Acceleration
A contract clause that requires payment of the full amount of the debt owed if a payment is missed or another triggering event (such as bankruptcy of the debtor) occurs. This type of clause often appears in promissory notes or loan agreements.

Acceleration Clause
A loan contract clause stating that if you are in default, your creditor can demand payment of the entire balance of your loan at once, before its scheduled maturity.

Accessory Goods
Products required by commercial operations to conduct business, such as: office copiers, automobile wheel balancers, auxiliary power supplies and air compressors.

Accounting
The recording, classifying, summarizing, and interpreting of events of a financial character. These events can include income, expenses, and cash flow.

Accounting Period
A regular period of time, such as a quarter or year, for which a financial statement is produced.

Accounts Payable
Trade accounts of businesses representing amounts owed for goods or services received.

Accounts Receivable
Trade accounts of businesses representing amounts due for goods sold or services rendered. monies due your enterprise as the result of day-to-day operations.

Accrual-Basis Accounting
An accounting system in which income is recorded when it is earned rather than when it is paid, and expenses are recorded when an obligation is established rather than when the money is paid.

Addendum
An attachment or exhibit to a written document, such as a contract.

Adjustment Period
The length of time between interest rate changes on an ARM.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
A contractual loan may have provision for adjustable rates.  In the case of a home mortgage loan, the interest rate changes over time with movements in an index.

Affiliate Programs
The participation style between a merchant and their product re-sellers called Affiliate Program. Affiliate program is also known as referral program, associate program, or bounty program.

Affirmative Action
Measures taken to correct the effects of past discrimination in hiring and promotion.

Agent
A person granted the authority to act on behalf of another person or entity, known as the "principal." The actions and decisions of the agent can be binding on the principal.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
A federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals age 40 or more. This law generally applies to companies with 20 or more employees.

AHFC Loan
A loan purchased by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation from any mortgage lending institution qualified to make such loans.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
An approach to conflict resolution designed to avoid court proceedings. ADR traditionally encompasses two main forms: arbitration and mediation.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
A federal law that prohibits discrimination against those with physical or mental disabilities in employment, public services and public places, such as restaurants, hotels and shops. The ADA requires companies with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations to enable qualified disabled employees to perform their job.

Amortization
Paying off debt in regular installments over a period of time, or deducting certain capitalized expenditures over a specified period of time.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate .

Appraisal
A report made by a qualified person giving an opinion or estimate of value.

Appreciation
The increase in the value of an asset.

Arbitration
A form of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third party (an arbitrator) considers the competing parties´ arguments and evidence and renders a decision or award. Arbitration can be binding or non-binding.

Asset
Anything that an individual or an entity owns that has value. Cash, equipment and stocks are all considered assets.

Assign
To give or sell a right or an interest. The person who receives the right or interest is the "assignee" and the person making the transfer is the "assignor."

Assumption of Mortgage
A buyer’s agreement to assume the liability under an existing note that is secured by a mortgage or deed of trust. Ordinarily, assumptions require a lender’s written consent and the original buyer may not be released from the liability.

At-Will Employment
The policy allowing employers or employees to end an employment relationship at any time for any reason - or for no reason at all. In some states, the law may place practical limits on this policy.

Audit
A review or examination of an individual's or organization's records to determine legal compliance or proper record keeping.

Award
A decision rendered by a court or arbitrator that one party in a dispute is owed money and that the other party or parties are liable.

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Backup
A copy of a file or application that is kept separate from the original as a precaution against data loss in the event the original is lost or destroyed.

Balance Sheet
A financial statement that includes a company's assets and liabilities. A company's net worth is equal to its assets minus its liabilities.

Balloon Payment
A lump-sum principal payment due during the term of or at the end of a loan.  It is substantially larger than the other payments.

Bankruptcy
A condition in which a business cannot meet its debt obligations and petitions a federal district court for either reorganization of its debts (Chapter 11) or liquidation of its assets (Chapter 7). In the action the property of a debtor is taken over by a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy for the benefit of the creditors. The action may be voluntary or involuntary.

Banner Ad
A common form of online advertising, banner ads come in a variety of sizes and typically appear on a Web page as a box or rectangle containing text, images, animation or other effects. Users who click on a banner typically follow a hyperlink to the advertiser's Web site.

Barriers to Entry
Conditions that create difficulty for competitors to enter the market. For example, copyrights, trademarks, patents, dedicated distribution channels and high initial investment requirements.

Barter
Trade in which merchandise is exchanged directly for other merchandise without the use of money. Barter is an important means of trade with countries using currency that is not readily convertible.

Beta Software
A test version of software issued prior to a final commercial release.

Bill of Lading
Receipt given by a carrier to the shipper of goods.

Boilerplate
Standardized "fine-print" language in a contract or other agreement detailing terms and conditions.

