What is an executive summary example?

It is a finished summary you can copy the structure of: the point or ask first, then the problem, three findings with numbers, the plan and the next step. This page has ten, for a business plan, investor summary, marketing plan, project proposal, grant, report, research, incident, board update and consulting recommendation, all on fictional companies.

What should an executive summary include?

The purpose, the problem, how you analysed it, the results and the recommendations, in the same order as the full document, which is UMGC's list. Add the ask with an amount and a date when you want a decision, and a source beside any figure that comes from outside your organisation.

How long should an executive summary be?

About 10% of the full document, so one page or less for a ten-page proposal, by UMGC's writing center. Boston University says most are no longer than one page, though some instructors want 5 to 10% of the report. A funder's form, such as NSF's one-page Project Summary, overrides both.

What is the difference between an executive summary and an abstract?

An abstract helps a researcher decide whether to read a paper and does not evaluate the work; a descriptive one is usually 100 words or less, says the UNC Writing Center. An executive summary helps a decision maker act, so it carries findings and a recommendation and runs longer, usually up to one page.

What goes in the executive summary of a business plan?

The SBA lists what the company is and why it will succeed, the mission statement, the product or service, and basic information about the leadership team, employees and location. If you are asking for financing, it adds financial information and high-level growth plans. State the amount and its use plainly.

Should an executive summary include charts or tables?

Usually not. UMGC's guide says most charts, tables and deep analysis belong in the full proposal, and that figures and tables are typically not referenced in the summary. Write the two or three numbers that matter as sentences instead. A single small table can work in a board update if the board expects it.

Is an executive summary the same as an introduction?

No. An introduction prepares a reader who will read the whole document and ends with a road map of the sections. An executive summary is written for a reader who may read nothing else, so it gives the findings and the recommendation up front and must make sense on its own.

Where can I find an executive summary template for Word?

Copy the one-page template on this page into a blank Word document, set each label as a heading from the Styles gallery, and replace every bracket. Word's readability statistics then show the Flesch Reading Ease score; Microsoft suggests 60 to 70 for most standard files.

Can NOXI write an executive summary for me?

Yes. Choose the One-pager or Document format, give your problem, offer and numbers, or attach the full plan, and NOXI writes and lays out the summary, keeps a source on any outside figure, and exports Word or PDF. The free plan covers five documents a month, and every change after that is free.

Executive Summary Examples: 10 Real Formats Compared

Executive summary examples, NOXI guide cover: ten formats written out in full on fictional companies, from a business plan and a grant proposal to an incident report and a board update

Disclosure: NOXI publishes this guide and is one of the tools it mentions. Every example and template below works in any editor, from Word or Google Docs to a plain email, and none of them needs NOXI.

Executive summary example: open with the decision or the ask, then the problem, three findings with numbers, the plan and the next step, in about a tenth of the document's length and usually one page. Below are 10 formats written out in full on fictional companies, from a business plan to an incident report. Checked 9 November 2026.

Most executive summaries fail in the same two ways: they open with background the reader already knows, and they end without saying what the reader should decide. Every example here fixes both. The first two sentences carry the point, the last line carries the ask, and everything in between earns its place with a number.

In short

The formatThe point or ask first, then the problem, three findings with numbers, the plan, and the next step with a name and a date.
10 formatsBusiness plan, investor summary, marketing plan, project proposal, grant proposal, report, research summary, incident report, board update and consulting recommendation.
LengthAbout 10% of the full document, so one page or less for a ten-page proposal, by UMGC's writing center; most are no longer than one page [1] [2].
Funder rules winAn NSF Project Summary is one page at most, in three parts, and NSF says it should not be an abstract of the proposal [4].
Leave outBackground the reader knows, references to figures and tables, uncommon acronyms, and any number you cannot source [1].
One requestNOXI's One-pager or Document format turns your key facts into a laid-out summary, keeps a source on any outside figure, and exports Word or PDF.

Find your document in the table, then jump to its example. Every company and every number in the ten examples is invented and labelled as such, so you can copy the structure without copying anyone's data.

#	Format	Who reads it	Length to aim for	It opens with
1	Business plan	Lenders and investors	1 to 2 pages	What the company is and why it will succeed
2	Investor summary	Angel and seed investors	1 page	Traction and the amount being raised
3	Marketing plan	Owner and marketing team	1 page	The sales goal and the budget
4	Project proposal	Sponsor and budget holder	1 page	The problem in money and the decision needed
5	Grant proposal	The funder's program officer	The funder's limit, often 1 page	The need and the amount requested
6	Report	Managers who must act on it	About 10% of the report	The purpose and the main finding
7	Research summary	Product, policy or research leads	1 page	What was found and what it means
8	Incident report	Engineering and support leads	Half a page	What broke, for how long, and who was hit
9	Board update	Directors	1 page on top of the pack	The decision the board must take
10	Consulting recommendation	The client's executive	1 page or 1 slide	The answer, before the reasons

A map of the ten executive summary formats sorted by who reads them: money and growth (business plan, investor summary, marketing plan), approval and funding (project proposal, grant proposal), findings (report, research summary, incident report) and leadership (board update, consulting recommendation), each with the length to aim for and what its first sentence carries. — Ten formats in four groups. Find your reader first, then the length.

