Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) are supposed to be strategic, but let’s be real—they can quickly turn into a scramble for data, slides, and last-minute updates. If you’re a Customer Success Manager, team lead, or anyone who preps for QBRs, you know the routine: chasing metrics, pinging teammates, and piecing together a story that you hope makes sense to the customer. It’s draining.
Here’s the good news: with Vitally playbooks, you can automate a chunk of the grunt work. But don’t expect miracles. You still need to think through what matters for your customers. This guide walks you step-by-step through automating QBR prep in Vitally, what’s actually worth setting up, and where to skip the fluff.
Why Automate QBR Prep?
QBRs eat up time—sometimes whole days per account. Most of that isn’t strategic work; it’s copying info from one place to another, reminding people to send updates, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks. Automation doesn’t make QBRs “set and forget,” but it does mean:
- Fewer manual reminders and follow-ups
- Consistent data and templates
- Less chance of missing key details
- More time to focus on the actual conversation
If you’re still prepping QBRs using a patchwork of Google Docs, Slack threads, and calendar reminders, it’s time to tighten things up.
Step 1: Map Out Your QBR Workflow (Before You Touch Vitally)
Don’t jump into Vitally and start clicking around. First, sketch out your current QBR process. This isn’t busywork—it’s how you avoid automating chaos.
Ask yourself:
- What’s the trigger for a QBR? (Is it every X months, or when an account hits a milestone?)
- What info do you need to gather? (Usage stats, support tickets, roadmap updates, etc.)
- Who needs to give input? (Sales, Support, Product?)
- What’s the final deliverable? (Slide deck, doc, email summary?)
- Where does the process usually break down or stall?
Jot this down. This step saves you from building a Rube Goldberg machine in Vitally.
Pro Tip: If you have a “QBR prep checklist” somewhere, use that as your starting point.
Step 2: Set Up QBR Playbooks in Vitally
Now that you know what your process should look like, you can actually use Vitally playbooks to automate what makes sense.
What’s a Playbook?
In Vitally, a playbook is basically a templated workflow—a set of tasks, reminders, and sometimes automations that you can trigger for accounts on a schedule or when something happens.
Building Your QBR Playbook
- Create a new playbook and name it something obvious like "QBR Prep."
- Set the trigger. Most teams use a time-based trigger (e.g., every 90 days after onboarding), but you can also trigger based on customer health, plan type, or custom fields.
- List out the tasks. Include:
- Data gathering (usage stats, renewal dates, support ticket summaries)
- Internal input (reminders for Sales, Support, etc. to add comments)
- Drafting the deck or doc
- Scheduling the QBR meeting
- Sending reminder emails
- Assign owners. Don’t assign everything to yourself by default. If someone owns product feedback, tag them.
- Add deadlines. Space out tasks so you’re not rushing everything the week before.
- Automate what you can. For example:
- Auto-pull usage data into notes
- Auto-create a QBR doc from a template
- Send reminders to teammates automatically
What to Skip: Don’t try to automate the actual QBR conversation or the “so what” analysis. That’s still on you.
Step 3: Use Dynamic Templates for Consistency
One big win: Vitally lets you use templates for docs, emails, and tasks. This means:
- You’re not reinventing the wheel every time.
- All CSMs (even the new folks) follow the same structure.
- It’s easier to spot missing info.
How to Set Up:
- Create a QBR summary doc template. Include placeholders for key data (usage, goals, issues).
- Use dynamic fields so data auto-fills (e.g., “{{Account Name}} has used {{Active Users}} seats this quarter.”)
- Build an email template for the QBR invite/agenda.
What Works: Templates keep things tight and on-brand. Dynamic fields mean less copy-paste.
What Doesn’t: Don’t over-template—leave space for real insights, not just fill-in-the-blank updates.
Step 4: Automate Data Pulls (Where Possible)
Let’s be straight: If your data lives outside Vitally, automation only goes so far. But for customer data that’s synced (usage, support tickets, health scores), you can:
- Pull live data into your QBR doc using dynamic fields
- Auto-generate charts or tables (if your integration supports it)
- Set up alerts for key changes (e.g., usage drop before QBR)
Reality Check: If your data is scattered across half a dozen tools and integrations are shaky, you’ll still have manual work. Focus on automating what’s reliable.
Pro Tip: Don’t kill yourself trying to automate everything—just the top 2-3 data points that matter most to your customers.
Step 5: Automate Internal Collaboration (Without Bugging People)
QBR prep often stalls because you’re waiting on someone else. Use playbook tasks to:
- Assign specific asks (e.g., “Product: Add roadmap update for Acme Corp.”)
- Send auto-reminders if they haven’t added their notes
- Keep all comments in one place (inside Vitally, not email or Slack)
What Works: Automated reminders mean fewer “just checking in” nudges.
What Doesn’t: Don’t try to automate nuance. If you need real feedback, ask for it directly—don’t trust a templated comment box.
Step 6: Schedule and Track QBRs Automatically
- Add a task in your playbook for scheduling the QBR meeting. Use Vitally’s calendar integration if you have it.
- Auto-create a calendar invite with the QBR doc attached.
- Use playbook metrics to track QBR completion rates, overdue tasks, and common blockers.
Honest Take: These features save you from dropping the ball, but the success of a QBR depends on prep, not just logistics.
Step 7: Improve as You Go
Don’t expect your first QBR playbook to be perfect. After each QBR cycle:
- Ask your team what worked, what was pointless, and what was missing.
- Tweak the playbook—remove busywork, add useful tasks.
- Keep templates up to date with what actually gets discussed in QBRs.
Pro Tip: If a step or template never gets used, cut it. Bloat kills automation.
What to Ignore (Seriously)
- Overly complex workflows. If you need a flowchart to explain your playbook, it’s too much.
- Automating “insights.” Software can pull numbers, but it won’t tell you what they mean for the customer.
- One-size-fits-all decks. Customers notice when you’re phoning it in. Leave space for personalization.
Wrap-Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Automating QBR prep in Vitally won’t make QBRs effortless, but it will save you hours of grunt work. Start small—just automate your main checklist, data pulls, and reminders. Skip the bells and whistles you don’t need. Watch for what actually helps your team (and your customers), and keep tuning your process.
The real magic isn’t in the tool—it’s in freeing up your brain to focus on the conversation, not the admin. Keep it simple, fix what’s broken, and don’t let “automation” become just another checklist.