Project Report Preparation (Preliminary and

Detail Project Report)

Mr. Sudhansu Shekhar Panda
Lecturer in Commerce
Shiksha College, Ankushpur, Ganjam
Mob: 7978548140, Mail: [email protected]

What Is A Project Report?

A Project Report is a document which provides details on the overall picture of the
proposed business. The project report gives an account of the project proposal to
ascertain the prospects of the proposed plan/activity.

Project Report is a written document relating to any investment. It contains data on the
basis of which the project has been appraised and found feasible. It consists of information
on economic, technical, financial, managerial and production aspects. It enables the
entrepreneur to know the inputs and helps him to obtain loans from banks or financial
Institutions.
The project report contains detailed information about Land and buildings required,
Manufacturing Capacity per annum, Manufacturing Process, Machinery & equipment
along with their prices and specifications, Requirements of raw materials, Requirements of
Power & Water, Manpower needs, Marketing Cost of the project, production, financial
analyses and economic viability of the project.

CONTENTS OF A PROJECT REPORT

Following are the contents of a project report.

1. General Information
A project report must provide information about the details of the industry to which the
project belongs to. It must give information about the past experience, present status,
problems and future prospects of the industry. It must give information about the product
to be manufactured and the reasons for selecting the product if the proposed business is a
manufacturing unit. It must spell out the demand for the product in the local, national and
the global market. It should clearly identify the alternatives of business and should clarify
the reasons for starting the business.
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2. Executive Summary
A project report must state the objectives of the business and the methods through which
the business can attain success. The overall picture of the business with regard to capital,
operations, methods of functioning and execution of the business must be stated in the
project report. It must mention the assumptions and the risks generally involved in the
business.

3. Organization Summary
The project report should indicate the organization structure and pattern proposed for the
unit. It must state whether the ownership is based on sole
proprietorship, partnership or joint stock company. It must provide information about the
bio data of the promoters including financial soundness. The name, address, age
qualification and experience of the proprietors or promoters of the proposed business must
be stated in the project report.

4. Project Description
A brief description of the project must be stated and must give details about the following:

 Location of the site,

 Raw material requirements,
 Target of production,
 Area required for the workshed,
 Power requirements,
 Fuel requirements,
 Water requirements,
 Employment requirements of skilled and unskilled labour,
 Technology selected for the project,
 Production process,
 Projected production volumes, unit prices,
 Pollution treatment plants required.
If the business is service oriented, then it must state the type of services rendered to
customers. It should state the method of providing service to customers in detail.

5. Marketing Plan
The project report must clearly state the total expected demand for the product. It must
state the price at which the product can be sold in the market. It must also mention the
strategies to be employed to capture the market. If any, after sale service is provided that

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must also be stated in the project. It must describe the mode of distribution of the product
from the production unit to the market. Project report must state the following:

 Type of customers,
 Target markets,
 Nature of market,
 Market segmentation,
 Future prospects of the market,
 Sales objectives,
 Marketing Cost of the project,
 Market share of proposed venture,
 Demand for the product in the local, national and the global market,
 It must indicate potential users of products and distribution channels to be used for
distributing the product.

6. Capital Structure and operating cost
The project report must describe the total capital requirements of the project. It must state
the source of finance, it must also indicate the extent of owners funds and borrowed
funds. Working capital requirements must be stated and the source of supply should also
be indicated in the project. Estimate of total project cost, must be broken down into land,
construction of buildings and civil works, plant and machinery, miscellaneous fixed assets,
preliminary and preoperative expenses and working capital.
Proposed financial structure of venture must indicate the expected sources and terms of
equity and debt financing. This section must also spell out the operating cost

7. Management Plan
The project report should state the following.

a. Business experience of the promoters of the business,

b. Details about the management team,
c. Duties and responsibilities of team members,
d. Current personnel needs of the organization,
e. Methods of managing the business,
f. Plans for hiring and training personnel,
g. Programmes and policies of the management.
8. Financial Aspects
In order to judge the profitability of the business a projected profit and loss account
and balance sheet must be presented in the project report. It must show the estimated sales
revenue, cost of production, gross profit and net profit likely to be earned by the proposed
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unit. In addition to the above, a projected balance sheet, cash flow statement and funds
flow statement must be prepared every year and at least for a period of 3 to 5 years.
The income statement and cash flow projections should include a three-year summary,
detail by month for the first year, and detail by quarter for the second and third years.
Break even point and rate of return on investment must be stated in the project report. The
accounting system and the inventory control system will be used is generally addressed in
this section of the project report. The project report must state whether the business is
financially and economically viable.

9. Technical Aspects
Project report provides information about the technology and technical aspects of a
project. It covers information on Technology selected for the project, Production process,
capacity of machinery, pollution control plants etc.

10. Project Implementation

Every proposed business unit must draw a time table for the project. It must indicate the
time within the activities involved in establishing the enterprise can be completed.
Implementation schemes show the timetable envisaged for project preparation and
completion.

