Client Delivery
Building a client-facing project progress report
Create a client progress report covering delivered work, next milestones, approved changes and decisions.
A client-facing progress report should answer four questions quickly: what was delivered, what is due next, what changed and what the client must decide.
Build it from the agreed scope and current project record, then inspect the complete version the recipient will receive.
A task count or coloured health label needs an explanation to be useful.
Set the period and reference plan
Put the report date and period covered at the top. Identify the agreed plan or approved revision being used, especially when a milestone has moved. Separate accepted deliverables from work still under review.
For the next milestone, give its owner and date, or label the date as a forecast. If timing is uncertain, explain what must happen before it can be confirmed.
A short report can follow this order:
- Overall position:a plain-language judgement and its main reason.
- Delivered:outputs accepted or decisions reached since the last report.
- Next:the next milestone and the work needed to reach it.
- Changes and risks:approved changes, open requests and material blockers, kept distinct.
- Client action:the exact input or decision needed, its owner and response date.
Use only sections that help the recipient, but keep any requested decision easy to find.
Show the basis for each update
Identify the deliverable version behind a claimed outcome and state whether client acceptance is pending. A task marked complete in software may still be awaiting review; use the project’s agreed meaning of complete.
For example, a fictional report might state that a first design is ready for review, the next build milestone depends on that decision, and a proposed extra page remains outside approved scope. This gives the client progress, dependency and decision without exposing the whole task list.
Check the generated output
Teamwork.com documents project updates with a health indicator on Deliver, Grow and Scale. Its documentation for the fixed project report describes milestones, tasks, the latest update and task fields including estimated, logged and billable time.
Task-list export options can include private tasks and, in a PDF, comments. Check the current account’s actual report before sharing, especially where commercial or internal details appear. Before using a Dashboard as the report, inspect the intended client view.
Project Health Indicators in Teamwork.com
- Health Indicator
- Deliver, Grow, Scale (as defined in Teamwork.com documentation)
- Milestones Tracked
- Yes – included in fixed project reports
- Task Fields Available
- Estimated, logged, and billable time
Using Dashboards as Client Reports: Pros and Cons
- ProsReal-time data visibility; can be customised for client view; integrates with project tracking tools like Teamwork.com.
- ConsMay include internal or private data if not properly filtered; requires inspection of the intended client view before sharing.
Finish with the next action
If the client must act, name the deliverable version, the choice required and the response date. Record the decision so the next report can explain what changed. If no client action is needed, say what the team will do next and when the next update is due.
Before distribution, read the complete PDF, email or shared view. Confirm the period, dates, recipients and attachments, and check for internal notes or unrelated client information.
