPI definitions you use (what it means, how it’s calculated).
- Provide last quarter action items with status (done, in progress, blocked).
- Provide this quarter KPI values (baseline, current, target) and key events (launches, org changes, incidents).
- Specify meeting constraints: 60 minutes, who’s attending (operators and executives), and whether you want 12 slides or a shorter version.
- Generate the output and copy your KPI table and 90-day plan into your systems for tracking.
What to include so the output matches QBR best practices
- Use Totango’s KPI and agenda flow (KPIs, wins, challenges, opportunities, action plan) to keep the meeting strategic (Totango “QBR meeting agendas”; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
- Include a 90-day roadmap table with owners and dates (Totango; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
- Use Gainsight’s section guidance to ensure you include executive summary, key metrics, ROI/value, progress vs previous goals, health, and next steps (Gainsight Essential Guide; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
- If sharing retention metrics, use precise NRR/GRR definitions and exclude new-customer revenue when reporting NRR (Stripe updated May 7, 2026; ChurnZero formulas; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
Frequently asked questions
What is a customer success QBR?
Totango defines a QBR as a recurring meeting with customers to align on value delivery, review KPIs, and renew the partnership vision (Totango QBR glossary; accessed Jun 22, 2026). In customer success, it’s typically run quarterly and should end with actionable next steps (Gainsight Essential Guide; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
How long should a customer success QBR be?
A common recommendation is about 60 minutes. Gainsight suggests aiming for no longer than one hour, and Totango also recommends it not run longer than one hour (both accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What is the best agenda for a customer success QBR?
Totango’s recommended agenda sequence is KPIs and metrics, wins, challenges, opportunities, and an action plan that becomes a 90-day roadmap (Totango “QBR meeting agendas”; Sep 8, 2022; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What slides should be in a customer success QBR deck?
Gainsight’s suggested QBR presentation structure includes executive summary, key performance metrics, ROI analysis, progress against previous goals, benchmarking data, customer health update, and action items/next steps (Gainsight Essential Guide; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What metrics should I include in a customer success QBR?
Include customer outcome KPIs plus adoption/usage and support health signals. If your CS motion includes training, Skilljar suggests program metrics like registrations, completions, session time, and completion rate, plus engagement metrics like lesson views and last activity day by month (Skilljar; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What is the formula for NRR (net revenue retention)?
ChurnZero’s formula is (MRR at start + expansions + upsells − churn − contractions) / MRR at start (ChurnZero Churnopedia; accessed Jun 22, 2026). Stripe provides a similar NRR calculation and notes it excludes revenue from new customers (Stripe; updated May 7, 2026; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What is the formula for GRR (gross revenue retention)?
ChurnZero’s formula is (MRR at start − churn − contractions) / MRR at start, and it excludes expansion revenue (ChurnZero Churnopedia; accessed Jun 22, 2026).
What should I send after a customer success QBR?
Send a recap with decisions made, value delivered (with KPIs), top risks with owners and dates, next-quarter goals and KPI targets, and a 90-day action plan table. Totango calls the plan a 90-day roadmap and Gainsight emphasizes follow-through (accessed Jun 22, 2026).