Annual review meetings with clients: scheduling and agenda

Spread annual reviews across the year instead of cramming them into one season: give each client a review month, such as the month of their first meeting, then open review slots in that month and send the clients due a link to book their own time. Book the next review date at the end of each meeting when you can. Send a short questionnaire beforehand so the meeting covers what has changed, not what you already know.

A review isn't urgent until it's late. Reviews get pushed back by new clients, tax deadlines and holidays, and a client who hasn't heard from you in eighteen months starts to wonder what they're paying for. When every review falls in the same few weeks, you either rush them or let some slide.

A simple rhythm, with review months spread over the year and a clear way for clients to book, keeps each review on time without a spreadsheet of reminders.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. You open slots for each service at the length it takes, one place per slot. Book repeats slots weekly on the weekdays you choose until a date, not yearly, so the yearly cycle lives in your client list and the monthly slots on your page.

Durations and prices are examples. Name the service clearly so new visitors to your page don't book it by mistake, and say in the description that it's for existing clients. Your page is public, so anyone could see the slots; if a stranger books one, cancel it and let them know.

Send the questionnaire with the booking link: changes in family, work, health, income, big expenses coming up, and anything they'd like to discuss. Read it before the meeting along with last year's summary. The booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note you read in your new-booking email; ask clients to use the note only for the topics they want to add, not for figures. The note can't be edited after booking.

For a couple, one person books the review slot and writes in the note that their partner will attend; the slot keeps one place, since it's one meeting. Between annual reviews, some clients need a short conversation: a bonus to invest, a house move, a question about a letter from their pension provider. A short check-in service, with a few slots each week, answers those without waiting for the next review, and keeps the annual meeting for the full picture rather than for questions that could have been settled months earlier.

Send the summary and the action list. If the client agreed on a date for next year, create a slot and book them in straight away; with one place, the slot is full and hidden from your page. Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and confirm yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. With calendar sync (Google, iPhone, Mac), reviews sit next to your other appointments. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.