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Template · every quarter

A board update that starts from last quarter's

Nine slides for the quarterly board or investor meeting: the quarter in one sentence, the metrics against plan, what went well and what didn't, and the decision you need. Bind the numbers once, and next quarter's deck starts with them read again.

Use this template See every slide

Free during early access. Sign up with your email, and the template opens in your workspace in your own brand.

The first slide of the board update template, in a made-up brand: Board update, Q3 2026, and a blank for the quarter in one sentence.

The template as Cue draws it, in a made-up brand kit. Blanks in brackets are yours to fill, by hand or from a brief.

When to use it

For the meeting that holds you to last quarter's plan

A board update has to be accurate, consistent with the last one, and short enough to discuss rather than read. Boards forgive bad news; they don't forgive surprises. Most founders rebuild the deck every quarter from last quarter's file, re-pasting every number and hoping none was missed.

This template keeps to what a board needs: the quarter in one sentence, the one thing to remember, key metrics against plan, ARR by quarter, plan vs actual, highlights and lowlights, next quarter, asks and the decision or vote. Each slide has a presenter note, and the deck takes about thirteen minutes to present.

Running a weekly business review or a sprint review too? There are templates for those.

How it works in Cue

Set it up once. Every quarter after is one click.

  1. Start this quarter's deck

    Pick the template and name the quarter. Paste your notes or investor letter draft as a brief if you like, and Cue's AI fills in the blanks. The deck is drawn in your brand kit, which Cue can read from your website.

  2. Bind the numbers

    Connect the key metrics and the ARR chart to where they live: MRR and collected revenue from Stripe, deals won from HubSpot, or your finance sheet in Google Sheets, a CSV file or a JSON URL.

  3. Present or send it

    Present it from your phone with the board following on their own screens, or publish a snapshot and share it as a link or a PDF. Share links show views and time per slide, counted without third-party trackers.

  4. Next quarter, one click

    Start next review copies the deck, reads every bound number again, writes a What changed slide and flags any slide whose story the new numbers no longer support.

Last quarter's deck keeps last quarter's numbers: every cycle is kept in a series with its date, presenter and key numbers.

What's in the deck

Every slide, and how to present it

9 slides, about 13 minutes when you present it.

  1. Opening · 30 sec

    The quarter in one sentence

    Company · date · presenter

    Presenter note: Open with the sentence you'd want the board to repeat to someone else tonight.

  2. One big sentence · 1 min

    The one thing the board should remember

    Why it matters, in two sentences

    Presenter note: Good or bad, say it plainly. Boards forgive bad news; they don't forgive surprises.

  3. Key numbers · 2 min

    The story the numbers tell

    Annual recurring revenue · Net revenue retention · Gross margin · Months of runway

    Presenter note: Bind these to your finance sheet (ask Cue: bind slide 3 to the sheet). Compare each with the plan, not with last quarter alone.

  4. Bar chart · 1 min

    ARR by quarter, $M

    4 bars, Q4 '25 to Q3 '26

    Presenter note: These bars are sample values: bind them to the last 4 rows of your ARR sheet. Point at the latest bar and say what drove it.

  5. Table · 2 min

    Where we stand against the plan

    Columns: Metric, Plan, Actual, Variance

    Presenter note: Only discuss the rows with a variance worth a question. Say what you're doing about each.

  6. Points · one click each · 2 min

    What went well, and what didn't

    Win · Win · Miss

    Presenter note: Give the miss the same airtime as the wins.

  7. Timeline · 1.5 min

    What we'll deliver next

    Month · Month · Month

  8. Points · one click each · 1.5 min

    Where the board can help

    Intro · Advice

    Presenter note: Name a person for each ask before the meeting ends.

  9. Closing · 1 min

    The decision or vote we need today

    The options, the trade-off and our recommendation

    Presenter note: End on the decision. If there's nothing to vote on, say so.

Questions

About this template

More in all questions.

Is the template free?

Yes. Every feature in Cue is free during early access, templates included. Later, the Free plan holds up to 3 decks; Team has unlimited decks, live data and Start next review.

Do board members need an account?

No. Anyone with a follow link or a share link can open it without an account.

Can I send it as a PDF or PowerPoint file?

Yes. Any deck downloads as a PDF or as an editable PowerPoint file with real tables and charts. Publishing keeps a snapshot, so the version you sent keeps its numbers.

Where are my numbers stored?

Cue runs on Cloudflare, and its database is in Cloudflare's Eastern Europe region. Tokens for the apps you connect are encrypted before they're stored, and Cue only reads from them. The privacy notice has the details.

Prepare next quarter's board update in Cue

Sign up with your email and the board update opens in your workspace. Free during early access.

Use this template