Bonds
Securities issued by the U.S. government, corporations, federal agencies, or state or local municipalities. Bonds are sometimes further classified as follows:
Corporate bonds - Debt instruments issued by corporations, as distinct from ones issued by a government agency, typically interest-bearing with a fixed maturity.
High-Yield Bonds - A bond that has a rating of BB or lower and pays a higher yield to compensate for the greater credit risk.
Long-Term Government Bonds - Securities issued by the US government and debt issues of federal agencies having a maturity of 10 years or more.
Mortgage-Backed Bonds - Securities backed by mortgages issued by FMLMC and FNMA or guaranteed by GNMA. Investors receive payments out of the interest and principal on the underlying mortgages.
Municipal bonds - Debt obligation of a state or local government entity. The funds may support general government needs or fund special projects. The interest on these bonds is typically exempt from federal income taxes, and most state and local taxes.

Bonus
A cash award granted to employees by the employer, usually based on personal and/or company performance. Bonuses can also come in the form of extra vacation time, gifts and other no monetary awards.

Bookmark
A marker or address that identifies a Web site or Web page. Most Web browsers, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer (which calls bookmarks "Favorites"), allow users to save and organize bookmarks as a convenient way to mark Web sites for future reference.

Boot (or Reboot)
The process of starting (or restarting) a computer. The term boot drive or boot disk refers to the disk drive from which the computer loads its operating system.

Boutique
A small company or firm that specializes in a particular industry or provides a limited service, such as investment banking firms that concentrate solely on technology companies.

Bps (Bits Per Second)
A common measure of data transmission speed.

Breach of Contract
A violation of or failure to perform according to the terms and conditions of an agreement.

Broadband
A high-speed transmission medium. T-1, ISDN, DSL and cable modems are broadband media. Besides downloading Web pages more quickly, broadband can also transmit high-quality streaming video.

Break-Even Point
The status of a business when you have made enough money to cover all costs, but not making any profit.  The total sales in dollars equal the total costs.

Broken Link
A hyperlink that does not work, usually because the URL is incorrect or the Web page to which the link refers has been moved or deleted.

Browser
Software that lets you view Web sites. Most browsers display text, images, graphics, animation and other online content. Popular browsers include Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Bug
A programming error that causes computer software to malfunction or generate errors.

Business Development Corporation
A business financing agency, usually made up of the financial institutions in an area or state, and organized for assisting in the financing of industrial concerns which are not able to obtain such assistance through normal channels. The "risk" is spread among various members of the BDC and interest rates may vary somewhat from those charged by member institutions.

Business Plan
A planning document that describes a company, its market, its management team, its potential, its competitors, and all other relevant information about its business and its prospects.

Business Services
Services offered to commercial enterprises, such as: equipment maintenance, supplying of part time personnel, engineering, design and management consulting.

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Cafeteria Plan
An employee benefit plan where employees use pretax salary or wages to create their own customized benefits package. Employees may be able to take cash (which becomes taxable) for unused credits or convert more pretax dollars to pay for more benefits. Also known as a flexible benefits plan.

Cancellation Fee
A fee for breaking a contract. Many cellular phone service contracts impose a cancellation fee for ending the contract before the end of its term.

Capacity
The ability to repay a debt.

Capital
Another word for "money".
Money available to invest or the total of accumulated assets available for production.
- Assets less liabilities, representing the ownership interest in a business
- a stock of accumulated goods, especially at a specified time and in contrast to income received during a   specified time period
- accumulated goods devoted to the production of goods
- accumulated possessions calculated to bring income.

Capital Expenditures
Business spending on additional plant equipment and inventory.

Caption
The text accompanying an illustration or photograph.

Capitalization
How you are going to raise money for your business.

Cash Equivalents
Investments of high liquidity and safety with a known market value and a very short-term maturity. Examples include Treasury bills and money market funds.

Cash Discount
An incentive offered by the seller to encourage a buyer to pay within a stipulated time. For example, if the terms are 1%/10/net 30, the buyer may deduct 1 percent from the amount of the invoice (if paid with 10 days); otherwise the full amount is due within 30 days.

Cash Flow
The actual movement of cash. Used to measure cash inflow minus cash outflow.
The movement of money into and out of a business as it sells products and services and pays expenses.
An accounting presentation showing how much of the cash generated by a business remains after both expenses (including interest) and principal repayment on loans are paid. A projected cash flow statement indicates whether the business will have cash to pay its expenses, loans, and make a profit. Cash flows can be calculated for any given period of time, normally done on a monthly basis or yearly basis.

Cash Flow Projection
An estimate into the future of how cash will move through the business during a period of time.
A forecast of the cash (checks or money orders) a business anticipates receiving and disbursing during the course of a given span of time - frequently a month. It is useful in anticipating the cash portion of your business at specific times during the period projected.

Circulation
The number of copies that a publication distributes or sells. Also refers to the number of people who have an opportunity to observe a piece of outdoor advertising, such as a billboard or poster.

Collateral
Something of value pledged to support the repayment of an obligation or loan. Examples include real estate and certificates of deposit.

Collateral Document
A legal document covering the item(s) pledged as collateral on a loan.

Close
The point during the sales process when the customer agrees to buy a product or service.

Closing
Actions and procedures required to effect the successful conclusion of a business transaction, such as a real estate purchase or loan consummation.

Closing a Settlement Statement
When referring to a real estate mortgage loan, the financial disclosure statement that accounts for funds received to date and expected at the closing, including deposits for taxes, hazard insurance and mortgage insurance.

