A qualified accountant is a person who has qualified by examination, received training and is skilled in the practice of accounting. Accountants work in either the public sector or the private accounting sector ...
Accounting is involved in the recording, analysing, classifying and interpreting of the financial affairs of a business. Accounting is a science involved in the recording, monitoring and assessment ...
Accounting software is a computer program that has been specially developed to help a business record its financial transactions. The work that your accountant performs for you will be made easier ...
An Angel is usually a private person who invests in small businesses. The Angel is generally a successful businessperson or entrepreneur who looks to invest in a business that has some potential ...
If you own shares in any public company then once a year you should receive a copy of the company's annual report. An annual report is simply that - it is a report from the directors ...
An audit is a process whereby correctness and accuracy of something, such as business operations, sales and marketing functions, financial books or a tax return etc, is assessed ...
To make sure that all transactions in your business have been correctly accounted for, you will need to reconcile the position as shown by your cash book records with that shown by your bank's records ...
A bank is an institution, which collects funds from the general public, safeguards them and then makes them available back to the owner of those funds when required. It also loans out funds ...
The simple definition of bookkeeping is that - "it is the practice involved in the recording of transactions affecting the operation of a business". Bookkeeping involves a system which records ...
The use of break-even is important, especially where the business is starting off because you will need to check that your business is sooner or later able to cover costs and therefore not make a loss ...
A budget is basically the plan of your business shown in money terms because it estimates your sales, purchases and your other business expenses, including drawings you take for yourself ...
The important difference between these Capital and Operating costs is that operating costs are involved and incurred in a particular period and matched against the revenue generated ...
A Business Incubator is a facility which has been specially designed to help businesses become established and profitable as early as possible during their start up phase ...
You will need to write up a business plan at the early stage of your research before you start your business. The business plan document describes the vision and the objectives of your business ...
One of the main reasons for the failure of a small business is due to poor record keeping. If you don’t keep accurate and up-to-date records of the financial transactions of your business ...
Cash can be defined as ready money or money (its equivalent such as a cheque) paid for goods and services from a supplier. Cash is referred to as legal currency and is the resource itself ...
Increasing profits by reducing costs has to be based on a plan, which has to be organised and adequate. A proper accounting system has to be in place for the information to be extracted ...
When a business owner has to calculate the cost of producing goods and services, a few costing methods can be used. If the business is in manufacturing, job costing is a standard basis ...
Credit is money granted by a lender (or creditor) to a debtor (or borrower) whereby the lender defers receiving payment of the debt for a period. In exchange for the credit allowed ...
A credit card is a thin, plastic card that contains identification information, such as your signature or picture, and authorises the person named to charge purchases or services ...
Credit control is about controlling the amount of credit that your business allows. It is the art of preventing all credit arguments by putting systems in place that will avoid these types of situations ...
Nearly every business faces the problem of a customer or client not paying for services or products. Collecting business debts is an important part of effectively managing the cash flow ...
Factoring is where you sell debtors to a finance company in exchange for immediate cash. Factoring is also known as cash for receivables – that is, the conversion of business accounts ...
A feasibility study is an evaluation or analysis of the potential impact of a proposed project or programme, or course of action. A study is usually undertaken to help the decision-makers ...
Financial analysis is to do with charting the progress of your business. To do this you have to be familiar with the various forms of financial statements, analysis and measurement ...
Financial management involves the use of financial statements which reflect the condition of your business and will identify your strengths and weaknesses ...
A Financial Planner is someone who will help you identify and quantify your business financial objectives. They will help you set out a plan to help you reach those goals ...
Financial planning for a business is simply that – planning the finances of the business. It is where the financial statements of the business will reflect its financial condition ...
Having a good understanding of financial statements is vitally important to the success of any small business. The financial statements can be used as a pointer towards the journey of your business ...
Whether you are starting up your own business or buying into an existing one, most people would need some sort of financing. Getting sufficient finance is obviously an important element ...
Gearing is borrowing money for a purpose, such as investment. By adding borrowed money to your own funds you can increase the total money available to use for a particular investment purpose ...
You need to make sure that you have sufficient capital if you are going to establish, buy or expand a business. There are a number of grants available to businesses but because most potential business ...
Compound interest is the interest you earn on the interest that you have earned before, which was calculated on the principle amount borrowed. When you deposit money into your bank account ...
An internal control is a plan of organisation for your business. It co-ordinates all the systems used in your business in order to safeguard the business’s assets. It also checks the accuracy ...
Mortgage reduction is the system that allows you to pay off your mortgage earlier. This is done by restructuring your mortgage payment procedure so you can save yourself a lot of money ...
According to Webster’s Dictionary a mortgage is: “The pledging of property to a creditor as security for the payment of a debt.” This simply means that if there is a mortgage on your house then ...
Profit is the surplus income your business is left with after the payment of all expenses. It is the business revenue that remains after the payment of the costs of the business ...
The economy is not an independent entity; it is actually the result of millions of actions by people. Economists use different terms to describe the connection between the actions of people and the economy ...
Venture Capital is funding that is provided by investors to institutions or individuals that are interested in investing into businesses with the view of making profit from its trading ...