Business key terms

A response from the receiver of a message that helps the sender check understanding or clarify information.

Funding used to start, operate or expand a business.

The business activity responsible for managing financial tasks and providing financial information to support planning and decision making.

Numerical information about a business’s finances, including revenue, costs, profit and cash balances.

An estimate of a business’s future financial results or position, based on assumptions and available information.

A reward with monetary value intended to encourage employees to work harder or more effectively.

Numerical information about a business’s money and financial performance, such as revenue, costs, profit and cash flow.

The loss of money through business activity, including money an owner has invested.

A business target concerned with financial performance, such as profit, sales or financial security.

Having sufficient income and reserves to meet financial commitments and cope with unexpected expenses.

A measurable financial result that a business aims to achieve within a specified period.

The ability of a business idea to generate sufficient income and have enough money available to continue operating.

A resource, such as oil or a metal ore, that exists in a limited stock and cannot be replaced on a human timescale.

Suitable for the purpose for which goods are supplied.

A long-term resource owned by a business and used in its operations, such as machinery, premises or a vehicle.

A cost that does not change when output changes over the period being considered, such as rent.

A physical site from which a business operates, such as a shop, café, office or warehouse.

An organisational structure with few levels of hierarchy, usually a short chain of command and wide spans of control.

An arrangement allowing employees some choice over when they complete their required working hours, within limits agreed with the employer.

An arrangement allowing variation in when, where or how working hours are organised.

A flexible working arrangement in which employees choose some of their working times, usually around compulsory core hours.

The process of offering a company’s shares for sale on a stock market.

A production method in which products pass through a continuous sequence of operations at workstations or machines on a production line.

A guided discussion with a small group of people from the target market to gather detailed feedback.

The number of people walking through or visiting an area, who may become customers of nearby businesses.

An estimate of a future outcome, such as sales revenue, costs or profit.

Learning through an organised, structured programme with specific objectives, delivered within the business or by an outside provider.

Vertical integration towards a later stage of the supply chain, such as a manufacturer taking over a retailer.

An arrangement allowing an entrepreneur to operate using an established business’s name, products and business system in return for fees.

A person or business that pays for the right to operate using a franchisor’s brand and business format.