Key numbers

Six figures that set how long an executive summary runs and how it reads, each from its publisher, opened on 9 November 2026.

10%

the length of the full proposal an executive summary should typically be, so 1 page or less for 10 pages, UMGC writing center [1]

1 page

the most that most executive summaries run, though some instructors want 5 to 10% of the report, Boston University School of Public Health [2]

3 parts

in an NSF Project Summary of one page at most: overview, intellectual merit and broader impacts, PAPPG 24-1 [4]

common sections in the SBA's traditional business plan, and the executive summary comes first [5]

25 words

the sentence length GOV.UK's guidance says to try to split, with no more than 5 sentences a paragraph [6]

60 to 70

the Flesch Reading Ease score Microsoft suggests for most standard files, from Word's readability statistics [7]

Which executive summary format fits your document: six quick routes

Six routes, each with the fact that makes it fit, checked on 9 November 2026. Five of them are somebody else's rules, because a funder, a lender or a professor outranks any template.

If you are writing a business plan for a lender → follow the SBA's traditional plan, because its guide puts the executive summary first of nine common sections and publishes fictional sample plans you can study [5].
If you are applying to the US National Science Foundation → write NSF's own Project Summary: one page at most, with an overview, intellectual merit and broader impacts, and NSF says it should not be an abstract of the proposal [4].
If you are writing up an outage → use the fields of Google's example postmortem in its SRE book: Summary, Impact, Root Causes, Trigger, Resolution, Detection and Action Items [9].
If the summary is for a class → follow your instructor's rule first, as Boston University's guide advises, and use UMGC's 10% rule only where the assignment is silent [1] [2].
If you want to know whether it reads easily → run Word's readability statistics, because Microsoft suggests a Flesch Reading Ease score between 60 and 70 for most standard files [7].
If you want the summary written, laid out and exported for you → use NOXI's One-pager or Document format: one request with your problem, offer and numbers, a source kept on any outside figure, and a Word or PDF file.

What is an executive summary?

Definition Executive summary: a short document at the front of a longer one that gives a busy decision maker everything needed to act without reading the rest: the purpose, the problem, the main findings with their evidence, and the recommendation or request. UMGC's writing center notes that top-level managers sometimes decide on the summary alone [1].

UMGC calls it "often the first and only part read by key decision makers" [1], so it has to stand alone. Boston University's School of Public Health adds that it does not replace the report and needs no background when its audience already knows the organisation [2]. Write for the person who will decide.

Executive summary vs abstract vs introduction

The three are often confused because all three sit near the front. They do different jobs.

	Executive summary	Abstract	Introduction
Reader	A decision maker who may read nothing else	A researcher deciding whether to read the paper, or a database indexing it	Someone who will read the whole document
Job	Lets the reader act: findings, recommendation, ask	Lets the reader select: purpose, methods, scope, often results	Sets up the argument the body will make
Length	About 10% of the document, usually 1 page [1] [2]	A descriptive abstract usually 100 words or less; an informative one rarely more than 10% of the work [3]	Whatever the document needs
Ends with	The recommendation and the next step	The main result or conclusion	A road map of the sections

Boston University calls executive summaries similar to an abstract but typically longer [2]. The UNC Writing Center says an abstract is not a review and does not evaluate the work it describes [3]; an executive summary is written so a reader can act, so its recommendation comes first. NSF draws the same line: its Project Summary "should not be an abstract of the proposal" [4]. If an assignment asks for an abstract in a citation style, follow that style's rule.

How to write an executive summary in seven steps

These steps work for all ten formats, drawn from university writing centres and two government style guides.

1. Write it last

UMGC's guide says the summary should contain the same sections in the same order as the full report [1]. You cannot shrink a document that does not exist yet, so finish it first.

2. Name the reader and the decision

Write one line for yourself: "This is for [the loan officer], who must decide [whether to lend $60,000]." Every sentence that does not help that person decide can go.

3. Put the point in the first two sentences

The recommendation, the ask or the main finding goes first, with its number. "We ask for a $60,000 five-year loan to open a 40-seat coffee bar in March 2027" is a first sentence. "Coffee has a long history" is not.

4. Follow the document's own order

UMGC calls this perfect miniaturisation: purpose, problem, methods, results and recommendations, in the order the report uses them [1]. Short subheadings help, and UMGC suggests they reflect the report's main divisions without copying its headings word for word [1].

