Covering letter for a set of technical documentation. Examples of cover letters

Many documents sent by mail include a cover letter. In this article we will look in detail at its purpose, design rules and examples.

From this material you will learn:

• what is a cover letter for documents;
• how to prepare a cover letter for documents;
• list of attached documents.

What is a cover letter for documents

Covering letter is a mandatory attribute if it is necessary to send a package of documents. It has several purposes at once.

Confirmation of the fact of sending. The covering letter for the documents is registered in the company's outgoing documents and has a corresponding number. Thus, the fact of sending documents is recorded on the basis of this letter. Moreover, the addressee also records this letter and the package of documents attached to it.

List of attached documents. Each cover letter about sending documents must contain their complete list and number of copies.

Instructions for handling documentation. It is important to understand that when sending documents, some of them may be returned. In this case, the cover letter should indicate what actions need to be performed: review the documents, agree, fill out, sign and leave or send back. Let us remind you that you can additionally use special stamps for these purposes.

First you need to fill out the address part. It indicates the name, title, address of the company, the surname and initials of the employee and his position (if the documents are sent to a specific person). Next, you need to indicate the date and number of the outgoing document.

The first part of the content of the letter should be a message about the sending of documents. It begins with the words: “We send you ...”, “We present to you ...”, etc. After this, you can indicate the purpose of sending the documents (for review, completion, approval, etc.). If there is one document attached to the letter, then it can be indicated in this part; if there are several, you can use the concept of a “package of documents”, the composition of which will be disclosed below.

The second part of the content consists of specific tasks for working with documents. For example, it may contain instructions about which copies need to be returned, which require a signature, etc.

As can be seen from the example, the deadlines for the execution of documents can also be indicated in the cover letter.

The most important stage In the design of the cover letter there is a note about the presence of attachments. The mark is placed after the end of the text of the letter, no lower than 2–3 lines later. The mark must contain the name of the document, the number of attached copies and the number of sheets.

Application mark must have a complete list of attached documents, the number of copies and sheets. If the attached documents are bound or filed together, then the number of sheets is not required to be indicated (only the number of copies is indicated).

It should also be understood that when indicating the names of attached documents in the text of the cover letter, there is no need to indicate them again in the attachments. IN in this case The presence of an application (Appendix 1,2, etc.), the number of sheets and copies is simply indicated.

List of attached documents

There is a possibility that the number of documents attached to the cover letter may be so large that the note about their attachment is not included on the letter sheet. In this case, we recommend making an inventory of the attached documentation on a separate sheet. When compiling an inventory, the composition of the package of documents attached to the letter is indicated in it. The note about attachments in the cover letter indicates the list of attached documents and the number of sheets. This is formatted as follows:

Appendix: according to the inventory for 2 sheets.

After the “Note on the presence of attachments” detail, the “Signature” detail of the employee who compiled the letter follows.

Business etiquette dictates writing cover letters (or, as they are also called, accompanying notes) when sending documents to partners, government agencies, and in other cases. This is especially convenient in situations where you need to confirm the transfer of a packet to the recipient, pay attention to fundamental points, convey a request or a guide to action, and also record the timing of response actions. All important information can be stated in the accompanying document.

Most often, support is provided:

• upon transmission important documents(for example, return after signing);
• to the reconciliation report;
• to the commercial offer;
• to documentation to the tax office;
• to reports, forms and requests from regulatory authorities;
• To executive documentation;
• to personnel documentation.

You can write them both when transferring documents in person, and when sending them by courier, regular mail or email.

As a rule, it is compiled by the employee responsible for the sent documents or the secretary of the organization. A signature is sufficient for certification, but a stamp can also be affixed. Today, organizations are not required to have round stamp(82-FZ dated 04/06/2015). Stamping is at the discretion of the enterprise unless required by the recipient (for example, financial institutions).

Let’s highlight another one separately important function accompaniments - a list of documents that are sent to the addressee. It is advisable to carefully list all the papers, indicating not only their full name, but also how many sheets they are on, whether there are attachments and what kind, how many copies of each document were sent. If the paper is subsequently lost, the accompanying paper will confirm that you delivered it to the recipient. Therefore, it is important to draw up the accompaniment in two copies and ask the recipient to indicate on your copy the date and time of receipt, as well as agreement with the inventory.

