Short reports and proposals are among the most important and frequent types of business communications in the working world. They get crucial information to decision makers who need such information to stay within a budget and remain on schedule, to use personnel in the most efficient ways possible, and to be aware of any problem or delay in order to lessen risk and increase safety and/or production.

Guidelines for Writing Short Reports

To write any short report successfully, follow these guidelines:

• 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. 
• Be objective and ethical. Avoid guesswork, impressions, unsupported personal opinions, and biased, skewed, or incomplete data.
• Choose a reader-centered format and design. Include a clear, precise subject line, and use headings, lists, underlining, and visuals to clarify your message.

Periodic Reports

Periodic reports provide readers with information at regular intervalsdaily, 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.

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, who 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.

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.

Writing Winning Proposals

A proposal is a detailed plan submitted for approval to a person or group in a position of authority. Proposals are among the most important kinds of occupational writing. They are written for many purposes and audiences and vary greatly in size and scope. Whether large or small, a proposal must be highly persuasive to succeed.

Types of Proposals

Proposals may be solicited or unsolicited, internal or external. When a company has a job to be done, it may issue a request for proposals, or RFP, to solicit proposals from bidders. RFPs are often full of legal requirements and extensive details on how the job is to be performed. Unlike a solicited proposal, an unsolicited proposal has to convince the recipient that there is a problem that needs to be solved. An internal proposal is written to a decision maker in your own organization; an external proposal is sent to a decision maker outside your company.

Writing a Successful Proposal

The following guidelines will help you write successful proposals of any type:

• Approach your proposal as a problem-solving activity. Make readers feel that your goal is to solve a problem for them and that you have the ability to do so.
• Regard your audience as skeptical. Dont think readers will automatically accept your plan as the best way to solve their problem. Expect them to question everything you say.
• Research your proposal thoroughly. You need facts, not generalizations, to persuade your readers.
• Scout out your competitors. Check your competitors Web sites for information on their products or services and to get an idea of their costs.
• Prove that your proposal is workable. The bottom-line question from your readers will be whether your plan will work.
• Be sure your proposal is financially realistic. Another basic question readers will ask is if your plan is worth the money. Do not submit a proposal that requires excessive funds to implement.
• Package your proposal attractively. Readers will see your proposal as evidence of the kind of work you do, so make it look good.

Internal Proposals

Internal proposals cover almost every activity and policy of a business. You must be aware of office politics when planning an internal proposal. Dont assume your reader will agree that there is a problem or that your plan is the best way to solve it. Your reader may even feel threatened by your plans. Always consider the implications of your plan for others in the organization, and never submit a proposal that leaves it to someone else to work out the details to make your plan work.

Internal proposals usually contain four parts:

• Purpose. Begin with a brief statement of why you are writing the proposal.
• Problem. Prove that a problem exists by documenting its importance for your boss and the company. Avoid vague generalizations: provide quantifiable details about the implications or consequences of the problem, indicate how many employees or customers are affected by it, and describe how widespread it is.
• Solution. Describe the change you want approved. Tie your solution directly to the problem you just described. Supply details to show that the plan is workable and cost-effective, and demonstrate that the costs of implementing the plan are less than the costs of not solving the problem. Also, raise alternatives to your plan and discuss their disadvantages.
• Conclusion. Make this section shortno more than two paragraphs. Remind the reader that the problem is serious, the reason for change is justified, and action needs to be taken. Reemphasize the most important benefits of your proposed solution.