Tip 1: Clearly Set Expectations

• The most common schedule for shareholder reports is quarterly, but can be more frequent for smaller startups.
• Clearly communicate how often you’ll be reporting, who will be included, and what data will be included.
• Encourage collaboration between you and those who receive your reports.

Tip 2: Make it Easy for Shareholders to Access

• Shareholders often like to reference past reports, so make it easy for them to find the data. Hint: emails get lost, and PDFs/Slide Decks get deleted.
• Save time and back-and-forth by consolidating your reports into a single, secure environment that shareholders have access to.

Tip 3: Daily Summaries vs. Trend Data

• Reporting on day-to-day activities is fine, so long as it’s concise and in an overview format. This can help shareholders get a view into the daily workings of the company.
• Larger financial, marketing, sales and overall trends should be separated out so that shareholders can skip to the KPIs they’re most interested in.

Tip 4: Good or Bad, It’s All Relevant

• Don’t hide poor performance or negative data. If you do and it comes out, you’ll damage investor trust.
• Remember that your shareholders can help you, so showing pain points often can lead to greater collaboration and advisory.

Tip 5: Always Provide Takeaways & Next Steps

• Reporting should signal your overall focus, including key takeaways for shareholders as well as actionable next steps for them to review.
• Try to align reporting with the overall vision, that way shareholders can see that you're executing to reach the larger goal.