1. Home
  2. Resources
  3. Impact report guide
Guide & free template

How to create an impact report that makes your case

An impact report is a short document that shows what you delivered, the difference it made and the strengths it proves. Here's how to build one by hand, and how to do it in minutes with Trajecta.

Build yours with Trajecta Do it by hand

What is an impact report?

An impact report is a document about you and your work. It pulls together your achievements and the ideas you've raised over a period, and answers three questions anyone deciding on your pay, promotion or next job wants answered:

What did you deliver?

The projects, fixes, launches and initiatives you were responsible for.

What impact did it have?

The difference it made for your team, your customers or the business.

What does it show?

The values and strengths your work demonstrates, backed by examples.

It isn't a performance review form. There are no manager fields, ratings or sign-offs. That's what makes it useful at any point in your career, not just at review time.

When to use one

Asking for a pay rise

Attach it to your email so the conversation starts from evidence rather than "I've been working hard".

Performance reviews

Bring it to your review, or use it to fill in your self-assessment. Your manager gets the receipts to advocate for you.

Interview prep

Read it the night before and you'll have specific stories ready for every "tell me about a time when…" question.

Job applications

Send it alongside your CV, tagged with the strengths the job ad asks for, to stand out from the pile.

Anatomy

What goes in a great impact report

The same structure Trajecta uses, in the order people read it.

1

Cover

A clear title, your name, the period it covers and the date you prepared it. Put your name, the period and page numbers in the footer of every page too.

2

Summary

Your most important work and its impact, in your own words. It comes first because it's what people read first.

3

At a glance

A handful of numbers: entries, achievements, ideas, values evidenced, plus a simple chart of activity per month.

4

Key highlights

Three to five of your strongest entries in full, in the order you want them read.

5

Values & strengths in action

Each value or strength you want to show, with the entries that prove it listed underneath.

6

Achievements & ideas

Everything else, grouped by month. Ideas show their outcome: new, active, succeeded, failed or abandoned.

Option 1

How to create an impact report by hand

You can build a solid impact report in any document editor: Google Docs, Word, Notion or Pages. Set aside an afternoon for the first one. Most of that time goes on step two.

  1. Decide who it's for and pick the period

    A report for a pay rise covers the time since your last one. A review covers the review cycle. For a job application, the last 12 to 24 months usually works best. Knowing the reader tells you which work to lead with.

  2. Gather your raw material

    Go back through the period and list every win you can find. Good places to dig: your calendar, sent email, tickets and pull requests, project docs and launch notes, messages where someone thanked you, your goals and your last review.

    This is the slow part. If you keep a brag sheet as you go, it takes minutes instead of hours.

  3. Write each entry as action, impact and evidence

    Give each entry a date and a one-line title, then a sentence or two on what you did, the difference it made, and what backs it up.

    Vague
    Worked on the checkout

    Helped with the payments migration.

    Specific
    Cut checkout load time by 40%

    Led the migration to the new payments provider with zero downtime. Conversion rose 3.2% in the first two weeks.

  4. Choose the values or strengths to show

    Pick three to six. Use your company's values for an internal report, a career framework for a promotion case, or the skills listed in the job ad for an application. Then tag each entry with the values it demonstrates.

    Ownership Collaboration Customer focus Innovation Leadership Problem solving Delivery Growth

  5. Pick your highlights

    Choose the three to five entries that best represent your work for this reader, and put them in the order you'd tell them in person. These get the full write-up.

  6. Add an at-a-glance section

    Count your entries, achievements and ideas, and how many of your chosen values you have evidence for. Show the count, never "3 of 5", which points the reader at the gaps. A small bar chart of entries per month shows consistency.

  7. Write the summary last, and put it first

    Once you've seen everything together, write three to five sentences on your most important work and the difference it made for your team, customers or the business.

  8. Lay it out and export to PDF

    Follow the anatomy above. Keep dates consistent, group the remaining entries by month, add your name, period and page numbers to the footer, then export to PDF so it looks the same for everyone who opens it.

Free template

Impact report template

Copy this outline into your editor of choice and fill in the brackets.

  impact-report-template.txt 
MY IMPACT
Name:      [Your name]
Period:    [Start date] – [End date]
Prepared:  [Date]

1. SUMMARY
[3–5 sentences: your most important work and the difference it made
for your team, customers or the business.]