COLA
"Cost of Living Adjustment" - periodic changes in wages or benefits designed to compensate for the effects of inflation.

Collateral
Property, stocks, bonds, savings accounts, life insurance and current business assets - any or all of which may be held or assumed to insure repayment of a loan.

Cold Call
An unscheduled contact, either on the phone or in person, between a seller and a prospective customer.

Collateral
Assets that can be sold to repay a loan in the event of failure of the business.

Commodity
Any good exchange in trade. Usually refers to raw materials and agricultural products traded principally on the basis of price.

Common Law
Law made by judges in individual cases, rather than by the legislature.

Compensation
Direct and indirect monetary and no monetary rewards given to employees based on the value of the job, their personal contributions and their performance.

Competition
Rivalry. Similar businesses providing products or services to your potential customers.

Compound Interest
Interest earned on previously accumulated interest as well as the principle.

Compromise
The settlement of a dispute or claim.

Conference Call
Telephone call among three or more people in different locations.

Consideration
The inducement to a contract. Some right, interest, profit, or benefit accruing to one party, or some forbearance, detriment, loss, or responsibility given, suffered, or undertaken by the other.

Consolidation Loan
The process of paying off several smaller obligations with the proceeds of a new loan, usually with lower interest monthly payments than the combined total of the obligations being paid off.

Contingency Fee
A common legal fee arrangement that relies on the collection of monetary damages for the plaintiff before any legal fees are owed. Most common in litigation (such as in personal injury lawsuits), it allows the client to receive legal services while paying the attorney little or no money up front.

Contingent Liability
A potential obligation that may be incurred dependent upon the occurrence of a future event. Two examples are: (1) the liability of a guarantor of a promissory note if the primary borrower fails to pay as agreed and (2) the liability that would be incurred if a pending lawsuit is resolved in the other party's favor.

Contribution
The difference between the selling price of a product and the cost to make that product.  The amount of money that remains to pay fixed costs.  After you break even, contribution is the amount of money from each sale of your product or service that now is counted as profit.

Contribution Margin
The percentage of the selling price that can be used to pay fixed costs.  If a product is sold for $1.00 and it costs 70 cents to make the product, 30 cents is the contribution that can be used to pay fixed costs and 30 % or .3 is the contribution margin.  70 cents pays for the variable costs. 

Controlled Circulation
Publications, generally business oriented, delivered only to readers who have some special qualifications. Generally, these publications are free to the qualified recipients, who must complete registration questionnaires in order to receive them. Also called "qualified circulation."

Cookie
A string of text sent by a web server that a browser stores in a small text file on the user's hard drive. Cookies store information supplied by the user and read it back later to keep track of user behavior.

Copyright
An exclusive ownership interest in an artistic or literary work. The term "literary work" includes computer software and other information stored in electronic form. Copyright is often noted by the following example: "Copyright© 2003 by ---"

Corporation
A form of organization that provides its owners and shareholders with certain rights and privileges, including protection from personal liability, if proper steps are followed. Corporations may take a number of forms, depending on the goals and objectives of the founders. Types include C, S and nonprofit corporations. Corporations are regarded as "persons" in the eyes of the law and may thus sue and be sued, own property, borrow money and hire employees.

Cost of Goods Sold
This term represents the cost of buying raw materials and producing the goods that a company sells. It also includes the cost of the company's labor force and overhead costs.

Cottage Industry
Business or industry in which goods are produced primarily in the home of the producer.

Credit Bureau
Company that compiles and maintains information on consumer credit and provides the information to potential creditors for a fee.

Credit Rating
A formal evaluation of an individual or a company's credit history and capability of repaying debt and An evaluation of your qualifications to receive credit, based largely on your past credit history.
Evaluation of an individual or corporation's history of repaying past loans. Credit ratings are used as a benchmark to assess the future ability of a creditor to pay back loans.

Credit Report
A report given by a credit-reporting agency about your credit worthiness based on your present financial condition, experience and past credit history.

Credit Score. A statistical summary of the individual pieces of information on a credit report. A credit score predicts how likely it is that a company or individual will repay debts. Lenders use credit scores to determine whether to extend credit and at what interest rate. Also called a risk score.

Current Assets
Cash or other assets you expect to use in the operation of the firm within one year.

Current Liabilities
Debts payable within one year, including current portions of any long-term debt.

Current Ratio
The ratio of the company's current assets to its current liabilities. A current ratio of less than 1-to-1 typically indicates a poor credit risk. A current ratio of greater than 2-to-1 typically indicates a good credit risk.

Customer
Someone who has bought or made the decision to buy a product or service.

Cyclical Industry
An industry that has natural high and low sales periods based on the time of year, season or other factors.

C Corporation
A corporation where the entity is taxed separately from its owners under subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code.

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Damages
A cash compensation ordered by a court or arbitrator to offset losses or suffering caused by another's fault or negligence. Damages are a typical request made of a court or arbitrator when persons sue for breach of contract or tort.

Database
A computer program that helps users organize information. Databases range from simple collections of rows and columns (similar to a spreadsheet) to complex systems that process and manipulate millions of records in a variety of ways.

