50+ Sample Report Forms

Report Forms: What Are They?

Before anything else, you should know there are different types of reports depending on the purpose it serves. It can be academic, technical, or business-oriented, and provides recommendations for specific actions. The reason why reports are written is to present facts about a situation, project, or process, among others. Also, written reports are used to define and analyze issues at hand. But most importantly, the goal of a report is to relay observation to a specific group of people in a clear and concise manner. To easily create this important business document, report forms are needed. A report form is tailored to the reader’s needs and expectations. With it, outlining information is a lot easier than you can imagine. Because report forms have blank spaces, users can easily fill them in with relevant details.

Did you know that report forms became an essential part of the fight against Covid-19? Since the outbreak of the contagious virus in 2019, a lot of people have become vulnerable to diseases. Statistics show that Covid is surging day by day. Based on a report published by Statista, the latest accumulated number of cases of coronavirus worldwide is 120,695,785. This leaves health systems around the world overwhelmed. Yet, with the help of proper data gathering and report forms, authorities can know how to establish measurable actions to handle the health crisis.

What Are the Different Types of Report Forms?

As mentioned above, report forms come in different types. Picking the right one to use highly depends on its intended purpose. Because of that, it is imperative to fully understand the reason why there is a need to write a report. When that is covered, you can easily choose the most suitable report form to use. Here are some of the most common types of report forms. You might have used them in one of your report-making tasks.

Narrative Report: A narrative report to a piece of writing in which details are chronologically arranged. You can tell the similarity of a narrative report to storytelling. Both involve narration of what happened in a story, event, or series of actions from start to finish. However, what makes a narrative report distinguishable from storytelling is it contains details based on facts or statistics from a reliable source. When it comes to business, a narrative report is crucial as well. You can use a report like this to outline the entirety of business plans, marketing strategies, you name it all. Thus, make sure to arrange the information logically to convey your message well and make the flow of telling smooth.Expense Report: An expense report is a printed document used by managers in small businesses or big corporations in reaching specific goals. Usually, expense reports are made with a spreadsheet to note how companies and workers spend on something that is business-related. Aside from reporting how much money was spent on a specific undertaking, an expense report is also useful in managing taxes and accounting information purposes.Book Report: Have you ever been asked by one of your teachers to read a book and write an essay about it afterward? In case you have forgotten why they told you to do that, your teacher wanted you to make a book report. However, based on the definition of what a report is, essays and reports are different documents. But book report is an exemption. By definition, a book report refers to an essay that tackles book content. To make a report, it has to feature a heading and subheading to break down the idea of the essay.Assessment Report: An assessment report is an important tool in various fields, whether be it academic, business-oriented, medical, and so much more. In writing an assessment report, the assessor must present the data collected from an assessment. With this, people who need to know about the interpretation of data will potentially gain awareness of what is expected from these results. The business industry leverage much from assessment reports. But how? Say, for example, a corporation that focuses on manufacturing goods is not doing well with returns will conduct an assessment to discover the factors affecting low sales. Incident Report: To fully understand what an incident report is, let us first define what an incident is. It refers to the unexpected events that can affect any operation. According to Safeopedia, an incident is any unintentional occurrence that disrupts conventional processes, particularly in occupational health and safety. More so, such an episode covers from a near miss to a deadly accident. Hence, an incident report is a document that contains a structured narrative of what happened during an occurrence of an incident. Most commonly, an incident report is required by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to document hazards in the workplace.

How to Write a Report

For sure, there is no way to make a report. Since it is one of the most important business documents, companies invest in making reports. They might have trained their employees to write such documents. However, if you are a beginner and do not know where to start. Begin by conducting research. You do not need a strenuous information gathering system to know about the basics of report-writing. The internet offers a lot of information about this one. But ensure that you go to the right places and look for reliable resources. And to take all your worries away, we created a list of steps to help you write a compelling report. Continue reading below.

Step 1: Take Some Time to Prepare and Plan Your Report

Every successful undertaking starts with a plan. The “Not having a plan is a plan” antics do not apply with making a report. You have to set your goals and what you want to achieve in writing a report. This way, you can establish steps in achieving these goals. Without a quality plan, you would not know what to do and where to start. Having a plan will walk you through from starting your report to finishing it. If some things are still on the fence, this phase is your chance to extend your research. Make sure that everything is in a good light when you start writing the report.

Additionally, ask yourself the following questions while planning: (1) who are the readers?; (2) what is the purpose of the report?; (3) why is the report needed?; and (4) what information should be included in the incident report?

Step 2: Before You Start Writing, Identify Your Audience First

Now that you have a plan, the next best step for you to take is to identify your audience—which is the readers. They are the group of people who will use the incident report for specific purposes. When you know who is reading your material, you know what language to use upon writing. Remember that people read reports, not for entertainment, but to obtain relevant details that are important. Hence, use simple words that are easy to understand so that you can put your message across seamlessly. Writers of technical reports should put the readers’ concerns and expectations first before anything else. By doing this, these reports will be of good use because users can understand them easily.

Step 3: Begin Collecting Supporting Information

When everything is covered, begin collecting supporting information for your report. When it comes to incident reports, most organizations assign an employee to record instances of incidents. For example, construction firms hire safety managers to manage awareness of hazards at the workplace. They are also tasked to document accidents caused by unsafe work practices. The data you present in your incident report must be based on real events. If not, then your report cannot provide actual results and your goals will not be achieved.

Step 4: Use a Report Form Template

Making incident reports is an extensive task. But will make it more convenient at your end. You do not have to start from the bottom in making this report. Because with a report template, you can get things done in no time. The best thing about using a template is it promotes consistency not just in your incident report but also in various documents like statements, receipts, project proposals, among other things.

For more ready-made templates, check the collection above or visit our website today. You can sign up for any of our subscription plans and enjoy exclusive perks. With a template, editing your incident report will be so much easier. Each template comes in with suggested content that you can modify or leave as it is. By using a compatible editing tool, completing any report is at your fingertip.

FAQs

How is a report form relevant?

Because of the onset of the global health crisis brought upon by the coronavirus, there was a surge of infection. In order to properly record how many people are infected with Covid-19, health organizations use report forms. By knowing how many individuals need urgent medical attention, they can establish actions to fight against Covid. Based on a report by Statista, there are 120,695,785 cases of coronavirus worldwide as of March 16, 2021.

What should I include in my incident report?

Your incident report should contain facts related to the incident including the following:

  • Specific location
  • Date and time of the incident
  • Name of the affected individual as well as contact information, job title, and department
  • Name of witness and also include their perspective by having an interview
  • The context or what was the employee doing and who asked them to do it
  • Specific actions of those involved
  • The environment of the incident
  • The injuries, how it is treated, and damages towards the affected employee

What is the difference between an incident and an accident?

An incident is a situation when something unexpected happens. On the other hand, accidents are unexpected events too but can cause serious injury or illness to a person or severe property damage.

Incidents are inevitable. Once it happens, there is nothing you can do about it. However, you can prevent incidents from happening by learning why, how, and when they occur. And your way around it is with an incident report form. Get started with your report now by downloading our template.