Knowing where to start with business documents can be tough. Finding great business document examples to help you get going can be tougher still. So, rather than nag our legal team to help put together some great business document examples, we’ve asked AI to help, ChatGPT, to be exact. 

What are the most common types of documents that businesses deal with?

So, to get things started, we asked AI “what are the most common types of documents that businesses deal with?”

Businesses deal with a wide range of documents, but here are some of the most common types:

1. Invoices and Receipts: These documents are used to track sales and payments.
2. Contracts: Businesses use contracts to establish agreements with vendors, suppliers, employees, and customers.
3. Financial Statements: These documents show the financial health of a business, including income, expenses, assets, and liabilities.
4. Proposals and Quotes: When a business is bidding on a project or trying to win new business, they will often create proposals and quotes to present to potential clients.
5. Purchase Orders: A purchase order is a document that a business uses to request goods or services from a supplier.
6. Employee Documents: Businesses deal with a range of documents related to their employees, including resumes, job applications, employment contracts, and performance evaluations.
7. Legal Documents: Businesses often deal with legal documents, such as leases, patents, trademarks, and licenses.
8. Marketing Materials: Businesses use a range of marketing materials, such as brochures, flyers, and advertisements, to promote their products or services.
9. Reports: Businesses create a variety of reports, including sales reports, inventory reports, and financial reports, to analyse data and make informed decisions.
10. Correspondence: Correspondence includes business emails, letters, and memos that businesses send and receive from their clients, suppliers, and customers.

Not only did asking AI to generate that save our legal team a headache, we were even able to go and make a cup of coffee while AI did its things. Not bad going! 

Now this list of documents is all well and good, but what are some examples of these types of documents in action?

We asked AI to give us some business document examples while we worked on another great piece of content that’s coming soon. We asked, “create an example of each of these types of documents with a short description of each”.

Business document examples, with a description

Here’s what AI had to say when we asked it to give business document examples with a description of when you’d use them.

1. Invoices and Receipts: An invoice is a document that outlines the details of a sale, including the price, quantity, and payment terms. An invoice is a document that outlines the details of a sale, including the price, quantity, and payment terms. Invoice Simple allows businesses to not only create invoices but also to calculate profit margin, ensuring they’re pricing their products and services appropriately. A receipt is a document that confirms that payment has been made. For example, a restaurant might provide an invoice to a catering client, and the catering client would provide a receipt after paying the invoice.
2. Contracts: A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. For example, a business might use a contract to establish an agreement with a vendor to supply goods or services. The contract would outline the terms and conditions of the agreement, including the price, delivery date, and payment terms.
3. Financial Statements: Financial statements are documents that show a business’s financial health. They typically include an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. For example, a business might create a financial statement to share with investors or to submit to a bank when applying for a loan.
4. Proposals and Quotes: A proposal is a document that outlines a plan or solution to a problem. A quote is a document that outlines the cost of providing goods or services. For example, a marketing agency might create a proposal to pitch a new advertising campaign to a client, and the quote would outline the cost of executing the campaign.
5. Purchase Orders: A purchase order is a document that a business uses to request goods or services from a supplier. It includes details such as the product or service being requested, the quantity, and the delivery date. For example, a retailer might create a purchase order to request a shipment of products from a supplier.
6. Employee Documents: Employee documents include resumes, job applications, employment contracts, and performance evaluations. For example, a business might receive a job application from a candidate and use it to decide whether to offer them a job.
7. Legal Documents: Legal documents include leases, patents, trademarks, and licenses. For example, a business might sign a lease to rent office space, or file for a patent to protect a new invention.
8. Marketing Materials: Marketing materials include brochures, flyers, and advertisements that promote a business’s products or services. For example, a business might create a brochure to showcase their products and services, or create an advertisement to run on social media.
9. Reports: Reports are documents that analyse data and provide insights into a business’s operations. For example, a business might create a sales report to analyse their revenue over a particular time period.
10. Correspondence: Correspondence includes emails, letters, and memos that businesses send and receive from clients, suppliers, and customers. For example, a business might send an email to a customer to confirm an order, or receive a letter from a supplier with an update on a shipment.

So next, we asked AI to generate 10 business document examples for each of these 10 areas. We asked AI to “generate 10 examples of each of these 10 types of business documents that are valid within the EU”. It’s not that we’re saying that these types of business documents don’t exist outside of the EU, it’s just that that’s where we’re based and operate from. Stockholm, to be exact.

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Generate 10 examples of each of these 10 types of business documents that are valid within the EU

Technology is a fated thing at times. AI is no different. No sooner had we asked it to generate a response to our query than this happened.

Still, we persevered – and AI finally gave us an answer. Here are 10 examples of each type of business document.

