Glossary of Terms

By understanding these common business terms, small business owners can better prepare themselves to handle business tasks, understand best practices and build a strong financial future for their companies.

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

Accounts payable: The money that a company owes other people or businesses.

Accounts receivable: The money that other people or businesses owe to a company for goods or services the company delivered.

Accrual basis: An accounting method where a business records revenue and expenses when a bill is sent or received. By contrast, with the cash basis method, a business records revenue and expenses when the money physically enters or leaves the business’s account.

Actuary: A professional who determines annual employee liability related to specific pension benefits.

Advertising: A means of communicating with customers about a service or product. Advertising is one aspect of marketing and is usually a paid form of messaging designed to improve sales. Advertising can be short-term or ongoing, but usually requires a financial investment.

Angel investors: Individual investors who tend to focus on helping businesses that are just starting out with relatively small investments (less than $100,000). Angel investors may want to receive partial ownership in the company in return for their investment, but they tend to take a less active role in running the company than some other types of investors (such as venture capitalists).

Asset: Something of value that’s owned by an individual or business. A small business’s assets may include the money in its bank accounts, its inventory and equipment. If a business is owed money (i.e., has accounts receivable), those may also be considered assets.

Balance sheet: A snapshot of a business’s finances. The balance sheet shows the business’s total net worth (its assets minus liabilities with liability, defined as a company’s legal financial debts or obligations during the course of operating a business,) at a specific point in time. The business’s net worth is also called equity or shareholders’ equity, which is the difference between total assets and total liabilities.

Bankruptcy: Bankruptcy is a legal process that can allow an individual or business to either clear its debt or negotiate a new repayment arrangement with its creditors. The process starts with a petition filed by the debtor, or sometimes on behalf of creditors. The debtor’s assets are measured and evaluated, and they may be used to repay a part of the outstanding debt.

There are three types of bankruptcy:

Chapter 7 – Individuals or businesses with few or no assets can file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which can lead to unsecured debts, such as credit cards and medical bills, being forgiven.
Chapter 11 – Small businesses may be able to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which lets them negotiate new repayment terms while working to become profitable.
Chapter 13 – Individuals, including sole proprietors, who make too much money to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy may file under Chapter 13, which lets them negotiate new repayment terms. Any individual, even if self-employed or operating an unincorporated business, is eligible for chapter 13 as long as their unsecured debts are less than $397,725 and secured debts are less than $1,184,200.

Bereavement leave: Time off given to an employee due to the death of someone close to them, usually a family member.

Board of directors: For small businesses, this is a recognized group of people who contribute their ideas and opinions to help guide and oversee an organization. For larger businesses, a board of directors is a group of individuals elected by the company’s shareholders to represent the shareholders.

Bonds: A loan that’s typically taken out by corporations or governments. The borrower may pay the lender interest during the bond’s term, and then repay the original loaned amount at the end of the term, when the bond “matures.”

Bootstrapping: Funding a business with personal savings or assets. Bootstrapping lets a business owner avoid paying financing fees or interest and retain complete control over the business.

Break-even point: The point when a business’s sales cover its costs. The break-even point can be calculated in terms of the number of products the business needs to sell, or the amount of money the business needs to make from the sales.

Budget: A budget is a financial plan used to track the income and expenses of a business.

Business costs or expenses: Business costs, also called business expenses, are all the costs associated with running a business. These could include fixed expenses, which stay the same from month to month, such as rent, salaries and insurance. Many businesses also have flexible expenses, which change from month to month, such as payroll or supplies.

Business credit: Credit that’s established in a business’s name. Building good business credit can help owners secure a loan or line of credit for the business with good terms, save the business money on insurance and make it easier to negotiate with vendors.

Business credit report: Credit bureaus collect and organize information on different businesses, including the business’s history of paying bills. Companies can purchase another business’s credit report before deciding to lend the business money or work together.

Business credit score: There are various business credit scores that turn the information in a business credit report into an easy-to-understand score. Generally, a higher score means a business is more creditworthy. Having high credit scores could make it easier to get a loan or line of credit with good terms.

