For example, you want a 3D printer for your division. To convince your manager to requisition one, you would write a justification/recommendation report to formally ask the management team for the printer.

For instance, say pharmaceutical company X wants to partner with pharmaceutical company Y but has some concerns. Company X doesn’t want to partner with a company that has current financial problems or has had financial problems in the past. Company X conducts an investigation and uses an investigative report to discuss in-depth financial information on company Y and its directors.

For instance, CALPERS (California Public Employees Retirement System) needed to show its board of administration that it followed all applicable laws and rules in 2010. It put together an annual compliance report to show their activities for the year.

Can this project be completed within its budget? Will the project be profitable? Can this project be completed within the allotted time frame?

For example, a business might conduct a company-wide study on whether to ban smoking in its employee lounge. The person who writes up the study would produce a research studies report.

For instance, a pharmaceutical sales representative might provide a monthly summary of his or her sales calls.

As an example, a state’s governing body would like a situational report after a hurricane.

For instance, ABC Auto Manufacturing, Inc. , wants to open a plant in Asia. The report might narrow down three country options based on the company’s needs. The report would then conclude which of the three countries is the best location for the new plant.

Regardless of the answer, you need to make your objective concise. If it is muddled, then your report will only confuse your audience, which risks damaging the report’s credibility. For instance, you may want to accomplish receiving a larger advertising budget for your department. Your report should focus on the current advertising budget and how you might effectively use a larger budget.

Remember that regardless of your audience, no bottom line speaks louder than money to a company or client. For instance, say you want to implement a job-share program for your division. You decide your target audience is the company’s HR director, CEO and COO. Consider how much they likely know about job-share programs already. The answer will set the tone for the report. If your company has never considered a job-share program, then the report will be both informational and strategic. If the company has considered a job-share program, then the report will be less informational and more persuasive.

Data may come internally, which means you’ll be able to collect it quite quickly. Sales figures, for example, should be available from the sales department with a phone call, meaning you can receive your data and plug it into your report quickly. External data may also be available internally. If a department already performs customer analysis data collection, borrow that department’s. You don’t need to conduct the research on your own. This will be different for every type of business, but the writer of a business report often doesn’t need to conduct firsthand research. For instance, if you are writing a justification/recommendation report, then you have to research all the benefits of your proposed idea and incorporate the research into your report.

Break up relevant data into separate sections. A business report can’t be a big flood of figures and information. Organizing the data into separate sections is key to the success of a well-written business report. For example, keep sales data separate from customer analysis data, each with its own header. Organize the report into appropriate section headers, which may be read through quickly as standalone research, but also supporting the basic objective of the report together. Since some of the sections may depend upon analysis or input from others, you can often work on sections separately while waiting for the analysis to be completed.

Any goals should include specific, measurable actions. Write out any changes in job descriptions, schedules or expenses necessary to implement the new plan. Each statement should directly indicate how the new method will help to meet the goal/solution set forth in the report.

The executive summary gets its name because it’s likely the only thing a busy executive would read. Tell your boss everything important here, in no more than 200-300 words. The rest of the report can be perused if the boss is more curious.

Generally speaking, visual figures are a great idea for business reports because the writing and the data itself can be a little dry. Don’t go overboard, though. All infographics should be relevant and necessary. Use boxes on pages with a lot of text and no tables or figures. A page full of text can be tiresome for a reader. Boxed information can also effectively summarize important points on the page.

Use the appropriate formatting for the citations in your report, based on your industry.

For example, don’t overuse fancy words or make your sentences too wordy. Avoid using slang. If your report and audience are both closely tied to a specific industry, it’s appropriate to use jargon or technical terms. But you have to take care to not overuse jargon and technical terms. Generally, business writing is written in the passive voice, and this is one of the few instances where passive writing is usually better than active writing. You can often miss errors while proofreading your own work due to the familiarity from writing it. Consider asking someone else in your department who wants the report to succeed to read over it as well. Be open to the feedback. It’s better to hear about mistakes from a co-worker than from a boss. Review each comment from the peer review and rewrite the report, taking comments into consideration.

This applies to any graphs or charts included in the report as well.