5. Keep the principal points and the major evidence

Three findings, each with a number, a unit and a date, are enough for almost any summary. UMGC keeps most charts, tables and deep analysis in the full document [1]. Name the source of any outside figure in the same line.

6. Write it plainly

GOV.UK's guidance says to try to split sentences over 25 words and to keep paragraphs to 5 sentences or fewer [6]. Digital.gov's plain language guide asks for the active voice, the present tense and verbs instead of hidden-verb nouns: "we analyze data", not "we conduct an analysis of the data" [8].

7. Test it alone

Give the summary, and only the summary, to a colleague. UMGC's test is that they can explain the basics of the full proposal after one reading [1]. Then proofread it twice: UMGC warns that even a minor proofreading error can spell rejection [1].

The executive summary format: five parts every version shares

The ten examples look different, but each one is built from the same five parts, in this order. Rename them to suit your document.

Part	What goes in it	One line from Example 4
1. The point	The ask, recommendation or main finding, with its number	Approve a $9,500 telematics pilot in 10 vans by 15 December
2. The problem	Why now, in money, time or risk	Fuel cost $612,000 in 12 months, up 14%
3. The evidence	Two or three findings with numbers and dates	No idling or route data on any of 40 vans
4. The plan	What happens, what it costs, when	Pilot January to March 2027, full fleet by May
5. The next step	Who decides what, by when	Operations director signs off by 15 December 2026

A filled one-page executive summary for a fictional freight company's telematics proposal, with five labelled parts down the margin: the point (approve a 9,500 dollar pilot in 10 vans by 15 December 2026), the problem (fuel cost 612,000 dollars in 12 months, up 14 percent), the evidence (no idling or route data), the plan (pilot January to March 2027, full fleet of 40 vans by May) and the next step (operations director signs off by 15 December), marked as a fictional company with invented numbers. — Example 4 on one page: the five parts, in order, and the ask in the first line.

Executive summary length: the rule for each format

No single standard covers every document, but the published rules agree more than they differ: about a tenth of the document, and one page for most readers. Where a funder or instructor sets a limit, theirs wins.

Document	Length rule	Whose rule
Any proposal or report	Typically 10% of the full document; 1 page or less for a 10-page proposal	UMGC writing center [1]
Project report (class)	Most no more than 1 page; some instructors want 5 to 10% of the pages, so 2.5 to 5 pages for 50	Boston University School of Public Health [2]
NSF grant proposal	Project Summary not more than 1 page, in three parts	NSF PAPPG 24-1 [4]
Lean business plan	The whole plan is typically 1 page	US Small Business Administration [5]
Abstract, for comparison	Descriptive: usually 100 words or less; informative: rarely more than 10% of the work	UNC Writing Center [3]
Incident postmortem	The Summary field is one sentence in Google's example	Google SRE book [9]

The SBA sets no length for the executive summary of a traditional plan, which it says can run dozens of pages in all [5], so one to two pages is a sensible working rule. For board papers and consulting work, one page is a convention, not a published rule.

Six published length rules for executive summaries and their neighbours, as cards: UMGC, 10 percent of the full proposal, so one page or less for ten pages; Boston University, one page for most, 5 to 10 percent where an instructor asks; NSF, a Project Summary of one page at most in three parts; SBA, a lean business plan of typically one page; UNC, a descriptive abstract of 100 words or less; GOV.UK, split sentences over 25 words. — The published rules, side by side. A funder's or an instructor's limit overrides all of them.

Executive summary examples for business: business plan, investor summary and marketing plan

These three ask for money or a budget, so the amount and what it buys belong in the first or the last line, never in the middle.

1. Executive summary example for a business plan

For: a bank, a lender or an investor reading a traditional business plan. Why it works: it covers what the SBA lists for this section, what the company is and why it will succeed, the mission, the product, the team, employees and location, and the financial information and growth plans that a request for financing needs [5]. Leave out: the full market analysis and the five-year tables, which have their own sections. For tools that draft the whole plan, see our AI business plan generator ranking.

Example 1 · Business plan · fictional company, invented numbers

Harbour Lane Coffee: executive summary Harbour Lane Coffee is a 40-seat coffee bar opening in March 2027 beside the ferry terminal in Port Ellis, serving commuters from 6:30 to 10:00 and selling beans to take home. We ask for a $60,000 five-year loan to fit out the unit and carry the first three months. Why it will succeed: there is no café inside the terminal gate; our ten-year lease is signed at a fixed rent; and the founders ran a coffee cart at the same terminal for two summers, selling an average of 310 cups a day. Mission: good coffee a commuter can carry onto the 7:05 ferry. Product: espresso drinks, filter coffee, three pastries baked off site, and 250 g bags of beans. Team and location: Ana Costa, founder and manager, eight years in specialty coffee; Tom Reyes, co-founder, finance; four baristas. Unit 3, Ferry Terminal Building, Port Ellis. Financials: first-year sales of $410,000, building to 380 cups a day by month 6 at an average of $3.40 a cup; operating profit from month 9. Use of the loan: $42,000 fit-out and equipment, $18,000 working capital. Repayments start in month 7. Growth: a second cart at the Port Ellis rail station in 2028, paid from profits.

