# The one-page monthly report: an annotated template

> Result, reasons, next steps and appendix. See a one-page monthly report template, with a numeric example and what to cut.

- URL: https://relator.digital/en/blog/relatorio-mensal-em-uma-pagina
- Publicado: 2026-10-14
- Atualizado: 2026-10-14
- Autor: Time Relator Digital
- Categoria: agency-reporting

A monthly media report fits on one page when it answers only the client's four questions: what happened, why it happened, what changes next month, and where the detail is. The page has four blocks, in this order: result, reasons, next steps and appendix. Anything that does not help answer one of these questions leaves the first page and, almost always, the report.

> [!NOTE]
> **In short**
> - One page, four blocks: result, reasons, next steps and appendix.
> - The result shows a few numbers, always next to the previous month and the agreed goal.
> - Each reason carries evidence. Without evidence, it is a guess and should be labeled as one.
> - Each next step has an owner and a date. The appendix keeps the detail without competing with the first page.
> - A metric nobody uses to decide does not go in.

## One page forces you to choose what matters

A 30-slide report gives the impression of work, but it hands the client a task that was yours: deciding what is important. Limiting the first page makes you make that choice before the meeting, not during it.

The four-block rule also helps whoever writes. Instead of starting from a blank screen or a template with 20 charts, you fill in four answers. If a block is empty, the report is not ready.

![The four blocks of the page, from reading order to appendix](https://uploads.relator.digital/blog/relatorio-mensal-em-uma-pagina/fba04583-pagina.en.svg "The first three blocks stay on the page; the appendix keeps the detail")

## Block 1: the result, with goal and previous month beside it

The first block answers "how was the month?" at a glance. Show three to five numbers, chosen with the client at the start: the ones they use to judge the work. For an e-commerce store, these are usually spend, revenue, ROAS and orders.

ROAS (*return on ad spend*) is revenue divided by spend. Google Ads documentation uses the same reasoning when it defines a ROAS target: in its example of a store that wants US$ 5 in sales for every US$ 1 spent on ads, the math is 5 ÷ 1 × 100% and the target is 500%.

A number alone does not say whether it was good. So each metric appears with the previous month, the change and, when there is one, the goal. Here is a hypothetical example, with numbers made up only to illustrate:

| Metric | Previous month | Month | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Media spend | R$ 28,000 | R$ 30,000 | +7.1% |
| Attributed revenue | R$ 84,000 | R$ 105,000 | +25.0% |
| ROAS | 3.00 | 3.50 | +16.7% |
| Orders | 1,680 | 2,100 | +25.0% |
| Average order value | R$ 50 | R$ 50 | 0.0% |
| Revenue against the R$ 100,000 goal | 84% | 105% | +21 percentage points |

The math checks out: 84,000 ÷ 28,000 = 3.00 and 105,000 ÷ 30,000 = 3.50. Revenue grew 21,000 ÷ 84,000 = 25%, and spend grew 2,000 ÷ 28,000 ≈ 7.1%. Average order value is revenue divided by orders in both months (84,000 ÷ 1,680 and 105,000 ÷ 2,100), equal to R$ 50.

Above the table, write one sentence a director can repeat without opening the report: "In October, attributed revenue reached 105% of the goal, with a ROAS of 3.50."

### Define what counts as a result

Before the first report, agree on which event represents the result. In GA4, the documentation defines a key event as an event that measures an action that is particularly important to the success of the business. Any collected event can be marked as a key event. This means the list of results is a decision between you and the client, and it should be written in the appendix. If it changes, the report says so.

## Block 2: the reasons, each with evidence

This is the block clients value most and the one that is written worst. A good reason has three parts: what changed, the number that shows the change, and the degree of certainty.

In the example, orders rose from 1,680 to 2,100, which is 420 more, with average order value flat at R$ 50. The gain came from volume, not price. That is a fact in the report.

The explanation for the volume, however, may be a hypothesis. Suppose spend rose R$ 2,000 and you put that budget into abandoned-cart remarketing campaigns. You can write: "Hypothesis: the extra budget in remarketing explains part of the volume. We will check by comparing the campaigns in the appendix."

Beware of the tempting calculation: R$ 21,000 more revenue with R$ 2,000 more spend is not a return of 10.5 on the extra spend. Revenue also grows from seasonality, offers, sales that would have happened anyway, and other factors. If the report suggests each extra real returns 10.5, the client will ask for more budget expecting that return.

Rules for the block:

- At most three reasons. If there are six, sort by impact and leave the rest in the appendix.
- Separate what is fact (the period's numbers) from what is hypothesis (the explanation).
- Include what went wrong. A good month with a hidden problem destroys trust in the month the problem shows up.
- If a measurement break affected the period, such as a tag being down, say so here and mark the date.

## Block 3: the next steps, with owner and date

The third block turns analysis into commitment. Three items are enough, each with who does it and by when:

1. **Test two new creatives in remarketing.** Owner: agency. Date: the 10th.
2. **Send next month's promotion calendar.** Owner: client. Date: the 5th.
3. **Review the ROAS target after the promotion.** Owner: agency. Date: the 20th.

Note that the client has a task too. A promotion that reaches the agency without notice, for example, changes the month's result without the media having been prepared for it. Putting the client's owner on paper keeps the report from becoming a list of requests only from the agency.

If there is a decision to make in the meeting, write the question so the answer is yes or no: "Can we raise spend from R$ 30,000 to R$ 33,000 if ROAS stays above 3.0?"

## Block 4: the appendix is where the detail lives

The appendix keeps what supports the first three sections: the table by channel, the table by campaign, the definitions and the list of events that count as a result. Whoever wants to check a statement finds the data there. Whoever does not want to, does not have to go through it.

Good practices for the appendix:

- One table per channel, with the same columns, so the client can compare.
- Short definitions: how each metric is calculated and which source it comes from.
- Time zone, currency and period in the header, so nobody argues about whether the 31st was included.
- A history of annotations: budget changes, creative swaps, tracking breaks.

## What to cut

Cut without regret everything no client decision uses. Some common candidates:

- Platform metrics that do not change what you do next month.
- Duplicate charts that show the same number in two ways.
- Comparisons with periods nobody asked for.
- Explanations of how the platform works. If the client needs them, they go in the appendix or into a conversation.

A simple test: for each number, ask "what decision does this change?" If the answer is none, it leaves the main page.

## How to apply

1. Agree with the client on three to five result metrics and the goal for each, and record them in the appendix.
2. Build block 1 with previous month, change and goal. Check the math once, end to end.
3. Write at most three reasons. For each, paste the number that supports it and mark what is a hypothesis.
4. List up to three next steps with owner and date, including at least one from the client.
5. Send the detail to the appendix and apply the "what decision does this change?" test to the rest.
6. Repeat the same format every month. Comparison only works if the page does not change shape.

In Relator Digital, you pick a template, drag the blocks and apply your brand. Relator updates the numbers, writes the summary and schedules the send, which only goes out after your approval. The one-page format works the same in any tool, even a spreadsheet.

## Sources

- [About Target ROAS bidding — Google Ads Help](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6268637?hl=en): definition of the ROAS target and the 500% example.
- [About key events — Analytics Help](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267568): definition of a key event in GA4.