Business Term Glossary

To start and run a business, you often need to understand business terms that may not be well defined in a standard dictionary. Our glossary of business terms provides definitions for common terminology and acronyms in business plans, accounting, finance, and other aspects of small business.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

	Accounts Payable (AP)
	Accounts Receivable (AR)
	accrual based accounting
	accumulated depreciation
	acid test
	acquisition costs
	adaptive firm
	adventure capital
	advertising oppurtunity
	agent
	asset turnover
	assets

B

	back end (websites)
	benchmark
	brand
	brand equity
	brand extension strategy
	brand recognition
	break-even analysis
	break-even point
	broker
	bundling
	burden rate
	business mission
	business plan
	buy-sell agreement

C

	C Corporation (C Corp)
	Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR)
	cannibalization
	capital assets
	capital expenditure
	capital input
	cash
	cash basis
	cash flow
	cash flow budget
	cash flow statement
	cash sales
	cash spending
	central driving forces model
	channel conflicts
	channels of distribution
	click-through rate
	co-branding
	Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
	collection days
	collection period (days)
	commission
	commissions percent
	Community Interest Company (CIC)
	competitive advantage
	competitive analysis
	competitive entry wedges
	completed store transactions
	concentrated target marketing
	contribution
	contribution margin
	conversion rate
	core marketing strategy
	corporation
	corridor principal
	cost of sales
	cross elasticity of demand
	current assets
	current debt
	current liabilities

D

	Doing Business As (DBA)
	debt and equity
	depreciation
	differentiated target marketing
	differentiation
	direct cost of sales
	direct mail marketing
	direct marketing
	directory
	distinctive competency
	diversification
	dividends
	dual distribution

E

	early adopters
	early majority
	earnings
	Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT)
	Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)
	economies of scale
	effective demand
	effective tax rate
	Entrepreneur in Heat (EIH)
	entrepreneur
	equity
	equity financing
	evaluating ideas and opportunities
	Everett Rogers
	exclusive distribution
	expense
	experience curve

F

	Features, Advantages, and Benifits (FAB)
	failure rule, common causes
	failure rule, exceptions to the rule
	fatal 2% rule
	fighting brand strategy
	first mover
	first mover advantage
	first mover disadvantage
	fiscal year
	five forces model
	fixed cost
	fixed liabilities
	floating liabilities
	focus group
	forms of market research
	frequency marketing
	front end (websites)
	full-cost price strategies
	future value projections

G

	goodwill
	gross margin
	gross margin percent
	guerrilla marketing investment strategy
	guerrilla marketing
	guerrilla marketing concept

H

harvesting

I

	ideas vs. opportunities
	impressions
	income statement
	Initial Public Offering (IPO)
	innovation: evolutionary or revolutionary
	innovators
	intergrated marketing communications
	intensive distribution
	interest expense
	intraprenuership
	inventory
	inventory turnover
	inventory turns

J

jobber

K

No listings

L

	labor
	laggards
	Leveraged Buy Out (LBO)
	liabilities
	life cycle
	limited (public) company (AUS)
	Limited Liability Company (LLC)
	limited liability partnership
	long-term assets
	long-term interest rate
	long-term liabilities
	loss
	loyalty programs

M

	manufacturer's agent
	market
	market development funds
	market development strategy
	market evolution
	market penetration strategy
	market plan
	market redefinition
	market sales potential
	market segmentation
	market share
	market development strategy
	market penetration strategy
	marketing
	marketing audit
	marketing cost analysis
	marketing mix
	marketing plan
	materials
	materials included in cost of sales
	mission statement
	moving weighted average
	multiple channel system

N

	net cash flow
	Net Present Value (NPV)
	net profit
	net profit margin before taxes
	net worth
	new visitors
	new brand strategy
	newsletter subscriptions
	Not Invented Here (NIH)

O

	obligations incurred
	offering
	offering mix or portfolio
	on-costs
	operating expenses
	operating leverage
	operations control
	opportunities vs. ideas
	opportunity analysis
	opportunity cost
	Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)
	other short-term liabilities
	outsourcing

P

	page views
	paid in capital
	partnership
	payables
	payback period
	payment days
	payment delay
	payroll
	payroll burden
	penetration pricing strategy
	perceived risk
	perceptual map
	personal selling
	PEST analysis
	plant and equipment
	Point of Purchase Advertising (POP)
	portfolio
	positioning
	premiums
	price elasticity of demand
	privately owned
	pro forma income statement
	pro forma statements
	product definition
	product development
	product development strategy
	Product Life Cycle (PLC)
	product line
	product line pricing
	profit
	profit before interest and taxes
	profit or loss
	proprietary (private) limited company
	public relations
	publicly traded
	pull communication strategy
	push communication strategy

Q

questionable costs

R

	receivables
	receivables turnover
	regional marketing
	relevant cost
	repositioning
	resource requirements (websites)
	retained earnings
	return on assets
	Return on Investment (ROI)
	return on sales
	return visitors
	rich-gumpert evaluation system

S

	S Corporation (S Corp)
	sales break even
	sales forecast
	sales on credit
	scrambled merchandising
	seed capital
	selective distribution
	selling approaches
	Senior Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
	shareholders
	short-term
	short-term assets
	short-term notes
	short-term liabilities
	simple linear regression
	situation analysis
	skimming pricing strategy
	slotting allowances
	Small Business Investment Council (SBIC)
	sole proprietorship
	sole trader
	starting date
	stock
	stock market
	stock turnover
	strategic control
	strategic marketing management
	success factors
	success requirements
	sunk cost
	surplus or deficit
	switching costs
	SWOT analysis
	systematic innovation

T

	tactics
	target market
	target marketing
	tax rate percent