Cover letter structure

Correspondence of organizations is regulated by GOST R 6.30-2003 dated 03.03.2003. The structure and details may vary in detail, depending on the type of support, but in general they look like this:

1. Addressee (name and address of the organization, name and position of the employee to whom the documents are sent).
2. Number and date of appeal.
3. Content.
4. List of attached documents.
5. Verifier.
6. Contacts.

Accompanying documents are numbered according to the organization's record keeping rules, like other correspondence. Currently, office work rules relate to internal issues of the enterprise and are established local acts. Gosstandart rules require companies to formulate and record the principles of office work (GOST R ISO 15489-1-2007 SIBID). When sending an accompaniment in response to an address from the addressee, under the item number you can indicate its outgoing number and date. You can also start the text with the phrase: “To your appeal ref. No.... from...”

In cases where communication must take place with the direct executor, his contact information must be indicated. This information is most often placed in the lower left corner of the form. It is recommended to include your last name, initials (in full or briefly), telephone number or email address.

Let's figure out what to write in a cover letter. It is recommended to start the text with the phrases: “We are sending you...”, “We are sending you...” followed by a short generalized name of the papers to which the accompaniment is attached. It is not necessary to indicate each element by name in this particular part of the text, since another section is provided for this.

• please confirm receipt;
• please sign and return on time;
• please agree and return with comments or send a protocol of disagreements;
• please use in accordance with its intended purpose;
• please ensure safety confidential information;
• Please inform me in the prescribed manner.

Highlighting important places in bold or italics for emphasis is not prohibited.

List of attached documentation

A list of papers that are transferred to the recipient is given after the text in a simple list with the numbering of each item. When creating a list, it is important to remember the uniqueness of each element. In this case, it is advisable to indicate the details in full. Depending on the purpose of the cover letter, the application can be drawn up indicating the number of copies and sheets of each document, or by a general count.

For example:

1. Agreement No. 4 dated 06/01/2017 in 2 copies. on 10 sheets.
2. Technical task w/n dated 06/01/2017 in 1 copy. on 3 sheets.

Total 2 documents on 13 sheets.

Formatting a cover letter

According to generally accepted standards of correspondence, all outgoing correspondence is drawn up on the official letterhead of the organization indicating the name, details, full postal address (this is especially important if a response is expected by regular mail) and other contact information.

There are no requirements for the design and content of the text; the letter is drawn up in free form. But you must follow the rules business correspondence, and also avoid ambiguity in wording.

Every company, regardless of its size and scope of activity, must adhere to business ethics. This not only speaks of its legal literacy, but also confirms the status of a serious counterparty who complies with all the rules in the business environment. An integral part of the relationship between buyers, sellers and other market participants is covering letter.

When sending documents by mail, you must attach a covering letter to them. Some firms that don't want to waste extra time may object and say that this kind of work is pointless. Will they be right? Of course not.

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The role of the cover letter for documents

The role of cover letters in modern business culture is great:

• Firstly, having seen the cover letter, your counterparty will not leave the correspondence received to him without due attention. After all, it will contain the outgoing number. This means that the person who received the letter is obliged to write it down in his journal of incoming documents. Therefore, you, as the sender, can dial the recipient’s number a few days later and ask if he has received a package of documents with the specified outgoing number.
• Secondly, in the cover letter you can clearly write which documents should be sent back to you with signatures. Believe me, you will not only make your life easier (as practice shows, the counterparty always forgets about any copy of the document), but also help the recipient quickly collect documents for sending.
• Thirdly, your counterparty will not tell you that it did not receive any document. Because You indicate in the cover letter all the attachments (with number and date) that you are sending; the recipient will not be able to claim that, for example, he did not receive the protocol of disagreements to the contract.

Writing a cover letter not regulated by regulatory documents, so there is no single model. You can format your cover letter using the example provided at the end of the article.

Given the letter is drawn up in any form, however, you need to consider some points:

• The letter must be printed on company letterhead.
• In the upper right corner, indicate to whom the cover letter is addressed.
• The outgoing number with the date the letter was written should be printed in the upper left corner.
• Be sure to write why you are sending the documents to the counterparty. For example, if you are sending a supply agreement to the buyer, then indicate that you are asking the counterparty to familiarize itself with its contents, and then send the agreement by mail with the seal and signature of the manager. In addition, mention that in case of disagreement with some points, the buyer can draw up a protocol of disagreement and send it in two copies.
• Do not forget about business ethics, including in the letter such words and phrases as “dear”, “we ask you”, “with respect”.

