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.

500 terms, showing 31–40 (page 4 of 50).

B

Benefits in kind and P11D

Non-cash benefits given to employees, and how they are taxed.

Board and governance for small companies

Running the company properly when it is just you and a co-founder.

Board meetings and minutes

Recording company decisions. Dull, and the evidence when it matters.

Bookkeeping

Recording what actually happened, accurately and on time. Everything else in your finances is built on it.

Bootstrapped growth versus funded

Two different games with different rules. Choosing deliberately matters.

Bootstrapping

Funding growth out of revenue rather than investment. Slower, and you keep the company.

Brand

Also called Branding, Brand identity

What people expect of you before they deal with you. The logo is the smallest part of it.

Brand identity and assets

The logo, colours, typefaces and voice — and owning them.

Break-even

Also called Break-even point, Breakeven

The level of sales at which you stop losing money and start making it. Knowable to the pound, and most owners have never worked it out.

Break-even point in cash

The sales level that keeps the bank balance flat. Different from profit break-even.

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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