QBR: how to run a quarterly business review in 60 minutes

The QBR, or Quarterly Business Review, is the quarterly meeting in which Customer Success or the account manager shows the customer’s sponsor and decision maker the results achieved in the metrics they themselves use, deals with the problems of the period and leaves with a plan for the next quarter and a date on the calendar. When it turns into a presentation of logins and tickets for the operational user, the company loses the meeting that weighs most on the renewal. In a Gartner, 2023 survey of 1,503 respondents in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific, from organizations with annual revenue of at least US$ 50 million, 60% of technology buyers involved in decisions to renew or expand subscription agreements said they regret nearly every purchase they make. If you lead CS or accounts, the QBR is where your team answers that regret with the customer’s numbers, four times a year, before the contract reaches procurement.

The most common picture is a thirty-slide deck with charts from the product dashboard, presented to the tool administrator while the sponsor has declined the invitation and the decision maker was never invited. Three quarters later, the customer’s finance team asks for a price cut and nobody on the vendor side can show what changed in the business since signing. The value review before renewal, described in B2B post-sale, works when the previous QBRs already recorded that result with the sponsor in the room.

What is a QBR and what is it for?

The QBR is a business meeting between two companies, with a written agenda, customer executives in the room and four outputs that CS leadership demands: the quarter’s result against the success criterion agreed during onboarding, the problems with cause and plan, the customer’s priorities for the coming months and actions on both sides with owner and date. The operational follow-up meeting, weekly or biweekly, covers tickets, configuration and training with the people who use the solution. Both exist, and mixing them produces the QBR that no customer director wants to attend.

In a study of more than 100 revenue, sales and CS executives at 98 US B2B software companies, McKinsey, 2025 recommends that conversations about the goals agreed with the customer be built into renewal and expansion moments and revisited periodically in dashboards and quarterly reviews. The word I stress with leadership teams is “agreed”: the QBR measures what the customer defined as success, and a vendor who arrives with its own metrics leaves the sponsor the job of translating the report for their board.

Who attends the QBR on the customer side?

The sponsor championed the project and answers for the result inside the company, and the decision maker approves budget and renewal, sometimes the same person, often not. The QBR needs both, or at least the sponsor with a commitment to take the material to the decision maker. The group that will defend or question the contract is larger than the vendor imagines: in The State Of Business Buying report, Forrester, 2026 reports that the typical buying decision includes 13 internal stakeholders and nine external influencers.

Side	Role	What they want to take from the meeting
Customer	Sponsor	Numbers to defend the purchase to the board
Customer	Decision maker	Return on the contract and risks for the next period
Customer	Main user	Priorities addressed and support for adoption
Vendor	CS or account manager	Plan accepted and next step booked
Vendor	Executive sponsor, in strategic accounts	Director-to-director relationship
Vendor	Sales rep, support or implementation	Only the agenda block where they are needed

When the sponsor declines twice in a row, leadership records the refusal in the CRM as a risk signal, because it feeds the health score as a loss of executive engagement. CS can offer 30 minutes at the sponsor’s preferred time or ask the vendor’s executive to send the invitation.

How do you prepare a QBR with CRM data?

Preparation starts two weeks ahead and takes two to three hours of CS time per strategic account. The first document to open is the onboarding record, with the success criterion and the baseline the customer gave at signing, because without a baseline CS shows a snapshot of the quarter instead of a trend.

What to pull from the CRM

From the CRM come the health score trend, critical tickets, contract value with expiry date and notice period, contacts with each person’s role and the actions from the previous QBR with their status. Usage data comes in as evidence of adoption, organized by the customer’s area or process, and CS updates any contact who left or changed roles before sending the invitation.

Invitation and pre-QBR

The invitation carries the agenda, the duration and one question for the sponsor: “what do you need to take from this meeting to your board?”. The answer changes the order of the agenda, and in strategic accounts the invitation goes out four weeks ahead, because executive calendars fill early. One week before the meeting, CS spends 20 minutes with the main user to validate the numbers, hear what went wrong and confirm attendees.

QBR agenda: what happens in each block of the 60 minutes

This is the standard agenda I use for strategic accounts, and CS leadership uses the same blocks to assess the QBR afterwards. The customer leads at least one full block, and the main deck fits in eight to ten slides, with the rest in an appendix.

Minutes	Block	Who leads	What happens	What must come out
0 to 5	Opening	CS	Restates the customer’s goal and confirms the agenda	Agenda accepted, including the topic the sponsor asked for
5 to 20	Results	CS, validated by the customer	Customer metrics against baseline and target	Result acknowledged by the sponsor
20 to 30	Problems	CS	Fact, cause, what was done and what remains	Fix with owner and date
30 to 40	Customer priorities	Sponsor or decision maker	Changes in the business and goals for the coming months	Two or three written priorities
40 to 50	Quarter plan	CS and customer	Actions on both sides tied to the priorities	Actions with owner and date on each side
50 to 55	Opportunities	CS or executive	What can support the priorities, when it fits	Separate conversation booked, if any
55 to 60	Close	CS	Summary out loud and next QBR	Invitation sent during the meeting

If the meeting runs late, CS cuts the opportunities block and protects the plan and the close. In the QBRs I sit in on with CS leaders, the priorities block is the one most often skipped, and it is the block where CS would learn about the reorganization, the budget cut or the new project that will decide the renewal.

