Kind regards
Use it when: The default in Australian and UK business email. Warmer than 'regards', still neutral.
Skip it when: You are three replies deep with a colleague you speak to daily.
The guide
Alternatives to "best regards", sorted by tone.
Eighteen sign-offs that are worth using, six that are not, and a note on when each one lands. Written for people who send a lot of email and would rather the last line did some work.
Professional alternatives to best regards
Safe in any inbox: clients, procurement, legal, a first email to someone senior. These read as considered rather than formal for the sake of it.
Warm regards
Use it when: A client relationship you already have. Signals goodwill without being chummy.
Skip it when: Cold outreach, where it can read as forced familiarity.
With appreciation
Use it when: Someone did you a favour, gave a referral, or spent time on your problem.
Skip it when: Routine updates. Overused, it stops meaning anything.
Respectfully
Use it when: Formal correspondence, complaints, government or legal contacts.
Skip it when: Everyday internal email. It creates distance.
Yours sincerely
Use it when: Letter-style email addressed to a named person, tender responses, applications.
Skip it when: Short threads. It is heavy for a two-line message.
Many thanks
Use it when: You asked for something and expect the person to act on it.
Skip it when: You are the one delivering. Thanking someone for nothing reads oddly.
Casual sign-offs for colleagues and ongoing threads
Short, human, and quick to read. Use these once a relationship is established, or internally where formality slows everyone down.
Thanks
Use it when: The workhorse. Fine for almost any internal message.
Skip it when: A first approach to someone senior outside your business.
Cheers
Use it when: Common in Australia and the UK for friendly, low-stakes email.
Skip it when: US or formal European recipients who may read it as flippant.
Talk soon
Use it when: A call or meeting is already booked, or genuinely likely.
Skip it when: You have no intention of following up. It sets an expectation.
Appreciate it
Use it when: A quick reply to someone who has just helped you out.
Skip it when: Long, detailed messages. The brevity clashes.
Speak Monday
Use it when: Naming the next contact point removes ambiguity from the thread.
Skip it when: The date is not actually agreed.
All the best
Use it when: Wrapping up a project or saying goodbye to a departing contact.
Skip it when: Mid-project. It can read like a full stop on the relationship.
Creative sign-offs that still sound like a business
Distinctive without being a novelty. These work when your brand has a voice, and they pair well with a signature that carries a call to action underneath.
Onwards
Use it when: Momentum-heavy updates: launches, milestones, a plan agreed.
Skip it when: Bad news or an apology.
More soon
Use it when: You owe the person a follow-up and want to say so in two words.
Skip it when: There is nothing more coming.
Here if you need anything
Use it when: Handover, onboarding, or after delivering work.
Skip it when: You cannot actually service the request.
Looking forward to it
Use it when: Confirming a meeting or a piece of work about to start.
Skip it when: The meeting is unconfirmed.
Until next time
Use it when: Newsletters and recurring sends where a warm closing loop suits.
Skip it when: One-off transactional email.
Go well
Use it when: A colleague or client heading into something significant.
Skip it when: Formal external threads where it may read as unfamiliar.
Sign-offs to retire
None of these will lose you a deal on their own. They just spend the last line of your email on nothing.
| Sign-off | Why it falls flat |
|---|---|
| Sent from my iPhone | It is not a sign-off, it is a default. It replaces your name and your brand with a device. |
| Regards, | Neutral to the point of cold. Fine in a chain, weak as a first impression. |
| Thx / Rgds | Abbreviations save two seconds and cost you credibility with anyone you have not met. |
| Yours faithfully | Correct only when you do not know the recipient's name. Rare in modern email. |
| Love | Almost never right at work, even with people you like. |
| Best, | Ambiguous and abrupt in isolation. 'All the best' or 'Kind regards' do the same job properly. |
The line after the sign-off matters more
A closing phrase sets tone. The signature block underneath is the part that can carry a booking link, a campaign or an offer, on every email your team sends, without anyone changing how they write. That is what Wollip does: one signature, tracked clicks, and a call to action you can swap across the whole team in a few minutes.
Common questions
What can I say instead of best regards?
Kind regards, warm regards, many thanks, with appreciation and respectfully all work as direct professional replacements. For internal threads, thanks, cheers or talk soon read more naturally.
Is best regards too formal?
Not too formal, but very common, so it carries no signal. It is a safe default for a first email and worth varying once a thread is running.
What is the difference between kind regards and best regards?
Kind regards is slightly warmer and is the standard in Australian and British business email. Best regards is more common in US correspondence. Both are safe in either market.
Should a sign-off include a call to action?
The words should not. The signature block underneath should. Keep the closing line short and let the signature carry the booking link, offer or campaign, so it appears on every email without anyone rewriting their closing.
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