Business A to Z

Every trade has words it uses without explaining. In business the cost of not knowing one is real: some of them are ordinary jargon and some of them are a decision that can take a house.

Please note: This page explains what a term means. It is general information, not legal, financial, tax or investment advice, and it does not know anything about your business. Before you sign, file or commit to anything, check it with an accountant, a solicitor, or the official guidance we link to.

Studying business? We write GCSE revision songs, and there is one for business studies. Listen to the revision playlist.

25 terms filed under A, showing 1–10 (page 1 of 3).

A

A/B testing

Also called Split testing, Multivariate testing

Showing two versions to different people to find out which performs better. Needs more traffic than most small businesses have.

Absence management

Managing sickness and other absence fairly and lawfully.

Absorption and marginal costing

Two ways of deciding what a job costs. They give different answers on purpose.

Accessibility of digital services

Making a website usable by disabled people. A legal duty and a commercial one.

Account management

Looking after existing customers so they buy again and buy more.

Accruals

Also called Accruals basis, Accrual accounting

Recording income and costs when they happen rather than when the money moves.

Accruals and prepayments

Costs incurred but not yet billed, and costs paid in advance.

Adjudication

Fast dispute resolution in construction. Twenty-eight days, and the decision binds for now.

Advertising rules

What you can and cannot say in an advert. Self-regulated, and enforced.

Advertising to children and vulnerable people

Extra restrictions on who you can market to and how.

Ready when you are

Have a look round the demo, start a free trial with your own service in it, or ask us the awkward question first. Whichever you pick, the people who answer are the people who built it.