Who should sign the cover letter

If you are interested in who should sign the cover letter, then there are several options. When a letter is sent by the director along with commercial offer about cooperation, then, of course, he must sign it. After all, in essence, correspondence is carried out between two managers.

If the cover letter is drawn up by an accountant to be sent to counterparties source documents, then only the chief accountant should sign it. In this case, the letter must indicate that the documents are intended for the chief accountant of the counterparty enterprise.

At the end of the cover letter you must provide your Contact details so that the recipient of the correspondence can contact you if questions arise regarding the documents received.

Sample cover letter for documents

*Click on the image to view full size image

A cover letter is a type of business letter that is attached to sent documents, sales proposals, and resumes.

Drawing up a cover letter is not a mandatory requirement for office work, but it is desirable for the sender, as it contains a number of necessary details:

1. Date of departure, which, if necessary, will prove that the documents were sent on time;
2. a list of documents being sent, which will allow you to track their availability to the recipient;
3. the recipient is obliged to register it with himself, which allows him to control the timing of execution.

To be on the safe side about receipt, a package of documents can be sent by mail by registered mail, which guarantees the personal signature of the recipient.

How to properly format a cover letter, drafting sample

• Introduction, which indicates the title of the letter, its purpose, address to the addressee;
• The key part, which contains a description of the main idea of ​​the letter;
• Completion, where the sender’s details are indicated - his position, full name, signature.

The text of the cover letter does not have a mandatory form, but there are unspoken rules:

• cover letters for documents include a list of documents that are being sent;
• the text of the letter accompanying the resume should interest the employer;
• the text of the letter to the trade proposition is to attract the buyer’s attention.

You can draw up a cover letter either on a form on which all the details of the organization are indicated or individual, and on a blank slate.

Here are some tips to help you style your cover letter correctly:

• The list of sent documents must be in the singular - either in the body of the letter or in the attachment;
• The letter and accompanying papers are sent in one way - either on paper or electronically;
• The title “covering letter” is not written; the title “About the direction...” is used.

How to prepare a cover letter for documents

Cover letter for documents - a letter that indicates the documents sent and the measures that the recipient must take in relation to these documents.

When preparing a cover letter for documents, adhere to the following structure:

• The addressee's full name and company name are written in the header;
• Then write the date, outgoing number and title of the letter;
• After this, they address the addressee using the words “send”, “send”, present”, after which the names of the documents, their numbers and dates are listed;
• Next they indicate what should be done in relation to the documents;
• The letter may contain a request regarding a package of documents, for example, their return or something else;
• This is followed by application notes;
• Conclude the cover letter with the sender's full name, position and signature.

A cover letter is usually drawn up on company letterhead.

Sample cover letter format

Job title
Company name
Full name
Date ref.N

Dear ________________!

We are sending you _________________ documents (name of the document, its number and date) with ______ (attachments are indicated). The following instructions indicate what needs to be done with these documents.

Applications:

The numbered list indicates the names of the documents, the number of copies and the total number of sheets.

Sender's position ________

Signature ________________

Initials, surname _______________

How to properly format a cover letter for a resume. Sample

In the cover letter to the resume, the sender provides information about his professional qualities, success, best sides of your personality. All this aims to interest the employer.

For example, you can format a cover letter for your resume like this:

• The header of the document indicates the full name, position of the personnel representative or director of the company, and the name of the company.
• Then follows the address: “Good afternoon!”, or “Hello!”.
• Next, it should be written what position the applicant would like to occupy, and how it became known. You can also touch positive aspects companies.
• Then you should mention why this company was chosen, describe your qualities in the profession and other useful knowledge.
• Then you should express gratitude for your attention to the letter.
• In conclusion, they express their respect, indicate their full name and method of contact.

Sample of writing a cover letter for a resume

Hello, dear _____________ (addressed by name or by first name and patronymic)!

On the website (indicate the source of information about the vacancy) I found out that the vacancy _______ is available.

Having taken into account the conditions presented to the candidate, I concluded that I can work in this position in your company, taking into account that I have experience in this field.

The salary level for which I am applying is _________.