1. Invoices and receipts:
   1. Invoice for goods sold within the EU
   2. Invoice for services rendered within the EU
   3. Receipt for payment of goods within the EU
   4. Receipt for payment of services rendered within the EU
   5. Credit note for goods returned within the EU
   6. Credit note for services not rendered within the EU
   7. Debit note for additional charges on goods within the EU
   8. Debit note for additional charges on services within the EU
   9. Proforma invoice for goods to be shipped within the EU
   10. Proforma invoice for services to be rendered within the EU
2. Contracts:
   1. Employment contract for a permanent position within the EU
   2. Employment contract for a fixed-term position within the EU
   3. Service contract for a supplier within the EU
   4. Service contract for a client within the EU
   5. Sales contract for goods within the EU
   6. Sales contract for services within the EU
   7. Rental contract for a property within the EU
   8. Lease contract for a vehicle within the EU
   9. Non-disclosure agreement for a business partnership within the EU
   10. Partnership agreement between two businesses within the EU
3. Financial statements:
   1. Annual financial statement for a company within the EU
   2. Balance sheet for a company within the EU
   3. Income statement for a company within the EU
   4. Cash flow statement for a company within the EU
   5. Statement of changes in equity for a company within the EU
   6. Audit report for a company within the EU
   7. Financial report for a non-profit organisation within the EU
   8. Budget report for a government agency within the EU
   9. Tax report for a business within the EU
   10. Revenue report for a business within the EU
4. Proposals and quotes:
   1. Proposal for website development services
   2. Quotation for printing services for a marketing campaign
   3. Proposal for a software development project
   4. Quotation for office supplies from a vendor
   5. Proposal for consulting services to improve company efficiency
   6. Quotation for catering services for a corporate event
   7. Proposal for a construction project
   8. Quotation for shipping services for a product delivery
   9. Proposal for a graphic design project
   10. Quotation for transportation services for employees
5. Purchase orders:
   1. Purchase order for office equipment
   2. Purchase order for raw materials for manufacturing
   3. Purchase order for IT equipment
   4. Purchase order for marketing materials
   5. Purchase order for food and beverages for a company event
   6. Purchase order for office furniture
   7. Purchase order for cleaning supplies for a building
   8. Purchase order for tools and equipment for construction
   9. Purchase order for medical equipment for a hospital
   10. Purchase order for clothing for employees
6. Employee documents:
   1. Employment contract
   2. Employee handbook
   3. Performance appraisal form
   4. Job offer letter
   5. Time sheet
   6. Non-disclosure agreement
   7. Health and safety policy
   8. Salary review letter
   9. Termination letter
   10. Benefits enrollment form
7. Legal documents:
   1. Memorandum of understanding
   2. Non-disclosure agreement
   3. Partnership agreement
   4. Intellectual property assignment agreement
   5. Shareholders agreement
   6. Terms and conditions for a website
   7. Employment contract
   8. Loan agreement
   9. Lease agreement
   10. Service level agreement
8. Marketing materials:
   1. Brochures
   2. Flyers
   3. Product catalogs
   4. Social media posts
   5. Email newsletters
   6. Promotional videos
   7. Advertisements
   8. Press releases
   9. Sales letters
   10. Event invitations
9. Reports:
   1. Annual financial report
   2. Sales report
   3. Marketing campaign report
   4. Market research report
   5. Project progress report
   6. Sustainability report
   7. Quality assurance report
   8. Risk assessment report
   9. Human resources report
   10. Health and safety report
10. Correspondence:
    1. Email
    2. Letter
    3. Fax
    4. Memo
    5. Internal communication
    6. External communication
    7. Meeting minutes
    8. Agenda
    9. Notes
    10. Feedback form

This list is useful, but what does any of it have to do with effectively managing your contracts. Well, we asked AI that one too. Full disclosure: we asked it to write about Oneflow.

How does Oneflow help you manage different types of contracts?

Oneflow is a cloud-based contract management software that can help you manage different types of contracts in several ways. Here are some of the features of Oneflow that can help you manage different types of contracts:

1. Customisable templates: Oneflow allows you to create customisable templates for different types of contracts such as employment agreements, non-disclosure agreements, sales contracts, and more. You can easily create a template that fits your specific needs and requirements.
2. Easy collaboration: Oneflow enables collaboration among multiple parties involved in a contract, such as vendors, customers, and lawyers. You can easily invite others to review and sign contracts, and track progress in real-time.
3. Automated workflows: Oneflow offers customisable workflows that enable you to automate the contract management process. You can set up automated tasks and reminders to ensure that contracts are reviewed, approved, and signed on time.
4. Secure document storage: Oneflow provides a secure online repository where you can store all your contracts and related documents. This ensures that your contracts are easily accessible and secure.
5. Analytics and reporting: Oneflow provides analytics and reporting tools that allow you to track the status of your contracts, monitor performance, and identify areas for improvement.

Overall, Oneflow can help you manage different types of contracts by providing customisable templates, easy collaboration, automated workflows, secure document storage, and analytics and reporting. These features can help you streamline the contract management process and ensure that your contracts are managed effectively.

The key takeaways

There are 10 key types of business documents. There are just 10 types of business document examples here. These 10 types of documents are absolutely vital to any business. 

But, when it comes to contracts, AI has more uses than just how we’ve used it for these business document examples. Great contract management software comes with AI built in. So, you can create contracts from scratch or generate a template in mere moments.

To find out more about AI in contract management software, and how it can help you create business document examples like these, click here.