A company uses documents to communicate, transact business and analyze its productivity.

Since documents provide proof of an organizations dealings and may be referred to for years to come, it is important that they be well written. Business documents range from brief email messages to complex legal agreements. Some documents are prepared by employees and business owners, while others are drafted by professionals from outside of the company, such as accountants and lawyers.
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Emails and Memorandums

Co-workers typically use email to convey information to each other. Before email became prevalent, memorandums were used for intraoffice messages. Memos are still used in situations where a message is meant to accompany a specific file and in cases that require more privacy than an email. Both a memo and an email identify the sender and recipient and contain a subject line. The text is formatted in one or more paragraphs.

Letters
Business letters are used to communicate with individuals outside of the office. Recipients may include customers, colleagues in other businesses, service providers, professionals who advise the business, government officials and job applicants. A business letter is usually formatted in block style, in which all of the elements of the letter, except the letterhead, are aligned with the left margin. It can be emailed or delivered by mail. If a letter is sent in the text of an email, the sender includes his name, job title and contact information at the bottom of the email.

Reports
Business reports convey information in a format that is more formal and usually longer than a letter. Reports cover a variety of topics, such as safety compliance, sales figures, financial data, feasibility studies and marketing plans. They may include statistics, charts, graphs, images, case studies and survey results. Some reports are published for the benefit of investors. If a report is periodic, such as a monthly sales report, a template is used for convenience and to enable comparison with previous reports.

Transactional Documents
A company uses documents to transact business with its clients. To save time, these documents may be formatted as a form, such as an order form, transmittal page, invoice or receipt. The types of transactional documents used vary somewhat by the nature of a business. An insurance agent, for example, generates insurance applications and policies, while a lender uses loan applications and mortgage documents. In some fields, businesses enter into agreements and contracts with others; these documents might be drafted by the companys lawyer.

Financial Documents
A business uses financial documents to stay within its budget, prepare budget proposals and file tax returns. These documents include receipt records, payroll reports, paid bills, bank statements, income statements, balance sheets and tax reporting forms. These documents may be prepared by the companys accountant. A business owner uses these documents to determine the financial success of

the company and to identify areas that are unproductive. A department head might use financial documents to prepare a budget proposal.

Businesses deal with hundreds of different kinds of documents, but the documents can usually be classified as informative, negative or persuasive. The types of messages may overlap; for example, a message could be both negative and informative. Almost all business documents attempt to use the documents message to build goodwill by adapting to the needs of the intended audience. Writers adapt documents depending on a number of audience variables, including the size, position and characteristics of the audience.
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Informative Documents
Informative documents include financial statements, newsletters, research reports, summaries, thank-you notes and account adjustments. Transmittals are another form of informative message that explains whats being sent. Faxes and emails with attachments often come with letters of transmission. To provide the intended message, informative documents should be relevant and brief, or simple if brief is not possible. Positive informative documents dont need the same level of goodwill building as persuasive or negative documents, but informative messages should still show consideration for the intended audience.

Negative Documents
Negative documents are used for a number of purposes, often to apologize or explain a negative situation. Types of negative documents include rejections, disciplinary notices, negative performance appraisals, layoffs and firings. To build or repair goodwill, writers of negative documents may attempt to recast the information as positive or persuasive. Writers of recast negative documents must ensure that the negative elements are still understood and that the audience understands the documents intended message.

Persuasive Documents
Persuasive documents attempt to convince the audience to subscribe to the writers point of view. Advertisements, resumes, performance appraisals and fund-raising appeals are all types of persuasive documents. Writing a persuasive document may take a bit more strategy than writing other kinds of documents because the writer must predict and address potential audience objections. Persuasive document writers may address audience objections by appealing to emotions and offering reasons to take immediate action.

Building Goodwill
On top of the other purposes, business documents usually build or restore goodwill with the intended audience. Goodwill lets the audience know that the document sender is thoughtful and friendly. This consideration makes the audience more likely to understand and act on the document message. Document writers demonstrate goodwill by arranging information to fit the audiences needs, emphasizing

positive information, displaying politeness and structuring the document according to business and industry standards

What Are the Different Types of Business Documents?

by Mary Jane, Demand Media

The term business documents covers various documents, reports and statements written by company executives and managers to improve operations, inform clients of purchases and share budgets with investors and shareholders. Each type of business document includes data, sections and visual graphs to illustrate the sales, annual income and internal operations of the business. Business documents may be between one page long and several hundreds of pages.
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Business Plans and Goals

The first document a business owner should write is a solid business plan. This document outlines common goals and objectives of the business, along with a management plan, marketing strategies and a financial budget. This document includes strategic goals and provides a blueprint for the business, especially during the first few years of business.

Accounting Documents
The accounting department of any given business must track all incoming and outgoing funds. Several documents must be written to track all spending and sales income, both on a daily and annual basis. Accountants must issue invoices for clients, maintain monthly budgets for the companys departments and write annual financial reports for investors and shareholders. Whereas invoices are typically between one and two pages long, an annual report may be upwards of 50 pages.

Customer Service Documents

Companies selling services and products directly to end customers often have a customer service department that sells these products and services, as well as provide support and answers for customers. Common business documents in the customer service department include order forms, customer complaint forms and brochures with descriptions of products and services.

Business Reports
Business documents may also refer to business reports, which may be between 10 and hundreds of pages long. These reports may include annual sales report, annual budget reports for production and monthly update reports from marketing departments and production lines.

Operational Documents
Operational documents are pages or reports with information that may be written on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Examples of operational documents include meeting minutes written during operational meetings and project proposals for internal and external tasks that the business must complete. These tasks may include interior restructuring and an external marketing campaign.