Business entity: An organization that one or several people create. A business entity can be legally separate from the people who created or run the business. As a result, the business entity can have its own assets and liabilities.

Business interruption insurance: Insurance that can cover your lost income if your business has to close or be rebuilt because of a natural disaster.

Business owner’s policy: A policy that combines several of the typical small- and medium-sized business insurance options into one policy.

Business plan: A business plan is a written document that can act as a roadmap for a company. It generally includes an overview of the company, its finances, its products and services and an analysis of its industry and competitors. A business plan can help business owners plan for the future and may be a requirement when applying for a business loan.

Capital expenditure: Also known as a capital expense, or capex for short, a capital expenditure is the money a business spends to buy, maintain or upgrade assets that will help the business for more than a year. Buying or improving a building, furniture or office equipment are examples of capital expenditures.

Cash basis: An accounting method where a business records revenue and expenses when the money enters or leaves the business’s account. By contrast, with the accrual method, a business records revenue and expenses when a bill is sent or received.

Cash flow: The total amount of cash and cash-equivalents flowing in and out of a business.

Cash flow statement: A financial statement that can show a business’s cash flow over a certain period of time. Creating and reviewing cash flow statements can help business owners manage the company’s money.

Cash in bank: The total amount of funds a company has in its bank accounts.

Cash on hand: The amount of money that is immediately available to the business.

Cash position: The amount of money that a business has in its accounts and other assets that could easily be sold for cash. A strong cash position allows a company to pay its expenses and have money left over to invest in business opportunities.

Catch-up contribution: Additional contributions retirement account holders age 50 or older are allowed to make to their 401(k) and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

Chargeback: When a card transaction gets reversed after a customer disputes the transaction.

Collaborative work environment: A workplace where all employees work together toward a common goal and feel invested in the success of the business.

Collateral: Something offered as security when taking out a loan. A lender may be able to take the collateral if the borrower doesn’t repay a loan. For example, if you borrow money to purchase a vehicle, the lender may be able to take the vehicle if you don’t repay your auto loan.

Commercial property insurance: This coverage can help pay for repairs, replacement and lost income if your business property is damaged by a covered incident, such as a careless employee, fire, explosion, burst pipes, storm, theft or vandalism.

Common stock: Owners of a corporation may receive common stock or shares in the company. These represent how much of the company the person owns. For example, if a company has 1,000 shares and a person owns 500 shares, then the person owns half of the company. Ownership is often electronically tracked today, but at one time companies printed physical stock certificates. Business owners may be able to sell stock in their company to raise money.

Company values: A list of key characteristics that describe a business. The values outline how the business owner wants the company to be seen, the employees to feel and be treated and how the company hopes to affect its community.

Compensation package: The combination of salary and benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off, or employee stock purchase programs, that an employer offers to a potential employee.

Competitive pricing: When a business sets its prices based on what the competition charges.

Compound interest: Interest calculated on the principal amount as well as on the accumulated interest of previous periods. Often described as “interest on interest,” compound interest is one reason experts recommend individuals start saving for retirement as early as possible.

Consumer credit scores: A score that’s based on an individual’s credit report and helps lenders predict the likelihood that the person will repay a loan on time. Many consumer credit scores range from 300 to 850 and having a high score generally indicates you’re more likely to pay on time. A good credit score can help you qualify for the best loan terms and offers.

Contribution margin: The sale price of a product minus the cost of creating the product. If it costs $5 to make a product that a business sells for $13, the business’s contribution margin is $8.

Contribution margin ratio: To calculate a business’s contribution margin in terms of a percentage, divide the business’s contribution margin by the product’s price. If a company sells a product for $13 and its contribution margin is $8, the contribution margin ratio is 8/13, or 61.54 percent.

Corporation: A type of business entity that is legally separate from the business owners. In the U.S., corporations have similar rights as individuals. Like individuals, they can purchase land, commit crimes and be sued by others. Small business owners may want to create a corporation to separate their individual finances and responsibilities from the business’s finances and responsibilities.

C corporation: C corporations are a type of corporation. C corps must pay corporate taxes on their profits each year and they’re required to have three official positions:

The corporation’s owner(s), also called shareholder(s)
The executives, such as the chief executive officer (CEO), who run the company
The board of directors, appointed by the shareholders, who oversee the corporation

A small business owner who creates a corporation could take on all three roles.

