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.

23 terms filed under M, showing 1–10 (page 1 of 3).

M

Make or buy

Producing something yourself or purchasing it. A recurring decision, not a permanent one.

Making Tax Digital

Also called MTD, MTD for VAT, MTD for Income Tax

HMRC's programme requiring digital records and software-submitted returns. Already compulsory for VAT, arriving for income tax.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Quarterly digital reporting replacing the annual Self Assessment return for the self-employed and landlords.

Making Tax Digital software

Choosing compatible software, and what digital links actually require.

Management accounts

Internal financial reports produced monthly or quarterly so you can steer, rather than annually so you can file.

Management accounts pack

The monthly reporting bundle. What should be in it, and what usually is not.

Management buyout

The existing management team buying the business.

Margin

Also called Gross margin, Net margin, Profit margin

Profit expressed as a percentage of the sale price. Not the same as mark-up, and confusing the two loses real money.

Mark-up

Also called Markup

How much you add to a cost to get to a price, as a percentage of the cost. Always a bigger-sounding number than the margin it produces.

Market research

Finding out what customers want before building it. Cheaper than finding out afterwards.

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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