AQA GCSE Business key terms

A short statement expressing a business’s overall purpose or broad aims.

A market in which one business is the only supplier of a particular good or service.

A long-term loan used to buy property, secured against that property.

The willingness of employees to work hard for a business.

A business with operations, such as production or sales, in more than one country.

A person who poses as an ordinary customer and reports on their experience so a business can assess its service.

The higher statutory minimum hourly pay rate for eligible workers in the older age group. It is part of the legal minimum-wage system.

The legal minimum hourly pay for eligible workers, with different rates applying to different age groups and apprentices.

Something essential for living, such as food, shelter or necessary healthcare.

Total cash inflows minus total cash outflows during a period.

The profit remaining after operating expenses have been deducted from gross profit.

Net profit expressed as a percentage of sales revenue: $\frac{\text{net profit}}{\text{sales revenue}}\times100$.

Creating a new good or service for sale, from developing an idea through designing and testing it to launching it.

Unwanted or excessive sound that disturbs people or their surroundings.

An organisation whose main purpose is not to distribute profit to owners, but to pursue another purpose, such as a social aim. It may still earn a surplus to support its activities.

Training undertaken away from an employee’s normal work duties, such as a course at a college or training centre.

An online platform through which different businesses can sell their products to customers, such as Amazon or Etsy.

Training in which an employee learns while carrying out their actual job, usually with guidance from an experienced colleague.

The cash balance at the start of a period, equal to the previous period's closing balance.

The next best alternative given up when a choice is made.

The process of preparing and completing customer orders, including picking, packing and dispatching goods.

Expansion by developing a business’s existing activities rather than merging with or taking over another business. Also called internal growth.

The arrangement of job roles, responsibilities, authority and reporting relationships within a business.

The number of goods or services a business produces in a given period.

Paying an external business to carry out work that could otherwise be performed within the business.

An arrangement allowing a business to spend more money than it has in its bank account, up to an agreed limit.

A business owned by two or more partners who share responsibility for running it.