How do you present results with the customer’s metrics?

The result comes in as a chain of three links: what changed in usage, what changed in the customer’s process and what changed in the business metric they track. The decision maker cares about the last link, and the first two serve as evidence. Each number appears next to the baseline and the target, with its source.

A hypothetical example shows the math. A distributor bought a solution to answer quotes faster, with a baseline of 48 hours per quote and an 18% conversion rate on 500 quotes per quarter, or 90 orders. In the QBR quarter, response time fell to 20 hours and conversion rose to 22%, or 110 orders on the same 500 quotes. With an average order of R$ 15,000, the 20 extra orders add up to R$ 300,000 in the quarter. CS presents the calculation and lets the customer decide how much of it to attribute to the solution, because the sponsor only repeats to the board a number they have accepted.

If the metric got worse or did not move, CS shows it anyway, with the explanation and what changes next quarter, because a sponsor who finds the bad number alone starts doubting the others.

How do you handle problems in a QBR?

The vendor puts the quarter’s problem on the agenda before the customer has to raise it. CS presents the fact with its date, the cause, what was done and what remains, and closes with the owner and deadline for the fix, which avoids an argument about blame in front of the sponsor. Some problems start on the customer side, such as the area that never adopted the process or the internal owner who left and was not replaced. CS shows those facts with the same data and proposes an action with an owner on the customer side, whom the sponsor has the authority to appoint. Staying quiet to keep the mood pleasant hands the vendor, at renewal, the blame for a result that depended on the customer.

If the problem takes up the whole meeting, the QBR becomes a recovery meeting, with the vendor’s executive present and the account action plan I describe in B2B churn. The opportunities block waits until the account is out of risk.

How do you leave the QBR with a plan and a next step?

The quarter plan has three to five actions, each tied to a priority the customer stated, with an owner and a date on each side. With more than that, nobody follows up, and the next QBR opens with a backlog. The logic is the same as the mutual action plan in the sale: both companies take on named tasks. The next QBR goes on the calendar before the meeting ends, and within 48 hours CS sends the one-page executive summary and asks for corrections. The same text goes into the CRM that day, and the actions become dated tasks, so the weekly portfolio review can chase what is overdue.

When does the QBR open expansion and renewal conversations?

Expansion comes in when the account is healthy and the customer has just stated, in the priorities block, a goal that another module, product or volume can meet. CS records the link, books a separate conversation and, if the company’s rule gives expansion to the sales rep, opens the opportunity in the CRM for them. The proposal stays out of the QBR, because a customer who sees the results review turn into a sales pitch starts sending the user instead of the sponsor. The rules on ownership and timing are in revenue expansion.

The renewal gets its own QBR six to nine months before expiry, depending on the notice period. In it, CS hands the sponsor a renewal case, with the cumulative result since signing, the problems solved and the priorities for the next cycle, in a format they can present to the committee without the vendor in the room. In the same survey, Gartner attributes much of the regret to buying with distributed teams and funding, and recommends shared workspaces where the customer’s teams review objectives and build the business case. The one-page summary plays that role when it circulates among the people who will decide.

QBR cadence by customer segment

A QBR with executives on both sides pays off in the accounts with the highest revenue or potential, and the rest of the portfolio gets lighter versions with the same logic. In the same study, McKinsey found only 3% of respondents with best-in-class coverage models for customer success and renewals tailored to customer needs. The segmentation that defines each CS portfolio, described in account portfolio management, also defines the review format.

Segment	Frequency	Format and duration	Customer attendees	Who leads
Strategic	Quarterly	60 to 90 minutes, in person once a year	Sponsor, decision maker and main user	CS with executive sponsor
Mid-market	Quarterly or semiannual	Video, 45 minutes	Sponsor and main user	CS
Long tail	Semiannual or annual	Results report and group session by segment	Main user, with sponsor invited	Digital or pooled CS
At risk	Monthly until out of risk	Recovery meeting, 30 to 45 minutes	Sponsor and decision maker	CS with CS leadership
Pre-renewal	6 to 9 months before expiry	Renewal QBR, 60 minutes	Sponsor, decision maker and procurement, if involved	CS with executive and sales rep, if there is expansion

The table is a starting point: the company adjusts frequency and format to its own contract cycle, and an account moves to another row when its health changes or renewal gets close.

How does the CRM support the QBR routine?

Leadership needs to see in the CRM which accounts had a review, with whom and with what result. I recommend five fields on the company record: date of the last QBR, date of the next one, attendance of sponsor and decision maker, status of the quarter plan and a link to the executive summary. The meeting is logged as an activity with its own type, so reports can separate QBRs from operational meetings.

