THE SHORT ANSWER
A company letterhead normally includes the approved business name, logo and relevant contact details, with enough clear space for the letter itself. Choose an editable format such as Word if your team needs to write letters regularly; use PDF for a stable final version. Sage’s letterhead design starts at Ksh 899. Agree the editable delivery format before booking.
Include the information the recipient needs
Begin with the correct business or organisation name, logo and current contact details. A useful footer may include an email address, phone number, website and an address or service-location description that accurately represents the organisation.
Decide whether a particular department, office or authorised signatory needs a variation. A general letterhead and a letter from a specific branch may have different contact routes. Keep the differences intentional.
Any statutory identifiers, professional registrations or mandatory disclosures should come from the organisation’s approved requirements. This is a design checklist, not a legal determination about what a particular entity must print.
Word and PDF solve different problems
| Format | Useful for | Check before handover |
|---|---|---|
| Editable Word template | Staff writing and updating letters | Margins, header/footer and second-page behaviour |
| Final PDF | Sending an approved letter with stable layout | Correct text, working links and clean page breaks |
| Print artwork | Producing stationery through a printer | Size, bleed if needed and the printer’s required settings |
A PDF with a logo is not automatically an editable office template. Equally, a Word file can shift when it is opened with different fonts or software. Specify what the team uses and test the delivered template in that environment.
If the editable file is important, put it in the brief. Do not wait until the final PDF is approved to discover that the project only covered a static layout.
Leave the letter room to do its job
The branding should support the message rather than compete with it. Keep decorative elements away from the body area and make sure a long business name or address does not squeeze the actual letter into a narrow column.
Test a short letter, a two-page letter and a letter containing a small table. Check that the signature block and footer do not collide. Decide whether later pages repeat the full header or use a simpler version.
Use ordinary text for the recipient, subject and message. Turning the whole page into an image makes routine editing and accessible reading harder. Ask for important contact information to remain readable text where the format allows it.
Check the version your team will actually send
Print a sample if the stationery will be used on paper. A pale footer that looks elegant on a bright screen may be hard to read in an ordinary office printout. Check the black-and-white version too if that is how letters are commonly produced.
For email correspondence, export a sample PDF and reopen it. Confirm the first and last pages, the actual phone number, the sender details and any links. If the PDF is signed later, test the signing workflow as well.
Do not use a preview screenshot as the production file. Keep the approved template and the final letter in a controlled folder so a colleague does not pick an outdated version by mistake.
What to send Sage for a letterhead project
Send the logo file, exact organisation name, approved contact details, any required identifiers and examples of the letters the team writes. State whether you need Word, PDF, print artwork or a combination, and which paper size you use.
The starting design fee is Ksh 899. Confirm variations and editable-file requirements in the quotation. Two revision rounds are included within the agreed scope.
A good ongoing arrangement keeps the company profile, letterhead and other documents aligned. When a contact changes, update the shared record once and check every document that uses it.
A few more questions
Should all letters use the same letterhead?
A consistent base helps, but approved variations may be useful for branches or departments. Agree which details are shared and who maintains them.
Does the design fee include printed stationery?
Do not assume so. Discuss print quantities, paper and production separately from the letterhead design and editable template.
WORK WITH SOMEONE WHO KNOWS YOUR BUSINESS
Talk through your project.
Start with what you need. Your estimate is free, and we agree the scope, final price and delivery date before work begins.