20+ Business Letter – Need, Types, Structure, Examples

Business Letter: There must have been many occasions when you needed to write letters to your friends or relatives living within the city or outside. Some of these letters might have been written for a specific reason like expressing condolence, sending birthday greetings, congratulations, etc. But very often, personal letters are just a way of saying ‘Hello’ and of exchanging news about each other. Such Business Letters are loosely written and need not have any focus or a fixed subject or length.

• Effective Business Letter – What Should Write & Avoid | Positive & Negative Words
• Personal Letter – How to Write Date, From, To, Address | Word Ideas & Examples
• Effective Letter Writing – 8 Important Guidelines, Steps, Points to Remember

Business letters, on the other hand, are always written for a particular reason: like making an inquiry, seeking clarification, applying for a job or extending an invitation. In short, whenever a letter sets out to conduct a business, it is a business letter.

What is Business Letter

The term business letter or correspondence means communication by exchange of letters, written messages etc. that passes between persons. this Business Letter refers to written communication between individuals or groups.

Every businessman has to write letters at every stage of performance. Eg; for purchase of goods, he has make an enquiry. Similarly when he receives a complaint is received he should attend it promptly. Thus business letter is the lifeblood of modern business.

Also See – Corrigendum Letter Format

Structure of a Business Letter

1. Heading
2. Date
3. Inside Address
4. Salutations
5. Reference
6. Body
7. Complementary close
8. Signature
9. Reference initials
10. Enclosures

Various Types of Business Letter

Enquiries and replies

Trade enquiries are made to find out details of the products for placing orders. Replies are given by the dealers or sellers by giving details of their products and prices.

Orders and their execution

Orders means placing an order to the seller for purchasing the products. Execution means the reply letter given by the seller whether he is ready to execute the order or not.

Credit and status enquiries

For the purpose of finding out whether credit facility can be given to a customer or not, credit and status enquiries and done.

Claims and adjustments

Claims means complaint letters from the customers. Adjustments means a letter making an adjustment of the product by the seller to the customer.

Collection letters

The seller who gives the products on credit basis gives and intimation of the amount due from the customer through a collection letter.

Circular letter

This letter is used to give information to the general public about the various matter eg: Launching of a product, change of the place of company, admission of a new partner, etc. In this the information has to provided to a large number of people.

Sales letters

It is a letter containing the details of the products and prices for sale to attract the customers which contains information such as discount offer, gift vouchers, etc.

Banking correspondence

The communication between company and its bankers for matters related to deposits, withdrawals, overdraft, etc. is called banking correspondence.

Insurance Correspondence

The communication between a company and Insurance company for matters related to policy, payment of premium etc is called Insurance correspondence.

Import-Export correspondence

The communication between companies of different countries for import and export purposes with details of the product, price, import duties etc., is called Impor Export correspondence.

Agency correspondence

The communication between the principal and the agent for business purposes is called Agency correspondence.

Application letter

The letters containing application for any post in an organisation by an individual is called Application letter.

Interview letters, references, testimonials, letter of appointment, confirmation, promotion, retrenchment, resignation..

The correspondence of a company secretary

The includes communication between a company secretary with the directors, shareholders, customers, government etc.

Correspondence with state and central government

This includes communication by a company with the state and central government regarding the matter of price policy, taxation etc.

Letters to the press

This includes letters to the editors of newspaper for publication of matters related to business.

Transport correspondence

This includes letters to transport corporation regarding the charges and modes of payment for the same.

Public relation letters

It includes letters to customers for maintaining a good relationship with the public.

Need of Business Letter

Other purposes for which we use business letters are listed as follows:

1. RECORD & REFERENCE

For maintaining records of communication with the outside world the communication must be in writing which can be preserved for a long time.

2. MAKING A LASTING IMPRESSION

Oral communication is not fully remembered, but a written communication makes a lasting impression in the minds of the reader.

3. AN AUTHORITATIVE PROOF

A letter signed by a responsible person is an authoritative proof and can be treated as a valid document which can even be produced in a court of law.

4. BUILDING GOODWILL

A business letter is used to sell the goods, reputation, and friendliness of a company. It aims at building goodwill and to retain the customers.

5. WIDENING THE APPROACH

A business person cannot send his representative to all places of business connections, but a letter can reach any place immaterial of distance. Hence it widens the approach of a company’s operations.

6. CONVENIENT AND INEXPENSIVE

It is very convenient and less expensive compared to personal contacts.

Business Letter Physical Aspects & Appearance

A business letter should be neat and attractive which will create a positive impression on the mind of its receiver or reader. Hence, the following points should always be kept in mind while writing such letters:

Paper

Paper of good quality and standard size should be used for all official correspondence. Proper care should be taken to avoid over-crowding or over-decoration while printing the necessary particulars regarding the receiver’s name, address, phone number, fax no. etc. Nowadays the use of fullscap for office correspondence has become outdated, Instead, a standard size paper is used for normal letters and 5%”x8%” or 7%”x8%” known as . small size, are used for short letters.

