Improve Your Reports

When you are trying to offer reports to your stakeholders, you must make sure those reports make sense. Many business owners put out reports that are hard to read, difficult to conceptualize or are filled with unnecessary information. You should follow the steps below to make certain that your reports do more than just filter a bunch of numbers.

What Is The Audience?You need to know who your investors are. You must have an idea of what they will want to read, what they prefer to see and what they want to know about your company. If you are producing reports for people that you know well, you need to give them reports that speak to them directly. Get to know these people if you have not already so that you can write something that is meant only for their eyes and ears.

Be SimpleYou should make sure that your reports are as simple as possible. Put in only the basics so that your investors will not have too much to read. Investors do not have time to sit around and read reports that look as if they are a short novel. Give them only what they need to see so that they can the report and move on.Simplicity implies that you do not bore your investors with words and numbers they do not care about. If they want boring specifics, they will ask you for them. You want them to get an overview of what the business does so that they can take mental notes of what your business is doing.

Use VisualsYou should make sure that you use as many charts and visuals as you can. You do not want to fill the page with words when you can use charts to tell the story. A short description next a chart tells your investors everything they need to know. If you are planning carefully, you can get a load of information into a very small space.Your reports are a vital part of your business, and you need to be certain your investors are apprised of everything that you are doing with the business. You will be able to keep your investors out of the operations phase of the business while explaining to them what is going on. Involving your investors in the business is no more difficult than printing a few pieces of paper.

Jeff Ramson is CEO of PCG Advisory Group and is passionate about helping both public and private companies grow.