2. Investor executive summary example

For: angel and seed investors who will spend a minute on it before deciding whether to take a meeting. Why it works: traction and the amount being raised sit in the first two lines; the market line carries a source, because an investor will check it. Leave out: product features beyond the one that matters, and any market figure without a source and a date. For the deck that usually travels with it, see our pitch deck examples.

Example 2 · Investor summary · fictional company, invented numbers

Fieldnote: investment summary, November 2026 Fieldnote turns a building inspector's voice notes into a finished inspection report on a phone, in under ten minutes. We are raising a $1.5 million seed round to grow from $21,000 to $80,000 in monthly recurring revenue by December 2027. Problem: inspectors in our pilot firms spent about 2 hours writing up each 3-hour site visit, mostly at night. Traction: 38 paying firms; monthly recurring revenue $21,000 in October 2026, up from $6,500 in April; 3 of 38 firms cancelled in six months. Market: [the number of building inspectors or inspection firms in your launch market, with its source and date]. Business model: $45 per inspector per month, billed yearly to the firm. Team: Priya Nair, CEO, nine years as a licensed inspector; Daniel Okoro, CTO, former lead engineer on a field-service app. Use of funds: 60% product and engineering, 30% sales, 10% operations, over 18 months. Milestones: 120 paying firms and an integration with two inspection-software platforms by December 2027.

3. Marketing plan executive summary example

For: an owner and a small marketing team agreeing next year's plan. Why it works: one sales goal, three channels, a budget that adds up and two numbers to watch, plus one thing the plan stops doing. The SBA's guide frames this section as how you will attract and retain customers and how a sale will actually happen [5].

Example 3 · Marketing plan · fictional company, invented numbers

Sol and Stone Ceramics: 2027 marketing plan, executive summary Goal: grow online sales from $310,000 in 2026 to $400,000 in 2027, a 29% rise, mostly from repeat customers. Audience: home cooks aged 30 to 55 who buy one or two handmade pieces a year as gifts or for themselves. Three channels: email to past buyers ($6,000), paid social video in the 6 weeks before Mother's Day and Christmas ($18,000), and two weekend pop-up markets ($12,000). Total budget: $36,000. What we stop: the printed catalogue, which cost $9,000 in 2026 and was traced to fewer than 40 orders. Measures: repeat purchase rate from 22% to 28%; email list from 9,000 to 15,000 subscribers by December. Review: owner and marketing lead check both measures on the first Monday of each quarter.

Executive summary examples for proposals and funding: project proposal and grant

A proposal summary is a request for a yes. It names the decision, the amount and the date in the first lines, then shows the reader why the risk is small.

4. Executive summary example for a project proposal

For: a sponsor or budget holder inside your own organisation. Why it works: it states the problem in money, asks for a small first step instead of the whole sum, and names the risk before the reader does. UMGC's 10% rule fits proposals exactly: a ten-page proposal gets a summary of one page or less [1]. For the presentation that often follows, see our project proposal presentation guide.

Example 4 · Project proposal · fictional company, invented numbers

Ashby Freight: proposal to fit telematics in the delivery fleet Decision needed: approve a $9,500 pilot in 10 vans, plus $300 a month, by 15 December 2026. Problem: fuel cost $612,000 in the last 12 months, up 14%, and we have no idling or route data on any of our 40 vans. Proposal: fit a telematics unit in 10 vans from January to March 2027, then in all 40 by May if fuel per mile falls. Cost for the full fleet: $38,000 once ($950 a van) and $1,200 a month ($30 a van). Benefit: if fuel falls by 8%, the fleet saves about $49,000 a year, and the full fleet pays back in about 13 months. Risk: drivers may see tracking as surveillance. We will agree a written data policy with drivers before the first unit is fitted. Next step: operations director signs off the pilot by 15 December; fleet manager reports pilot results on 15 April 2027.

5. Grant proposal executive summary example

For: a program officer at a foundation reading many applications. Why it works: the need, the request and the outcome you will measure fit in the first three lines, and the budget shows who else is paying. Federal rule: if you apply to the US National Science Foundation, its form wins: the Project Summary is one page at most, made of an overview, a statement on intellectual merit and a statement on broader impacts, and it should not be an abstract of the proposal [4]. NSF 24-1 applies to proposals submitted or due on or after 20 May 2024, and NSF's page says a draft Guidance on Financial Assistance will replace the PAPPG, with feedback taken until 24 August 2026, so check the rules in force before you submit [4].

