How to End an Email Professionally: Sign-Offs That Actually Work for Client Work

By Tayyab Irshad · June 18, 2026 · 9 min read

Article Contents

Sign-offs are the smallest part of an email and the most-noticed one. The wrong one can turn a warm message cold, or a formal one casual. For VAs replying on someone else's behalf, matching the client's actual sign-off style is a bigger deal than most people realize.

Why the Sign-Off Matters More Than People Think

The body of an email is what the reader remembers. But the sign-off is what shapes their read of it. A perfectly warm email that ends with a stiff “Regards” suddenly feels cold. A formal negotiation email that ends with “Cheers!” suddenly feels like the sender is not taking it seriously. The sign-off recalibrates everything above it in about half a second.

This matters most for VAs and executive assistants replying on someone else's behalf. Contacts who correspond with your client regularly recognize their sign-off pattern subconsciously. When it changes, they notice, even if they cannot articulate what changed. A reply signed “Best regards” from a founder who always signs “-A” is the exact kind of thing that makes contacts wonder if they are actually talking to the client.

The Three Categories of Sign-Offs

Every common sign-off falls into one of three buckets. Knowing which bucket a specific sign-off is in tells you when it fits and when it does not.

Formal (business register, keeps professional distance)

Sincerely, Regards, Kind regards, Best regards, Respectfully, Yours truly. These fit legal correspondence, formal proposals, first-time contacts in traditional industries (law, finance, medicine), and any situation where warmth would be inappropriate. In modern professional email they can read as slightly stiff, which is sometimes what you want and sometimes not.

Warm (professional but friendly)

Best, Thanks, Thank you, Take care, Warmly, All the best. These fit most business email in tech, creative, and modern professional contexts. “Best” alone is now the default sign-off for a large chunk of business correspondence in English-speaking markets. Warm sign-offs work for both new and ongoing relationships without sending signals about hierarchy or formality.

Minimal (casual, familiar)

Cheers, Thx, Just your first initial, No sign-off at all. These fit ongoing conversations with people the sender emails regularly, internal team messages, and creative or casual industries. Using a minimal sign-off with a new contact reads as either presumptuous or careless, depending on the recipient's expectations.

Which Sign-Off Fits Which Situation

The rough rule: match the formality of the incoming message. If someone signs their email to you with “Kind regards,” matching with “Kind regards” or “Best regards” keeps the register aligned. If they sign with “Cheers,” matching with “Cheers” or “Thanks” is appropriate. Escalating warmth (moving from formal to warm as the relationship progresses) is usually welcome; regressing (going from warm back to formal) tends to feel cold unless there is a reason.

  • First contact in a traditional industry (law, finance, government) → Sincerely, Regards, or Kind regards.
  • First contact in a modern industry (tech, creative, professional services) → Best, Thanks, or Thank you.
  • Ongoing correspondence with a regular contact → Whatever they are using, or a step warmer. If they say “Best,” you can say “Best” or drop to just your first name.
  • Sensitive or emotional email (condolences, apologies, sensitive negotiations) → Warmly, Take care, or a fuller sign-off with a personal note.
  • Quick reply to a colleague or existing team member → Thanks, Cheers, or your first initial alone.
  • Follow-up chase where you need something → Thanks (which softly implies expected help), never Cheers (feels dismissive of the request).
  • Anger de-escalation reply → Best or Warmly. Never a minimal sign-off; it reads as flippant given the emotional tone of the exchange.

How to Match Your Client's Actual Sign-Off Style

This is the part most VAs get wrong when they start managing client email. The instinct is to pick a “professional” sign-off and use it consistently. The right move is to use whatever the client actually uses.

