How to Write a Business Memo

One of the most frequently asked questions by my business students is how to write a business memo. By the time they get to me they already learned other types of business writing, but have never learned the basic business memo format. This is an important skill as most business communication is leaning more towards an informal email type standard, than what is taught in school.

Business memos are certainly informal, but the structure is always the same and should be followed to the letter. By following these standards with your business memos will be professional and adhere to set guidelines that have been adopted by most companies.

Business Memo Format

Memo: At the very top left of the document, title your document as a Memo or Memorandum. Memo is a bit less formal and is more commonly used.

From: This is who you are. It can by your name, title, or the group you are representing with your business memo.

To: You may list individual names or the groups that are going to receive the memo.

CC: This is an optional field. It is used to make the people that are not necessarily affected by your memo aware that it has been sent. A common use for the CC field is when you are addressing a specific group within an organization and you want to make sure the group manager is aware that everyone in their group received the memo.

RE: RE is a shorthand version of ‘in reference to’. All business memos should have the reference right at the top so everyone knows exactly what your memo is about. People that are not affected by your memo can figure this out very quickly just by reading the RE line.

Now that you have your business memo format completed, we can begin the body.

Business Memo for Awareness

If you are writing the note to make people aware of something, it should always be a friendly tone. An example may be the hiring of a new employee or a termination. These types of business memos do not require any action from anyone and everyone that will receive the memo should be on the TO line. Once again, this should be a friendly tone, but certainly not informal as an email and there should be nothing amusing about your note. Instead, be sure you stay completely on point and make the memo as concise as possible.

Business Memos that Require Action

This type of memo is a bit more formal and should be made very clear that there is a requirement. If you are not directing the recipients to do something, everyone should be on the TO line. An example may be that a parking lot is being repaved and everyone that has their car parked over the weekend will be towed. The people that receive this memo clearly understand it is important and it should be emphasize early in your body what will happen if they don’t comply. The main difference between this type of business memo and the next one is you are not the person that will be enforcing the rule. This same type of message takes place if you are writing a memo on behalf of someone that makes the rules, for example the CEO. A business memo from the CEO to his or her subordinates should not be friendly and should clearly state the expectation the manager has.

Business Memo for a Policy Change

If you are the person changing the policy you have to take some precautions as to who you are sending the memo to. This is where the CC line comes into play. An example may be if you are going to throw away any food that is left in the break room over the weekend. Chances are you are not going to throw away the CEO’s lunch. Thus, he should be on the CC line. You are letting him know what you are going to do to his employees, not to him.

The tone should be direct, concise, and to the point. If you choose to, the reasons why are perfectly acceptable, but not necessary if you are truly setting the policy.

Other Business Memo Considerations

The majority of your readers will only skim the content, be sure to highlight any action items or important points. You want to be extremely clear so “I didn’t see that part” is not an acceptable response if someone doesn’t do as their told.

The closing of the memo should be your name, title, and if you are sending the memo on someone else’s behalf. You should also include your phone number and email address for questions.

If the memo is urgent and you are sending it via email, always request a delivery receipt. By doing this you are eliminating “I didn’t get the memo”. However, if you send a lot of them, skip this part otherwise people will get annoyed with you.

For more information, visit the business memo example section. There are several sample memos that you can use as a template. Please use the comments section if you have any questions pertaining to the business memo format or content.