Business cannot function without short reports. They tell whether work is being completed, schedules are being met, costs are being contained, sales projections are being met, clients are being served, and unexpected problems are being solved. You may write a short report in response to a specific question or regularly to report on routine activities. The six most common types of short reports are periodic reports, sales reports, progress reports, trip/travel reports, test reports, and incident reports.

Guidelines for Writing Short Reports

To write any short report successfully, follow these guidelines:

1. Do necessary research. This may be as simple as telephoning or e-mailing a colleague or inspecting a piece of equipment. The Web is also a valuable source of information for short reports.
   
   
2. Anticipate how your audience will use your report. Make sure your report will meet your audience's needs.
   
   
3. Be objective and ethical. Avoid guesswork, impressions, unsupported personal opinions, and biased, skewed, or incomplete data.
   
   
4. Choose a reader-centered format and design. Include a clear, precise subject line, and use headings, lists, underlining, and visuals to clarify your message.
   
   
5. Write concisely and clearly. Don't waste readers' time. Allow time when you write for careful revising and editing.
   
   
6. Organize carefully. Include the right amount of information in the most appropriate places for your audience. Usually you will begin with your purpose, report your findings, provide a conclusion, and, finally, present your recommendations.

Periodic Reports
Periodic reports provide readers with information at regular intervals-daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly. Managers rely on them when making schedules, ordering materials, assigning personnel, budgeting funds, and determining general corporate needs.

Sales Reports
Sales reports provide businesses with records of accounts, purchases, losses, and profits over specified periods. They help managers assess past performance and plan for the future.

Progress Reports
Progress reports inform readers about the status of ongoing projects. They detail whether you are maintaining your schedule, staying within budget, using the proper equipment, making the right assignments, and completing the job properly. They are intended primarily for people who need a record of your activities to coordinate them with others. Progress reports should include information on the work you have done, the work you are currently doing, and the work you will do.

Trip/Travel Reports
Trip reports keep managers apprised of how a trip affected ongoing or future business. In a trip report, document where you went, when you went there, why you went there, whom you saw, what they told you, and what you did about it. Common types of trip/travel reports include field trip reports, site inspection reports, and reports on home health or social work visits. Always write a trip report promptly upon returning from your travels, while the necessary details are fresh in your mind.

Test Reports
These report on physical research-experiments and tests conducted in the field or a lab. Objectivity is essential in this type of report. Readers want to know the facts, not your feelings. A test report needs to explain why you performed the test and describe how you performed it, what the outcomes were, and what implications or recommendations follow from it.

Incident Reports
Incident reports describe events such as accidents, breakdowns, delays, and cost overruns. They can be used as evidence in a court of law, so it is important to write them properly. Be accurate, objective, and complete. Give facts, not opinions. Do not misrepresent yourself; answer only those questions you are qualified to answer. Identify yourself and the people involved in the incident, identify what type of incident it was, record the time and location of the incident, and describe what happened, what caused the incident, and what was done after it occurred. Be specific about all of these points. Finally, give your recommendations for preventing such incidents in the future.