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Business reports are a staple of the modern workplace. They provide insight into the performance of your business, help you make informed decisions, and track progress.
A business report can range from a simple one-page document summarizing key metrics to a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of market trends.
The diversity in business reports stems from the varied nature of business operations and the different objectives they aim to achieve.
But what is a business report? And how can you make one in Excel? Read on to learn how to make various business reports in Excel.
Definition: A business report is a formal document that analyzes a business activity. It conveys information to various audiences, including executives, managers, and investors.
Furthermore, business reports help us make decisions about a business’s future. For example, it can include an analysis of a optimize marketing campaign’s financial performance or effectiveness.
Business reports are essential for making informed decisions by clearly analyzing performance and goals. They track progress and highlight areas needing improvement, supporting strategy adjustments.
Additionally, reports ensure accountability and transparency, offering documented insights that are valuable for both internal teams and stakeholders.
Business reports can provide a detailed analysis of a company’s performance. From this analysis, you can make decisions about future strategies.
Companies use business reports to communicate information to shareholders, creditors, lenders, and other stakeholders. Companies can also use them to communicate performance to the public and government agencies.
Companies can use information relayed in business reports to recommend actions to help achieve specific objectives. Also, you can use business reports to suggest strategies and policies that will help a company remain competitive.
Business reports can be used to interpret and explain data. They can provide insight into the performance of the business and identify trends and patterns.
You can use business reports to control operations. You can use them to monitor and manage the performance of the business and ensure smooth operations.
Business reports can provide stakeholders with an overview of the performance of the business. Companies can demonstrate how they’re meeting their goals and show shareholders that their investments are in good hands.
Business reports can provide insight into the business’s performance and identify improvement areas.
Business reports have a structured format with a clear purpose and intended audience. Let’s take a look at the characteristics of a business report.
A business report should have no errors. This is essential so that the reader can trust and rely on it.
You should write the report in an easy-to-understand language. To enable the reader to comprehend the report quickly.
Business reports should rely on data to provide accurate and relevant information. This data should be gathered from reliable sources and be up-to-date.
The information in the report should be reliable and trustworthy. It helps ensure that the report is used for its intended purpose.
A business report should be objective and free from bias to ensure that the report is fair.
A business report should be concise and to the point. It makes it easier for the reader to understand and digest the information in the report.
Business reports should be comprehensive and cover all the relevant information. It ensures the reader has all the information they need to make informed decisions.
There are several business reports, each with its purpose and characteristics.
Analytical reports are used to analyze data and identify trends. They evaluate current strategies, develop new ones, and track progress. We can also use them for management reporting to identify potential risks, problems, and opportunities we can exploit.
Analytical reports are comprehensive, providing a thorough analysis of the data. They include graphs, tables, and charts to make the data easier to understand and interpret.
Explanatory reports are used to explain the results of an analysis. They communicate the findings of a study and explain any changes in strategy or policies.
These reports can also provide recommendations for improving performance or addressing potential problems. Also, they can help a company determine its financial performance and position in the market.
Informational reports are used to provide information to stakeholders. For instance, a personal financial statement template can help communicate an individual’s or company’s financial performance to stakeholders, the public, and government agencies. Furthermore, you can use such templates to present financial performance clearly and positively.
They are essential for public relations, as they can demonstrate a company’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
Research reports are used to provide information about specific topics. We can use them to explore a company’s position in the market and identify potential risks, problems, and opportunities we can exploit.
They are essential when a company is planning to explore new markets using business research methods. Furthermore, they are more detailed and comprehensive than other business reports.
Performance reports analyze key metrics and performance indicators within an organization, providing insights into how well the company is achieving its goals and objectives.
They can be used for various purposes, such as assessing departmental performance, tracking progress on specific projects, evaluating overall business effectiveness, or measuring key indicators in project management (Project Management KPIs).
Examples help us understand better. Let’s look at some common business report types.