2. AT A GLANCE
Entries: [n]   Achievements: [n]   Ideas & initiatives: [n]
Values & strengths evidenced: [n]
Entries per month: [Jan n] [Feb n] [Mar n] ...

3. KEY HIGHLIGHTS  (3–5, best first)
[Date]  [Title]
  What I did:  [The action you took]
  Impact:      [The result, with numbers if you have them]
  Evidence:    [Link, metric, quote or feedback]
  Shows:       [Value], [Value]

4. VALUES & STRENGTHS IN ACTION
[Value]  ([n] entries)
  [Date]  [Entry title]
  [Date]  [Entry title]

5. ACHIEVEMENTS  (grouped by month)
[Month Year]
  [Date]  [Title]: [one or two lines on the outcome]

6. IDEAS & INITIATIVES
[Month Year]
  [Date]  [Idea]  Status: [New / Active / Succeeded / Failed / Abandoned]
          [What happened]

Tips that make the difference

  • Lead with outcomes, not effort. "Recovered £12k a month" beats "spent weeks on the checkout bug".
  • Use numbers where you have them, and describe the change where you don't: who it helped, what got faster or less risky.
  • Include ideas that didn't work out. Raising and testing ideas shows initiative, whatever the result.
  • Tailor it to the reader. Swap the values and highlights for a recruiter versus your manager.
  • Keep it scannable. Summary and highlights on the first page or two; detail after.
Option 2

Or let Trajecta build it in minutes

If you log your wins in Trajecta as they happen, steps two to eight are mostly done for you. Open Share → Impact report and work through five short steps while a live preview updates beside you.

  1. Report details

    Set the title and your name. Both are prefilled from your profile.

  2. Values & strengths

    Add your company's values or the strengths you want to show, or pick from suggestions.

  3. Entries

    Pick a period (last 6 or 12 months, this year, last year, all time or your own dates) and import every entry in one click. Star your highlights, reorder them and tag entries with values.

  4. In your own words

    Write the summary: the paragraph someone reads first.

  5. Options & download

    Include entry notes if you like, choose oldest or newest first, and download a branded PDF.

Get started free
Compare

By hand or with Trajecta

Both get you a report. One gets you there in minutes, every time you need it.

By hand With Trajecta
Gathering evidence Dig through email, tickets and chat for hours Already in your logbook, captured as it happened
Choosing the period Filter and copy entries across by hand Presets or custom dates, then import in one click
Values & strengths Track which entry proves what in a separate list Tag entries in the builder; each value lists its evidence
At a glance Count entries and draw a chart yourself Counts, idea outcomes and activity chart are automatic
Layout Format headings, dates, footers and page numbers Branded PDF with a live preview as you build
Next time Start again from scratch Pick a new period from the same logbook
FAQ

Impact report questions

What's the difference between an impact report and a performance review?
A performance review is your employer's process, with its own forms, ratings and sign-offs. An impact report is your own document about your work: what you delivered, the impact it had and the strengths it shows. You can bring it to a review, but it's just as useful for a pay rise request, an interview or a job application.
How long should an impact report be?
Long enough to cover your best work in detail, short enough to read in one sitting. The summary and highlights should fit on the first page or two; the full list of achievements and ideas can follow for anyone who wants the detail.
Is an impact report the same as a brag sheet?
They work together. A brag sheet is the running log you add to as wins happen. An impact report is the curated document you make from it for a specific reader and period.
What if I don't have numbers for my impact?
Describe the change instead: who it helped, what became faster, easier or less risky, and what someone said about it. Time saved, problems avoided and positive feedback are all evidence.
Should I share it with my manager?
Usually, yes. Managers often have to argue your case to people who don't see your day-to-day work, and a clear report gives them what they need. Send it a few days before the conversation so they have time to read it.
Do I need Trajecta to create an impact report?
No. The steps and template above work in any document editor. Trajecta makes it much faster, because your entries are already logged and it lays out the PDF for you.

Your next report starts with today's win.

Log it in seconds now, and turn a year of them into an impact report in minutes later.

Get started free Read the brag sheet guide

Free to use. No credit card required.