Example 5 · Grant proposal · fictional organisations, invented numbers

Riverbend Reading Project: request to the Calder Family Foundation Request: $48,000 toward a $64,000 one-to-one reading program for 120 second and third graders in two Riverbend elementary schools, October 2027 to May 2028. Need: in our two partner schools, 6 in 10 third graders read below grade level on the schools' own spring test. Program: trained volunteers read one-to-one with each child for 30 minutes, twice a week, in school hours. Outcome we will measure: at least 70% of children gain one reading level or more by May, on the schools' own assessment. Track record: 310 children served since 2023; 85 active volunteers; two paid staff. Budget: $64,000 in total. This request $48,000 (75%); local businesses $10,000; school district in kind $6,000. Reporting: a mid-year report in February 2028 and a final report with results in June 2028.

Executive summary examples for reports, research and incidents

These three report what happened. The reader wants the finding and what to do about it, not the method in detail, so the method gets one line.

6. Executive summary example for a report

For: managers who must act on an analysis. Why it works: it follows UMGC's order exactly, purpose, problem, method, results and recommendations, with results condensed and recommendations as a list [1]. Leave out: references to tables and appendices; UMGC says figures and tables are typically not referenced in the summary [1]. For tools that draft a full report, see our AI for reports ranking.

Example 6 · Report · fictional company, invented numbers

Brightwave Broadband: why customers left in the third quarter of 2026 Purpose: this report explains the rise in cancellations and recommends three changes for the board's December meeting. Problem: monthly churn rose from 1.4% in April to 2.1% in September 2026. Method: we analysed 18,400 cancellations, 600 exit-survey answers and interviews with 12 call-centre agents. Results: 1. Price: 41% of leavers named the July price rise as their main reason. 2. Contract end: customers in their contract's final month cancelled three times as often as others. 3. Repairs: customers who waited more than 48 hours for a fault fix cancelled twice as often. Recommendations: 1. Offer a loyalty price 60 days before each contract ends. 2. Set a 24-hour target for fault fixes, starting with fibre customers. 3. Track churn weekly by reason and report it monthly to the board. Expected result: churn back to 1.6% a month by June 2027.

7. Research executive summary example

For: product, policy or research leads who commissioned the study. Why it works: findings come before methods, each finding carries its sample, and the limits of the study are stated plainly in one line. A student research paper usually needs an abstract instead; the comparison table above shows the difference [3].

Example 7 · Research summary · fictional company, invented numbers

Pagewise: why trial users do not upgrade, research summary, October 2026 Main finding: trial users who import their old notes in the first three days upgrade 2.4 times as often as those who do not, so import should come first in onboarding. What we found: 1. 63% of trial users never connected a second device. 2. Only 27% of trial users imported their old notes in the first three days. 3. Price was the main reason for not upgrading for only 18% of survey respondents. How we found it: 14 interviews, 1,050 survey answers from trial users in September 2026, and product data for 22,000 trials. Limits: survey respondents chose to answer, so they may be more engaged than the average trial user. Recommendation: move note import to the first onboarding screen and test it with half of new trials from January 2027; decide by 31 March 2027.

8. Incident report executive summary example

For: engineering, support and company leads after an outage. Why it works: it uses the fields of Google's example postmortem, Summary, Impact, Root Causes, Trigger, Resolution, Detection and Action Items, and the summary itself is one sentence, as in Google's example [9]. It is blameless: Google's SRE book says a blameless postmortem focuses on contributing causes without indicting any individual or team [9].

Example 8 · Incident report · fictional company, invented numbers

Parcelly: checkout outage, 3 November 2026 Summary: checkout failed for 47 minutes, from 14:02 to 14:49 UTC, after a configuration change cut the payment service's connection pool from 200 to 20. Impact: about 3,100 checkout attempts failed; no customer data was lost; 1,240 customers retried and completed later that day. Root cause: the new pool size was copied from a test environment, and the change review did not compare it with production. Trigger: a routine configuration deploy at 13:58 UTC, ahead of the afternoon peak. Resolution: the change was rolled back at 14:41; checkout recovered fully by 14:49. Detection: the checkout error-rate alert fired at 14:06, four minutes after the first failures. Action items: 1. Pool-size changes go through a canary first. Owner: platform team. Due: 20 November 2026. 2. Alert when checkout errors pass 2% for two minutes. Owner: reliability team. Due: 15 November 2026. 3. Apology email to affected customers. Owner: support. Done: 4 November 2026.

Executive summary examples for leadership: board update and consulting recommendation

Directors and clients read many papers a week. Both formats put the decision on the first line and keep the evidence to what that decision needs.

9. Board update executive summary example

For: a company board, on the first page of the board pack. Why it works: the headline says whether the quarter is on plan, the one decision the board must take has its own block with management's recommendation, and the rest of the pack becomes reference. For the board deck, see our board meeting presentation guide.

