Top Five Report Writing Tips for Private Investigators

Your client reports are in many respects the lifeblood of your business. They summarize your investigative efforts and they contain the information your clients seek. In order to make sure you're giving your clients the best possible work product, consider the following five report writing tips.

Be Accurate.

Even if you conduct a particular investigation flawlessly, a single typographical error in your could cause your client to question your professionalism. It certainly isn't a stretch for a client to think "if my private investigator couldn't take the time to make sure that everything's spelled correctly, or perhaps wasn't aware of the mistake, what else is there that's inaccurate or left out?" Even worse, a careless error that has a substantive impact could damage your client's position if your report is used in legal proceedings.

Be Concise.

The purpose of your client report is to convey your findings to your client, State the facts you've discovered, a brief and clear description of you came to learn those facts, but nothing more. Don't provide any opinions, personal viewpoints or anything else that isn't a fact you've uncovered and otherwise documented in your report.

Be Consistent.

Make sure that there's no way for your client report to be misinterpreted. Use consistent phrases and pronouns to refer to the individuals that are covered by your investigation. If your investigative report is eventually used in connection with any legal proceedings, you don't want any unintentional or seemingly incidental inconsistencies to create problems for your client.

Answer the Client's Questions.

It's important to make sure you stick to the parameters of your client's case. Know the purpose of your work. Your client has hired you to answer a question they have, or to help them learn more about a particular situation they're facing. Make sure your client report squarely addresses those questions and issues. By the same token, don't speculate or otherwise draw your own conclusions; simply report the relevant facts and information as it relates to your client's case.

Be Secure.

Discretion and security are essential to success during the investigative phases of a client project. But those concerns also extend to conveying the results of your investigation to the client. How are you providing your report to your clients? Physical DVDs and printouts can get mishandled in the mail, or stolen from your client's mailbox. Your client reports are often highly sensitive and confidential, and you should afford them with an appropriate level of security. There are online software tools you can use to electronically deliver your reports to your clients in a highly secure manner.

Regardless of the tools and technologies you use to prepare your client reports, the tips above should help guide you to creating the best possible documents.

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