Business Reports: 10 Types and How To Write Them
Business reports are one of the most important business documentation that organizations rely on to provide accurate and data-driven insights. Business reporting allows for better decision-making and strategizing.
A report is informative — it contains important data about your business. Whether it’s research findings, figures, or analyses, a report’s purpose is to make these data digestible to its reader and make every department in the organization understand, thus making better business decisions.
The main purpose of a report goes beyond just presenting data in an easily understandable way. A well-written report can help examine potential issues that could arise in an organization. On top of allowing managers to make data-driven conclusions, a good report in business can also help identify areas of growth. A report can also help an organization reevaluate its goals and set new ones while helping internal efficiency and maintaining transparency within the organization and its stakeholders.
Find out the different types of reports that are essential for various organizations, how to write it, and why The Write Direction’s report writing service is exceptionally chosen across North America.
Types of Business Reports
A report definition can mean various things depending on the type of report for business. Generally, reports contain important information and data that an organization can use to assess, process, analyze, and adjust.
Depending on the type of report, there will be a corresponding report format to follow. Here are at least 10 different types of reporting for businesses that you should be familiar with before knowing how to proceed with preparing and writing them.
- Informational Reports
These types of reports present factual data for the sake of informing – not necessarily providing in-depth analysis or recommendations. Informational reports are great for presenting facts, data, and statistics. - Analytical Reports
An analytical report goes beyond simply presenting data but analyzing and interpreting the information. Whether it’s in the form of trend identification or recommendations based on data, analytical reports have explanations and conclusions. Oftentimes, it is accompanied by recommendations for actionable future decisions. - Research Reports
Business research reports are meant to provide information about a specific subject that can ultimately aid decision-making within an organization. Research reports are especially handy for getting information on more specific issues about market trends, product development, or potential issues. A well-rounded research report relies on methodologies like surveys, interviews, and other related field studies to get the best most accurate data. - Progress Reports
Progress reports are meant to track the status of internal projects, hence the name ‘progress’. With an organization having many moving parts, documentation that tracks a project’s progress over time means better project management and promotes overall efficiency. - Financial Reports
To track how well a company uses its resources are what financial reports are for. These reports can include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements to aid in an organization’s planning for budgets, and investment decisions, and it also allows them to stay compliant with unique regulatory requirements. - Internal Reports
Internal reports are made for better internal communications. Because of the nature of their data, internal reports are confidential and are only used to share information between various departments and teams. Examples of internal reports can include employee performance reports, efficiency reports, annual reports, and internal audit reports. - External Reports
Opposite internal reports are external reports, which are meant to share information with important stakeholders outside the organization. They also provide data, insights, and updates for members like shareholders, investors, regulators, clients, and even the general public. Examples of annual reports include shareholder reports or corporate social responsibility reports. - Sales Reports
Sales reports contain data explaining a business’s sales performance through revenue trends and customer insights. These reports are important to accurately assess sales growth while tracking key performance indicators so a business can adjust its strategies depending on whether or not the business achieved its annual goals. - Compliance Reports
Different organizations follow different regulatory compliances, and these types of reports ensure that the organization follows them. Whether legal, regulatory, or industry-specific guidelines, compliance reports help keep an organization in check legally. Examples of regulations an organization could follow include environmental laws, workplace hazard and safety laws, or financial and tax regulations. - Marketing Reports
Marketing reports organize and track the progress of how well an organization’s marketing strategies are working or not. The reports include metrics that assess how effective marketing efforts and campaigns are. The marketing data and performance will help the organization move forward by adjusting its strategies accordingly.
Business Reporting and Writing
You can easily find a report template online, but it’s important to follow the report format of the specific type of report you need. Report writing for business is heavily dependent on data and analyzing that data in order to get the gist and most important insights and be able to share that with its intended audience.
Report writing for business is tedious and time-consuming which is why sometimes it might be best to rely on a reputable business writing company like The Write Direction that offers data and analysis report writing services so that your data is properly analyzed and reported by expert writers and business consults.
In any case, if you want to know how to prepare and write your business report, these are the general steps and sections that you can’t miss, according to the University of Nevada, Reno’s Writing & Speaking Center and the Indeed Career Guide.
Report Writing in Business: A How-To
- Identify the type of report
When writing your report, first identify the type of report needed based on the 10 types we shared earlier. This part will be most important because depending on the type of report, you will have different recommendations, reports, and solutions. - Start research and gather information
Most reports will eventually call for recommendations and solutions so make sure your research is centered on finding them. It’s important to seek both internal and external sources to gather the best and most accurate data and information. - Describe your methodology
When writing reports, you are essentially sharing important information, data, and recommendations so it’s imperative to also make your target audience or readers privy to the methodologies you chose so that the data is backed up by sources. Tell your audience who and where your sources come from so other departments can determine how you gathered your information. - Add recommendations and provide solutions
A process that is a The Write Direction staple is using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based) formula. When beginning to write your recommendations or proposed solutions, this formula will guide you. No matter what the organization’s goals are, you’ll easily be able to plan accordingly through this formula.
Business Reporting and Writing Components
- Title Page: Consider clear and descriptive headings for the title page and make sure to include the author’s name and position in the organization along with the report’s recipient, the date of submission, and of course the organization’s name.
- Executive Summary: The executive summary part is supposed to be concise. It should be the perfect balance of capturing the overall essence of the report without containing too many of the nitty-gritty details (since it will be discussed in the body of the report).
- Table of Contents: A table of contents is important because it itemizes the content of the report and keeps it organized – especially if it’s a sizeable report. Make sure to list all the relevant sections and include page numbers. The table of contents is meant for easy referencing, so use clear headings as well.
- Introduction: The introduction portion of the report is like “setting the stage”. This is where you define the purpose of the report and its scope and limitations. You can also start by stating the problem or issues being addressed in the report and outlining the structure so the reader can know what to expect in the report.
- Body: The body of the report is the main part and it is meant to present findings in detail and usually in logical order. Make sure to add evidence in the form of case studies and provide examples to support your report. The body is also the part of the report that should include the following:
- Methods
- Findings
- Research
- Analysis
- Graphs
- Conclusion: A good report summarizes the key takeaways that readers must know. Start with a concise restatement of the the main points, an overview of the analysis, and the final statement.
- Recommendations: Recommendations should contain actionable steps the organization can take based on the information and data provided in the report. Make sure it’s specific, realistic, and backed up by data.
- References: Have a list of references of where you gathered your data whether it’s books, articles, research papers, market reports, websites, statistical databases, internal company documents, and others. Choose a proper citation style as well to keep it professional and consistent.
- Appendices: If certain documents are too detailed to be added to the main report that acts as supplemental data to your findings, make sure they are attached to the appendix. This can come in the form of raw data sets, survey questionnaires, charts, graphs, and case studies.
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