What this template covers
A quarterly business review is the one meeting where you and a partner look at the same numbers and agree what happens next. This template gives you a 60-minute agenda and a nine-slide outline built for B2B SaaS partner programs: referral partners, agencies, consultancies and resellers. Each slide has a table to fill in and prompts that turn the numbers into decisions.
It includes:
- A meeting details table and agenda with timings and an owner for each section.
- Results against last quarter's goals, with target, actual and status for pipeline, new ARR, registrations, win rate, certifications and marketing.
- A pipeline review listing each open deal, its stage, value, close date, the partner's role and the next step.
- Wins and losses, with why each deal went the way it did and what to change.
- Enablement and certification status for each partner seller.
- Joint marketing results, measured in leads and pipeline rather than attendance.
- Issues and asks on both sides, in two tables so neither side's list gets lost.
- Next quarter goals with a metric, target, owner and how you will track each.
- Action items with owners and due dates, plus a follow-up checklist.
How to use it
- Fill in slides 2, 3 and 5 yourself. Pull results, pipeline and certifications from your CRM or partner portal. Use the definitions in your partner agreement for what counts as partner-sourced. The partner-sourced vs partner-influenced guide explains the difference.
- Ask the partner to fill in slides 4, 6 and 7. They know why deals were won or lost on their side, and their asks should be in their words.
- Send it as a pre-read at least three business days before the meeting. If people are reading numbers for the first time in the room, the hour goes on clarifying them.
- Run the meeting from the decisions. Start with the objectives on slide 1 and keep the time on gaps, stalled deals and asks.
- Close with slides 8 and 9. No one leaves until each goal and action has one owner and one date.
Tips for a QBR partners want to attend
Keep goals to five or fewer. A partner who is chasing twelve numbers is chasing none of them. Revenue, pipeline, registrations, certified sellers and one marketing goal cover most programs.
Base targets on what the partner actually did. Look at the last two quarters of sourced pipeline and add a realistic stretch. Targets copied from your company plan, divided by the number of partners, get ignored.
Bring something the partner wants. A product roadmap preview, a lead you can pass them, a customer story you will co-publish, or a faster approval on registrations. A QBR that only asks the partner for more pipeline feels like an audit.
Be honest about your side. If deal registrations took a week to approve, or your direct team took a deal the partner thought was theirs, say so and say what you are changing. The channel conflict guide covers the rules that prevent most of these disputes.
Record what was declined. If you say no to a partner's ask, write down why. Otherwise it comes back every quarter.
Example: a QBR with a services partner
Brightline Agency had a goal of $150,000 in sourced pipeline for Q3 and produced $120,000, but closed $46,000 of new ARR against a $40,000 target because one healthcare deal closed early. The pipeline review shows two large deals stuck in discovery for more than 30 days, and Brightline's ask is faster registration approvals. The QBR ends with three decisions: approve registrations within two business days, bring a solutions engineer into both stalled deals, and set a Q4 pipeline target of $180,000.
After the meeting
Send a written summary with the agreed goals and action items within two business days. Then check open actions at a monthly check-in rather than waiting for the next QBR, because most action items that wait three months never happen.
If the partner is one of your strategic accounts, the QBR should report against a joint business plan. To compare partners consistently from quarter to quarter, score each one with the partner scorecard template and bring the scorecard to the meeting.