Details of my professional achievements are included in my resume. I will be glad to meet you and tell you in detail about your work experience in personal communication. You can contact me _______ (contacts are indicated).

Thank you for your attention and time.

Sincerely, (indicate full surname, first name, patronymic).

How to write a cover letter for a sales proposal

In a covering letter to trade proposal express an invitation to cooperation in a concise form. It is compiled if the trade offer itself has a large volume.

• Start writing a letter by contacting a representative of the company.
• Next, they describe the company, its offer, how joint work will be mutually beneficial, and contacts.
• Conclude writing a letter with an expression of respect and indicating the sender's coordinates.

Sample cover letter for a sales proposal

Good afternoon, dear ___________ name, patronymic!

I am glad to welcome you to the company (name of the company), the following describes the type of activity of the company. We send you the terms of our partnership with you for your consideration.

Our offer:

• Listing the main characteristics of the proposal.
• The attachments contain (list of attached documents).
• We will be happy to answer questions at (indicate contact details).

Sincerely,
Sender's position
Last name, first name

It is advisable to draw up a cover letter for a trade proposal on the company’s letterhead.

In addition to business letters, an entrepreneur regularly has to send various documents to government officials and his counterparties. These can be contracts, invoices, protocols, promotional materials... Sometimes these papers can be sent without accompanying notifications and explanations, but it is better to be more prudent and attach a covering letter to the documents.

What is it and what is it for?

A cover letter for documents is a type of business letter that lists and briefly describes documents (primarily those that do not have an address part) sent to the addressee. The accompanying message indicates the names of all documents being sent, and also contains instructions (or recommendations) on what the recipient should do with these papers.

A cover letter serves three purposes:

1. Confirms that documents have been sent. The application indicates full list sent papers, so the addressee will not be able to claim that he did not receive any important act.
2. Provides necessary explanations to the recipient. The text must contain instructions on how to deal with certain papers: sign, seal, make changes and return to the sender, etc.
3. Allows you to determine the due date thanks to registration data.

In what cases is this document indispensable?

• in business relationships with contractors and partners (document flow is inevitable here);
• when updating a tax return;
• when filing a claim in arbitration court;
• when contacting the bank (in some cases).

Let's look at the above points in more detail.

Why do government employees need a letter?

Very often, such a letter is required by Federal Tax Service employees. The most interesting thing is that there are no such requirements in the Tax Code, and the practice of submitting an updated declaration along with an accompanying message was unofficially introduced by the inspectors themselves. In the cover letter they require the reasons for the adjustments in the statements to be indicated. Moreover, the more significant the error, the more details will have to be explained.

Ideally, the entrepreneur needs to provide explanations for each adjusted line of the declaration. If there are too many of them, then you can only indicate the total amounts of tax, additional debt and penalties. For additional payments, along with these data, the letter must include the details of the relevant payment orders(or even attach copies of the payments themselves). In general, tax authorities require an almost lengthy explanatory note, but it is still called a covering letter. This is incorrect, but what can you do?

When applying to the arbitration court, this message is attached to statement of claim. Along with the claim, businessmen always have to submit a bunch of documents - extracts, constituent papers, copies of contracts, etc. All these documents must be listed in the covering letter, otherwise the claim will not be accepted due to violation of the established procedure.

Banks require a letter when opening a current account or in cases when important changes occur with the company (for example, the composition of participants, the organizational and legal form, etc. changes). In all these cases, the entrepreneur brings a package of basic documents, the list of which is indicated in the accompanying message.

Structure and details

You should not think that a cover letter is just an additional notice that has no special significance. No, this is a full-fledged official message, therefore it should be formatted according to the same principles as a classic business letter. It must be written on company letterhead and assigned an outgoing registration number. There is no unified form or single sample, so when drawing up they usually rely on general principles business messages.

The structure is like this:

• at the top (in the header) the position, information about the company (or territorial government agency) and full name of the recipient and sender;
• The date of compilation and document number are indicated below, and then the title is written;
• in the content part there is an appeal to the addressee;
• then – a list of applications;
• at the very bottom - position, signature and surname with the initials of the sender.

The full list of details looks like this:

• name of your organization (full and abbreviated);
• reference information about the company;
• organization code;
• OGRN/TIN;
• registration number letters;
• information about the addressee (not as complete as about your company - just indicate the position, name of the organization and full name);
• date of;
• title;
• signature;
• notes about the artist and the availability of applications.

