Most business problems are visible before they become crises. The 90-Day Business Checklist is a structured quarterly review across every key commercial area — finance, operations, customers, suppliers, and people. Run it every quarter. Find the issues before they find you.
Real inputs. Real outputs. See exactly what you get before you commit to anything.
This is a live preview of the 90-Day Business Checklist — the same tool available to all subscribers.
Subscribe to access →Every tool generates a downloadable PDF report — structured like a professional consultant's analysis, built from your actual data. Below is an example using dummy data.
Most business problems do not appear suddenly. They develop gradually — a margin that has been slowly compressing, a key customer whose orders have been declining, a supplier relationship that has become unreliable, a cost line that has grown without scrutiny. The common thread is that these issues are visible in advance if you look for them systematically. Most SME owners do not look systematically — they respond to what is most urgent, and the gradual problems accumulate until they become urgent too.
A structured quarterly review changes this. It creates a routine of deliberate, comprehensive review across every key area of the business — not just the area where the fire is burning today. It identifies developing issues early, when they are still manageable. And it produces a prioritised action list that converts the review into forward motion rather than just reflection.
Finance: Are margins where they should be? Is the cash position healthy? Are overheads under control? Has anything changed in cost structure that has not been reflected in pricing? Are debtors being collected promptly? Is the VAT position properly managed?
Operations: Are key processes running efficiently? Are supplier relationships performing as expected? Is stock at appropriate levels? Are there any single points of failure — a key supplier, a key team member, a key process — that represent unmanaged risk?
Sales and customers: Is the pipeline healthy? Are key accounts stable or declining? Has pricing been reviewed recently? Are there customers who are costing more to service than they contribute in margin? Are there untapped opportunities in the existing customer base?
People: Is headcount at the right level for current and projected revenue? Are there performance issues that have not been addressed? Is succession planning in place for key roles? Are employment costs being tracked at fully-loaded level?
The checklist produces a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) status for each area. Green means the area is performing as expected and no immediate action is required. Amber means there is a developing issue that needs monitoring and likely a specific corrective action. Red means there is a current problem that requires immediate attention.
The value of RAG is that it makes the priority ordering obvious. A business with three Amber areas and one Red area should focus on the Red first, then the highest-risk Amber. Without structured assessment, business owners often focus on the most visible or most recent issue rather than the most important one.
The checklist is designed to be run every 90 days — quarterly. The output should generate no more than 5-7 priority actions, ranked by urgency and commercial impact. Each action should have a named owner and a deadline. The following quarter's review should start by checking whether the previous quarter's actions were completed and what impact they had.
Over time, the quarterly review builds a commercial record of the business — what issues were identified, what actions were taken, and what changed as a result. This record is valuable not just for management but for any external stakeholder — a bank, an investor, or a buyer — who wants evidence that the business is actively managed rather than simply operated.
The 90-Day Checklist is free. No sign-up. Run it now and know exactly what needs attention.