Examples of Formats for a Business Report
Wouldn’t it be great if you could just talk about things instead of writing everything down? Whether you need to raise money for a new project or you need to show how well your business is doing compared to last year, expect to be asked for a written report that will be taken seriously. A business report can be anything from a set of financial statements to a full-fledged marketing plan, and there are as many formats for reports as there are stars in the sky. The easiest way to format a business report is to look around for a template or an example, and then to tweak the framework to fit your needs.
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.
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
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.
Terry Masters has been writing for law firms, corporations and nonprofit organizations since 1995, specializing in business topics, personal finance, taxation, nonprofit issues, and general legal and marketing content creation for the Internet. Terry holds a Juris Doctor and a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a minor in finance.