Debenture
Debt instrument evidencing the holder's right to receive interest and principal installments from the debtor.

Debt-to-Equity
Total Debt/Total Owner's Investment. Measures how much of the company's assets have been acquired by debt versus by owner's funds. If the ratio is greater than 1.0, it means more of the money came from outside sources. Need to closely monitor sales level to ensure your ability to service outside debt.

Debt Financing
A method of financing by borrowing money; a loan that must be repaid, such as a bank loan. The provision of long term loans to small business concerns in exchange for debt securities or a note.

Decision Maker
The person within a company who ultimately decides which products or services to buy.

Declining Balance
The decreasing amount you owe on a debt as you make installment payments.

Deed of Trust
A document that, when properly delivered, transfers a security interest in real property.

Defaults
The nonpayment of principal and/or interest on the due date as provided by the terms and conditions of a promissory note or loan agreement. Failure to pay a debt when due, or otherwise failing to comply with an essential term of a loan payment.

Delinquent
A credit account which is past due.

Demand Letter
A letter from a lawyer on behalf of a client that demands payment or some other action. Demand letters often threaten litigation if the other party does not perform.

Demographic
A descriptive classification for consumers, such as age, sex, income, education, household size, home ownership or other defining characteristics.

Depreciation
An accounting procedure that spreads the cost of purchasing an asset over the useful lifetime of the asset. Decrease in the value of equipment from wear and tear and the passage of time. Depreciation on business equipment is generally deductible for tax purposes.

Direct Mail
Marketing or advertising materials sent directly to a prospective customer via the US Postal Service or a private delivery company.

Direct Marketing
The process of sending promotional messages directly to individual consumers, rather than via a mass medium. Includes methods such as direct mail and telemarketing.
Sales and promotion technique in which the promotional materials are delivered individually to potential customers via direct mail, telemarketing, door-to-door selling or other direct means.

Disability Benefits
Benefits paid to an employee who cannot work because of disability, usually limited to what is not covered by workers compensation. Disability benefits are usually a percentage of the employee's prior income and generally run for a limited time.

Doing Business As (DBA)
A situation in which a business owner operates a company under a different name than the one under which it is incorporated. The owner typically must file a fictitious name statement or similar document with the appropriate county or state agency.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line). A family of telecommunications protocols designed to allow data communications over standard telephone lines at speeds up to 1.5Mbps -- about 30 times faster than a standard 56K modem. DSL service lets users receive voice and data transmissions simultaneously over the same phone line, allowing "always on" Internet access.

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Ebitda
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

E-Check
A method of automatically paying for goods or services that works much like direct deposit in reverse. Companies keep a customer's voided check on file, which allows them to debit the customer's bank account for the amount owed.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
The exchange of standardized document forms between computers for business use. EDI has traditionally been a very complex and expensive undertaking. As more companies build inexpensive, standards-based networks around the Internet, however, EDI systems are becoming cheaper and easier to use.

Embossing
To raise a design or letters already printed on a card.

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
A broad-reaching law that establishes the rights of pension plan participants, standards for the investment of pension plan assets, and requirements for the disclosure of plan provisions and funding.

Employee Manual
A handbook that describes a company's personnel procedures, policies and benefits.

Employer ID Number (EIN)
An identification number assigned to businesses for taxpaying purposes by the IRS or state taxing authorities. An Employer ID Number is required for partnerships, corporations, and trusts, and it may be required for sole proprietorships that have employees. Also called a Federal ID Number or Taxpayer ID Number.

Employment Agreement
An agreement that sets forth the rights and obligations of employees and employers. Typical employment agreements oblige employees to keep trade secrets confidential and to not solicit other employees after their departure.

Encryption
The translation of plain-text data, such as an email message, into an unreadable code in order to ensure its safe transmission over the Internet. To read encrypted data, you must have software that allows you to decrypt it.

Entrepreneur
One who assumes the financial risk of the initiation, operation, and management of a given business undertaking.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
Federal legislation prohibiting employment discrimination based on age, race, sex, religion or ethnic background.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The federal agency responsible for handling workplace discrimination complaints. Many states have comparable agencies.

Equal Pay Act
Federal legislation that prohibits certain employers from paying different wages to men and women who perform the same work in similar working conditions.

Equity
The difference between the market value of a property and the outstanding mortgage balance. An ownership interest in a business. For example, stock in a corporation represents equity in the corporation.

Equity Financing
The provision of funds for capital or operating expenses in exchange for capital stock, stock purchase warrants, and/or options in the business financed, without any guaranteed return, but with the opportunity to share in the company's profits.

Ergonomic
Machines and equipment, such as computers, chairs, and lighting, designed to reduce injuries and increase productivity.

Escrow
An account established to monitor the repayment of an owner-financed type of contract while holding the transfer document – sometimes known as a contract-collections loan.  These accounts can be bought, sold or used as collateral for bank-held loans. Temporary deposit with a third party of assets by agreement between two parties to a contract. The money is released when the conditions of the contract have been met.

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)
A retirement-type plan in which a trust holds stock in the employees´ names. Employees receive cash from the stock only when they leave the company or perhaps when the company is sold.