An Annual Report is a thorough account of the operations of a corporation for the previous year. Its goal is to inform users, such as shareholders or potential investors, about the business’s activities and financial performance.
By reviewing the annual reports, readers can thoroughly understand the company’s overall performance over the previous year. Note that many Annual Reports differ from traditional reports with much text.
Many businesses frequently include graphics and photographs, creating visually engaging documents. Below is one of our business report examples.
A Sales and Revenue Report shows a firm’s income from selling its products or rendering services. Accounting often uses sales and revenue interchangeably to refer to the same item. It is crucial to remember that revenue does not always equate to money received.
A Sales and Revenue Report will show how much was paid in cash and credit.
An Inventory Report summarizes a retailer’s current stock. It condenses information about the state and performance of inventory, including specifics like:
You can use a variety of inventory report kinds, each with a specific function. Here is a business report template.
Gathering and analyzing crucial information about the online traffic to and from your website is known as website traffic reporting. Even though the general rule is that the more visitors, the better, that may not be true, and here is why.
High traffic numbers alone don’t always equate to boosted sales or lead creation. Luckily, you can create pattern models that uncover potential flaws in your online design and guide ongoing development decisions. It is possible when you have access to accurate and immediate website traffic data through a report.
These business report examples show why they play a crucial role in organizations.
Both Excel and Google Sheets offer built-in templates for various types of business reports, such as annual reports, financial summaries, and project tracking. These templates provide a structured layout that you can easily customize, saving time and ensuring a professional look.
Excel and Google Sheets allow you to create charts, graphs, and tables to visualize data, which is especially useful for reports like sales, revenue, or inventory tracking. Tools like pivot tables in Excel and chart functions in both platforms help summarize and analyze data efficiently.
Formulas like SUM, AVERAGE, and VLOOKUP in Excel and Google Sheets help automate data calculations. These functions make it easy to track key performance indicators (KPIs) over time, ensuring consistency and accuracy without manually updating every report.
Add-ons like ChartExpo in Google Sheets or Power Query in Excel enhance reporting capabilities, offering additional chart options and data analysis tools. These are ideal for complex data insights, giving reports a more refined and comprehensive view.
Google Sheets enables real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same report simultaneously. While Excel offers similar capabilities via Excel Online, Google Sheets is particularly popular for teams in different locations, as changes are instantly saved and visible to all contributors.
Excel is a powerful tool used by billions of people worldwide for handling data, creating reports, and visualizing insights like a profit and loss chart. While it offers incredible capabilities, stakeholders often find it challenging to interpret reports presented as data tables.
Visualizations like Sankey Diagrams can make the information more accessible and engaging, helping stakeholders better understand complex data relationships.
Even if it allows to creation of visualization but still this tool by default is short of awesome visualizations. To get stunning and presentable visualizations you can install a third-party add-in and enhance the feature of this tool.
How to Install ChartExpo in Excel?
Example
Using the quarterly 2022 earnings information of Apple Company, let’s create a graphical presentation of the flow of funds.
| Products | Devices revenue | Revenue | Profit & Cost | Profit & Sources | Operations | Outflows | Amount |
| iPhone | Devices revenue | Revenue | Devices gross profit | Gross profit | Operating profit | Net profit | 19.4 |
| iPhone | Devices revenue | Revenue | Devices gross profit | Gross profit | Operating profit | Tax | 3.7 |
| iPhone | Devices revenue | Revenue | Services gross profit | Gross profit | Operating expenses | R&D | 6.8 |
| iPhone | Devices revenue | Revenue | Services gross profit | Gross profit | Operating expenses | Selling general & admin | 6 |
| iPhone | Devices revenue | Revenue | Cost of Revenue | Services | 4.8 | ||
| iMac | Devices revenue | Revenue | Cost of Revenue | Services | 0.8 | ||
| iMac | Devices revenue | Revenue | Cost of Revenue | Devices | 6.6 | ||
| iPad | Devices revenue | Revenue | Cost of Revenue | Devices | 7.2 | ||
| Watch | Devices revenue | Revenue | Cost of Revenue | Devices | 8.1 | ||
| Apple Pay | Revenue | Cost of Revenue | Devices | 19.6 |
Apple’s primary income source is from the sale of consumer electronics. Especially the iPhone, which is nearly half of its total earnings from the total revenue of $83.4bn. The iPhones are highly sought after in the United States. They compose around 50 percent of smartphone sales throughout the nation.
