Writing Business Letters

Useful phrases and vocabulary for writing business letters.

Salutation

• Dear Mr. Brown • Dear Ms. White • Dear Sir • Dear Madam • Dear Sir or Madam • Gentlemen

Starting

•  We are writing  - to inform you that ... - to confirm ... - to request ... - to enquire about ... • I am contacting you for the following reason... • I recently read/heard about ... and would like to know .. • Having seen your advertisement in ..., I would like to ... • I would be interested in (obtaining / receiving) ... • I received your address from ----- and would like to ...

Referring to previous contact

• Thank you for your letter of March 15. • Thank you for contacting us. • In reply to your request, ... • Thank you for your letter regarding ... • With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday... • Further to our meeting last week ... • It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month. • I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo. • I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed  on Tuesday.

Making a request

• We would appreciate it if you would ... • I would be grateful if you could ...  • Could you please send me ...  • Could you possibly tell us / let us have ...  • In addition, I would like to receive ... • It would be helpful if you could send us ... • I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ... • I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter. • Please let me know what action you propose to take.

Offering help

• Would you like us to ...? • We would be happy to ... • We are quite willing to ... • Our company would be pleased to ...

Giving good news

• We are pleased to announce that ... • I am delighted to inform you that .. • You will be pleased to learn that ...

Giving bad news 

• We regret to inform you that ... • I'm afraid it would not be possible to ... • Unfortunately we cannot / we are unable to ... • After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...

Complaining 

• I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ... • I am writing to complain about ... • Please note that the goods we ordered on (date) have not yet arrived. • We regret to inform you that our order n° ----- is now  considerably overdue. • I would like to query the transport charges which seem  unusually high.

Apologizing - US

Apologising - UK

· We are sorry for the delay in replying to ...

· I regret any inconvenience caused (by) ...

· I would like to apologize for the (delay, inconvenience)...

· Once again, please accept my apologies for ...

Orders

· Thank you for your quotation of ...

· We are pleased to place an order with your company for..

· We would like to cancel our order n° .....

· Please confirm receipt of our order.

· I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order n° .....

· Your order will be processed as quickly as possible.

· It will take about (two/three) weeks to process your order.

· We can guarantee you delivery before ...(date)

· Unfortunately, these articles are no longer available /  are out of stock.

Prices

· Please send us your price list.

· You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list.

· Please note that our prices are subject to change  without notice.

· We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation.

· We can make you a firm offer of ...

Referring to payment

· Our terms of payment are as follows...

· Our records show that we have not yet received  payment of ...

· According to our records ...

· Please send payment as soon as possible.

· You will receive a credit note for the sum of ...

Enclosing documents

· I am enclosing ...

· Please find enclosed ...

· You will find enclosed ...

Closing remarks

· If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

· If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

· If you require more information ...

· For further details ...

· Thank you for taking this into consideration.

· Thank you for your help.

· We hope you are happy with this arrangement.

· We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.

Referring to future business

· We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future.

· We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company.

· I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with  your firm.

Referring to future contact

· I look forward to seeing you next week.

· Looking forward to hearing from you, ...

· Looking forward to receiving your comments,

· I look forward to meeting you on the (date).

· I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience.

· An early reply would be appreciated.

Ending business letters