Example 9 · Board update · fictional company, invented numbers

Lumen Pet Foods: board update, third quarter 2026, for the meeting on 24 November 2026 Headline: revenue is on plan, gross margin is below plan, and we ask the board to decide one price change. Results: revenue $8.4 million against a plan of $8.2 million; gross margin 38% against a plan of 41%, because chicken costs rose 11% since June; cash $5.1 million at 30 September. Decision for the board: a 4% list-price rise from 1 February 2027. Management recommends it; without it, the 2027 margin plan falls by about 2 points. Risks: two suppliers provide 70% of our chicken; a third supplier is in trial and will report in January. Next quarter: launch in 120 new stores with one regional grocery chain from 15 January 2027. For noting: the draft 2027 budget comes to the December meeting.

10. Consulting executive summary example, answer first

For: a client executive who asked one question. Why it works: the answer comes first, then the situation and the complication in one line each, three reasons with numbers, and next steps with dates. It is the situation, complication and resolution order of consulting writing, with the resolution moved to the top. When the same summary has to be one slide with an action title, our consulting-style slides guide shows the slide version.

Example 10 · Consulting recommendation · fictional client, invented numbers

Marlow Hotels: how to cut no-shows, executive summary Answer: Marlow should take a card deposit on every booking made more than 7 days ahead, starting in two hotels in February 2027. We expect no-shows to fall from 9% of booked room nights to under 5%. Situation: Marlow's six city hotels run at high occupancy on weekdays, and most rooms are booked online. Complication: no-shows doubled in two years, and rooms left empty on the night cannot be resold. Why a deposit: 1. 70% of no-shows are bookings made 8 or more days ahead without a deposit. 2. The two Marlow hotels that already take deposits run at 3.5% no-shows. 3. In our survey of 400 recent guests, 82% said a deposit would not change where they book. Next steps: pilot in two more hotels from 1 February 2027; compare no-shows and booking volume on 30 April; decide on the last two hotels by 15 May 2027.

Two columns comparing what to keep in an executive summary and what to cut: keep the point or ask in the first two sentences, three findings with numbers and dates, the plan with its cost, the next step with a name and a date, and a source on any outside figure; cut background the reader knows, references to figures, tables and appendices, uncommon acronyms, the method in detail, and every number you cannot source. — What earns a place in the summary, and what stays in the full document.

What to leave out of an executive summary

Most summaries run long because of what they keep. Six cuts, from the writing-centre guides and the examples above:

Background the reader already knows, which Boston University calls unnecessary for an audience that knows the organisation [2].
References to figures, tables and appendices, typically not referenced, says UMGC, because the summary stands alone [1].
Uncommon terms, symbols and acronyms [1]; spell out the one acronym you must keep.
The method in detail. One line on how you found it is enough.
Anything new. A fact that is not in the full document does not belong in its summary.
Numbers without a source. An outside figure needs its publisher and date, or a bracket asking for one, as in Example 2.

Executive summary template for Word and Google Docs

Copy this template into Word or Google Docs and replace each bracket. The guidance in brackets tells you what goes on each line; delete it as you go.

Template · Executive summary · 1 page

[Document title]: executive summary [Date] · Prepared for [the reader who decides] · Prepared by [name, role] The point: [the recommendation, ask or main finding in one or two sentences, with its number and date]. The problem: [why this matters now, in money, time or risk; one or two sentences]. What we found: 1. [Finding with a number, its unit and its date.] 2. [Finding with a number.] 3. [Finding with a number.] The plan: [what will happen, what it costs, and when it starts and ends]. Risks: [the one risk the reader will ask about, and your answer to it]. The ask and next step: [who decides what, by which date; who reports back, and when]. Sources: [publisher and date for every figure that comes from outside the organisation].

In Word

Paste the template into a blank document and set each label line as a heading from the Styles gallery on the Home tab, so the Navigation pane lists the parts. To check how easily it reads, Microsoft's support page says Word for Microsoft 365 shows reading-level statistics under Home, Editor, Document stats, a feature it lists for Current Channel customers; older Windows versions turn on Show readability statistics under File, Options, Proofing [7]. Microsoft suggests a Flesch Reading Ease score between 60 and 70 and a grade level of about 7.0 to 8.0 for most documents [7].

In Google Docs

Paste the template, apply headings from the paragraph styles menu, and check the length with Tools, Word count before you send it.

As a slide or a deck

When the summary has to open a presentation, it shrinks to one slide whose title states the answer, as in Example 10, and the five parts become three or four short lines under it. Students summarising a book rather than a business can use our book report template, which caps its summary at a set number of sentences.

What to check before you send it

A short, honest list. Each check takes a minute and catches a mistake a decision maker would otherwise find first.