Since there is no established sample letter, these details cannot be called mandatory. If you send a letter with documents to partners and contractors, you don’t have to write down all the information about your company. The headline is also not always written - it may well be replaced by an appeal like “Dear Ivan Ivanovich!” But when writing a cover letter for documents to the tax office, it is better to use all the details.

The main part of the letter is the list of attachments. The text is short and includes two parts:

• message about sending documents;
• request for a timely response (or for review, approval, return of a signed copy - based on the purpose of sending the papers).

The text of the message begins with standard phrases:

• “we will send it to you”;
• “we present to you”;
• "we are sending you".

The names of the documents and their details: date and number are also indicated. In the second part of the letter, you need to inform the recipient how he should dispose of the documents. For example:

• “Please sign, seal and send one copy to our address...”;
• “We ask you to familiarize yourself with the sent acts as soon as possible and inform about your decision”;
• “Please send by reply letter one copy of a duly executed document...”;
• etc.

The final part is drawn up according to standard scheme: on the left is the sender’s position, on the right is the full name, in the center is the signature. The letter can be signed either by you (as a manager) or Chief Accountant(if we are talking about accounting documents, and the recipient is the Federal Tax Service). In the final part, you can indicate the performer if you want the recipient to address any questions that arise to him.

A sample cover letter for documents can be found and downloaded here.

When composing a letter, adhere to the following principles.

1. Always write for what purpose you are sending the paper and what it means for the recipient. Forcing him to remember what you agreed with him about and why he needs these documents at all is impolite. Instruct the recipient as specifically as possible. There is no need to write something like “Please think about what you can do about this.” There must be a clear goal - to sign, transfer to a third party, draw up an agreement based on the received papers. The purpose does not need to be indicated only in cover letters for the court and the Federal Tax Service.
2. After reporting the documents, you can make clarifications and make additional requests. But all comments of this kind must be “to the point,” that is, relate only to the documents being sent. There is no point in mentioning other business issues.
3. Sometimes there are several recipients, and some of the applications need to be sent to only one of them. In such cases, a note can be made to the corresponding application, for example, “Appendix 3: for 5 l. in 2 copies. only to the second address."
4. There are cases when it is necessary not only to prove the fact of sending, but also to meet a specific deadline. We'll talk more about this below.

Responsibility for the timely preparation and sending of a cover letter falls on the entrepreneur, and the organization of sending the documents themselves falls on the office management service.

Business ethics

As in a classic business letter, ethics should not be forgotten in the cover letter. Both the address to the recipient and the request to perform certain actions with documents must be presented in a polite and correct form. Some managers like unceremonious phrases like “The response time for a letter is 3 business days.” You shouldn't write like that. Remember that the standard response time for business letters(in accordance with standards business ethics) varies from one to thirty days. You have no right to reduce it, especially with such an ultimatum.

The wording “Please respond within as long as possible.” three days" is quite acceptable. But only in cases where there are compelling reasons for limiting the period, and these reasons must be indicated. The final phrase will look something like this: “Please, if possible, respond within three working days, since we must provide a response to the Federal Tax Service by October 10, 2015.” Politeness is required not only in the covering letter for documents to the arbitration court (or other government bodies), but also in the message to counterparties and other addressees.

Storing Cover Letters

You received a cover letter from your partner, checked the list of documents received against it and made sure that everything was correct. What to do with the message next? Mark the execution and place it in the file. It is better to store the letter separately from the attachments so as not to create confusion with the papers.

In many companies, a “Covering Letters” file is simply created, which is used as a “basket” for such messages. It doesn’t matter what was attached to them. There is also a more “civilized” option - create several cases using cover letters and place them in the list of cases structural divisions. How it works?

• the partner sends you a delivery agreement (for example);
• You place this act in the “supply agreements” file;
• and send a letter to him to the file “covering letters for supply agreements.”

It also happens that the letter remains in storage at the company, but the application itself does not.

In cover letters, as in other (seemingly) simple acts, the devil is in the details. Lack of a clearly stated goal, incorrect design of the list of applications, incorrect handling - all this refers to gross violations. Of course, no one will fine you for the wrong header of the letter, but even a couple of small flaws can make it difficult to understand the letter and provoke the wrong reaction to it. This is especially sad if you are in “correspondence” with the tax office or other government representatives.