BUSINESS LETTERS.

Neatness, Perspicuity and Brevity the Principal Considerations.

HE CHIEF REQUISITES of a mercantile letter should be clearness, explicitness, and conciseness.  There should be nothing defect­ive, nothing superfluous, nothing ambiguous.  It  should give  full  informa­tion

of all business transacted or required, or of every fact inquired into, without digression or unnecessary detail. The proper characteristics of a commercial style are neatness and perspicuity.  Brevity, also, is desirable as far as may be consistent with the latter quality; for a waste of words is a waste of time, both to him who writes and him who reads a letter. In replying to a letter follow the same order that is observed there­in, discussing  one  subject  fully,  and  in a

separate paragraph, before you proceed with the next.

The correspondent should be familiar with the wants of his customer and the details of the business he represents. It is a point of chief importance that all orders given should be clear and explicit; and if their execution depends upon any contingency, the correspondent must have full directions how to act under any change of circumstances that may be contemplated.  This is necessary to obviate disputes and long_word_to_justify_previous

misunderstandings; hence it is usual, especially in important matters, to recapitulate the principal subjects of the letter replied to.  In this, however, merchants have also another object, which is to render their letter-books as far as possible a history of their transactions, for the advantage of ready reference after a lapse of years, and for production in court with the better effect in case of litigation.

Accordingly, every letter should speak, as it were, for itself, and give all the necessary particulars of the transaction to which it refers.  For the same reason merchants seldom arrange any important business verbally; or if they do, a letter is immediately written stating the nature of the arrangements made, which is thus placed on record in the letter-book, and is thus corroborated by the answer of the party concerned.

In opening letters containing money, the latter should be immediately counted, and the sum noted.  It should also be ascertained if the amount agrees with that which the writer states is enclosed.  If the amount in the letter disagrees with the amount the writer says is enclosed, he should be notified at once in a polite note.

In regard to giving instructions for answering any particular points that may occur, the practice of merchants varies very much.  Some open their letters in the presence of their corresponding clerks, read them aloud, and state at once what kind of reply is to be given to each; excepting, of course, cases which require consideration and private consultation of partners. Others read their letters by themselves, and note with a pencil or communicate verbally, on handing them to a clerk, their wishes in regard to the replies. Whichever plan may be adopted, the young correspondent ought to feel certain that he long_word_to_justify_previous

fully comprehends his employer’s instructions before he attempts to commit them to paper; for it is better to ask questions beforehand than to have to alter his letter when written.  When he receives directions verbally, he should note them immediately in a memorandum book kept for that purpose. If he can take them in short-hand so much the better, but note them he must, unless endowed with a singularly retentive memory.

Indeed, a juvenile clerk, having everything to learn, will do well to take notes of every occurrence that passes before him; by which means he will lay up a stock of useful information on commercial subjects, and of precedents for his future guidance.  He will also greatly enhance the value of his services, and gain the good opinion of his employers, who will not fail to observe with feelings of gratification, his steadiness, intelligence, and perfect attention to all the minute details of business.

When notice is given in a letter of bills being drawn or remitted, the circumstances of date, time of payment, and names of the parties concerned should be narrated.

When a merchant receives bill from his correspondent, or advice of his drafts on him, it is not sufficient to notice them in a general manner in his answer; the particulars should be specified.

Letters of credit contain the amount of money to be advanced, and the name of the person in whose favor they are granted, the receipt, or voucher, to be taken for it, and how it is to be reimbursed.  If a merchant grants a letter of recommendation, he must be so careful and guarded inexpressing his meaning that it cannot be take for a letter of credit.

Advice respecting the circumstances of other merchants and their suspected deficiencies is necessary in confidential correspondence, but requires the utmost prudence and caution.

Matters of friendship and private confidence should never be mentioned along with letters of business, as these may be required to be exposed or communicated to neutral persons.

In cases of dispute, the reasons upon which he founds the justice of his claims should be clearly stated, without any expression of acrimony or resentment, as being not only unavailing, but even hurtful.

In ordering goods by letter, state plainly what articles you want—the quality, quantity, etc.; on what terms and how you want the same sent, whether by express or freight.  Orders, as

a rule, should be made out on a separate sheet of paper, or at least be separated from any subject foreign to the order and directions, thus insuring an immediate attention to your order.  Sufficient time should also be allowed when an order is sent, in which to receive the goods before they are needed, to admit of the delays incident to transportation, and the possibility of your correspondent being out of goods and unable to fill your order for a few days.

There is a great deal of difficulty imagined in the construction of a mercantile letter, for which in reality there exists no foundation whatever.  The principal characteristic of a merchant’s correspondence is arrangement.  Fine writing, rounded periods, and elaborate sentences are out of place in a letter on business.  Every merchant ought to keep an exact copy of all letters on business which he dispatches.

A merchant’s correspondence should be so arranged that any of any date may be found immediately.  This facility is insured by all letters being folded in a similar form by the clerk who receives them from the principal every morning after they have been read and answered.  He then endorses each with the name of the writer, the place and date of the letter, the date of its receipt, and the date on which it was answered, and the principal subjects of the letter may be noted immediately after the endorsement of the date.   Thus by merely looking at the outside of the letters, as they lie in the parcel, without untying the tape, the merchant has an index of their contents.

In all well-regulated counting-houses the greatest order and exactitude pervade every department of the business.  Not only letters, but invoices, account sales, bills, receipts, etc., are indorsed, filed and arranged in such a manner that any paper which may be wanted can be found in a moment.  All documents appertaining to the transactions of the current year are accessible at once.  When the year terminates, they are collected into separate parcels and deposited into a box, on which the year itself, as 1880, is painted.  By this means each year’s papers are kept distinct, all confusion is avoided, and a bill of parcels, invoice, letter, or in fact any mercantile document, can be immediately produced after any lapse of time.  Unless this uninterrupted regularity were systematically maintained, the business could not go on, for the accumulation of papers in a mercantile establishment is so great, that they would completely bewilder all concerned were they not thus arranged as soon as received.