Every number matches the full document.A figure that changed in the body during editing is the most common error in a summary.
Every outside figure has a source and a date.Market sizes, industry averages and prices: publisher, page and the date you read it.
No bracket is left.Search the file for "[" before you send it.
The ask has an amount, an owner and a date."Approve $9,500 by 15 December" can be answered; "support the project" cannot.
It fits the reader's rule.A funder's form, an instructor's brief or a lender's checklist overrides the 10% rule [1] [4].
It stands alone.A colleague who reads only the summary can explain the document back to you [1].
Fictional numbers stay out of real documents.The examples on this page are invented; replace every number with your own.

Three ready requests to paste into NOXI

To get a finished, laid-out summary instead of writing it line by line, paste one of these into NOXI and replace the words in brackets with your own facts.

Prompt 1 · A one-page executive summary (One-pager format)

A one-page executive summary for [Harbour Lane Coffee], a [40-seat coffee bar opening in March 2027 beside a ferry terminal]. Reader: [a bank loan officer]. Open with the ask: [a $60,000 five-year loan]. Then the problem we solve: [no café inside the terminal gate]. Then three proof points with my numbers: [310 cups a day from our cart over two summers; a ten-year lease at a fixed rent; first-year sales of $410,000]. Then the team, the use of the loan [$42,000 fit-out, $18,000 working capital] and the next step. Add one line on the local coffee market with a current figure and its source. Keep it to one page.

Prompt 2 · A report summary from your attached report (Document format)

Write a two-page executive summary of the attached report for [our board]. Follow the report's own order: purpose, problem, method in one line, three findings with their numbers, and the recommendations as a numbered list. Keep every number exactly as the report gives it, and put the decision we need on the first line.

Prompt 3 · One change, by chat

Cut the summary to 300 words. Keep the ask in the first sentence and the three proof points with their numbers, shorten the team paragraph to one line, and change nothing else.

Make it in NOXI: an executive summary as a one-pager or Word document in one request

NOXI 2.0 makes 14 formats from one request, and an executive summary fits two of them: One-pager for a single designed page and Document for a longer summary on A4 or Letter pages. It is free to start: the free plan covers five documents a month, and every change after that, by chat or by hand, is free. No credit card is needed to start, and downloads carry no watermark, on the free plan too. The full list of formats is in the NOXI 2.0 launch article.

Step 1. Open NOXI and choose One-pager

Go to noxi.ai and sign in, or create a free account. On Home, choose One-pager for a one-page summary, or Document if it runs to two pages. The format is a starting point, and a clear request wins.

Step 2. Paste your key facts and attach what you have

Paste Prompt 1 with your own problem, offer and numbers. If the full plan or report exists, attach it, and NOXI builds from it.

Step 3. Press Create and let NOXI source the outside figures

NOXI sketches the page first, then writes it. For a figure your request asks it to find, such as a market size, it searches the live web and keeps the source on the page; when a fact cannot be confirmed, it leaves a clear field for you to fill instead of guessing.

Step 4. Read it through and change one line

NOXI reads the document through and fixes what does not agree, such as a number that changed between pages. Send Prompt 3 and NOXI changes only what you asked, or edit the text yourself; every change can be undone.

Step 5. Export Word or PDF

Export Word for editable pages your colleagues can change, or PDF with selectable text and source links that stay clickable. Each file is compared with the pages before the download appears.

Frequently asked questions

What is an executive summary example?: It is a finished summary you can copy the structure of: the point or ask first, then the problem, three findings with numbers, the plan and the next step. This page has ten, for a business plan, investor summary, marketing plan, project proposal, grant, report, research, incident, board update and consulting recommendation, all on fictional companies.
What should an executive summary include?: The purpose, the problem, how you analysed it, the results and the recommendations, in the same order as the full document, which is UMGC's list. Add the ask with an amount and a date when you want a decision, and a source beside any figure that comes from outside your organisation.
How long should an executive summary be?: About 10% of the full document, so one page or less for a ten-page proposal, by UMGC's writing center. Boston University says most are no longer than one page, though some instructors want 5 to 10% of the report. A funder's form, such as NSF's one-page Project Summary, overrides both.
What is the difference between an executive summary and an abstract?: An abstract helps a researcher decide whether to read a paper and does not evaluate the work; a descriptive one is usually 100 words or less, says the UNC Writing Center. An executive summary helps a decision maker act, so it carries findings and a recommendation and runs longer, usually up to one page.
How do you start an executive summary?: Start with the point: the ask, the recommendation or the main finding, with its number. For example, "We ask for a $60,000 five-year loan to open a 40-seat coffee bar in March 2027." Then give the problem in one or two sentences. Keep background out unless the reader does not know your organisation.
What goes in the executive summary of a business plan?: The SBA lists what the company is and why it will succeed, the mission statement, the product or service, and basic information about the leadership team, employees and location. If you are asking for financing, it adds financial information and high-level growth plans. State the amount and its use plainly.
Should an executive summary include charts or tables?: Usually not. UMGC's guide says most charts, tables and deep analysis belong in the full proposal, and that figures and tables are typically not referenced in the summary. Write the two or three numbers that matter as sentences instead. A single small table can work in a board update if the board expects it.
Is an executive summary the same as an introduction?: No. An introduction prepares a reader who will read the whole document and ends with a road map of the sections. An executive summary is written for a reader who may read nothing else, so it gives the findings and the recommendation up front and must make sense on its own.
Where can I find an executive summary template for Word?: Copy the one-page template on this page into a blank Word document, set each label as a heading from the Styles gallery, and replace every bracket. Word's readability statistics then show the Flesch Reading Ease score; Microsoft suggests 60 to 70 for most standard files.
Can NOXI write an executive summary for me?: Yes. Choose the One-pager or Document format, give your problem, offer and numbers, or attach the full plan, and NOXI writes and lays out the summary, keeps a source on any outside figure, and exports Word or PDF. The free plan covers five documents a month, and every change after that is free.

