Entrepreneurship is not a science but an art. In other words, there is no standard approach to boost all businesses; thus, an entrepreneurial individual or institution needs to study their business. In researching your undertaking, a business report is a must-have because it encompasses every detail that describes your study. If making one challenge you, don’t give up. Read through this article to impress your clients with a compelling business report of your own.
In the field of business, there are several variations of business reports. To provide you an illustration of these documents, we collected some samples for you to view. However, let’s suppose that you don’t have sufficient time anymore; still, there’s no need for you to worry since we also gathered beautiful templates for you to use. Scroll down to learn more.
A business report is a written document concerning a company where evaluations and assessments are laid out to provide a presentation of its current status and performance. You may also see report writing examples.
It is commonly created by business analysts of a company or a third-party representative to the task of investigating and presenting facts and data necessary for the business. It facilitates the assessment of development in terms of the company’s overall operation and feasibility of business practices to come up with significant decisions. You may also like sample activity reports.
Business reports are often written in the traditional pen and paper or with the use of modern platforms like Word, PDF, and Excel.
Taking into account that a business report is a systematic document, it is given that a business report has a specific structure and format to be recognized and followed. Accordingly, a formal business report commonly abides by this framework:
In its simplest sense, a title page serves as the cover or face of your business report. It contains the title of your report or project, date of the report, company’s name, name of the author with his corresponding title, name of the institution or individual the business report is submitted or prepared to, and the logo of the company. If it’s made for an academic function, it commonly encompasses the student’s course name or code, lecturer’s name, student number, and tutor’s name as well. Considering that this page is made for the title, make sure that it is clearly stated, clean, and legible.
An executive summary is a part that acts as the preface of your report. This is the part where you summarize the key details such as the brief report description that talks what is the document all about, the methodology of data gathering, major findings, conclusion, and recommendations. This is essential to be presented initially considering that several business entities’ schedules are fully booked. With that, make this segment as impressive as you can.
Similar to any document, the table of contents is used to aid the reader in navigating the parts he/she wishes to see. This enumerates the major topics covered by the report and the particular page number on which the topic can be located. Though some short business reports do not include this portion, this is a must for the long ones. For instance, if an executive wants to see the findings only, then he/she will go to this page to see its respective page number and proceed directly to that certain sheet. Indeed, this is more practical than scanning each sheet one by one.
Generally, the body of the report contains in-depth pieces of information about the report. Correspondingly, this section is divided into subparts such as:
The introduction is the part where you open your topic to the reader and catch their interests as well. This is the section where you emphasize the key topics that are discussed in the document and provides the reader with some background information that explains why the data was collected in the first place. Furthermore, elucidating on the terms used in the paper is also helpful.
The methodology is the part of your report’s body where you elaborately explain the exact procedures you performed to get the data. This section should also state the different variables and factors that must be considered in your study.
After writing the methodology, state the major results or findings of your data gathering. In doing such, be straightforward and clear. Comprehensibly and briefly mention the discoveries by also utilizing visual representations like graphs and charts. Moreover, you can also use tables if needed.
Just like writing an essay, conclusions also pertain to the same thing. In this part, simply answer the main questions that are asked in your report and never open another topic. Make this section as clear and concise as well. Moreover, you can also mention some recommendations to the researchers that would do similar studies. This will be beneficial for them to improve the said study.
One of the final sections of your report should include the list of references where the pieces of information about your composition came from. This is important to avoid plagiarism and also support your reader to easily verify or locate the details you included.
In writing the references, do not forget that there are certain formats used in citing the source of your information according to the field of its application such as the Modern Language Association (MLA) which is used in humanities and American Psychological Association (APA) which is utilized in education, psychology, and sciences. It is the Chicago/Turabian style that is applicable for business, history, and fine arts purposes.
Appendices refer to the additional materials that contain necessary data but are not insertable in the main report. This may include the survey questionnaires used, a list of raw data, drawings, maps, diagrams, charts, mathematical derivations, transcripts, etc. Broadly speaking, appendices include all the supplementary information and attachments that would help your reader discover the deeper details about your document.
That was the structure commonly applied in business reports, but at the same time, these documents also follow certain formats that are preferred by most business entities. Consider applying the following formats in making your own:
As we all know, reports are necessary to track and understand the current situation of something. It provides information about a particular subject. Much more importantly in a business setting. Reports are documents that are deemed essential. You might be interested in management report examples.
Take for example sales reports. These documents provide an overview of a company’s sales performance and assess if there is more profit than expenses.
The same effect goes with a business report. It provides an overall review and evaluation of the company’s performance and identifies the things that are effective to continue doing it. It also presents those that are unessential or unprofitable to make important decisions on how to eliminate them. You may also see performance report examples.
Writing a business report requires the ability to analyze things. In addition to that, you need to know what are the important factors you need to consider to complete the task.
First, gather the necessary information to complete your business report. You can check the financial reports, marketing reports, and performance reports so you can have multiple resources.
Next, compare and contrast past and present data. This helps you come up with better content on the report.
Once you have all the files, start writing what you found out. However, do not provide recommendations as reports are intended to only present data. You may also check out examples of business reports.
Business reports require intensive amount of time and effort. However, if you know the techniques on how to write one, then it should not be that hard. You may also see quality report examples.
Creating an objective makes your task easier. You have the inspiration and you will be guided every step of the way.
Emphasizing what you are doing sets a healthy pressure on what you are doing. Consider that what you are doing will provide benefits to your organization. You may also like employee report examples & samples.
Do not settle on the information that is on your table. Dig in so you can have more inputs to write.
A business report is a formal report that assesses a situation or issue of business to suggest areas for improvement. It is generally written in response to a request that is made by a senior executive of an organization.
The format of a business report is as follows:
The purpose of a business report is to provide business owners and senior managers with an important analysis of how the business is trailing in all areas of the organization. It also helps in decision making.
Following are the benefits of using business reports:
A good report has the following characteristics:
