The monthly client report, page by page

• Prepared for, prepared by, data sources and issue date. The client, the practice, the systems the figures came from (Xero), and the date.
• The health score from 0 to 100, its band (Strong, Healthy, Stable with Focus Areas, Under Pressure or Critical), a short explanation of up to three sentences that says how the score moved since last month, and a confidence badge (high, medium or low).
• Five headline figures: revenue, EBITDA margin, cash on hand, debtor days and payroll to revenue, each with what it means in words ("Customers take about 47 days to pay") and a six-month trend line.
• Contents and "How to read this report".

Numbers from: the month-end figures in the client's books. The health score combines profitability, liquidity, working capital, revenue quality, payroll and leverage, weighted as the practice has set them in Checks and scoring.

• A short summary of the month.
• Four signals: strengths (the strongest area), watch-outs (how many issues were flagged), priority level (the top action) and the CFO outlook.
• What is going well and Areas that need attention, side by side.
• The top priorities: up to five actions, and their indicative impact as ranges ("Release cash", "Improve profit").

Numbers from: the findings the practice approved and the recommendations that follow from them. Impact ranges are worked out from the client's own figures, not from other businesses.

• Four figures: revenue growth, gross margin, EBITDA and net cash position.
• A chart of revenue and EBITDA over the last six months, with a short interpretation beside it.
• Three groups, each with a score and a comment: Profitability (gross, EBITDA and net profit margin), Efficiency (debtor days, creditor days, overheads to revenue) and Resilience (current ratio, net cash, cash runway).
• What management should take from this, then Emerging risks and Emerging opportunities.

Numbers from: the client's profit and loss and balance sheet, month by month. Revenue growth compares the last three months with the same months a year earlier.

• Four figures: operating cash flow, debtor days, creditor days and inventory days.
• From EBITDA to operating cash flow: a chart to operating cash flow, showing what changes in debtors, inventory, other working capital, and tax and VAT added to cash or used.
• Where cash is tied up: debtors, stock, supplier payments and the cash conversion cycle, each with what to focus on.
• Potential cost savings and If these actions are implemented, as indicative ranges.

Numbers from: balance sheet movements between month-ends. Debtor, creditor and stock days use the last three months. If a month has no balances, the page says this chart can't be drawn rather than guessing.

• The action plan: up to six actions (normally three high, two medium and one low priority), each with why, priority, owner, timeframe and expected effect.
• Expected business effects, as ranges. The assumptions behind each range are set out on page 7, under "How the effects were estimated".
• The 90 days: weeks 1–2 (mobilise and plan), weeks 3–6 (execute and track), weeks 7–12 (optimise and realise).
• A note that the accountant reviews and approves the plan, and discusses it with the client.

Numbers from: each recommendation's range is calculated from the client's own figures, such as average daily revenue for faster debt collection, or monthly running costs for overhead savings. How each range was estimated is listed on page 7. An action whose value can't honestly be put in numbers, such as a cash forecast, says so.

• States plainly that the analysis and recommendations were produced independently of any third-party offers.
• Service provider matches are checked against each service provider's criteria only after the report is issued. So in the current build this page always says "No service provider is shown in this report" and "Service providers are matched after this report is issued." It adds that an option appears only after the business's figures have been checked against a service provider's own criteria, and only where it supports a recommendation in the report.
• The practice sees any option that fits in the client file, and discusses it with the client there.
• Any option is subject to the client's consent, and to the service provider's own approval and terms.
• Not built yet: listing a service provider's option on this page against the recommendation it supports, and leaving the page out when no option applies. The layout exists, but the report doesn't use it today.

Numbers from: nothing on pages 1 to 5 uses any service provider information. Service provider matches never change the findings or the recommendations.

• Data reliability from 0 to 100 against the level needed (70), with every deduction named in words: a missing month, bank lines not reconciled, accounts not classified, amounts in suspense, a trial balance that doesn't balance, or a change of the business's base currency in Xero (figures are then kept in the original currency until this is resolved).
• Method: which months the figures cover, how the day counts and operating cash flow are worked out, what the health score weighs, and that the checks' thresholds are set levels, not industry benchmarks.
• How each estimate was made, for every recommendation's range.

When the data is weak: below 70, the health score is still shown, with a low-confidence badge and a note to read it with caution. A finding appears only when the figures are reliable enough to support it.

A table of every check, in words ("Debtor days up at least 5 days and at least 15% on last month"), with this month's result and why:

• Found, with how serious: urgent, important, keep an eye on, or for information.
• Not found.
• Held back: the check fired but the figures weren't reliable enough to report it.
• Could not check, with the reason.
• Not checked yet, with the reason, for example a check that needs payroll detail or filed VAT returns, which aren't part of the Xero books.

Checks used: the Catalyst Platform standard checks, or the practice's own rule set where one replaces them. The appendix says which.