Cost of goods sold: The cost of direct labor and direct materials used to create a product or complete a service.

Cost per action (CPA) advertising: Also known as cost per conversion, this type of advertising requires a business to pay only when someone takes a specific action, such as signing up for an email list or buying a product.

Cost per action (CPA) advertising: Also known as cost per conversion, this type of advertising requires a business to pay only when someone takes a specific action, such as getting on your email list or buying one of your products.

Cost per mille (CPM) advertising: Also known as cost per impression (CPI) advertising, this type of advertising requires a business to pay a fee per thousand views an ad gets on websites or social media channels, whether or not the viewer clicks on the ad.

Cost-plus pricing: A pricing strategy that involves calculating a company’s expense to create a product and then adding a markup to determine the sale price.

Credit bureau: An organization that collects, stores and organizes information about an individual or business. Credit bureaus use this information to create and sell consumer and business credit reports, which lenders use to evaluate the person or business.

Credit card: Plastic cards that connect to an account with a credit limit. You can make purchases with a credit card until your balance reaches your credit limit, and you can pay for those purchases later. If you don’t repay your balance in full when your bill is due, the remaining balance will be carried over to the next purchase period and start to accrue interest.

Credit report: Credit bureaus collect and organize information on individual consumers and businesses to create credit reports. These reports may contain your history of paying, or failing to pay, debts. Many creditors will review a credit report before making a loan. Credit reports are also the basis for consumer credit scores.

Credit limit: The maximum amount of money that can be borrowed on a credit card or line of credit at one time.

Crowdfunding: Some businesses are financed by crowdfunding, which involves collecting donations or investments from many people — usually online. There are three basic types of crowdfunding:

Donation. When someone invests in a business without an expectation of receiving anything in return.
Rewards. When someone receives a “reward” once the fundraising goal is reached, such as a free product sample.
Equity. When someone receives equity (ownership) in a company or venture in exchange for their contribution.

Current liabilities: A business’s debts or obligations, which include wages, taxes and accounts payable. Usually, current liabilities are due within a year.

Customer list: Some businesses are financed by crowdfunding, which involves collecting donations or investments from many people — usually online. There are three main types of crowdfunding:

Debt load: The total of all the money a business owes other people or businesses.

Debt-to-income ratio (DTI): The debt-to-income (DTI) ratio is a personal finance measure that compares an individual’s or business’s debt payments to its overall income.

Deductible: The amount of money you pay out of pocket before your insurance policy covers any costs.

Defined benefit retirement plans: A defined benefit pension plan is a type of plan in which an employer promises a specified pension payment. Payments are calculated using a formula based on the employee’s earnings history, years of service and age.

Delegation: When a business leader assigns projects or tasks for other employees to complete.

Deposits: Funds placed in a bank account.

Depreciation: A lessening in the value of an asset over time.

Direct labor costs: The total labor costs associated with creating a specific product or services. Include business expenses for employee benefits, such as health insurance, and payroll taxes in direct labor costs.

Disability insurance: A type of insurance that covers a portion of an employee’s income when they lose their ability to work due to a non-work-related illness or injury.

Dividend: A payment made to shareholders (i.e., owners) of a corporation. With a small business, dividends are often paid from the business’s net profits.

Domain name: A website address, also known as a URL. A domain name is a human readable form of an IP address. In function, it is the destination that can be typed into a web browser in order to visit a website, such as www.practicalbusinessskills.com.

Due diligence: Due diligence is an investigation or audit of a business by a prospective buyer or investor. The goal is to understand the business’s assets, liabilities and potential.

D-U-N-S number: Businesses can apply for a Data Universal Numbering System (D-U-N-S number) from Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). The D-U-N-S number is a unique identifier that D&B can use to tie your business to your business credit accounts. Having a D-U-N-S number is a requirement for building business credit with D&B.

Emergency fund: Money that a business owner saves to help cover unexpected costs that come with running a business.

Employee handbook: A handbook offered by some businesses that outlines company mission, procedures, benefits and rules for employees.

