Start-Up Guide to the World of Business Acronyms…

We all have had that instance where a colleague or associate has delivered an acronym with such speed and confidence leaving us baffled as to what it means and how it fits into the conversation.

When starting your own business, it is more than likely that your stakeholders, both internal and external will use acronyms during meetings or in text. Rather than sneaking off to the lavatory and having a Google, here at X-Forces Enterprise, we have done the work for you.

FYI, here is your one-stop-shop for business-related acronyms…

1. B2B – Business to Business
2. B2C – Business to Consumer
3. BD – Business Development
4. CEO – Chief Executive Officer
5. CFF – Cash Flow Forecast
6. CFO – Chief Financial Officer
7. COB – Close Of Business
8. COGS – Costs of Goods Sold
9. COO – Chief Operating Officer
10. CPU – Cost Per Unit
11. CR – Credit
12. CRM – Customer Relationship Management
13. CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility
14. DM – Direct Mail (can also mean Direct Message)
15. EOD – End Of Day (EO plus another letter is commonly used for End Of Week, End Of Play or End Of Thread for example)
16. GPM – Gross Profit Margin
17. HR – Human Resources
18. IAM – In A Meeting
19. FYI – For Your Information
20. KPI – Key Performance Indicator – a way of measuring something that is crucial to the success of the business
21. OOO – Out of Office
22. MOM – Month Over Month refers to that month’s figures compared with the previous month’s (also QOQ or Quarter Over Quarter and YOY or Year Over Year)
23. PA – Performance Appraisal, or it can also stand for Personal Assistant
24. PDP – Personal Development Programme
25. P/E – Price to Earnings (refers to the market price per share divided by the actual earnings per share)
26. P&L – Profit and Loss (summarises the revenue, costs and expenses earned and incurred by a business)
27. PSB – Personal Survival Budget
28. ROI – Return On Investment (also used for ROA or Return On Assets and ROE or Return On Equity)
29. SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound is a guide used for setting an objective that can be measured
30. SMB – Small to Medium Business (also sometimes called SME or Small to Medium Enterprises)
31. TOS – Terms Of Service
32. YTD – Year To Date

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