Google Sheets is also liked by a plethora of people. No doubt, this tool is amazing for handling data and providing visualization but still, you will not find such amazing visualization which sometimes especially meets the requirement of data to be displayed properly.
For this purpose, the ChartExpo extension needs to be installed in Google Sheets. Once it is installed you can access all the charts available in this library and create your stunning business reports.
How to Install ChartExpo in Google Sheets?
Let’s use the data below to create an analytical report to analyze the performance of your digital campaign. You want to analyze the data on how clicks on the advertisement are doing as compared to the previous and current month.
| Period | State | Clicks |
| Previous | Chicago, Illinois, US | 14 |
| Previous | Dallas, Texas, US | 7 |
| Previous | Houston, Texas, US | 12 |
| Previous | Austin, Texas, US | 14 |
| Previous | Albany, New York, US | 31 |
| Previous | Trenton, New Jersey, US | 24 |
| Previous | Newark, New Jersey, US | 22 |
| Previous | Helena, Montana, US | 8 |
| Previous | San Antonio, Texas, US | 7 |
| Current | Chicago, Illinois, US | 21 |
| Current | Dallas, Texas, US | 27 |
| Current | Houston, Texas, US | 30 |
| Current | Austin, Texas, US | 69 |
| Current | Albany, New York, US | 21 |
| Current | Trenton, New Jersey, US | 34 |
| Current | Newark, New Jersey, US | 21 |
| Current | Helena, Montana, US | 21 |
| Current | San Antonio, Texas, US | 28 |
You can edit the properties of this chart and put headings on top of the chart or make other changes according to your needs. Eventually, you can have the final look as shown below:
Creating a business report in Excel and Google Sheets requires planning and attention to detail. Here are some tips for writing an effective business report in Excel:
Clarity is crucial. Use simple language and avoid jargon or complex terms. Keep sentences short and break up long paragraphs. Incorporate concepts like “Break-Even Analysis” clearly and concisely to ensure understanding. Focus on the main points and avoid unnecessary details. This keeps the report clean, natural, and to the point, helping the reader follow along easily.
Understanding your audience is important. Are they managers, executives, or team members? Tailor your report to their needs. Use language they understand. Highlight information they care about. This makes your report more effective. It ensures your message gets across clearly.
Visual aids like charts and graphs are helpful. They make data easier to understand. Include visuals to support your points. Use them to highlight key information. Keep visuals simple. Avoid clutter. This makes them more effective and easier to read.
A feasibility report assesses the practicality and potential success of a proposed project or business idea. It examines factors like technical feasibility, market viability, financial implications, and risk analysis, helping decision-makers determine whether to proceed with the initiative.
Business reports often have the following elements: a title page, executive summary, content list, introduction, body, conclusion, recommendations, references, and appendices.
Business reports are an essential tool in the modern workplace. They provide insight into the performance of your business, help you make informed decisions, and track progress. Creating various types of business reports in Excel and Google Sheets is a great way to analyze data, communicate information, and recommend actions.
Creating a business report in Excel & Google Sheets is relatively straightforward. First, gather relevant data and input it into the spreadsheet.
Then, use the various features of tools to create charts and graphs to visualize the data. Finally, you can use formulas and filters to analyze the data and draw meaningful conclusions.
With ChartExpo, you can create the best business report in Excel and Google Sheets. It is an add-in that provides a simple dashboard to manage, analyze, and visualize data.
You can create charts and graphs with minimal effort. This way, you can transform your business report into something more engaging, educational, and impactful.
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