A business letter is a letter between companies or organizations used to communicate information professionally. There are various categories of business letters for different purposes like confirmation, acknowledgment, inquiry, reply, complaint, adjustment, collection, and sales. Business letters follow standard formatting guidelines including font, margins, punctuation, and indentation style to maintain a professional appearance. Common elements include the sender and recipient's contact information, date, greeting, content, closing, and enclosures.

1. What is BUSINESS LETTER?
A business letter is usually a letter from one company to other, or between such
organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. SO a good first
impression is essential. It is differentiated from a general letter by its layout and form
which is well established by convention and practice.
CATEGORIES OF BUSINESS LETTERS:
 Confirmation Business Letters
 Acknowledgement Business Letters
 Enquiry Business Letters
 Reply Business Letters
 Complaint Business Letters
 Adjustment Business Letters
 Collection Business Letters
 Sales Business Letters
 Circular Business Letters
Confirmation Business Letters:
The main purpose of this is to provide a written record of arrangements made
between the sender & the recipient in person. These letters are usually very short.
Acknowledgement Business Letters:
This letter is sent to acknowledge receipt of something when a written record is
appropriate. An acknowledgement may also be sent to acknowledge receipt of
another letter or document which requires further attention. As such you would
clearly state that you will look into the matter and reply in more detail at a later date.
Enquiry Business Letters:
An enquiry letter is written to seek information from other organizations. It may deal
with a simple matter or a matter of wider dimensions.
Reply Business Letters:
Enquiries mean potential business so they must be acknowledged promptly. If the
letter is from an established customer, say how much you appreciate it. If it is from
a prospective customer, thank them for their enquiry, give all the relevant
information and express the hope of good business relations.

2. Complaint Business Letters:
There are bound to be occasions in business when you have to make a complaint, or
deal with one. When you have a genuine complaint you will feel angry but
remember that the other party may not be to blame. They may have a perfectly
good defence.
Collection letters:
Collection letters are those sent to customers who do not pay accounts promptly. In
such letters tone is very important. The way you write such letters will depend on such factors as
the age of the debt, whether the customer is habitually late in settling accounts and any previous
reminders issued.
General format
Margins
Side, top and bottom margins should be 1 to 1 1/4 inches (the general default settings in
programs such as Microsoft Word). One-page letters and memos should be vertically centered.
Font formatting No special character or font formatting is used, except for the subject line, which
is usually underlined.
Font formatting
No special character or font formatting is used, except for the subject line, which is usually
underlined.
Punctuation
The salutation or greeting is generally followed by a comma in British style, whereas in the United
States a colon is used. The valediction or closing is followed by a comma.
Form
The following is the general format, excluding indentation used in various formats:
[SENDER'S COMPANY NAME]
[SENDER'S ADDRESS (optional if placed at bottom)]
[SENDER'S PHONE]
[SENDER'S E-MAIL (optional)]
[DATE]

3. [RECIPIENT W/O PREFIX]
[RECIPIENT'S COMPANY]
[RECIPIENT'S ADDRESS]
(Optional) Attention [DEPARTMENT/PERSON]
Dear [RECIPIENT W/ PREFIX]
[First Salutation then Subject in Business letters]
[CONTENT]
[CONTENT]
[COMPLIMENTARY CLOSING (Sincerely, Respectfully, Regards, etc.)]
[SENDER]
[SENDER'S TITLE](Optional)
[SENDER'S ADDRESS (optional if placed at top)]
Enclosures ([NUMBER OF ENCLOSURES])
Indentation formats
Business letters conform to generally one of six indentation formats: standard, open,
block, semi-block, modified block, and modified semi-block. Put simply, "semi-" means that the
first lines of paragraphs are indented; "modified" means that the sender's address, date, and
closing are significantly indented.
Standard
The standard-format letter uses a colon after the salutation and a comma after the complimentary
closing.
Open
The open-format letter does not use punctuation after the salutation and no punctuation after the
complimentary closing.
Block
In a block-format letter, all text is left aligned and paragraphs are not indented.

4. Modified block
In a modified-block format letter, all text is left aligned (except the author's address, date, and
closing), paragraphs are not indented, and the author's address, date, and closing begin at the
center point.
Semi-block
Semi-block format is similar to the Modified block format, except that the first line of each
paragraph is indented.
Modified semi-block
In a modified semi-block format letter, all text is left aligned (except the author's address, date,
and closing), paragraphs are indented, and the author's address, date, and closing are usually
indented in same position.