Employer identification number (EIN): An EIN is like a Social Security number for businesses. Government organizations and credit bureaus can use a business’s EIN to monitor tax payments and business credit.

Equity: In business, equity is a business’s value and someone who has equity in the company owns part of the company. Two business partners who own equal parts of a business both have an equal amount of equity in the company. If the business is a corporation, the owners’ equity is called shareholders’ equity and shareholders receive shares or stock. Someone who owns half of the corporation’s stocks owns half the company.

Estimated taxes: Self-employed people may have to make estimated tax payments at least four times a year if their income tax payments aren’t withheld and paid from their wages.

Executive summary: A portion of a business plan that provides an overview of a business, the industry it’s in and the business’s potential.

Exempt employee: A category of employees outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). An exempt employee is a salaried employee who does not qualify for overtime pay and meets specific requirements under the FLSA. Requirements for exempt employees also may vary from state to state.

Excise taxes: Some businesses collect taxes from consumers and pass on the tax payments. For example, a business that sells fuel, cigarettes or liquor may add the cost of the tax to the product’s price and then distribute the tax payments to local, state and federal governments.

Expenses: Money that a business spends. Many businesses have a variety of one-time expenses, such as purchasing equipment, and ongoing expenses, like utility payments or rent.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): A United States labor law that gives employees the right to a minimum wage and overtime pay, and that prohibits businesses from employing minors in some circumstances.

FDIC insurance: A bank account that has Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance is secured by the federal government. If the bank declares bankruptcy, the FDIC covers and will repay up to $250,000 of eligible funds for each depositor.

FICA taxes: Businesses are responsible for withholding Social Security and Medicare taxes from wages and making payments to the IRS throughout the year. All together, these are called Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes. There may be an additional Medicare withholding and payment requirements for high-income employees.

FIFO approach: With the first in, first out (FIFO) inventory approach, a business tries to sell its inventory in the same order it was purchased or created. Using this approach can help a company avoid selling old products that may be damaged or expired.

Financial projections: A prediction about a business’s future revenue and expenses.

Financial statements: A report, often presented in a spreadsheet, of a business’s financial activity. The three main business financial statements are the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.

Fixed assets: Long-term assets that aren’t easily converted into cash. These could include property, physical infrastructure and equipment.

Flash sales: Short-term sales that create a sense of urgency among customers. Typically, flash sales target a wide range of potential customers, are marked by low prices and are backed by a large inventory to meet customer demand.

FUTA taxes: A business may have to pay a Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) tax based on how many employees it has, and how much it paid in wages, throughout the year. The money is used to fund unemployment programs for people who are out of work.

General liability insurance: This coverage is designed to help protect a company if someone else, or someone else’s property, is damaged by the business or on the business’s property.

Gross income/profit: Sales (i.e., revenue) minus the costs of goods sold.

Gross wages: Total amount spent on employee wages before taxes, withholdings or benefits.

Home-based business insurance: This coverage is intended for businesses that are run out of the owner’s home and protects business-related files, equipment and operations.

Income: Also called net profit, or sometimes simply profit, this is the total amount of money a business earns after paying all its expenses.

Income statement: One of the three important financial statements used for reporting a company’s financial performance over a specific accounting period, along with the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows. Also known as the profit and loss statement or the statement of revenue and expense, the income statement outlines a company’s revenues and expenses during a particular period.

Income taxes: A type of tax that’s based on a business’s profits. Businesses may need to pay local, state and federal income taxes.

Indirect costs: Business expenses, such as rent, that help the business run but aren’t directly tied to creating or offering a single product or service.

Insurance: Business insurance can help protect a business against a financial loss. In exchange for making regular insurance premium payments, the insurance company will pay the business during a covered incident. For example, some types of business insurance might help a business rebuild a store after a flood, cover the cost of the damaged products and pay for the lost income while the business is closed.

Interest: The cost of borrowing money. Businesses may have to pay interest on a loan or line of credit.

Inventory: The amount of products a business has in its stores and warehouses. This may include finished goods, works in progress and raw materials. Keeping track of stock levels is an important way to manage costs, keep a business running smoothly and detect theft.