Practical steps to figure out and apply your client's real sign-off pattern:

  • Read 10-15 of the client's real sent emails. Not templates, not automated messages. Real replies they typed themselves. Note the sign-off in each one.
  • Notice if the sign-off varies by audience. A client might sign “Best,” to external contacts but drop to just their first name with their team. Or use “Kind regards” for legal contacts and “Best” for everyone else.
  • Look for the specific spelling and punctuation. Some people write “Best,” with a comma. Others write “Best” on its own line, followed by their name on the next line. Some sign with just a first initial (“-A” or “A”). These specifics matter.
  • Document what you find in a written tone reference. For each client, write down: default sign-off for external contacts, sign-off for internal team, any variations by relationship. This is one of the most useful documents in a multi-client VA setup.
  • Use an [automated tone-matching tool](/tools/ai-client-tone-matcher) if manual tracking gets impractical. Tools like Replyf capture the client's greeting and sign-off patterns from their real sent emails and apply them to every draft automatically. Saves the manual reference lookup on every email.

Sign-Offs to Avoid (and Why)

Some sign-offs are wrong for most professional situations. Whatever your client's style, these usually should not appear on a client's account:

  • “Sent from my iPhone” without any actual sign-off. This is Apple's default. Real people who use it on purpose are usually excusing brevity. On a VA-managed account, it looks like the assistant forgot to remove the default. Remove it.
  • “Warm regards” in casual contexts. “Warm regards” became internet-famous as the sign-off that sounds trying-too-hard. It fits some formal situations but should be avoided for casual or modern-industry email.
  • “Have a blessed day” or religious phrases in professional contexts, unless the client's business is explicitly faith-based. Not everyone shares the sentiment and it puts contacts in an awkward spot.
  • All caps. “THANKS!” or “BEST!” reads as shouting. Some clients think it's enthusiastic. Contacts often read it as aggressive or careless.
  • Multiple exclamation points. “Thanks!!!” or “Cheers!!” reads as either juvenile or over-eager. One exclamation mark can work in warm contexts; more than one rarely does.
  • Overly clever or joke sign-offs. “Peace out,” “Toodles,” “Live long and prosper,” and similar. Even if the client uses these with close friends, they should not appear in professional correspondence a VA handles.

The Modern Debate: 'Best' vs. 'Warm regards' vs. Just Your Name

For most professional email in the last five years, three sign-off approaches have become dominant, and email etiquette writers spend a lot of time debating which is right.

**“Best,”** is the safe default. It is warm without being personal, brief without being cold, and appropriate for almost every professional context. It has become the “jeans and a t-shirt” of email sign-offs. If you have no reason to use anything else, use “Best.”

**“Warm regards”** and its cousins (“Kind regards,” “Best regards”) are more formal. They fit contexts where you want to signal respect and slight distance. Legal, financial, government, or first-contact-in-traditional-industry emails work well with these. They read as slightly stiff in tech, creative, or ongoing casual contexts.

**Just your first name (or initial)** signals familiarity. This is the most common ending for ongoing correspondence with regular contacts, especially in tech and startup contexts. Signing an email with just “Alex” rather than “Best, Alex” feels warmer and shorter, which is often what you want. Reserve for people you correspond with regularly.

The right answer for any specific client is whichever they actually use. Not the one that sounds most professional in the abstract.

Sign-Offs by Relationship Stage

Sign-offs should move with the relationship. Using the same one for a first-contact cold email and a 3-year working relationship feels equally wrong in both directions.

  • First contact: More formal side. “Best,” “Kind regards,” “Thanks for your time.” Not “Cheers” or just a first initial.
  • Established but formal (client relationship, vendor): “Best,” “Thanks,” “Best regards.” Same range, slightly warmer than first contact.
  • Regular working relationship (weekly or more often): Drop the formality. “Best,” is fine but so is just your first name.
  • Close working relationship (daily contact, personal rapport): First initial alone, or no sign-off at all. Some ongoing threads even drop the greeting and just start with the answer.
  • Emotional or sensitive: Warmer than the current relationship state. Even in a business-formal context, condolences or apologies benefit from a warmer sign-off (“Take care,” “Warmly,” “Thinking of you”) than the routine one.

