What Should Be in a Weekly Admin Report?

When someone supports your business remotely, you need visibility over the work.

That does not mean receiving a long list of every email opened or every button clicked. A useful weekly report helps you understand progress and make the next decisions.

It should answer three questions: What was completed? What is still outstanding? What do you need from me?

1. Start with a short overview

Open with a few sentences explaining the week's priorities and any material issues.

For example:

"This week focused on quote follow-ups, updating customer records and confirming next week's bookings. Two customer queries need your technical input before we can respond."

This gives the owner context before the detail.

2. Summarise completed work

Group tasks by area, such as:

• Inbox and enquiries.
• Quotes.
• Invoices.
• Scheduling.
• Customer records.

Use descriptions that show what was done. "Updated next week's bookings with confirmed access details" is more useful than "calendar work".

Keep activity separate from outcomes. Sending a payment reminder is a completed task; receiving payment is a different event.

3. Show time used

Include the agreed weekly allocation and actual hours used.

A short breakdown by task category can help explain where time went. If priorities changed, explain why.

Do not describe a weekly allocation as continuous coverage. Four hours of support means four hours of agreed work, not someone monitoring every message throughout the week.

4. Make outstanding work visible

List items that are incomplete, waiting on another person or scheduled for a later date.

Each item should show:

• The current position.
• The next action.
• Who is responsible.
• The relevant due date or follow-up date.

"Waiting on builder" is not enough. Explain what is needed from the builder and when the next follow-up is planned.

5. Separate decisions needed from general updates

Put owner decisions in a clearly labelled section.

Examples include:

• Approve revised wording before a quote is sent.
• Confirm whether a proposed booking time is suitable.
• Clarify how to respond to a disputed invoice.

Where a deadline matters, state it. Avoid describing every item as urgent.

6. Set next week's priorities

Finish with a short proposed priority list.

This gives the owner a chance to redirect the work before booked hours are spent on lower-priority tasks.

A simple example

The following is fictional and demonstrates the format only:

Keep the report secure and practical

Include enough detail to support decisions without unnecessarily copying sensitive customer information into email. Link to the relevant record in an access-controlled system where appropriate.

A report is useful when it reduces uncertainty. If you still need a separate conversation to find out what happened, the format needs improving.

Your first step: Check whether your current reporting clearly identifies completed work, outstanding items and owner decisions.