Ethernet
The most common method for transferring data over a Local Area Network (LAN).

Exempt Employee
Employees who are not bound to overtime regulations and minimum wage laws. Who is exempt depends on level of responsibility or professional status.

Expense Account
Account often used by salespersons or executives for travel and entertainment expenses.

Exit Interview
An interview conducted at the end of an employee's term of employment to obtain employment feedback and to remind the employee of his or her confidentiality obligations.

Extranet
An intranet that is open to certain external users, such as suppliers and clients. These external users may log onto an extranet in a one-way relationship or they may connect their own intranet with the host intranet, creating a two-way relationship.

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Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
A federal law that specifies what debt collectors can and cannot do to try to collect late payments.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
A federal law that defines the 40-hour workweek, the federal minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping and child labor standards affecting private sector, federal, state and local government workers.

Fair Use
A legal doctrine that authorizes use of copyrighted materials for certain purposes without the copyright owner's permission.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
A federal law requiring employers to provide eligible employees with unpaid leave during a year's time for the birth or adoption of a child, family health needs or personal illness. The FMLA generally applies to all public agencies, including state, local and federal employers; private companies that employ 50 or more people; and public schools.

Feasibility Study
Likelihood study. A way to determine if a business idea is capable of being achieved. (Asks the question, "Can it work and produce the level of profit necessary?").

Features
Characteristics of a product or service.

Features/Benefits
Approach to promoting based on the understanding that a product's FEATURES are of little importance to the customer unless they are a source of BENEFIT to the customer.

FHA Loan
A loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which may be made by any mortgage lending institution qualified to make such loans.

Fiber Optics
A technology that transmits data as beams of light along tiny strands of glass. Fiber-optic networks can transmit a greater amount of data than other kinds of networks, and they are much less likely to introduce data errors.

FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act)
A payroll deduction for Social Security required by the federal government.

FIDUCIARY 
Person or company entrusted with assets owned by another party (beneficiary), and is responsible for investing the assets until they are turned over to the beneficiary.

Finance Charge
According to federal regulations, the total cost in dollar terms a borrower must pay, directly or indirectly, to obtain credit.  The lender must disclose it.

Financial History (Personal)
This is a picture of your personal financial condition to date. It is a very important part of any loan application and/or interview, especially when a loan for a projected new business is under consideration. A complete Personal Financial History is a record of borrowing and repayments; an itemized listing of your personal assets and liabilities.

Financial Reports
Reports concerning the financial aspects of a business, such as:
- Balance Sheet - A report of the status of a firm's assets, liabilities and owner's equity at a given time.
- Income Statement - A report of revenue and expense which shows the results of business operations or net income for a specified period of time.
- Cash Flow - A report which analyzes the actual or projected source and disposition of cash during a past or future accounting period.

Financing
New funds provided to a business, either by way of equity infusion, or loans.

Firewall
Software that protects a private network, such as a LAN or an intranet, from intruders or unauthorized traffic. Firewall software usually screens traffic by IP address or other traits, admitting certain types of traffic while blocking others.

Fiscal Year
Any 12-month period used by a company or government as an accounting period.

Fixed Annuities
Investment contract sold by an insurance company that guarantees fixed payments, either for life or for a specified period, to the annuitant. The insurer takes both the investment risk and the mortality risk.

Fixed Costs
Costs of doing business, such as rent and utilities that remain generally the same regardless of the amount of sales of goods or services. Any cost of production which does not vary significantly with the volume of output. Expenses that do not change during the normal operation of the business. These expenses remain constant regardless of the changes in sales.

FIXED EXPENSE
Any costs not related directly to the production of your product or service. Indirect costs include such things as rent, insurance, basic utilities, and basic phone.

Fixed Interest Rate Loan
A loan on which the interest rate is set or constant for the term of the loan.

Flex Time
Work schedule in which the worker is required only to work a minimum number of hours, and is given latitude in deciding when to report for and leave work.

Flow Chart
A graphical representation for the definition, analysis, or solution of a problem, in which symbols are used to represent operations, data, flow and equipment.

Foot Traffic
Consumer activity produced by visitors at stores, trade show exhibits or by popular retail locations.

Foreclosure
The act by the mortgagee or trustee upon default, in the payment of interest or principal of a mortgage of enforcing payment of the debt by selling the underlying secured property.

Form W4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate
An IRS form completed by the employee and used by the employer to determine the amount of income tax to withhold.

Franchising
A relationship in which the franchisor provides a licensed privilege to the franchise to do business and offers assistance in organizing, training, merchandising, marketing, and managing in return for a consideration. Examples of franchises include Burger King and Taco Bell.

Free on Board
Commercial term under which the seller's obligations are fulfilled when the goods reach a point specified in the contract. For example, "F.O.B., Seller's Warehouse" means that the buyer assumes all costs and risks in moving the goods from the seller's warehouse.

Freedom of Information Act
The FOIA, enacted in 1966, generally provides that any person has a right of access to federal agency records.

Full-Service Agency
A firm that handles all aspects of the advertising or public relations process, including planning, design, production and placement. Many full-service agencies also handle marketing communication, public relations, sales promotion and direct marketing.

