Business key terms

An additional payment made to an employee, often for meeting a target or achieving specified results.

A tool for analysing a business’s product portfolio by classifying products according to market share and market growth. It is also called the Boston Box.

A deliberate refusal to buy a business's products in order to pressure it to change its actions.

The perceptions and associations customers have about a brand, such as its quality, reliability, value or style.

Creating a recognisable identity for a product or business through elements such as its name, logo, colours and design.

The level of sales at which total revenue equals total costs, so a business makes neither a profit nor a loss.

Using costs and revenue at different output levels to identify break-even and help assess business decisions.

The level of output at which total revenue equals total costs, so the business makes neither a profit nor a loss.

The level of output at which total revenue equals total costs, so the business makes neither a profit nor a loss.

The level of sales at which total revenue equals total costs, so the business makes neither a profit nor a loss.

The quantity a business must sell for total sales revenue to equal total costs, so it makes neither a profit nor a loss.

Dividing large quantities of goods into smaller quantities for sale.

An amount of money allocated for a particular activity or period.

Planned or forecast sales for a particular period, rather than sales already achieved.

Spare stock held to cover unexpected demand or delays in supply.

An organisation that combines resources to provide goods or services to meet customers’ needs and wants.

The activities involved in producing and providing goods or services to meet customers’ needs and wants.

A broad, usually long-term goal that a business wants to achieve.

The exchange of information between people within a business or between a business and people outside it.

Growth or improvement in a business, such as introducing products, adopting technology or expanding its activities.

A person or organisation that provides goods or services to meet customer needs.

The moral principles concerning fairness, honesty and right or wrong that guide business decisions.

An increase in the scale of a business’s activities, such as its sales, output or number of locations.

When a business cannot continue operating and stops trading.

Money available to fund a business’s activities, such as starting up, paying day-to-day expenses or expanding.

An increase in the size of a business, often shown by rising sales or expansion into additional markets.

Spending by a business on assets, such as machinery or premises, intended to provide future benefits.

The place where a business operates, such as a shop, office or factory.

A specific target that a business aims to achieve, often with a measurable outcome and a deadline.

The processes a business uses to transform resources into goods or services for customers.