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.

20 terms filed under L, showing 11–20 (page 2 of 2).

L

Lifetime value

Also called LTV, CLV, Customer lifetime value

The total profit a customer contributes over the whole time they stay with you.

Limitation of liability

Capping what you could owe if things go wrong. The most important clause in most contracts.

Limitation periods

How long you have to bring a claim before the right disappears.

Limited company

Also called Ltd, Private limited company, Company

A separate legal person that can own things, owe money and be sued in its own right, distinct from the people who own it.

Limited liability

Shareholders' losses are capped at what they put in — with several important exceptions that owners routinely sign away.

Liquidated damages

A pre-agreed sum payable for delay. Enforceable if it is a genuine estimate.

Local SEO

Being found by people nearby. The highest-return marketing for most local businesses.

Logistics

Moving things from where they are to where they need to be, at a cost you planned.

Lone working

Staff working alone, and the duty to keep them safe.

Loyalty schemes

Rewarding repeat custom. Data as much as discount.

Something missing?

If there is a word you have been nodding along to, tell us and we will write it up. This library exists because of the questions people were too polite to ask.

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