Giveaway
A gift given to potential customers at trade shows and other marketing events to remind them of a product or service. Also known as a "freebie" or a "gimme."

Graduated Payment Mortgage
A residential mortgage with monthly payments that start at a low level and increase according to a predetermined schedule.

Grace Period
Time allowed a debtor in which legal action will not be undertaken by the creditor when payment is late.

Gross Margin
Gross Profit/Total Sales. The percentage of every dollar earned that can be used to pay general and administrative expenses.

Gross Profit
Sales minus Cost of Goods Sold. The total dollars available to cover general and administrative expenses such as utilities, advertising and rent.

Guarantee
A promise to step in and perform another's obligation if that person should fail or default.

Guaranteed/Insured Loans
Programs in which the federal government makes an arrangement to indemnify a lender against part or all of any defaults by those responsible for repayment of loans.

Guarantor
A person who makes a legally binding promise either to pay another person's obligation or to perform another person's duty if that person defaults or fails to perform.

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Hard Sell
Aggressive, high-pressure sales techniques.

Health Maintenance Organization
A system of managed health care in which patients must see approved health care providers. HMOs typically offer coverage with no deductibles and low per-visit fees.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
The set of standards that lets Web servers and browsers communicate with each other.

Homeowner’s Insurance
An insurance policy that combines liability coverage and hazard insurance.

HVAC
Acronym that stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Hyperlink (link)
Web developers use HTML to create hyperlinks that a user clicks on to be transported to another Web page. Hyperlinks can appear as graphics or as areas of differently colored or underlined text.

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Impersonal Service, Volume
This type of service is usually designed such that the same service will satisfy the needs of all customers. It is often the case that the service and the customer never meet. Examples of this type of service would be: classified ads, storage lockers and money changers.

Incentive Stock Options (ISOs)
Stock options granted to employees that are taxed as capital gains rather than income if the employee meets the required holding period before selling them. Also called statutory stock options and qualified stock options.

Income & Expenses
Accounting motion picture. The inflow versus outflow of money.

Income Statement
A record of the financial performance of a company over a period of time. It records all the income generated by the business during the period and deducts all its expenses for the same period to arrive at net income, or the profit for the period.
An accounting form that reports business revenues, expenses and the resulting profit or loss for a particular period of time.  Also called profit-and-loss statement or statement of income and expenses.

Indemnity
Obligation of one party to reimburse another party for losses which have occurred or which may occur.

Independent Contractor
A worker who works on a specific project for a specified period of time. Independent contractors are not subject to tax withholdings and usually don't receive benefits granted to full-time employees.

Infringement (of copyright)
Any unauthorized use of a copyrighted work other than fair use.

Infringement (of patent)
Violation of a patent through production, use or sale of a patented invention or its functional equivalent without the patent holder's permission.

Infringement (of trademark)
Unauthorized use of a protected trademark or service mark or use of a confusingly similar mark.

Inquiries
Consumer response to a company's advertising, or to other promotional activities such as coupons. Used to measure the effectiveness of promotions.

INS Form I-9
The form used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to verify an employee's eligibility to work in the United States.

Insolvency
The inability of a borrower to meet financial obligations as they mature, or having insufficient assets to pay legal debts.

Installment
One of a series of payments to pay off a loan.

Interest
Money paid for the use of money, usually expressed as an annual percentage.
An amount paid a lender for the use of funds, or cost of using credit or another person's or company's money. Interest is usually calculated as a rate per a period of time, typically a year.

Interest Rate
Percentage of a sum of money charged for the use of the money. Borrowing $100 for one year at a 10 percent simple interest rate would cost $10.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
The federal agency that collects income taxes in the United States.

Internet
A network of networks, built upon a set of widely used software protocols that links millions of computers around the world. Services such as email and the Web use the Internet to transfer data.

Intranet
A private corporate network built with Internet-based protocols and software applications.

Invoice
A bill prepared by the seller of goods or services. Invoices tell purchasers how much they owe.

IP Address
A numeric address devices use to find one another on the network and to exchange information. Every device connected to the Internet has an identifying IP address. Most Internet users never see an IP address; instead, they use text-based domain names, which are easier to remember.

IRS Form 1099-MISC
The tax form sent to the IRS and the independent contractor at the end of the year when an independent contractor's annual wages meet or exceed $600.

IRS Form W-4
The IRS form used to record filing status and withholding allowances. Also known as the Employee Withholding Tax Certificate.

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Joint Venture
An agreement between two or more partners ("joint ventures") to pursue collaboratively a particular project or business, with a sharing of profits or losses.

Judgment
Judicial determination of the existence of an indebtedness or other legal liability.

Judgment by Confession
The act of debtors permitting judgment to be entered against them for a given sum with a statement to that effect, without the institution of legal proceedings.

Jurisdiction
The authority of a court to hear and decide a case. For a decision to be valid, a court must have both "subject matter jurisdiction" (the ability to hear the type of case at issue) and "personal jurisdiction" (authority over the parties).

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Kbps (Thousands of Bits Per Second)
A measurement of data transfer rates.

Kilobit
One thousand bits. Abbreviated as Kb.