Typing

All official letters should be neatly typed by an efficient typist. Usually, official letters are typed single space between lines and double space between the paragraphs. Since at least one duplicate copy of each letter is needed for office record, it is necessary to use good quality carbon paper for typing. If you are using a computer see that a good clear printout is taken. 

Margin

Proper margin on the left and right hand side of the letter as well as adequate space at the top and bottom of the letter makes it more appealing and attractive. Usually, a margin of 12/15 space is provided on the left hand side and 5 to 8 spaces on the right side of the paper. If more than one page is used for a lengthy letter, extra care should be taken that identical margins are provided on each page.

Folding

Folding of the letter is done according to the type and size of the envelop that is used for sending the letter. Nonetheless, as far as possible the minimum number of folds should be made.

Envelops

The size of the envelop to be used depends upon the size of the letter as well as the number of sheets or enclosures. Usually, the name and address of the addressee are printed on the back of the envelop. Some firms also get their logo, monogram, brand message or brand name printed on the envelops.

Window envelops may be used to save the time of typing the name and address of the party for whom it is meant. The letters are folded in such a way that the full address typed on the letter-paper is visible through the window on the envelop. For this purpose, it is necessary to type the full name and address of the party in the letter.

Address on Envelop

Full name and address of the party should be written or typed on the envelop. Abbreviations for street, village, district, city or country must be avoided as far as possible. If the pin code of the city is known, it is always better to type it correctly for quicker delivery.

The address of the sender is also typed on the envelop so that in the event of non-delivery, the letter may be returned to the sender and does not go to the dead-letter office. When the letter is sent by Book Post, Under Certificate of Posting, Registered Post or Speed Post, the same should be clearly indicated on the letter as well as on the envelop.

Business Letter Format, Sample Template

Look at Business Letters A to D. The first three are business letters while D is a personal letter. List all the differences that you notice. How many differences did you see?

Let us concentrate on the business letters now. The format or layout of a business letter should give you the following information:-

1. When the letter was sent – i.e. the date.
2. From where the letter is being sent – i.e. the address of the sender.
3. Who is sending the letter – i.e. the name and designation of the sender.
4. To whom the letter is being sent – i.e. the name and designation of the receiver.
5. Where the letter is being sent – i.e. the address of the receiver.

The Date

All Business Letter, including personal ones, must carry the date on which the letter is sent. In a personal letter, the date appears on the right-hand comer (as in D), but in a business letter, the date can be written on the top right-hand comer under the sender’s address (as in A); on the top left-hand comer between the sender’s and receiver’s address (as in B) or in the left- or right-hand comer when a letter head is used (as in C).

There are various ways of writing the date such as: 9 March 1999,9.3.99 ,9th. March ’96; March 9th 1999.

(The Americans may even write the year first, then month followed by the date like this; 1996 March 9. But you are advised to follow the Indian system as shown above.)

The Address of the Sender

Now go back and look at the letters A and B. In Business Letter A the address of the sender appears on the top right-hand comer, while in letter B, the sender’s address is on the top left-hand comer. While it is’ the common practice to follow pattern A in letters written by hand, it is found to be much more convenient to follow pattern B while typing the letters.

Since most business letters are typed, pattern B has become the standard practice and the sender’s address, date, receiver’s address, sender’s signature, name and designation all appear on the left hand side in one row.

Now look at Business Letter C. Do you notice that the sender’s address is not typed anywhere. Can you guess why this is so’? Yes, you guessed it right. This is because the letter is written on the letter head paper which means that the address of the sender is already printed on the paper so there is no need to write it again unless you wish to get your reply at a different address.

The sender’s address should consist of the following:

The name of the company or institution, 
Name of the building (if given) 
Number of the premises and 
street name Area (if given) 
City and pin code 

Madhu Travels, 
Gomati Towers, 
Flat 3 H-50 Rafi Marg, 
New Delhi 1 10 00 1

The Name and Designation of the Sender

Remember, the name and designation of the sender DOES NOT appear with the sender’s address. So, how do we know the name of the sender and the post she/he occupies i.e. his/her designation? For this, we have to look at the end of the letter.

The sender puts his/her signature after the complimentary close like “Yours faithfully”. Often, the signature is difficult to read and it does not carry the full name of the sender. Also, it does not tell us whether the sender is a male or a female. It is for this reason that the sender’s full name is written or typed in capital letters under the signatures, and it is put in brackets.

But there is still an important piece of information missing. Yes, we still do not know the post that the sender holds in the organization. So, under the full name we have the designation of the sender. Here is an example:-

Yours sincerely,
(SEEMA KAPOOR)
Warden


 
Yours faithfully,
(R.S. PILLAI)
Proprietor


 
Yours faithfully,
(RAVI CHOPRA) 
Assistant Manager

Remember, that even when the letters are typed, the sender always puts his/her signature in ink.

The Name and/or Designation of the Receiver

You saw that the name and designation of the sender does not appear with the address of the sender but it is different in case of the receiver. Look at the following examples:-

Mrs. S. Ali, Principal
Sofia College, 


Mrs. S. Ali
Principal, Sofia
College, 


The principal 
Sofia College

If you know the name of the person you are writing to, you can address them as shown in E and F. But even when you know the name, you still have to write the designation. Can you think why? There are two reasons for it. Firstly, there may be name working in the organisation so the designation will tell for. Secondly, if you fail to mention the designation, the letter may be heated as a personal letter rather than an official one.

