For consultants reporting to a client every week
Weekly Status Report Template and Email
A one-page client report with a written rule for red, amber and green, decisions needed with dates, the email version and a worked example.
| Workstream | Status | Done this week | Next week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order handoff redesign | Amber | Second design session; new handoff on one page | Third session Tue 8 Dec; sign-off Thu 10 Dec |
| Pilot preparation | Amber | 212 Northfield customers listed; briefing drafted | Brief the Northfield team Fri 11 Dec |
| On-time tracker | Green | Tracker built; October baseline 81.4% | First weekly reading Mon 7 Dec |
Decision needed from Dana Whitlock by Wed 9 Dec: approve the 12 p.m. cut-off, or the pilot starts on 4 January instead.
What you'll get
A one-page client update with color rules, decisions and the email version
- A one-page report with a rule for each color
- Decisions needed from the client, each with a date
- The email version, and a filled-in example of both
Before and after
Your week's notes in. A report and an email out.
Wk 5 Larkfield. Design session 2 done Tue, Northfield and Eastgate leads there, Riverside lead missed it. New handoff drafted on one page. Tracker built, Oct baseline 81.4%. Pilot at Northfield on 14 Dec only works if Dana approves the 12pm cut-off by Wed 9th. Two big customers order after 1pm, Luis to call them.
Subject: Larkfield status, week 5: Amber, cut-off decision needed by Wed 9 Dec Overall: Amber. The redesign is on track, but the Northfield pilot can start on 14 December only if the 12 p.m. cut-off is approved by Wednesday. Needed from you: approve the 12 p.m. cut-off for Northfield customers by Wed 9 Dec. If it comes later: [what moves, and by how much]. Done this week Second design session with the Northfield and Eastgate leads On-time tracker built; October baseline 81.4%
The color follows the written rule. Anything your notes don't say becomes a bracket, not a guess.
Why it works
What goes in a weekly status report?
A weekly status report tells the client where the project stands in a minute's reading. It gives one overall color and the reason, and what is done and next for each workstream. It also lists the risks and issues that matter this week and the decisions you need from the client, with dates. This template fits all of that on one page, then repeats it as a short email for people who read on their phone. Each section has a guidance line on what to write and what to leave out.
The color only helps if the client reads it the way you meant it. So each color here has a written rule and an action for the sponsor: green needs nothing, amber needs watching and decisions made on time, and red needs action. The UK government's ratings for major projects work in a similar way, with amber meaning delivery is "feasible but significant issues already exist". A written rule also stops an amber from running for weeks.
The worked example is week 5 of a ten-week project for an invented food distributor, shown as both the report and the email. Download the template and example as Word, or open them in River and paste this week's notes to fill both versions at once. The status report generator works from dropped files, such as last week's report and your tracker. Keep the full list of risks in a RAID log, and take the big decisions to your steering committee.
What lands in your doc
What's inside the status report template
- A one-page report
Overall status, workstreams, key dates, risks and issues, and decisions needed, in that order. - A rule for each color
What green, amber and red mean, and what the sponsor should do about each one. - Decisions with dates
Each decision with options, your recommendation, who decides, the date needed and what slips if it's late. - The email version
A subject line that carries the color and the ask, then the update in under 150 words. - A worked example of both
Week 5 of a ten-week project for an invented client, as the full report and the email. - A check before sending
Six checks, from the color following its rule to calling the sponsor before a red goes out.
How it works
From your notes to this week's update
Open the template
Click Edit with AI. The one-page report and its email version open in River, ready to fill.
Paste this week's notes
Optional. Paste your notes, emails or tracker lines, and River fills the report and the email from them.
Check the color
River sets the color by the written rule and says why in two sentences, so you can agree or change it.
Send it on time
Send the email with the report attached on the same day each week, then start next week's from this one.
Questions consultants ask
Common questions
What is a weekly status report, and what goes in it?
A weekly status report is a one-page update that tells the client where the project stands. It covers one overall color with the reason, done and next for each workstream, key dates, the risks and issues that matter now, and dated decisions from the client. Put the color and the decisions near the top.
What do red, amber and green mean in a status report?
There is no single standard, so write your rule down and share it at kickoff. In this template, green means on track. Amber means at risk, but the team can recover if decisions come on time. Red means a milestone, the budget or the scope will be missed unless the client acts.
How do I write a weekly status update email to a client?
Put the project, the week and the color in the subject line, plus the decision you need and its date. Open with the color and one sentence of why, then what you need from them, then done, next and risks as short bullets. Write "Nothing needed from you this week" when that's true.
How long should a weekly status report be?
One page for the report, and under 150 words for the email. If it runs longer, move the detail out: the full risk list belongs in a RAID log, and the plan in its own tracker. A sponsor reading on a phone needs the color, the ask and the dates.
When should a project status turn red?
When the team can no longer hit an agreed milestone, budget or scope on its own and needs the client to decide or act. Don't wait for the date to pass. An amber whose recovery date has gone by is red. Call the sponsor before the report goes out, so the red isn't a surprise in writing.
Can River fill the report from my notes?
Yes. Paste your notes, emails or tracker lines, and River fills the report and the email using only what you gave it. It sets the color by the rule and leaves a bracket wherever a date, owner or consequence is missing. For several files at once, use the status report generator.
Your next step
More for your project
Send the update your sponsor acts on
Open the one-page report and its email version, or paste this week's notes to fill both at once.