Invoice: A bill businesses send to customers upon selling a product or service. It may also be a bill received from a supplier after buying products or services.

Invoice financing: Taking out a loan based on a business’s outstanding invoices.

Invoice factoring: A type of invoice financing in which a business sells its accounts receivable, or invoices, to an outside company at a discount. Businesses may use this method to meet immediate cash needs.

Judgment: A court order that decides the result of a lawsuit. If you haven’t repaid a debt, a creditor may be able to sue you and get a judgment from the court. The judgment could allow the creditor to ask your employer to take money directly from your paycheck to repay the debt, or to ask a bank to pull the money from your bank accounts.

Key performance indicator (KPI): A performance measurement to understand how a company, service or product is performing.

Liabilities: Unpaid debts that the business owes an individual or business. Examples could include unpaid taxes, loans, interests or wages to employees who have already earned the pay. An early payment for a product or service could also be a liability because you could have to return the money if the order is canceled or you’re unable to supply the product or service.

Life insurance: This coverage can help your family, partners or employees in the event of your death. It can help pay for funeral costs, ongoing living expenses, outstanding debt, continuing a family business, financing your children’s education and protecting a spouse’s retirement plans.

Line of credit: A business line of credit gives the business the option to borrow money up to the pre-approved credit limit. Having a credit line available could make it easy to quickly borrow money during an emergency.

Limited liability company (LLC): A type of U.S. business entity that can separate the business owner’s personal liability (i.e., responsibility) from the business’s liability. Creating an LLC could help protect a business owner’s personal assets in case of financial trouble for the business.

Loan: An amount of money a business borrows and agrees to repay. Business may be able to take out loans from banks, credit unions, online lenders and microlenders.

Loan principal: The initial amount of money borrowed when taking out a loan.

Loan principal payment: Total amount applied to a principal balance from a loan payment.

Long-term debt: Debts that a business expects to take longer than one year to pay off. Debt may mean the amount owed on a loan or line of credit. Or, some businesses use debt when discussing every type of financial obligation, including benefits owed to employees and product warranties.

Long-term disability insurance: Coverage that protects employees from loss of income in the event they are unable to work for an extended period of time due to illness, injury or accident.

Loss leader: A product that a business sells at a competitively low price, sometimes for less than the cost to make the product, to attract customers who may also buy more profitable products.

Market segment: A group of customers who share one or more characteristics. This term is often used when a business plans its marketing and advertising strategies.

Mentor: An experienced and trusted advisor.

Merchant cash advance: An amount of money provided upfront in exchange for a percentage of the business’s future sales. Merchant cash advances are often repaid on a daily or weekly basis, with the payment amount depending on how much debit and credit card sales the business had. A merchant cash advance is generally an expensive form of borrowing.

Minimum wage: The minimum amount employers must pay their employees as outlined in federal, state and/or local laws.

Mission statement: A statement that explains what a business offers, how it does this and who it helps. The mission statement captures the overall value of a company’s product or service.

Negative cash flow: When more cash leaves a business than comes into a business. Having negative cash flow could be a sign that a business will have trouble paying for future expenses.

Net profit: Also known as income, profit and net profit after taxes. The net profit is the total amount of money a business earns after paying all its expenses.

Net profit before taxes: A business’s profit minus operating expenses before paying federal, state and local income taxes. It’s sometimes called profit before tax or PBT.

Non-discrimination testing: Federally required tests for qualified retirement plans to ensure that said plans do not discriminate in favor of employees with higher incomes, among other things.

Non-exempt employee: An employee who is entitled to overtime pay and minimum wage in accordance with federal, state and local laws.

Odd value pricing: When a business sells products with an odd value at the end, such as for $.99 instead of $1.00. Some customers view odd value prices as being more attractive.

Onboarding: The process of training a new employee about a business’s products and procedures.

Operating expenses: The ongoing costs of running a business. Operating expenses could include salaries, rent and utilities.

Organization chart: An organization chart offers an outline of a business’s structure and records each employee’s role and who they report to in the company.

Outside services: The amount of money paid for work done by subcontractors or other contractors.

