To move in the wide world of administrative and business documentation, it is necessary to know and manage both the vocabulary and the linguistic structures necessary to express ourselves properly. So, depending on the support used, whether it is email, letter or any other, we must know what language to use for each of them.

As important as proper courtesy guidelines is choosing the style, both formal and informal, appropriate for each administrative and business document. Likewise, in the case of needing a direct or reverse translation of the documentation, we must pay attention to aspects such as the language to be translated; the culture of the original and final language, the length of the final language, and the matter in question.

Within basic commercial documentation, we find these types of documents:

Let´s analyse the main characteristics of commercial correspondence, both in the form and in the style that must prevail, regardless of the relationship we have with the recipient of the same.

Commercial documents have may very varied forms and modalities depending on the culture or country to which each company belongs, but they share some common elements that give them unity and make them stand out from the rest of the informal correspondence.

The style that should prevail, regardless of the relationship we have with the recipient, is as follows:

Budgets can be made for a person, a group of people, a business, a government, or just about anything else that makes and spends money. Revenue is also known as sales on the income statement. It is vital for a startup to get positive revenue early.

A delivery note describes what a package contains - including details about the type and the quantity of goods delivered.

It also describes whether any goods in the original order are not enclosed - thereby providing an overview of what the recipient has ordered and what has been sent in that particular delivery.

A delivery note include a shipment of goods sent out to a customer. You’ll find two types of delivery note out there:

• The valued delivery note: this will include the individual cost of each service or goods, plus any discounts, taxes, and the final value of the completed transaction.
• The non-valued delivery note: this will not state any of the above and it’s mandatory for it to be accompanied by an invoice. There is a detail description and amount of goods enclosed in the shipment. The delivery note does not usually list the price of the goods being delivered, that information will be on the invoice which follows shortly after.

In some cases, a copy of the delivery note is signed by the recipient and then returned to the seller or consignor as proof of delivery.

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Although delivery notes are optional, each delivery note that is sent should still follow a set of requirements for information in order to ensure clear communication to both the sender and the customer receiving the goods. A few other fields that need to be filled out are:

The response to any request for information on the offer of our products, together with the closed budget, must be a brief and simple document, containing only the prices and the information requested. We can also attach any document that we consider appropriate to stimulate our client's interest in our articles or services, always assuring them that they will receive personalised attention.

Let's learn some structures that will be useful in these type of documents:

There are several types of dossiers: promotional dossier, customer dossiers, financial dossiers, sales dossiers, etc.

What is a promotional dossier?

The main objective of a promotional dossier of a company is to try to approach any client that represents growth for our business. It may be directed to potential investors if what is sought is an injection of funds, to our clients to achieve the expansion of our company or to our employees that help us to solve or improve some aspects that we find weaker within the organization or the services we offer. Some of them are: leaflets, brochures, posters, flyers, banners, etc.

Other documents that are very important in terms of sales relationships are those referring to the shipment of merchandise and acknowledgment of receipt.

As we have seen previously seen, the purpose of these documents is to inform our customers that their merchandise is ready to be shipped or has been recently shipped.

The acknowledgments of receipt are adjusted to the merchandise that must be signed by the clients when they receive the merchandise, giving their agreement when receiving it.

Some of the structures in these type of documents are:

Invoices are used as a source document for business accounting. Invoices are helpful for recording all the sales transactions a business makes with its clients. Invoices are used by businesses for a variety of purposes, including:

• To request timely payment from clients.
• To keep track of sales.
• To track inventory, for businesses selling products.
• To forecast future sales using historical data.
• To record business revenue for tax filings.

An invoice ID, also referred to as an invoice number, is a unique number that’s assigned to each invoice a business generates. The invoice number is a crucial invoice element because it allows a business to easily identify and refer to individual transactions with clients.

Maintaining good business records can keep a company on firm financial footing and protect against disputes with customers and creditors. It can also aid in tax preparation and tax audit defense, if necessary. Invoices should be archived in financial accounting.

Keeping your invoices can help you prove the validity of profit and loss statements.

There are different approaches businesses can adopt to assign invoice numbers. Here are some common approaches to assigning invoice numbers:

Here is an invoice example:

There are some essential fields each invoice must include. Let´s see them:

1. The word Invoice.
2. Seller’s name and address, contact details and company registration number.
3. Buyer´s name and address.
4. Date: invoice issue date, payment due date, delivery date.
5. A unique invoice reference number.
6. Description of services or products including quantity, cost per unit and total item cost.
7. Total amount charged with Tax Information.
8. Available payment methods (optional), including bank account number and a reference code identifying the customer

In the daily administrative work you handle all kinds of documents related to the company, among other financial documents of all kinds. Let's see a general outline of the most important financial reports in every company.

The four main types of financial statements are:

As a general rule, most clients settle their debts according to the payment terms and terms that are normally established at the beginning of the transaction. However, some overlook these dates and it is our obligation to remind them of their non-payment.

The first reminder must always be written using a friendly tone, since the delay may be due to a mere mistake in the dates or to any serious reason. If he persists in his attitude and we are forced to send a second reminder, then it is legitimate to use a firmer tone, although never rude.

Some of the structures or expressions that we can use in these circumstances are the following:

Trade documentation is considered a critical constituent of international sales as export transactions involve much complex documentation work. Trade documentation facilitates international transactions, protecting interests of exporters and importers located in two different countries governed by different statutory and legislative frameworks.

This type of documents include proforma invoice, commercial invoice, freight invoice, weight note, packing list, manufacturer’s analysis certificate, certificate of inspection, certificate of origin, etc. These essential documents in more details:

• Proforma invoice: Proforma invoice is an offer form which exporter provides it to importer. It includes all information regarding importer and shipper’s identity/address , price of commodity, quantity, transportation type, freight cost and type of delivery, insurance and date of loading, weight of commodity, types of packing, number of boxes, offer price and validity date.
• Commercial invoice: Commercial invoice is the first official document when commodity is about to get ready and before shipping. If importer agrees on all information on the proforma invoice, commercial invoice will be same as proforma invoice as well. If any of the information changes on the proforma invoice such as quantity of goods, types of packaging, price, etc… commercial invoice has to be revised base on chances.
• Freight Invoice: Freight is the price of transportation cost. Freight is either prepaid in origin or collected at destination. If the freight is paid to forwarder/ or carrier on date of loading, the type of freight is prepaid. If the freight is collected, the payment will be paid after vessel sail.
• Packing List: Packing list includes quantity, description, and weight. This document helps customs broker during customs entry process and carrier to determine piece count.
• Certificate of origin: The certificate of origin shows the country of origin of the merchandise being shipped. The certificate of origin may be required because of Treaty arrangements, and duty rates.

To Sum up, as a freight forwarder I understand how transportation process and  costs are important for all parties to the transactions. To avoid additional costs or delay on cargo arrival, these documents are crucial and should be prepared carefully.

There are different shipping documents:

Here is an air shipment example in which we can see that the structure is the one that we have learned and only the details change depending on what we want to add in this specific case.

Some of the most used abbreviations are the following:

In the daily administrative tasks of a company you have to be used to reading and understanding economic terms. Let´s see some of these usual economic terms.

In the following chart you are given some clues to understand how they are formed and how they work.

Before printing anything, decide if what you are printing can be used in its electronic format. So, Think before you print, anything can be printed to a PDF file, save on the cloud, use your smartphone, digital signatures, print two-sided.