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FAQs about How to End an Email Professionally: Sign-Offs That Actually Work for Client Work

Everything you need to know

What is the best way to end a professional email?

For most professional contexts, 'Best,' followed by your name works. It's warm without being personal, brief without being cold, and appropriate for almost every situation. For more formal contexts (legal, finance, first-time contacts in traditional industries), use 'Regards,' 'Kind regards,' or 'Best regards.' For ongoing casual working relationships, just your first name (or first initial) is often more appropriate than any sign-off phrase.

What is the most professional email sign-off?

There isn't one universal answer. In modern professional email, 'Best,' is the safe default. In traditional industries (law, finance, government), 'Sincerely,' 'Regards,' or 'Kind regards' remain standard. In tech, creative, or casual professional contexts, just your first name or initial is often what actual professionals use. The most professional sign-off is the one that matches the tone of the email and the relationship.

What are the best email sign-offs?

For everyday professional email: 'Best,' 'Thanks,' or 'Thank you.' For more formal contexts: 'Sincerely,' 'Regards,' 'Kind regards,' or 'Best regards.' For casual/ongoing relationships: just your first name, 'Cheers' (in some regions), or no sign-off at all. The best sign-off depends on the context, not on a universal ranking. Match what your recipient uses when possible.

What is a good casual professional email sign-off?

'Thanks,' 'Best,' or just your first name work well for casual professional contexts. 'Cheers' works in some regions (common in UK, Australia, and among many US tech and creative professionals) but reads as slightly informal in others. Avoid overly clever sign-offs ('Peace out,' 'Toodles') and multiple exclamation points, which feel unprofessional even in casual contexts.

Should I say 'regards' or 'best regards'?

Both are professional. 'Regards' is slightly more formal and neutral; 'Best regards' is slightly warmer while remaining formal. Neither is wrong. If you're deciding between them, use 'Best regards' when you want to convey warmth alongside professionalism (client relationships, ongoing correspondence), and use 'Regards' for pure professional distance (legal, first contacts, formal negotiations).

Is 'cheers' professional?

Depends on region and context. 'Cheers' is standard professional sign-off in UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. In the US it's professional in casual contexts (tech, creative industries) but reads as slightly informal in traditional industries (law, finance). For a VA writing on behalf of a client, use 'Cheers' only if the client actually uses it in their own real sent emails. Don't add it as an assistant's preference.

How do you end an email politely?

Match the tone of the message and the relationship. 'Thank you' explicitly conveys appreciation. 'Best' conveys warmth without being effusive. 'Best regards' adds professional respect. 'Take care' works for personal or sensitive contexts. Avoid over-explaining ('I hope this finds you well' at the end of an email feels redundant). Politeness in email is more about content than sign-off word choice.

What is a friendly professional email sign-off?

'Best,' 'Thanks,' 'Thank you,' 'Warmly,' and 'Take care' all convey warmth in professional contexts. 'Best' is the most versatile. 'Thanks' or 'Thank you' work when the email includes a request or when acknowledging help. 'Warmly' fits sensitive contexts. Avoid 'Warm regards,' which has become associated with trying-too-hard sign-offs in casual online discussion.

How should a virtual assistant sign off emails written on behalf of a client?

Use the same sign-off the client uses in their real sent emails. Not the sign-off you would use for yourself, and not a generic professional one. Read 10-15 of the client's actual sent emails, notice their sign-off pattern (and any variations by audience), and match it exactly including punctuation and spacing. Contacts recognize a client's sign-off style; using the wrong one is one of the fastest ways to signal that a reply isn't actually from the client.

How do you end an email professionally with an example?

For a warm professional email: '...looking forward to hearing back. Best, [Name]'. For a formal request: '...appreciate your consideration. Kind regards, [Name]'. For an ongoing casual thread: '...let me know what you think. [First name or initial]'. For a sensitive message: '...thinking of you during this time. Take care, [Name]'. The sign-off should feel like a natural continuation of the email's tone, not an abrupt shift.