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LAN (Local Area Network)
A geographically limited communications network linking computers, printers and other devices. Ethernet is the most common means of creating a LAN.

Lanham Act
The main federal statute governing trademarks, service marks and unfair competition. It seeks to prevent deceptive and unfair competitive practices in the marketplace. Many states have similar laws.

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
A display technology that uses rod-shaped crystals that flow like liquid and bend light when energy flows through them. LCD technology is used in laptop computer and flat-panel displays.

Lead
A new prospect or client previously unknown to a salesperson or company.

Lead Time
Period of time required to prepare for a certain stage of a project. For example, the lead time in introducing a new product is the time it takes for research, development, market research, and factory preparation.

Lease
A contract by which a tenant (the "lessee") takes possession of office space, furniture, equipment or other property for a specified rent and specified amount of time. At the end of a lease, the property reverts back to its owner (the "lessor").

Lessee
The renter or tenant, The landlord or owner.

Letter of Credit (L/C)
A document issued by a bank guaranteeing payment of customer's debt up to a set amount over a set period of time. Letters of credit are used extensively in international trade.
May be revocable or irrevocable - A document, consisting of specific instructions by a buyer of goods, that is issued by a bank to the seller who is authorized to draw a specified sum of money under certain conditions, i.e., the receipt by the bank of certain documents within a given time. An irrevocable L/C provides guarantee by the issuing bank in the event that all terms and conditions are met by the buyer (or drawer). A revocable L/C can be canceled or altered by the drawer after it has been issued by drawer's bank. A confirmed L/C is one issued by a foreign bank which is validated or guaranteed by a U.S. bank for a U.S. exporter in the case of default by the foreign buyer or bank.

Letter of Intent (LOI)
An agreement, usually nonbinding, documenting the general terms of a proposed business relationship. Often used as a prelude to a binding, definitive agreement.

Leverage
Debt in relation to equity in a firm’s capital structure.  Measured by the debt-to-equity ratio.  The more debt, the greater the leverage.

Liabilities
Loans and other debts that you or the business must pay. Any debt or obligation due now or potentially in the future. Liability is synonymous with legal responsibility.
Includes accounts payable (money you owe to suppliers), plus all current costs of doing business (mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, salaries, utilities).

Lien
A charge upon or security interest in real or personal property maintained to ensure the satisfaction of a debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of law. A legal claim or hold on property as security for repayment of a debt.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)
A flexible business structure, popular with small businesses, offering owners the advantage of limited personal liability and the choice of being taxed like a partnership or a corporation.

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
A type of partnership recognized in many states that protects individual partners from personal liability for negligent acts committed by other partners and employees not under their direct control. Some states restrict this type of partnership to professionals, such as lawyers, accountants and architects.

Line of Credit
A predetermined amount of credit immediately accessible to use as you need, and pay for only as you use.

Liquidation
Sale of the assets of a business to pay off debts.

List Broker
A person or company who prepares, rents and maintains mailing lists.

List Price
Price at which manufacturers recommend retailers sell a good. The list price is often reduced at the point of sale by the retailer to promote sales.

Litigation
Lawsuits instituted through the judicial process.

Loan-to-Value Ratio
The relationship between the amount of the mortgage and the appraised value of the property, expressed as a percentage of the appraised value.

Loan Agreement
An agreement for the borrowing of money, typically containing pertinent terms, conditions, covenants and restrictions.

Loan Terms
Details and conditions of a loan contract, including finance charges, payment schedule, due date, annual percentage rate, etc.

Local Development Corporation
An organization, usually made up of local citizens, designed to improve the economy of the area by including business and industry to locate there. A local development corporation usually has financing capabilities.

Logo
A symbol that a company uses to represent itself or its brand.

Long-Term Debt
Obligations or liabilities that a company owes in one year or more.

Mailing List
Names, addresses and sometimes phone numbers of consumers or businesses aggregated by buying characteristics such as age, income, education, size of household or business and ownership of property. Mailing lists are used for direct mail and to generate sales leads.

Marginal Cost
Additional cost associated with producing one more unit of output.

Market Research Information
An orderly, objective way of learning about the people who will buy your product or use your service.

Market Segmentation
Division of the market or population into subgroups with similar motivations. Widely used bases for segmenting include geographic differences, personality differences, demographic differences, use of product differences, and psychographic differences.

Marketing Plan
A company plan for marketing products and services and increasing sales.

Market Share
The percentage of a product category's sales, in dollars or units, that a particular brand, product line or company controls.

Marketing Communications
The process and techniques involved in marketing, promoting or selling products or services through creative, visual or written communications. Also known as "marcom."

Maturity
In general, the period and date when payment of a loan is due. As applied to securities and commercial paper, the period and date when payment of principal is due.

Maturity Extension
Extension of payment beyond the original date established for repayment of a loan.

Mediation
A form of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral party (a mediator) seeks to promote and negotiate a settlement between opposing parties in a dispute. There is no mechanism to compel the parties to settle; they must voluntarily agree to any settlement.

Medium
A type of publication or communications method that conveys news, entertainment and advertising to an audience. Examples include newspapers, television, magazines, radio, billboards and the Internet.