For example, most Business Letters addressed to the Principal are opened by the secretary who reads them and sometimes answers them on behalf of the Principal. If the letter is a personal one, she will leave it for the Principal who may be too busy to look at it.

There is another point to keep in mind. In the case of a m, you normally add Mr. before the name but when addressing a lady, it can become awkward if you do not know whether she is married or single. In that case, the best way is to address a lady as MS. In fact, many women prefer that even when they are married. So, you would address the lady as: MS. S. Ali.

The Address of The Receiver

The address of the receiver is always written under the designation and it is written on the top left hand comer of the paper. The receiver’s address should comprise the following,

The name of the receiver (if you know it).
The designation
The name of the institution
Name of building (if any)
Name of the Street
City and code

MS S. Ali,
Principal
Sofia College,
Nehru Road,
Chennai 600 012

Let us suppose that you are replying to a letter and you have the address of the person you are writing to on the letter head. You will notice that the letter head carries a lot of information like the telephone numbers, the residential tel. No., Fax No., E-mail, address of the branches of the company, etc. But when you write down the address, you only have to pick the address to which you plan to send the letter, and the telephone numbers etc. are not to be mentioned.

Now that you have learnt the general layout of a business letter, write to the following Concerns. You are required to complete the layout only and not write the Business Letter. You can invent your own addresses.
Write to:

1. Anne Jacob, the secretary of a youth club.
2. To the manager of an Insurance company in Mumbai.
3. A travel agency in Chennai.

Forms Of Salutation And The Beginnings

While writing a personal letter, you can start with any form of endearment like My dear, Dearest, Darling, etc. But a business letter starts with Dear Sir/Madam or even a simple Sir/Madam is enough. If you wish to address the receiver by his/her name, you can say:

Dear Dr. Pillai,
Dear MS Nagpal,
Dear Mr. Kapoor,

Remember, it is preferable to address people only by their surname i.e. it is more acceptable to say Dear Dr. Pillai rather than Dear Dr. S.M. Pillai,

So far so good, but what do we do after that? How do we begin a letter? We cannot say “Namaskar. How are you these days?”

If you are writing for the first time, ask yourself: .What is the reason for this letter? Is the letter being written to seek information, to ask for an application form, to complain, to invite?

Begin your letter by saying why you are writing. There are many ways of doing this:

I am writing to ask ……
confirm …………
complain ………..
invite ……………
thank ……………

If you wish to sound more polite and formal you may begin thus:

Beside the main content of a letter, there are a few supplements which should also be noted carefully. Each supplement either adds to or supplements the information, or further strengthens its presentation and completeness. These are discussed below:

1. Enclosures:

Very often one or more documents are required to be sent along with a letter. In such a case it should be indicated on the left-hand comer of the letter by writing the word ‘Enclosures’, ‘Encl.’ or ‘Encls’, noting against it the number of documents enclosed. If the enclosures are important, their nature is also briefly mentioned as for instance:

Encl. one Copy of Invoice.

The despatch clerk must ensure that all enclosure indicated in the letter are attached to the letter.

2. Post Script (P.S.):

If something is written after the completion of letter, it is known as Post Script or P.S. Only important and urgent information, not known earlier, should be written as post script. As the P.S. is a part of a letter, it must bear the initials of the writer below it. If we have to write more than one P.S., it is better to rewrite the whole letter and not spoil the compactness of the communication.

Also See – Authorized Signatory Letter Format

Business Letter Sample Format #1: Formal Business Letter

Here is a Sample format for Formal Business Letter:

Business Letter Sample Format #2: Informal Business Letter

Here is a Sample format for Informal Business Letter:

Business Letter Sample Format #3: Block Style Business Letter

Here is a Sample format for Block Style Business Letter:

Business Letter for Inquiry

Below is a template for a business inquiry letter. This type of letter is typically used to seek information about a product, service, or opportunity.

Feel free to customize this template according to your specific needs and the nature of your inquiry.

Business Letter Template

Here’s a basic template for a formal business letter. Remember to customize it according to your specific needs and details:

Remember to replace the bracketed information with your specific details. Additionally, choose an appropriate closing salutation based on the formality of your relationship with the recipient (e.g., Sincerely, Best regards, Yours faithfully).

Business proposal letter

Standard business letter

Here is a Letter for Standard business:

Remember to tailor the content and tone of the letter to the specific context and recipient. Keep the letter clear, concise, and professional throughout.

Business Letter Example – Introduction Letter

Here is an Example for Business Introduction Letter:

Business Letter for Employee appreciation

Certainly, here’s a template for a business letter expressing appreciation to an employee:

Feel free to customize this template based on the specific achievements and contributions of the employee. Personalizing the letter makes it more meaningful and impactful.

Business Letter for Resignation

Certainly, here’s a more formal and concise version of a resignation letter:

This version maintains a professional tone while succinctly conveying your decision and appreciation for your time with the company.

FAQS for Business Letter – Need, Types, Structure, Examples

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