With those fields, three lists enforce the routine without a side spreadsheet: strategic accounts without a QBR in the last 100 days, accounts where the sponsor missed the last two QBRs and renewals in the next 180 days without a QBR in the last 90. Reports show, by CS, the share of the portfolio with an up-to-date QBR, the share of QBRs with the decision maker present and plan actions completed on time. In the portfolios I review, the field that reveals the most is decision maker attendance, because it separates the account the vendor knows from the one where it only knows the user.

Common QBR mistakes

Presenting a usage report

Logins, tickets and activated features interest the administrator, who already has that data. The sponsor wants to know what changed in the metric the board holds them to, and usage comes in as evidence or appendix.

Inviting only the people who use the tool

A QBR without the sponsor yields a good operational conversation and no material for the renewal, and it also hides from leadership that the account has lost its executive backing.

Long deck with CS talking the whole time

Thirty slides leave the customer ten minutes at the end, and a CS who talks for more than half the meeting loses the priorities and plan blocks.

Getting caught off guard by a problem

A problem the customer raises before the vendor costs the credibility of every positive number. The pre-QBR and the check with support and implementation exist so that CS arrives knowing what it will hear.

Turning the QBR into a sales pitch

An expansion proposal inside the QBR teaches the sponsor that the meeting exists for the vendor to sell. The opportunity becomes a separate conversation, booked during the close.

Leaving without a plan or a date

Without actions owned on both sides, the next QBR repeats the conversation with new numbers. Without the next QBR on the calendar, the review slips a quarter, then another.

QBR and L&D: what HR needs to assess

How to recognize the need

The signs are in the CRM and in renewals: QBRs logged without the sponsor, missing executive summaries, renewals negotiated on price alone and expansions that only start on the customer’s initiative. Many CS teams came from support, where the conversation is technical and with the user, and a meeting with executives calls for a different repertoire.

Who takes part

CSMs and account managers who run QBRs form the core, together with CS leadership, who assess the meetings afterwards. Expansion sales reps and the executive who sponsors strategic accounts join the priorities and opportunities modules.

How to measure

Before the program, record the share of the strategic portfolio with an up-to-date QBR, the share of QBRs with the decision maker present and the share of renewals with a renewal case delivered to the sponsor. After two quarters, compare those numbers and the revenue retention of accounts with and without regular QBRs.

30-day roadmap for leadership

1. Week 1, baseline. Pull from the CRM the date of the last QBR for each strategic account and who attended, and sit in on two QBRs per CSM using the agenda as a scorecard.
2. Week 2, written standard. Publish the agenda, the preparation checklist, the executive summary template and the cadence by segment, and create the fields and activity type in the CRM.
3. Week 3, practice. Run role-plays with two real portfolio cases, one with good results and one with a problem, with leadership playing the sponsor.
4. Week 4, routine. Add the three lists to the weekly portfolio review and schedule QBRs for strategic accounts without a review in more than 100 days.
5. Day 30, readout. Compare the share of QBRs with sponsor and decision maker and the share of strategic accounts up to date against week 1, and pick the agenda block the team will train next month.

Running a QBR with executives is learned by practicing on your own accounts, with feedback. If your leadership wants the whole portfolio with results reviews recorded in the CRM, that is the work of the in-company CRM adoption training. I run the program on your company’s real portfolio, with QBR role-plays and the setup of the lists and reports leadership uses afterwards. The company leaves with the CRM best practices guide and the portfolio and customer base management manual adapted to its operation.

Frequently asked questions

What is a QBR?

QBR stands for Quarterly Business Review, the quarterly business meeting between vendor and customer. In it, CS or the account manager shows the customer’s results in their own metrics, deals with the problems of the period and agrees on the next quarter’s plan with the sponsor and the decision maker.

What is the difference between a QBR and a follow-up meeting?

The follow-up meeting is operational, more frequent and held with the people who use the solution, to handle tickets, configuration and training. The QBR is quarterly, involves the sponsor and the decision maker and covers business results, priorities and the plan.

How often should you run a QBR?

Quarterly for strategic accounts, quarterly or semiannual for mid-market and semiannual or annual for the long tail, in a lighter format. Accounts at risk get monthly reviews until they are out of risk, and every renewal gets its own QBR six to nine months before expiry.

What should a QBR include?

The result in the customer’s metrics compared with baseline and target, the problems of the period with cause and plan, the priorities the customer brings and the actions for the next quarter. Usage data comes in as evidence or appendix.

What if the sponsor does not attend the QBR?

Offer a 30-minute format at their preferred time or ask the executive on your side to send the invitation. If they decline twice in a row, record the absence in the CRM as a risk signal and work the account in the weekly portfolio review.

How do you prepare the CS team to run QBRs?

With role-plays on real portfolio accounts, one case with good results and one with a problem, and leadership playing the sponsor. After the program, leadership sits in on QBRs with the agenda as a scorecard and works on one block at a time in one-on-ones.