Commercial_Correspondence

© Letterhead

e References

e Per pro Job title

e Enclosure

Email staff@comvis.co.uk

www.comvis.co.uk

Your ref. 6 May 20-

G Your ref. DS/MR

Date 11 May 20—

Ms B. Kaasen

Bredgade 51

DK 1260

Copenhagen K

DENMARK

Dear Ms Kaasen,

Thank you for your enquiry.

I enclose our catalogue and price-list for DVD video equipment . You will find full details of the Omega range on pages 31-35.

Please contact us if you have any further questions or would like to place an order.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Mary Raptor

p.p. Donald Sampson Sales Manager

e Enc.

t3

Letters, faxes, and emails

14

Note that the Your Ref. in the letter on page 13 is a date, as Ms Kaasen did not give any reference in her original letter.

Per pro

The abbreviation P.P. sometimes appears in signature blocks. It means PER PRO, i.e.for and on behalf of, and is used by administrators or personal assistants when signing letters on behalf of their managers.

J title

When sending a letter or email on behalf of your company, it is a good idea to include your job title in the signature block, especially if your recipient has not dealt with you before.

Enclosures

If there are any documents enclosed with a letter, although these may be mentioned in the body of the letter, it is also common to write Enc. or Enc/. below the signature block. If there are a number of documents, these can be listed, e.g.:

Enc.

Bill of lading (3 copies)

Insurance certificate (i copy)

Certificate of origin (i copy)

Bill of exchange (i copy)

LAYOUT 3 r>

The final letter in this section shows some further features of a business letter.

Private and confidential

This phrase may be written at the head of a letter and, more important, on the envelope, in cases where the letter is intended to be read only by the addressee.

There are many variations of this phrase, e.g. Confidential, Strictly confidential, but little difference in meaning.

Subject time

A s UBJE CT TITLE at the beginning of a letter, directly after the salutation, provides a further reference, saves introducing the subject in the first paragraph, immediately draws attention to the topic of the letter, and allows the writer to refer to it throughout.

It is not necessary to begin the subject title with Re. (with regard to), e.g. Re.: Application for the post of web designer. When sending email messages this may even be confusing as RE is short for reply

C pies

When copies are sent to people other than the named recipient, c. c. is added, usually at the end of a letter, before the name/s of the recipient/s of the copies.

Sometimes you will not want the named recipient to know that other people have received copies. In this case, B. C. C.(BLIND

and the name/s of the recipient/s, are added on the copies themselves, though not, of course, on the top copy.

These abbreviations are used in email, and mean exactly the same thing

ADDRESSING ENVELOPES

Envelope addresses are written in a similar way to inside addresses s>see pages 8—io. But in the case of letters within or for the UK, the name of the town and the country are written in capital letters, and the postcode is usually written on a line by itself.

Mr G. Penter

49 Memorial Road

ORPINGTON

Kent

BR69UA

Messrs W. Brown low & Co.

600 Grand Street

LONDON

WIN 9UZ

UK

Q Private and

confidential

® Subject title

(b) Copies

It appears from our records that, despite several reminders, the above invoice remains unpaid. Unless the account is cleared within 14 days from the date of this letter, we shall' take legal action.

Yours sincerely

DOKAIOLS:4444e-COli,

Donald Sampson

Sales Manager

l c.c. Messrs Poole & Jackson Ltd, Solicitors

1 5

Letters, faxes, and emails

Faxes

INTRODUCTION

The wordfax comes from facsimile, which means an exact copy or reproduction. Like email, the wordfax can be used as a noun, e.g. I sent a fax or as a verb, e.g. We willfax you when we have the information.

A fax message is useful when speed is important and the recipient does not have emailit is especially useful for documents containing diagrams or drawings. Like email, a fax can be sent quickly to many different recipients at the same time. However, again like email, fax is an open system, i.e. correspondence can easily be accessed by outsiders, so it should not be used for confidential information.

When sending handwritten fax messages, use a dark colour and make your writing large and clear.

As faxes are copies of documents, they cannot be used when the originals are required. For example, an original BILL OF LADING gives TITLE to goods (i.e. you would own the goods if you had the bill in your possession), and would not be valid if it were a faxed copy.

