The Top 100 Most Important Words in Business English

sponsor

Businesses or organizations that pay for advertising.

merger

Combination of two or more companies into a single firm

quarter

One of four equal parts into which anything is or may be divided.

competitor

One who competes or is a rival of another business enterprise.

acquisition

The taking over the control of one company by another.

networking

Using contacts with friends and family members as a means of finding job leads

contract

a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law

transaction

a business activity that changes assets, liabilities, or owner's equity

commercial

a commercially sponsored ad on radio or television

partnership

a contract between two or more persons who agree to pool talent and money and share profits or losses

agreement

a decision reached by two or more people or groups

income statement

a financial statement that gives operating results for a specific period

balance sheet

a financial statement that reports assets, liabilities, and owner's equity on a specific date

meeting

a formally arranged gathering

trademark

a formally registered symbol identifying the manufacturer or distributor of a product

party

a person involved in legal proceedings

entrepreneur

a person who organizes, manages, and takes on the risks of a business

consumer

a person who uses goods or services

downsizing

a planned reduction in the number of employees needed in a firm in order to reduce costs and make the business more efficient

status report

a report summarizing a group's past achievements and future goals

presentation

a show or display

account

a statement of recent transactions and the resulting balance

grant

a sum of money or other payment given for a particular purpose

budget

a summary of intended expenditures along with proposals for how to meet them

CV

a summary of your academic and work history

agenda

a temporally organized plan for matters to be attended to

promotion

act of raising in rank or position

reach a consensus

all the people in a group agreeing on an idea or opinion

bonus

an additional payment (or other remuneration) to employees as a means of increasing output

liability

an amount owed by a business

strategy

an elaborate and systematic plan of action

company

an institution created to conduct business

non profit organization

an organization whose goals do not include making a personal profit for its owners or organizers

disruption

an unexpected event that throws a plan into disorder; an interruption that prevents a system or process from continuing as usual or as expected.

stakeholder

any group within or outside the organization that has a stake in the organization's performance

project

any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted

asset

anything of value that is owned

credit

arrangement for deferred payment for goods and services

c/o

care of

branding

combination of name, words, symbols, or design that identifies the product and its source and distinguishes it from competing brands

outsourcing

contracting out selected functions or activities of an organization to other organizations that can do the work more cost efficiently

opportunity cost

cost in terms of foregone alternatives

recruitment

finding new people to join an organization

telecommuting

involves working at home usually on a computer

resign

leave (a job, post, post, or position) voluntarily

Human Resources

maintains policies, plans, and procedures for the effective management of employees

social media

media whose content is created and distributed through social interaction

Venture Capital

money that is invested in new or emerging companies that are perceived as having great profit potential

staff

personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task

point of sale

places where goods are sold to the public - shops, stores, kiosks, market stalls, etc

investment

putting money into something in order to make a profit

wholesale

selling or related to selling goods in large quantities for resale to the consumer

shareholder

someone who holds shares of stock in a corporation

personnel

staff, employees, work force

business

the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects

overhead

the amount of money it takes to run a business

profit

the amount of money left over after expenses are taken out

terms

the amount of money needed to purchase something, Any of a variety of conditions attached to a financial transaction.

marketing

the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service

CEO

the corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm

customer service department

the department in a retail organization that handles customer inquiries and complaints

equity

the difference between the market value of a property and the claims held against it

sales department

the division of a business that is responsible for selling products or services

revenue

the entire amount of income before any deductions are made

objective

the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable)

platform

the means of delivering a specific piece of media content

salary

the money paid for employee services

accounting

the occupation of maintaining and auditing records and preparing financial reports for a business

industry

the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of commercial enterprise

deadline

the point in time at which something must be completed

interest

the price paid for the use of borrowed money

monetization

the process of converting something that once was free into a product that is sold

logistics

the process of strategically managing the efficient flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption

web 2.0

the read/write web; the second generation of web-based services and tools which make content creation on the web easier and more accessible to a wide variety of users

lien

the right to take another's property if an obligation is not discharged

information technology

the use of technology to move and process information

exchange rate

the value of a currency in one country compared with the value in another

market

the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold

management

those in charge of running a business

multitask

to do more than one thing at the same time

launch

to officially start something

capital

wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value

inventory

(accounting) the value of a firm's current assets including raw materials and work in progress and finished goods

margin

(finance) the net sales minus the cost of goods and services sold

headquarters

(usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise

cash flow statement

A financial statement that shows the flow of money in and out of the business.

board of directors

A group of people elected by the stockholders of a corporation to set the policies for the corporation.

startup

A new venture that is trying to discover a profitable business model for future success.

viral marketing

A strategy to get consumers to share a marketer's message, often through e-mail or online video, in a way that spreads dramatically and quickly

conference call

A synchronous virtual meeting in which participants meet at the same time via a voice-communication channel.

business plan

A written description of the business idea and how it will be carried out, including all major business activities.

loan

An amount of money given to the borrower for a set period of time. After the set time has passed, the money must be paid back plus the lending fee, called interest. Payments are normally made over a series of months.

operations

Performance of a practical work or of something involving the practical application of principles or processes

R&D

Research and Development: Business or government activity that is purposely designed to stimulate invention and innovation

manager

Someone who coordinates and oversees the work of other people so that organizational goals can be accomplished

supply chain

The connected chain of all of the business entities, both internal and external to the company, that perform or support the logistics function

cost of sales

The cost of the inventory that the business has sold to customers.

CBA

The formal decision making process used when considering the economic feasibility of implementing information security controls and safeguards is called a(n) _____.

end user

The person or group who will use the product produced by the project.

scalable

The property of a network that allows you to add nodes or increase its size easily.