Overtime: Time worked over an employee’s usual hours for which they are generally paid one and a half times their usual hourly rate. Overtime is regulated by federal, state and/or local laws.

Owner’s draw: Payments to the owners of a small business (that’s not a corporation) taken from the business’s net profits.

Owner’s equity: For small businesses that aren’t corporations, the owner’s equity or “net assets” is the business’s total assets minus liabilities. For corporations, this may be called stockholders’ equity.

Paid time off: Days off during which employees receive pay, usually for holidays, vacations or illness.

Partnership: Any business entity owned by at least two people. There are different types of partnerships, including general partnerships (GPs), limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs). Each may offer different amounts of legal and financial separation for the business owners or investors.

Pay per click (PPC advertising): Advertising on internet search engines or other websites where a business pays a PPC service to display an ad when users search a related keyword, or alongside related content. The business is charged each time someone clicks the ad.

Pay period: A recurring period of time over which employees’ time worked is tracked and they are paid.

Pay schedule: A schedule that outlines how often employees are paid.

Payroll: The process of paying employees, including the amount and schedule by which they are paid.

Payroll taxes: Taxes that employers and employees must pay, which are often based on an employee’s wages. They include Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Penetration pricing: When a business sets a low price to enter a competitive market with a plan to raise prices later.

Personal guarantee: A contract that a business owner may need to sign when borrowing money for a business. The personal guarantee will make the business owner personally responsible for the debt if the business can’t afford to repay the loan.

Phishing: When scammers pretend to be a trusted contact or company and send email, call or mail someone in an attempt to steal personal information.

Positive cash flow: When a business has more money coming in (revenue) than going out (expenses).

Premium: The amount of money a business pays for an insurance policy.

Prepaid expenses: A product or service a business has paid for but hasn’t completely used yet. For example, a business might prepay for insurance or legal services.

Pre-tax contributions: Contributions made to a retirement plan before income has been taxed.

Price skimming: When a business sets a high price and lowers the price as the market changes.

Product liability insurance: This coverage protects businesses from certain losses if a product hurts someone else or damages someone’s property.

Product-market fit: When a business finds a good product-market fit, it means that the business’s target customers want and can afford the product being sold.

Professional liability insurance: A type of insurance coverage intended for businesses that provide services to customers. It can help cover the cost if someone takes legal action, claiming that the business made a mistake or failed to do something.

Profit and loss statement: One of the three important financial statements used for reporting a company’s financial performance over a specific accounting period, along with the balance sheet and the statement of cash flows. Also known as the income statement or the statement of revenue and expense, the profit and loss statement (P&L) outlines a company’s revenues and expenses during a particular period.

Profit and loss (P&L) projections: A forecast of how much money a business expects to bring in by selling its products or services, and how much profit it expects to make from these sales.

Purchase order: The official confirmation of an order by a buyer who is committing to pay the seller for a specific product or service in the future.

Raw materials: The materials a company uses to create a product. In a break-even analysis, the raw materials may refer to the cost of the raw materials that are needed to create a specific product.

Retirement planning: A plan that outlines steps a business owner or employee can take to ensure their income is secure and sufficient after they stop working.

Retained earnings: The amount of net income a corporation keeps to invest in future projects. A corporation may be able to distribute its income by issuing a dividend to shareholders rather than retaining its earnings.

Return on investment (ROI): The percentage that a business gains or loses on an investment. The basic ROI formula is (Return/Cost) * 100 = ROI.

Revenue: Revenue is the amount of money that a company earns during a specific period. It is the gross income/profit figure from which costs are subtracted to determine net income. You can calculate revenue by multiplying the price of goods or services by the amount or number of units sold. Revenue is also known as sales on an income statement.

Roth IRA: An individual retirement account where a person can set aside up to a specified amount of after-tax income.

S corporation: A corporation with an S corp election is taxed differently than a C corporation. S corporations don’t pay corporate income tax, instead the corporation’s profits are passed on to the owners each year.

Salary: An amount of money or compensation paid to an employee by an employer in return for work performed.

Sales: The income earned from products or services. This is also referred to as revenue.

Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA: A SIMPLE IRA is a retirement plan set up by employers on behalf of employees. It allows eligible employees to contribute part of their pre-tax earnings to the plan.

Sales log: This log should include how much you sell per day, per week and per month, including the date, type of product or service and the amount of each sale.

Search engine optimization (SEO): The marketing technique of fine-tuning a website so that customers will find a particular business when searching online. Search engines index and rank websites according to the website’s content and the number of clicks the website gets. Using specific SEO techniques can help ensure customers find a business and interact with the business’s content or sales page.

Self-Employed (Solo) 401(k): A retirement account that is similar to a traditional 401(k) and provides tax-advantaged savings and investment opportunities for solo business owners.

Self-employment tax: Business owners who run a sole proprietorship, partnership or LLC may have to pay a self-employment tax when filing their individual tax return. The self-employment tax covers both the employer and employee portion of FICA taxes.

Seller financing: With seller financing, a buyer puts a down payment on the purchase of an existing business, and then repays the seller the remainder of the money plus interest over time.

Shareholder: A person who owns shares of a company.

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA: A SEP IRA is a retirement account that an employer or self-employed individual can set up. The employer makes contributions to each eligible employee’s account on a discretionary basis.

SMART goals: SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Creating SMART goals can help keep businesses on track.

Sole proprietorship: The default option for someone who runs a business without creating a business entity. With a sole proprietorship, there’s not legal separation between the business and the business owner. As a result, the business owner could be personally liable (i.e., responsible) for every business expense, debt or lawsuit.

Start-up capital: The initial investment required to start a business. This includes funds to buy equipment, purchase supplies, hire employees, rent a space, pay for licenses and cover any other business expenses.

Stocks: Also known as “shares” or “equity,” this type of investment gives the investor partial ownership in the issuing corporation.

Succession plan: A plan for replacing yourself as the leader of your business when you leave the business or retire.

Tax-deductible investment: A contribution to an investment account that lowers your taxable income.

Tax-deferred investment: An investment in which taxes are paid at a future date instead of during the period in which they are incurred.

Taxes payable: The total amount of unpaid taxes that a business will have to pay within the year.

Terms agreement: An agreement about how long a business has to pay a supplier after an invoice is received. Net-30 terms means the business has 30 days, net-60 terms means 60 days, etc.

Tradeline: The name for an account on your personal or business credit reports. Each credit card, loan or vendor agreement could be a separate tradeline.

Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA): A type of retirement account for any person with earned income. IRA contributions are tax deductible and lower your taxable income.

Traditional Group 401(k): A traditional 401(k) retirement savings plan set up and administered for employees by an employer. Through the plan, eligible employees can make pre-tax contributions to the account through payroll deductions.

Two-factor authentication (2FA): Two-factor authentication is a security measure available on some types of online accounts. It can require you to take an extra step to sign in to your account from an unfamiliar device. For example, you might have to copy a security code that’s sent to your phone or email.

UCC-1 filing: A UCC-1 filing, also known as a UCC lien, is a record that a business or individual is using the business’s assets to secure a loan or line of credit. For example, your business could secure a loan using a piece of heavy machinery as collateral. If you’re unable to repay the loan, the creditor can then take the heavy machinery or require you sell it in order to get repaid.

Unemployment insurance: A type of insurance that provides temporary financial assistance to workers who have lost employment through no fault of their own, such as being laid off or quitting due to unsafe working conditions.

Value proposition: A statement about how a business’s product or service is better than what the competition offers. The value proposition describes the business’s uniqueness, the value it offers to customers and why customers should buy from one business over another.

Venture capitalist: Venture capitalists typically offer larger loans to somewhat established businesses in exchange for an ownership share and active role in the company. Venture capitalists tend to invest in companies that are expected to quickly grow and have the potential of becoming multi-million dollar businesses.

Vision statement: A vision statement describes what a business wants to achieve and what it wants to offer its customers. The statement should be brief, easy to remember, inspirational, based on the company’s values and focused on the future. It can also help attract and motivate future employees.

Workers’ compensation insurance: A type of insurance required by law that provides coverage for medical expenses, lost wages and rehabilitation for employees who are injured or become ill at work.