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Checklists and templates for CSMs, support leads and CS managers. No sign-up needed to use them.

120-day renewal checklist

Run it on every renewal in your book. A step that didn't happen is the one that loses the account.

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1. Day −120: confirm the owner, pull usage and open tickets, write one line on renewal risk.
2. Day −90: executive check-in. Recap what they got this year in their numbers, not yours.
3. Day −75: prepare the commercial terms: price, uplift, term length, who signs.
4. Day −60: send the proposal and set a forecast: likely, at risk or lost. No forecast, no next step.
5. Day −30: work objections and approvals. Escalate anything still at risk to your manager.
6. Day −15: paperwork signed, or a named plan for the gap. Nothing renews by surprise.

Churn reason codes

A short picklist to fill in the day an account is lost, so "why did they leave" becomes a report.

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1. Never adopted: the product was bought, but the team never used it.
2. Lost the champion: the person who bought it left or changed roles.
3. Budget cut: the spend was removed, not moved to a competitor.
4. Moved to a competitor: name the competitor in a second field.
5. Product gap: a capability they needed that you don't have.
6. Price at renewal: the uplift or the total cost broke the deal.
7. Business change: acquired, closed or changed what they do.
8. Service failure: support or delivery problems they cited.

GRR and NRR definitions sheet

Six questions to answer with finance before anyone reports retention. Most CS and finance gaps start here.

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1. What counts as ARR: subscription only, or services and usage too?
2. Multi-year deals: counted at annual value or at the cash received?
3. One-time credits and concessions: in ARR, or taken out?
4. Co-terms and add-ons: measured at the anniversary or when signed?
5. Downgrades: dated when signed or when they take effect?
6. Overrides: who can approve one, and where is it logged?

Inherited book triage

Your first two weeks with a book of accounts someone else ran.

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1. List every renewal in the next 120 days, largest first.
2. For each, find the last real conversation, not the last email sent.
3. Mark anyone with no contact in 90 days as unknown, not healthy.
4. Introduce yourself to the top ten by ARR this week, with one useful observation each.
5. Ask your manager which accounts have history you should know before you call.
6. Write down what you don't know yet. That list is your first month.

Onboarding stall check

Signals that a new account is drifting before the first renewal conversation.

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1. No kickoff held within two weeks of signature.
2. Fewer users active than were bought, 30 days in.
3. The buyer hasn't been in a meeting since kickoff.
4. Setup steps owned by the customer are past due.
5. Support tickets are about access and basics, not use cases.
6. Nobody can name the outcome they bought it for.

Cadence test

Find out whether a monthly check-in earns its hours, or whether touching accounts only when something changes renews just as well.

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1. Use healthy accounts only. Pair them on health score and ARR, then split each pair: A keeps the monthly check-in, B is touched only when a signal fires.
2. Ask every customer how often they want to hear from you, and log the answer.
3. Agree B's signals before you start: champion change, usage down a third, open escalation, budget talk, quiet longer than their chosen cadence, renewal at 120 days, a milestone landed.
4. Log every B touch: the date, the signal, one line on why, and days from signal to first touch.
5. Count touches and CSM hours for both groups. 45 minutes a touch is a fair default.
6. Run it for two quarters, then compare renewal rates and hours. With about 30 renewals a group, report "the same renewals" unless the gap is large.

Promotion case one-pager

What to put on one page when you ask for the next role.

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1. The ARR you manage, and how it changed while you managed it.
2. Renewals you saved, with the dollar value and what you did.
3. Expansion you sourced or closed.
4. One process you built that the team now uses without you.
5. What you'd own in the new role, in the first 90 days.
6. Who would say yes to all of the above, and their words if you have them.

Get new ones by email.

One email when a new tool is added. Nothing else.

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If nobody can say which renewals are at risk next quarter, your VP is feeling it too. The Retention Rundown ranks every one in 14 days, with who to call first.

Email it to your VP See the Rundown