Faxes have been 'court tested', and they tend to be accepted in legal cases, along with letters, as evidence in certain areas of international trade. However, an email containing similar information might not be considered valid under certain circumstances.

Different fax machines offer a wide range of facilities, including repeat dialling if the receiver's fax machine is engaged; a transmission report which gives details of the time, date, sender, receiver, number of pages, duration, and result; a verification mark at the foot of the page to confirm the fax was sent; and a number memory for frequently used numbers. Check the manual of your fax machine to find out what functions it can perform.

It is also possible to send a fax from a computer.

Preparing fore tzansmission

Check that you have the correct fax number. Check that the paper on which your message is printed or written is suitable. If it is too big, too small, or in poor condition, photocopy the message on paper that can be accepted by the fax machine. Before using the machine, check that you know how to dial, cancel, clear a paper jam, and send.

When you send a fax it is a good idea to use a fax transmission cover form. This will help to ensure that the fax reaches its intended recipient safely. Most companies use their own headed fax transmission form, but you can easily create one for yourself, e.g.:

BRITISH CRYSTAL Ltd.

Glazier House

Green Lane

Derby

DE1112T

FAX MESSAGE

To:

From:

Fax no.:

Subject:

Date:

Page/s:

STYLE

Generally, faxes are similar to letters in style, level of formality, and the use of conventions . However, a fax may be shorter and the language more direct, like an email, as there is a time element in the cost of sending them. As with email messages, beware of using too informal a tone with customers or suppliers you do not know well.

Fax no. (06) 4815473

subject Replacement of damaged order no.14478

Date 19 October 20—

Page/s 1

This is an urgent request for a consignment to replace the above order, which was damaged during delivery. We informed you about this in our letter of 15 September.

Please airfreight the following items:

The damaged consignment will be returned when we receive the replacement.

Peter Crane,

Peter Crane

Chief Buyer

17

Letters, faxes, and emails

18

Response to

importer's enquiry

This is a fax from

British Crystal to their

AGENTS, S.A. Importers,

in Saudi Arabia >see

correspondence on

pages 174-176.

This fax is quite formal in style as the companies have just started their business relationship. Notice how Mr Oliver'sells' the product to the importers. >See also

British Crystal's faxed enquiry to Universal Airways and the letter reply on pages 194-195.

British Crystal Ltd

GLAZIER HOUSE •GREEN LANE • DERBY DE1 1RT

TELEPHONE: +44 (0)1332 45790•FACSIMILE: +44 (0)1332 51977 Email: oliverh@crystal.com • www.britishcrystalcom

Thank you for your enquiry about our French Empire range of drinking glasses. There is a revival of interest in this period, so we are not surprised that these products have become popular with your customers.

I am sending with this fax pp.1-4 of our catalogue with CIF Riyadh prices, as you said you would like an immediate preview of this range. I would appreciate your comments on the designs with regard to your market.

I look forward to hearing from you.

H.Oliver

H.Oliver (Mr) Marketing Manager

Fax accompanying an order

With this fax, an importer is sending an official order and specifications for the drills he requires. He

says that a CONFIRMED LETTER OF CREDIT Will be opened once he has the supplier's

COMMERCIAL INVOICE.

accountant, and also the chief engineer.

Letters, faxes, and emails

Emails

INTRODUCTION

Email (short for electronic mail) is a means of . sending messages between computers.

To send and receive email you need access to the Internet. An Internet Service Provider (r sp) will provide you with connection software, which is often free. This will give you Internet access, storage for incoming mail, and the capability to read your messages. Finally, you need email software, generally already installed in modern computers, so that you can write, send, receive, and read messages.

Advantages

There are numerous advantages to email. It is personal and easy to use. It can be used both within and between companies, and is an effective way to communicate quickly and easily with people all over the world. It is especially useful for short messages and for everyday correspondence, e.g. setting up a meeting, passing on information, and making or replying to a request.

You can pick up your email messages, even when you are travelling, via a laptop or palmtop. With compatible systems, you can access text and graphic documents, and spreadsheets. And whatever you send or receive can be quickly and easily filed.

