Growth CircleMonthly MIS Reports Every Founder Should Review
The monthly MIS pack a founder should receive: what each report shows, the question it answers and how to keep the pack short enough to act on.
MIS (management information system) reports turn your accounts into decisions. The aim is a short monthly pack that tells a founder how the business performed, where cash stands and what needs attention, not a thick file nobody reads.
The monthly pack
| Report | What it shows | The question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Profit and loss, against last month and budget | Revenue, costs and profit for the month and the year so far | Did we earn what we planned? |
| Balance sheet summary | What the business owns and owes | Is the business getting stronger or weaker? |
| Cash position and three-month forecast | Cash now, expected receipts and payments | Will there be enough cash, and when does it get tight? |
| Receivables ageing | Who owes you and for how long | Which dues must we chase this week? |
| Payables and statutory dues | What you owe vendors, plus GST, TDS and other dues | What must be paid in the next 30 days? |
| Margin by product, customer or branch | Gross profit by segment | What makes money, and what does not? |
| Expense variance | Costs against budget, with reasons | Where are costs drifting? |
| Key ratios | Gross margin, receivable days, payable days | Is working capital tightening? |
Keep it short
Put the key numbers and three to five comments on the first page. Keep the detail behind it for those who want it. A report that is too long is not read, and a report that is not read does not change a decision.
Timing
MIS is most useful when it arrives soon after the month closes. A report that comes weeks late can explain the past but cannot change it. Reliable MIS depends on reliable books, so if the books are behind, fix that first. See bookkeeping versus MIS.
A 30-minute review meeting
- Cash: where we are and the next three months.
- Results: the biggest differences from budget and why.
- Receivables: the largest overdue amounts and who will follow up.
- Margins: anything that changed.
- Decisions needed this month, and who owns each one.
For the core statements behind the pack, read five financial reports every business owner should review. To set up regular MIS, see our Virtual CFO service.
More to read
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