Example of a sales report and vocabulary

Home > Resources (Grammar & vocabulary) > Business English vocabulary >  

What is a sales report?

A sales report is a document that provides detailed information about a company’s sales performance over a specific period of time.

The purpose of a sales report is to provide an overview of the company’s sales activity and to identify trends, patterns, and areas of improvement or concern.

Example of a simple sales report

Here’s a simplified example of a sales report. Verb used to show change are highlighted:

The sales report for the month of January shows that our company’s revenue increased by 10% compared to the same period last year. Specifically, our online sales rose by 15%, while our in-store sales went up by 5%.

Our most popular products this month were electronic gadgets and home appliances, which accounted for 40% of our total sales. These products saw an increase of 20% in sales compared to last year.

On the other hand, sales of our clothing and footwear lines dropped by 15%. This was expected and we attribute it to the fact that these products are more seasonal and are not in high demand during the winter months.

In terms of geographical location, our sales rose mainly in northern and western regions, while they mostly remained stable in the southern and eastern regions.

Overall, our sales for the month of January totalled €1,000,000, which is a promising start to the year. Through continued advertising and promotional offers we aim to ensure that we meet our sales targets for the year.

Common vocabulary used in sales reports

  • increase (verb) – to become greater in amount or number
    Sales increased by 5%.
  • decrease (verb) – to become smaller in amount or number
    Sales decreased by 5%.
  • rise (verb) – to go up
    Sales rose by 15%.
  • drop (verb) – to go down
    Sales dropped by 15%.
  • remain (verb) – to stay the same
    Sales remained steady/stable.
  • account for (verb) – to make up a proportion or percentage of something
    Sales in the region accounted for 65% of our total sales.
  • total (verb) – to amount to,add up to
    Sales totalled €1,000,000 for the month.
  • see an increase, a decrease (verb)
    Last month we saw an increase in sales of 15%.