The format of business report
Answers
Answer:
General Business Report Format. A cover sheet that lists the name of the report, your company name and address and the date. A table of contents, if the report is longer than 10 pages. An executive summary; an introduction section explaining the background of the report and any special methodology used.
Answer:
General Business Report Format
A good general format for a formal business report includes the following:
A cover sheet that lists the name of the report, your company name and address and the date
A table of contents, if the report is longer than 10 pages
An executive summary; an introduction section explaining the background of the report and any special methodology used
The main body of the report, with appropriate subheadings
A section with conclusions and recommendations
An appendix for non-essential attachments such as charts and graphs that don’t need to be in the body of the report.
Informal Reports
Keep in mind that not every business report needs to be presented in such a structured format. It’s often sufficient to detail an informal business report as a one- or two-page letter or even as an email, depending on your audience. This is especially true for small businesses, in which staffing might be lean and nobody has time to create or to read a long, formal report. So, before you use a long-format business report structure, ask your recipient if that format is actually necessary.
Specialized Business Reports
Many types of business reports have a specialized format. Typically, you can find a template, which makes it easy to generate your own report. For example, a balance sheet is a type of business report. It has a common structure that’s easy to replicate, and typically, every spreadsheet and accounting program has a template available that generates the report from basic inputs. Likewise, a marketing plan has a general format that includes a cover sheet, an executive summary, a budget and sections that detail market research, target market, positioning, competitive analysis and market strategy.
Business Plan as a Specialized Form of Business Report
Of course, one of the first specialized business reports entrepreneurs struggle to create is a business plan. The typical business plan format looks like this:
Cover Page
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Company Overview
Industry Analysis
Customer Analysis
Competitive Analysis
Marketing Plan
Operations Plan
Management Team
Financial Plan
Appendix
If you follow a generally recognized business report format, it will show that you know what you’re doing, but don’t be afraid to adapt any format to your own needs. The specific format is often not as important as how well you convey your core information.