Every media buyer knows the routine: it's Friday, five clients are waiting for their reports, and you're copying numbers from Ads Manager into a spreadsheet, taking screenshots, fixing formatting — then noticing a figure changed because the data refreshed. Hours gone on work that doesn't improve a single campaign.
Worse, a lot of these reports aren't understood by the client anyway. This guide covers what clients actually care about, what a Facebook ads report should include, and how to cut the work from hours to a single link.
What clients actually want from a report
Clients don't want every column in Ads Manager. They want clear answers to four questions:
- How much did we spend?
- What did we get for it? (purchases, messages, leads — depending on the campaign goal)
- Is it better or worse than last period?
- What happens next?
A report that answers those four on the first page is a good report, even if it's short.
The core sections of a Facebook ads report
| Section | What goes in it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Key metrics | Spend, results, cost per result, plus revenue and ROAS for sales campaigns | The quick answer to "what did we spend and get" |
| Period comparison | % change for each metric | A number without context says nothing |
| Day-by-day performance | A chart of spend and results | Shows strong and weak days and the effect of changes |
| Top ads | The lowest cost-per-result ads, with their images | Clients read a picture faster than a table |
| Breakdowns (optional) | Placements, time of day, age, gender, country | For clients who want to know where the budget goes |
| Your notes and next steps | A short paragraph you write | This is where your expertise shows |
Mistakes that make reports hard to read
- Too many metrics. Twenty columns of CPM, CPC and CTR make clients feel something is being hidden. Lead with the essentials and keep detail in its own section.
- Numbers without comparison. "$4 per message" means nothing until the client knows it was $5.50 last month.
- Mixed campaigns. Old paused tests or another client's campaigns in the same account only confuse things.
- Vague results. "Results" on its own is unclear. Say purchases, conversations or leads.
- No point of view. Anyone can copy numbers. Your interpretation and plan are what keep clients with you.
Example of a notes paragraph
"This month we spent $4,200 and generated 380 purchases at $11 each — 8% cheaper than last month. The best ad was the short product video, so we're producing two new versions in the same style. Orders after 8 p.m. were also cheaper, so next week we'll shift more budget to that window."
(The numbers are illustrative.) Five lines, and all four questions are answered.
The usual ways to build a report
- Export from Ads Manager to Excel and format by hand: flexible, but repeated every week for every client.
- Looker Studio-style dashboards: powerful, but they need technical setup, sometimes paid connectors, and effort to look polished.
- Screenshots: fast, but they look unprofessional and clients can't interact with them.
Presenting results by type of business
A "result" means different things for different clients, and a good report speaks the language of their business:
| Business type | Headline number | Context to add |
|---|---|---|
| Online store | Purchases and ROAS | Average order value and top-selling products from ads |
| Message-driven business | Conversations and cost per conversation | How many became orders, if the client tracks it |
| Clinic or booking-based service | Leads or bookings | Show-up rate, where available |
| Awareness campaigns | Reach and CPM | Video views and completion rate |
Questions clients often ask — answer them in the report
- "Why did we spend more this month?" Note any budget increase, when it happened and what it delivered.
- "Why don't the numbers match my actual sales?" Explain briefly that Ads Manager records what the pixel tracks and attributes, which can differ from the store's system.
- "Which ad should we repeat?" The top-ads section answers this directly.
- "What do you need from me?" Make it a fixed item at the end of every report: photos, offers, a top-up, faster replies.
Choosing the report period
A week suits monitoring and quick correction, a month suits evaluation and planning, and the full campaign lifetime suits campaigns tied to an offer or season — each with a different level of detail. For a detailed comparison of weekly and monthly reports, read Weekly or Monthly Ads Report for Clients? What to Send and When. You can also start from Free Facebook Ads Report Template (Excel Download).
A branded report link with Raqeeb Ads
In Raqeeb Ads you set up a report for each client once and get a professional report link with your logo and colors that updates itself. Send the link once; the client opens it any time to see current numbers.
- On the Client reports page, create a new report, upload your logo and pick your colors.
- Choose the client's campaigns — they can come from more than one ad account.
- Choose the period: a week, a month, or the full campaign lifetime.
- Choose what the client sees: key metrics, the daily chart, top ads and breakdowns.
- Copy the link and send it. Optionally protect it with a PIN.
The report includes key metrics with period comparison, a daily chart and top ads with their images, and the client can download it as PDF or Excel.
What exactly does the client see?
Only the campaigns and data you selected, under your brand. They don't see the ad account, other campaigns or other clients. The link is private, has a view counter, and you can switch it off at any time.
Your weekly report goes from hours of copy-paste to a few minutes of writing notes and next steps — the part that actually deserves your time.
Free tools that help here: The media plan template is a free Excel file to lay out campaigns, budgets and expected results before launch. The ad budget tracker template is a free Excel file that compares daily spend with the plan and tracks the remaining balance.
FAQ
Does the client report update automatically?
Can the client see my ad account or other clients' campaigns?
Can I password-protect the report?
Can the report be downloaded?
Is the report available in Arabic and English?
A media buyer running Meta campaigns for clients across Egypt and the Gulf, who built Raqeeb Ads to fix the account-monitoring problems he kept running into himself.