Table of Contents
- Report Template Bundle
- Elements of A Good Report
- 10+ Report Templates
- Recommendation Report Template
- Expense Report Form Template
- Annual Expense Report Template
- Travel Expense Report Template
- Annual Sales Expense Report Template
- Free Daily Report Sample
- Free Monthly Report Sample
- Free Project Report Template
- Free Sales Report Example
- Free Weekly Report Format
- Monthly Business Management Report Sample
- Architect Folder & Annual Report Cover Template
- Rustic Annual Report Example
- Weekly Business Report Template
- How to Create a Good Report
- Types of Reports
- Report Sizes
10+ Report Templates
Creating written reports can sometimes be the bane of any working adult’s life. That is why if you want to have a quicker and easier time making reports for school or for work, looking into pre-formatted printable report templates can be worth your time.
Report Template Bundle
In this article, we discuss what report templates are, how to create effective reports, and what kinds of printable templates to use for each kind of document you are creating. Also, check out the rest of the article for easy to edit and downloadable sample templates for each kind of report you are making.
Elements of A Good Report
A good report isn’t all about the good news it contains. A report is good when it exhibits a few key characteristics or elements that makes its reader/s learn something more about the topic at hand, the person who wrote the report, and the consequences of the report. So if you want to make creating good reports a habit, be sure to read the next few paragraphs as we will be sharing the top elements that help make effective reports.
1. Data Visualization: To make the report easier to understand, use data visualization tools like graphs, charts, tables, and illustrations to present your data. This especially applies to those who are creating reports or summaries of dense subject matters. For example, a simple pie chart can better explain what a company’s expenses over a period of time compared to presenting this information in a wall of text.
2. No Walls of Text: Reports are often meant to be summaries of long texts, comprehensive research studies, or other extensive data sets. Therefore, to prevent your readers from being bored when reading your reports, you need to break up the inevitable walls of text that may come with such written documents. You can do this by employing the first element of a good report that we have discussed earlier. Or, you may just make sure to limit the paragraphs in the report.
3. Uniform Format: Another element that makes a good report is the report format itself. The most basic report format means having an introduction, methodology, results, and discussions. It also means using the same font style, font size, and other formatting styles. Doing all these things will help organize the ideas presented in the report.
4. Simple, jargon-free language: The verbiage used in any kind of report can be very important when it comes to communicating the message or the result of the report itself. Remember, reports are often not only read by those in the same team, industry, or profession as the creator of the report. And even if it is, you need to make sure that you and your reader are on the same page so that he or she can easily understand the report’s contents. And the most effective way to do this is to make sure that your report is written simply and explained without all the jargon.
5. Clear and defined action plan: A report is not simply a summary of some data sets that you wish to correlate or single out. An effective report should also contain a clearly defined action plan or list of recommendations based on the results stated in the report itself. The clearer the action plan stated, the more likely it will be followed.
That ends this list of the top five elements that should be seen in a report. Once you have incorporated all these elements into your report, you are guaranteed of having created a report that will give you positive results.
10+ Report Templates
Embedded below are examples of report templates that can be downloaded and customized for whatever purpose you want. All these printable templates are also available in multiple file formats depending on the kind of graphic design software tool that you use.
Recommendation Report Template
Expense Report Form Template
Annual Expense Report Template
Travel Expense Report Template
Annual Sales Expense Report Template
Free Daily Report Sample
Free Monthly Report Sample
Free Project Report Template
Free Sales Report Example
Free Weekly Report Format
Monthly Business Management Report Sample
Architect Folder & Annual Report Cover Template
Rustic Annual Report Example
Source
Weekly Business Report Template
How to Create a Good Report
Report-writing is easy. Well, as long as you know what you are doing. But who takes the time to properly learn all the nitty-gritty of report-writing in the digital age?
That is where we come in. Template.net can help you create the best report you could possibly make by using any relevant printable report template that we have available on our website. But that’s not all. We are also sharing a step-by-step guide on how to do it all. We will not leave you hanging. So, scroll down to read through these specific steps…
1. Determine what kind of report you are making: At the start of your project, you need to decide what kind of report you are creating. For example, if you are a business owner, you may need to create a sales report. Decide on what kind of sales reports you wish to make. Do you want quarterly, weekly, monthly, or daily sales reports?
2. Follow a report layout or format: As we have emphasized in the first part of this article, a report format is essential in making sense of the data you are presenting in your report. Therefore, your second step in making a report should be to choose a layout or format that you think will suit your business and report best.
3. To make things easier, use a pre-made report template instead: A pre-formatted report template will help you save time and energy when creating your report. This means that you get to focus on the data inventory and data analysis portion of the task instead.
4. Gather data and write the report: There is no substitute for this step in any report-making process. Depending on the type of report you are making, you need to gather all the relevant data and make sure that they are accurate and up to date. This way, you can make correct conclusions and recommendations from them.
5: Finalize the report: After the data-gathering and report-writing part, it is now time for you to review and proofread the report. You may also have another person act as the proofreader and fact-checker. This makes your report more professional and less biased.
6. Print out the report: For those who intend to get and distribute physical copies of their reports, make sure that the report template you created is also formatted for easy printing. Most pre-made templates will come with this functionality so that you will not have any problems when printing them.
You now have a printed a report on hand! Congratulate yourself for doing a good job in creating your own report. Learn from your mistakes (if there were any) and make sure not to commit them the next time you create a report.
Types of Reports
Reports are classified according to the type of data they summarized or contain. Listed below are the most common types of reports used in the world today.
- Expense Reports
- Report Cards
- Project Reports
- Daily Reports
- Monthly Reports
- Sales Reports
- Weekly Reports
- Business Reports
- Management Reports
Report Sizes
Reports are typically printed on legal paper sizes. In this article, we provide printable report templates that can be printed on both A4 and US paper sizes. These are the specific measurements for each kind report paper sizes:
- A4 – 210 mm by 297 mm or 8.27 inches by 11.69 inches
- Letter (US) – 216 mm by 279 mm or 8.5 inches by 11 inches
- Legal (US) – 216 mm by 356 mm or 8.5 inches by 14 inches
- Junior Legal (US) – 127mm by 203 mm or 5.0 inches by 8 inches
- Ledger US Paper Size – 279 mm by 432 mm or 11 inches by 17 inches
Report FAQs
What is a report template?
A report template is a digital file that is pre-formatted with all the text and design elements needed for a report. This means that it will already contain the textboxes, image placeholders, and other design elements that the end-user can customize to match their own reports. As a pre-made report template, they are also formatted to follow a pre-determined paper size. This makes for an easier printing process.
What tools do you use to make report templates?
Creating a report template is accomplished through the use of different graphic design and compositing software programs. Examples of which are Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Other software tools that are used to create simpler report templates are Microsoft Word, Publisher, and Excel.
What is the difference between a report template and a report cover template?
A report template is a digital file needed for creating or organizing the actual contents of a report. A report cover template, on the other hand, is a digital file that only contains the design and formatting elements needed to create the cover page of a report. For more examples of these printable cover templates, check out the rest of our website.
Use everything that you have learned in this article in crafting the most comprehensive and actionable report that you can make. Don’t forget to refer back to this article to refresh yourself with all the tips we have shared. Also, feel free to browse through our site to see more sample report and business catalog templates. You may also sign up for a premium account on Template.net to get the most out of these printable business report templates.
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