Merger
Typically, a combination of two or more corporations into one corporation.

Micro-Loan
Can be defined in terms of the size of the business loan amount requested; usually micro-loans are considered loans in the range of $1,000-$5,000.

Mortgage
A written pledge of real property to assure payment of a debt, allowing for sale of the real property to satisfy the debt, in event of default. Also known as “deed of trust.”. An instrument giving legal title to secure the repayment of a loan made by the mortgagee (lender).

MP-3 (MPEG Third Layer)
A popular audio file format. Files encoded in MP-3 compress data at a 10:1 ratio, making it suitable for sending large, high-quality audio files over the Internet.

MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group)
A common file format for sending audio and/or video over the Internet.

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Negligence
An action or omission falling below the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the same situation.

Netiquette
A code of conduct that governs behavior on the Internet. Netiquette, for example, requires Internet users not to send unsolicited commercial email, or "spam," to large numbers of other users. Many Internet Service Providers and discussion groups will ban users who consistently violate these rules.

Networking
Using contacts made in business for purposes beyond the reason for the initial contact. For example, a sales representative may ask a customer for names of others who may be interested in his product.

Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA)
A contract in which a person or business agrees to maintain the confidentiality of proprietary information or trade secrets and not disclose such information without authorization. Employees, consultants, business partners and investors are often asked to sign nondisclosure agreements.

Nonexempt Employee
Employees who are protected by wage laws that mandate payment for every hour of overtime worked.

Nonprofit Corporation
A form of corporation in which no stockholder or trustee shares in profits or losses and which usually exists to accomplish some charitable or educational function. These organizations are exempt from corporate income taxes, and donations to these groups may be tax deductible.

Nonqualified Stock Options (NSOs)
Nonqualified stock options may be granted to employees, consultants, contractors and others. When nonqualified stock options are exercised the holder must pay ordinary income tax on them, even if the shares have not yet been sold.

Notes Receivable
A secured or unsecured receivable evidenced by a note.

Numeric Messaging/Paging
A service that lets a pager receive pages and messages containing numeric information.

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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
A federal organization established to promote healthy and safe work environments. OSHA requires employers to inform employees of potential hazards, provide safety training and report workplace injuries. Many individual states have similar agencies.

OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
Software that lets computers "read" printed documents input via a scanner and converts the image into a computer text file that users can edit.

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)
A company that produces the equipment that bears another company's label.

Operating Expenses
In real estate, the costs of maintaining a property, such as utility charges and property taxes.

Origination Fee
A charge for taking and processing a loan.  This charge is also called a “bank fee.”

Outstanding Indebtedness
The still unpaid part of a loan.

Overnight Delivery
A service promising delivery of packages by a designated time of the next business day.

Overhead
Business expenses not directly related to a particular good or service produced. Examples are insurance, utilities, and rent.

Overrun
A quantity of printed material or other manufactured product that exceeds the amount ordered.

Owner Equity
The difference, if any between total assets and total liabilities on a balance sheet. If assets are more than liabilities, the owner has that amount of equity it the business.

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Pager
A pocket-sized radio receiver used to receive callers´ phone numbers or short messages. Pagers emit an audible signal or vibrate (or both) when they are triggered.

Parallel Port
An interface on a computer used for connecting printers and other devices. Most personal computers have at least one parallel port along with a serial port and special ports for a mouse and keyboard.

Parent Company
A company that owns a majority stake (51 percent or more) of another company's shares. It may have its own operations, or it may have been set up solely for the purpose of owning the operating company.

Partnership
A legal relationship existing between two or more persons or entitites contractually associated as joint principals in a business.

Patch
An interim update to a computer program that fixes a particular problem.

Patent
A patent secures to an inventor the exclusive right to make, use and sell an invention for a designated period of time.

Pay Period
The frequency with which payroll is processed and paychecks are issued.

Payment Obligation
An amount of money one is legally bound to pay.

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
A class of small, highly portable computers, such as 3Com´s Palm Pilot. PDAs are typically used to store contact information, to access email and the Web and to run other business-related applications.

PDF (Portable Document Format)
Adobe Systems´ PDF file format delivers print-quality documents in downloadable form. Although PDF is a proprietary format, it is the de facto standard for delivering documents in which formatting is essential, such as business forms and schematics.

Peak Period
In wireless telephones, the high-use period of the business day when wireless service providers charge their highest rates, typically 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Performance Review
A mechanism for regular discussion and evaluation of an employee's job performance.

Peripheral
Any hardware device, such as a modem, printer or mouse that operates separately from a computer's CPU.

Point-of-Purchase (POP) Display
Advertising material located in a retail store, usually placed near the checkout counter.

Power of Attorney
A written authorization that lets one person act as an agent for another and to make binding decisions for the principal. A power of attorney can be limited to specific types of decisions or it can be general.

PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol)
A set of standards that lets computers connect to the Internet through a telephone connection. Most dial-up Internet connections are now based on PPP instead of the older, less reliable SLIP protocol.

Preferred Stock
A class of stock with a liquidation preference before payment is made to the common stock holders. Preferred stock is the security most used by venture capital investors.

Prepayment