Business letter: what it is, parts, types and examples
Structure, types and templates ready to adapt: everything you need to write a business letter
A business letter is a formal document that a company sends to customers, suppliers or other companies to offer, request, confirm or complain about something related to its business.
It used to be sent on paper by postal mail. Today it almost always arrives by email, but it keeps the same structure and the same professional tone.
What is a business letter for?
Its purpose is to start, maintain or close a business relationship. With it, a company can introduce itself, send an offer, confirm an order, collect payment on an invoice or respond to a complaint.
It also leaves a written record of what was agreed. That’s why it should be clear, specific and easy to file.
Parts of a business letter
Every business letter follows a similar order:
| Part | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Letterhead | Logo, company name, address and contact details |
| Place and date | City and date it is sent |
| Recipient | Name, job title and company of the person receiving the letter |
| Subject or reference | One line summing up the reason, such as “Maintenance services offer” |
| Greeting | Formal greeting: “Dear Mr. López:” or “Dear Ms. Ruiz:” |
| Introduction | The reason for the letter in one or two sentences |
| Body | The main information: the offer, the order, the complaint… |
| Closing | What you expect the reader to do and a polite closing sentence |
| Sign-off and signature | “Sincerely,” name, job title and signature |
| Attachments | Attached documents, if any |
In an email, the subject line takes the place of the reference and the email signature replaces the letterhead and the handwritten signature. The rest of the structure stays the same.
Turn your business letter into an email campaign
Personalize the greeting with each customer’s name, use a template with your logo and see who opens it. Free for up to 80,000 emails a month.
Types of business letters
Depending on their purpose, the most common ones are:
- Offer or sales letter: presents a product or service, its benefits and its price.
- Introduction letter: introduces the company to a potential customer or partner. Not to be confused with the cover letter that accompanies a résumé.
- Order letter: requests products or services from a supplier, with quantities, prices and deadlines.
- Confirmation letter: confirms an order, a meeting or an agreement.
- Complaint letter: reports a problem with an order, a service or an invoice.
- Collection letter: sends a reminder about an outstanding payment.
- Thank-you letter: thanks a customer for a purchase, a visit or their trust.
If what you need is to write to your customers to tell them about a change, some news or a promotion, you’ll find templates in our guide to client letters.
Business letter examples
These business letter templates are short and you can adapt them to your company.
Offer business letter example
Dear Ms. Ruiz:
We are writing to introduce our IT maintenance service for offices. For €90 a month, it includes unlimited remote support, a monthly visit and daily backups.
If you sign up before November 30, the first month is free. You can reply to this email or call us at the number in the footer to arrange a demo.
Sincerely,
Carlos Martín, Sales Director
Complaint business letter example
Dear Sir or Madam:
On October 3 we received order no. 2458, which was missing 20 of the 100 boxes invoiced. Please send us the missing units or issue a corrected invoice.
We look forward to your reply.
Kind regards,
Laura Gómez, Purchasing Department
Thank-you business letter example
Dear Mr. López:
Thank you for trusting us to equip your new store. It has been a pleasure working with your team.
As a customer, you get a 10% discount on your next order for the next three months.
Best regards,
Ana Pérez, Customer Service
How to write a business letter
For your letter to achieve its goal:
- Get to the point. Explain the reason in the first paragraph.
- Write to a specific person. Use their name and job title, not “To whom it may concern.”
- Highlight the benefit for the reader, not just what your company does.
- End with a clear next step: reply, call, confirm or pay by a certain date.
- Choose your sign-off carefully. “Sincerely” and “Kind regards” are the most common; “I remain, yours truly” sounds old-fashioned.
- Check the spelling, names and figures before sending it.
The same tips apply to a formal email or a business proposal by email.
The business letter by email
When you send it to a single person, your email client is all you need. If it’s an offer or a notice for hundreds of customers, the practical thing is to turn it into an email marketing campaign.
That way you can personalize the greeting with each recipient’s name, use an email template with your letterhead and see who opens it.
How Mailrelay helps you
With Mailrelay, you turn your business letter into a campaign with your logo, a personalized greeting and a reply button. You’ll know who opened it and who clicked, and you can send a reminder only to those who didn’t respond.
The free account includes up to 80,000 emails a month and 20,000 contacts, with human support in English on all plans.
Send your offers to all your customers in minutes
Drag-and-drop editor, open and click statistics, and human support in English on all plans.
Frequently asked questions about business letters
These are the most common questions.
What is a business letter?
A formal document that a company sends to customers, suppliers or other companies to deal with a business matter.
What are the parts of a business letter?
Letterhead, place and date, recipient, subject, greeting, introduction, body, closing, sign-off with signature and, if needed, attachments.
How do you start a business letter?
With a formal greeting, such as “Dear Mr. López:”, followed by the reason for the letter in the first sentence.
How do you sign off a business letter?
The most common sign-offs are “Sincerely,” “Kind regards” and “Best regards,” followed by the name and job title of the person signing.
What is the difference between a business letter and a client letter?
Business letter is the general term, and it can be addressed to customers, suppliers or other companies. A client letter is a specific type, focused on informing or building loyalty with people who already buy from you.