Writing a Short Report (Making and Supporting Your Idea)

Although we all want to streamline our work and cut down on the amount of business communication we send and receive, the business world cannot function efficiently without short reports.

Short business reports communicate when work is being completed, if schedules are being met, how costs are being contained, if sales projections are being met, how clients are being served, and when unexpected problems come up.

As a businessperson, you may routinely write short reports on the activities of your department. You also may be asked to submit a short report in response to a specific and/or timely circumstance. The most common short reports are periodic reports, sales reports, progress reports, travel reports, test reports and incident reports.

Periodic Reports provide readers with information at regular intervals, including daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. Business managers rely on periodic reports to make budgets, create schedules, order materials, hire personnel, and determine other business needs.

Sales Reports give records of accounts, purchases, and profits and losses over a specified time. These reports help managers see where changes need to be made, and how to plan for the future.

Progress Reports inform readers about ongoing projects. They offer details on scheduling, budgeting, equipment, work assignments, and job completion. Progress reports help mangers coordinate one project with another one going on at the same time. They should include information on past work, current work, and future work.

Travel Reports include documentation on field trips, site inspections, conferences, home health, or social work visits. Mangers use them to budget for future trips and to evaluate their effectiveness from a profit and loss basis.

Test Reports are documents based on research conducted in the field, or in a lab. They offer objective details on how a test was performed, what outcomes were identified, and what recommendations should be followed.

Incident Reports are used to describe accidents, breakdowns, delays, and cost overruns. These reports may be used as evidence in court, so they must be concise, accurate, and complete.

Here are some basic guidelines for short reports:

Know your purpose. Who is your audience? What do they know? What do they need to know?

Your audience for a short report may include someone from outside your firm, or someone who works within your company. Remember that regardless of your audience, no bottom line speaks louder than money to a company or client. Anticipate the needs of the audience members and how they will use the information in your report.

Do your homework. Most reports, short or long, require some research. Perform the interviews, inspect the equipment, or read the studies necessary to gain the information you need.

You may obtain data internally, such as sales figures from your company's sales department. Or you may have to conduct research on your own for the report.

Be objective. Leave your preconceptions behind. Base your conclusions and recommendations on complete data and thorough research, not guesswork.

Choose a reader-friendly format. Use a clear subject line. Avoid big blocks of text. Make use of subheadings, bullet points, bold print, and graphics to make your report clear and easy to read. Be flexible on format according to the nature of your report.

Use graphs or tables to summarize data. A visual image is usually easier to understand than numbers. Don't go overboard with colors or graphics. Too many bells and whistles can look unprofessional, or worse -- look as if you don't have much to say in your report.

Write in a concise format. Avoid long, complicated sentences in favor of short, clear sentences. Allow for careful proofreading and revisions.

Be careful with jargon and avoid using either too informal or too technical language.

Include a reference or source page, if needed. If you have cited studies in your report, list them alphabetically here. There are several accepted forms of citation. The most common are MLA, APA and Chicago style.

Organize your short report. A long, formal business report is divided into 10 sections. A short business report, however, typically has only four main sections.