Reporting Trust Glossary
What Is a Reporting Contract?
Why it matters
A reporting contract prevents a metric from becoming an ambiguous label.
Without an agreement, two teams can use the same KPI name while meaning different things. Sales may define revenue by bookings. Finance may define it by recognition rules. Operations may define it by delivery or shipment.
A reporting contract makes those choices explicit before the number is used for decisions.
What it looks like in a growing business
A reporting contract does not need to be legalistic. It is a practical agreement around the metric.
It usually covers:
- Metric name
- Plain-English definition
- Decision the metric supports
- Business owner
- Technical owner
- Authoritative source
- Calculation logic at a high level
- Inclusions and exclusions
- Timing rules and cut-offs
- Caveats and safe-use notes
- Authoritative report or dashboard
The value is not documentation for its own sake. The value is shared agreement.
How to spot the need for one
A metric probably needs a reporting contract if:
- Several teams use the same label differently.
- Leaders ask which version is right.
- Dashboards and spreadsheets disagree.
- AI summaries or automated workflows depend on the metric.
- Changes to the metric create surprise or confusion.
The more important the decision, the more explicit the contract should be.
What to do next
Start with the KPI that causes the most friction. Write a one-page agreement that explains what it means, who owns it, where it comes from, and what caveats matter.
For a related guide, read the KPI definition template. For the broader framework, get the free opening chapter.