Business report writing needs to be taken seriously, as a business report is regarded as a professional document which may have an effect on the good will of an organization. Writing business reports professionally requires an experienced hand and a diplomatic mindset. Let us discuss more on how to write a business report.

A business report is nothing but a business information report whose main purpose is to communicate important information and assist in the corporate decision-making process. There may be some business reports which may be drafted in order to propose or lead to resolutions for business problems, and present relevant information to help in the problem-solving process. There are many aspects that one has to keep in mind for writing business reports in a professional manner. Designing and drafting an acceptable business report that would reach its intended readers and motivate them requires commitment and a proper research.

Companies normally use professionally drafted business reports for the purpose of documenting forecasting, corporate researches, and other apposite business scenarios. Large organizations may issue yearly or trimonthly reports to provide shareholders and debenture holders with an elaborated summary of the fiscal accountability of the business.

■Guidelines for Writing Business Reports

You need to specify and illustrate as to why the business report is being made and what purpose it will serve. It is recommended to mention this at the beginning of the report, so that you do not miss out on this important point later on. You obligatorily need to collect and get all the required information ready, so that you can start off with making a reliable report. If necessary, contact with the people who have valuable information, or simply conduct a general survey or a research.

After gathering all relevant information and data, sort it out properly. Ensure that you do not include unnecessary information in your business report as it will distract the intended focus from the report. If the report’s purpose is to determine prospective new markets and business for your product, remain emphasized on that particular product and new market information.

Make a note of the targeted readers and audience who will be adverting to your business report for obtaining information. Define the attitude, tone, emphasis, and style that are meant for the readers. You need to be an expert in evaluating and predicting what the reactions and views of the readers will be after studying your business report.

Draft the business report by including solid and active words which would serve as a motivation to the audience. Create bold and strong well-coiffured sentences. If you think that readers would only skim through the content in the report, arrange the content in bulleted points. Prepare the report in a way which would be easy for the reader to understand. For such readers, you may even consider attractive headlines and subtitles, sufficient white spaces, and short paragraphs containing precise and relevant information.

After you have written the whole of the business report, you need to scrutinize, edit, revise, and eliminate all possible types of errors. It is better to asking a colleague or any other person to go through it checking if the message is clear enough. Take some time and check for any more errors. When you complete checking, finalize the report for distribution. When distributing the finished reports, be sure that all necessary attachments and documents are included, and that everyone gets them.

■Major Parts of Business Report

Business report writing includes use of logical steps that explains the information and data regarding the business related issues. The following sample business report will explain the major parts of business information report.

◇Title Page: The title page comprises the name of report, the author’s name and date. You can also write the reason of report on the title page to notify the reader regarding the problems or solutions offered.

◇Letter of Transmittal: This is used to announce the release of the business report and help the reader set the necessary background of the business information report.

◇Content Page: This page includes the table of contents of the major titles or heading mentioned in the report. You should include the letter or memo of transmittal in the table of contents. If there are subheadings in the report, try to include them too. You should mention the page number on which the main heading and subheading lies. The page numbers should be written an inch from the bottom of the page.

◇List of Illustrations: This page is used to mention the illustrations included in your business report. When the business report includes only figures, title the page “List of Figures” or if it includes only tables then title, “List of Tables”.

◇Executive Summary: The executive summary is used to summarize the background of the report in one page for managers who do not have enough time to read your business report. The executive summary should include purpose and scope of the report and also the major conclusions and recommendations suggested. Mention only the important information that is worth writing in the executive summary.

◇Methodology: Explain the methods applied in your research to come to a valid conclusion. You need to mention if you did a group survey or searched for information through library or the internet or involved an outside agency to carry out the research for you.

◇Report Body: This is the major part of business information report when writing business information. The headings and page numbers should match according to the table of contents. The report body should contain as follows:

Introduction: The introduction will make your audience clear why they are given this report to read and what is covered in the main body.

Main Body: The heart of your report lies within the main body. All your important information and data that needs to be mentioned while writing a business report need to be covered in the main body. You need to put forth your best writing skills when writing business reports.

Conclusion: The conclusion will analyze your result and bring your business report together. This is the answer to your business report, and will be read by everybody. Keep the conclusion brief and to the point.

◇Recommendation: This will provide your reader the possible suggestions that will help address the issues mentioned in the business report. You should mention the recommendations using bullets and numbered points when writing a business report. You should be completely sure about the recommendations made as they may be followed by the reader.

◇Appendix: You need to mention all the sources of research in detail. These details will prove beneficial in supporting your recommendations.