Sources & methodology

Every rule, limit and quoted line comes from its publisher, opened on 9 November 2026, signed out. The ten examples are editorial: every company, person, place and number in them is invented and labelled as such, and none of them is real data. The working lengths in the first table are editorial guidance except where the length table cites a source.

[1] "An executive summary is a brief document typically directed at top-level managers who sometimes make decisions based upon a reading of this summary alone"; "often the first and only part read by key decision makers"; perfect miniaturization: "the same sections in the same order as the full report"; major findings only, with most charts, tables and deep-level analysis reserved for the full proposal; proportional: "typically only 10% the length of the full proposal", so 1 page or less for a 10-page proposal; stand alone, with a test reader; flawless; figures and tables typically not referenced; uncommon terminology, symbols and acronyms avoided; subheadings should reflect the report's main divisions but not repeat its headings · University of Maryland Global Campus, Effective Writing Center, Executive Summary, checked 9 November 2026.
[2] Executive summaries are "similar to an abstract" but "typically longer"; "Most executive summaries are no more than one page", though some instructors prefer 5 to 10% of the total pages (2.5 to 5 pages for a 50-page report); consult your instructor; no background is necessary when the audience knows the organisation; the summary does not replace the report · Boston University School of Public Health, Executive Summaries, checked 9 November 2026.
[3] Two types of abstract, descriptive and informative; an abstract is not a review and does not evaluate the work; descriptive abstracts are "usually very short", 100 words or less; an informative abstract is "rarely more than 10% of the length of the entire work" · The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Abstracts, checked 9 November 2026.
[4] Chapter II.D.2.b: "Each proposal must contain a summary of the proposed project not more than one page in length"; it consists of an overview, a statement on intellectual merit and a statement on broader impacts; "It should not be an abstract of the proposal." · US National Science Foundation, PAPPG (NSF 24-1), Chapter II, Proposal preparation. NSF 24-1 "applies to all proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024"; the page invites feedback by 24 August 2026 on NSF's draft Guidance on Financial Assistance, which "will replace" the PAPPG · NSF, Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, both checked 9 November 2026.
[5] Traditional plans "can be dozens of pages long"; lean startup plans are "typically only one page"; nine common traditional sections, starting with the executive summary: "Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful", with the mission statement, product or service, leadership team, employees and location, and "financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing"; marketing and sales: how you will attract and retain customers and how a sale will actually happen; fictional example plans offered for download (not downloaded) · US Small Business Administration, Plan your business: Write your business plan, checked 9 November 2026.
[6] "Paragraphs should have no more than 5 sentences each. Try to split up sentences that are over 25 words long."; use the active voice · GOV.UK content and publishing guidance, Use clear language, checked 9 November 2026.
[7] Word for Microsoft 365: Home, Editor, Document stats, "only available for Microsoft 365 customers receiving updates on the Current Channel"; older Windows versions: File, Options, Proofing, Show readability statistics; Flesch Reading Ease "between 60 and 70" for most standard files; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level "around 7.0 to 8.0" for most documents · Microsoft Support, Get your document's readability and level statistics in Microsoft Word, checked 9 November 2026.
[8] Active voice, present tense, no hidden verbs ("We analyze data", not "We conduct an analysis of the data") ·Digital.gov (US General Services Administration), Writing for understanding, checked 9 November 2026.
[9] Appendix D, Example Postmortem: fields Summary, Impact, Root Causes, Trigger, Resolution, Detection, Action Items, with a one-sentence Summary; chapter 15: a blameless postmortem focuses on "the contributing causes of the incident without indicting any individual or team" · Google, Site Reliability Engineering, Example Postmortem and Postmortem Culture, checked 9 November 2026.