Okadvantages

The disadvantages of email include technical problems which may result in the unexpected non-delivery of messages, or attachments arriving in unreadable form. A non-technical disadvantage is that, paradoxically, the ease with which messages can be sent results in large amounts of'junk' and unnecessary communication, which waste time.

As with faxes, a major drawback is the lack of privacy and security. Do not use email to communicate confidential information. It is sometimes said that an email message is like a postcard — anyone can read what you have written. However, digital signing and encryption (coding data, so that it can only be

read by authorized users), which both work along similar lines, make email more secure.

Erna and other forms of correspondence

There are several areas of business communication where more traditional forms of correspondence are still the most suitable. For example, personal and sensitive correspondence such as messages of congratulation, condolence, or complaint are usually best done by letter. Confirmation of contracts, memos which are confidential and must be signed to acknowledge receipt, and any correspondence which may be needed for legal or insurance purposes should not normally be sent by email. You might find a job on the Internet, but most companies would still expect your application to consist of a completed form with a covering letter.

EmalP addresses

Typical email addresses look like this:

dfranks@intchem.co.no

comeyg@kingsway.ac.uk

The first part of the email address is usually the surname and initial of the person you are contacting, or the name if it is a department, or a shortened version of it. The second part, which appears immediately after the @ (at), is the name of the is P or organization, or again an abbreviation of it. Usually, the last part of the address includes the domain name suffixes referring to the type of organization (e.g. '.co' for 'company', '.ac' ('academic') for a university) and to the country from which the message was sent (e.g. '.no' for Norway, '.uk' for the United Kingdom).

Other examples of domain name suffixes referring to types of organization include:

.biz business

.gov government office

.org non-profit-making organization

(e.g. a charity)

.pro profession (e.g. medicine, law)

Q Header information

e Message text

Signature block

sliewa pue 'saxe; 'venal

21

Letters, faxes, and emails

22

STYLE

Email is a relatively recent development, and because it is perceived as a quick and informal means of communication, people are often unclear about the style and conventions they should use in business situations.

As a general rule, although email correspondence may tend towards informality it should follow the same principles as any other form of business correspondence.

Here are some basic tips about style:

—In general, email messages follow the style and conventions used in letters or faxes. For example, you can use salutations such as

Dear Mr Pinto or Dear Tom, and complimentary doses such as Yours sincerely or Best wishes. However, if you know the recipient well, or if you are exchanging a series of messages with one person, you may dispense with the salutation and complimentary close.

— Do not confuse personal messages with business messages. In a business message, the same rules of writing apply as for a letter: write clearly, carefully, and courteously; consider audience, purpose, clarity, consistency, conciseness, and tone.

—Use correct grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation, as you would in any other form of correspondence.

—Do not write words in capital letters in an email message. This can be seen as the equivalent of shouting and therefore have a negative effect. If you want to stress a word, put asterisks on each side of it, e.g. *urgent*.

—Keep your email messages short and to the point. People often receive a lot of emails at work, so conciseness is especially important.

—In general, imit yourself to one topic per message. This helps to keep the message brief and makes it easier for the recipient to answer, file, and retrieve it later.

—Check your email message for mistakes before you send it, just as you would check a letter or a fax message.

Email abbreviations

TLAs (three-letter acronyms)

In order to keep email messages short, people sometimes use abbreviations for common expressions, just as they do in text messaging. These are known as TLAs (three-letter acronyms), although some of them are more than three letters long. Here is a list of some of the most commonly used TLAs:

AFAIK as faraslknow

BFN bye for now

BTW by the way

COB close of business

FYI for your information

IOW in other words

NRN no reply necessary

OTOH on the other hand

Use TLAs with great care, and only when you have established a friendly, informal relationship with your correspondent. They should not be be used in letters and faxes.

Emoticons

Emoticons (a combination of the words emotion and icon), also know as smileys, are often used in informal email correspondence. They express emotions which may not be evident from the words alone, e.g.:

:-) a smile :-( a frown ;-) a wink

On the whole, it is better not to use them in business messages, as they may be considered unprofessional, especially if you do not know the recipient well or are not sure that he or she will understand them.