11. Social responsibility

The proposed units draw inputs from the society. Hence its contribution to the society in
the form of employment, income, exports and infrastructure. The output of the business
must be indicated in the project report.

How to Write a Report: Details

Reports generally involve presenting your investigation and analysis of information or an

issue, recommending actions and making proposals.

There are many different types of reports, including business, scientific and research
reports, but the basic steps for writing them are the same. These are outlined below.

Step 1: Decide on the 'Terms of reference'

Step 2: Decide on the procedure

Step 3: Find the information

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Step 4: Decide on the structure

Step 5: Draft the first part of your report

Step 6: Analyse your findings and draw conclusions

Step 7: Make recommendations

Step 8: Draft the executive summary and table of contents

Step 9: Compile a reference list

Step 10: Revise your draft report

Step-by-step guide to writing an assignment

Step 1: Decide on the 'Terms of reference'

To decide on the terms of reference for your report, read your instructions and any other
information you've been given about the report, and think about the purpose of the report:

 What is it about?
 What exactly is needed?
 Why is it needed?
 When do I need to do it?
 Who is it for, or who is it aimed at?

This will help you draft your Terms of reference.

Step 2: Decide on the procedure

This means planning your investigation or research, and how you'll write the report. Ask
yourself:

 What information do I need?

 Do I need to do any background reading?
 What articles or documents do I need?
 Do I need to contact the library for assistance?
 Do I need to interview or observe people?
 Do I have to record data?
 How will I go about this?
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Answering these questions will help you draft the procedure section of your report, which
outlines the steps you've taken to carry out the investigation.

Step 3: Find the information

The next step is to find the information you need for your report. To do this you may need
to read written material, observe people or activities, and/or talk to people.

Make sure the information you find is relevant and appropriate. Check the assessment
requirements and guidelines and the marking schedule to make sure you're on the right
track. If you're not sure how the marks will be assigned contact your lecturer.

What you find out will form the basis, or main body, of your report – the findings.

Step 4: Decide on the structure

Reports generally have a similar structure, but some details may differ. How they differ
usually depends on:

 The type of report – if it is a research report, laboratory report, business report,

investigative report, etc.
 How formal the report has to be.
 The length of the report.

Depending on the type of report, the structure can include:

 A title page.
 Executive summary.
 Contents.
 An introduction.
 Terms of reference.
 Procedure.
 Findings.
 Conclusions.
 Recommendations.
 References/Bibliography.
 Appendices.
 The sections, of a report usually have headings and subheadings, which are usually
numbered

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Step 5: Draft the first part of your report

Once you have your structure, write down the headings and start to fill these in with the
information you have gathered so far. By now you should be able to draft the terms of
reference, procedure and findings, and start to work out what will go in the report’s
appendix.Findings

The findings are result of your reading, observations, interviews and investigation. They
form the basis of your report. Depending on the type of report you are writing, you may
also wish to include photos, tables or graphs to make your report more readable and/or
easier to follow.

Graphs - BBC Skill wise website (opens in a new window)

Appendices

As you are writing your draft decide what information will go in the appendix. These are
used for information that:

 is too long to include in the body of the report, or

 Supplements or complements the information in the report. For example, brochures,
spreadsheets or large tables.

Step 6: Analyse your findings and draw conclusions

The conclusion is where you analyse your findings and interpret what you have found. To
do this, read through your findings and ask yourself:

 What have I found?

 What's significant or important about my findings?
 What do my findings suggest?

For example, your conclusion may describe how the information you collected explains
why the situation occurred, what this means for the organisation, and what will happen if
the situation continues (or doesn't continue).Don’t include any new information in the
conclusion.

Step 7: Make recommendations

Recommendations are what you think the solution to the problem is and/or what you think
should happen next. To help you decide what to recommend:

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  Reread your findings and conclusions.
 Think about what you want the person who asked for the report should to do or not
do; what actions should they carry out?
 Check that your recommendations are practical and are based logically on your
conclusions.
 Ensure you include enough detail for the reader to know what needs to be done and
who should do it.

Your recommendations should be written as a numbered list, and ordered from most to
least important.

Step 8: Draft the executive summary and table of contents

Some reports require an executive summary and/or list of contents. Even though these two
sections come near the beginning of the report you won't be able to do them until you have
finished it, and have your structure and recommendations finalised.

An executive summary is usually about 100 words long. It tells the readers what the report
is about, and summarise the recommendations.

Step 9: Compile a reference list

This is a list of all the sources you've referred to in the report and uses APA referencing.

Step 10: Revise your draft report

It is always important to revise your work. Things you need to check include:

 If you have done what you were asked to do. Check the assignment question, the
instructions/guidelines and the marking schedule to make sure.
 That the required sections are included, and are in the correct order.
 That your information is accurate, with no gaps.
 If your argument is logical. Does the information you present support your
conclusions and recommendations?
 That all terms, symbols and abbreviations used have been explained.
 That any diagrams, tables, graphs and illustrations are numbered and labelled.

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