English for Business Life Elementary

Glossary of business-related terms
a/c: account
accountant: 1 person who keeps a company's accounts
2 person who advises a company on its finances
accounts department: department in a company which
deals with money paid, received, borrowed or owed
admin: administration, (informal) paperwork
administration: organisation or control or management of a
company
administrative assistant: clerical employee who helps with
the paperwork in an office
advertising department: department which deals with
advertising (trying to persuade customers to buy a product
or service)
agent: person who represents a company or a person in an area
agreement: contract between two parties which explains
how they will act
assistant: person who supports, e.g. sales assistant, Assistant
Manager
associate: connected in some way, e.g. an associate
company, a business associate
background: past details, e.g. background information
billing: (US) writing and sending of invoices and bills
boardroom: room where directors of a company meet
booking: act of ordering a room or a seat
boss: employer, person in charge
branch: local office of a bank of large business
brochure: publicity booklet
budget: plan of expected spending and income
business analyst: person who makes a detailed
examination/analysis of a business or market
card: business card showing a person's name and the
company he/she works for
caterer: person who supplies food and drink, e.g. for a
canteen
CEO: chief executive officer
chain: a number of stores belonging to the same company,
e.g. a chain of shoe shops, a hotel chain
chairman or chairperson: 1 head of a company
2 person who is in charge of a meeting
Chamber of Commerce: group of local business people
who meet to discuss problems which they have in
common and to promote commerce in their town/area
chief executive officer: executive in charge of a company
civil servant: person who works in the Civil (government)
Service
Civil Service: organisation and personnel which administer
a country
clerk: person who works in an office, e.g. filing clerk
client: person or company with whom you do business or
who pays for a service
colleague: person who works with you
commission: money paid to a sales person or company,
usually a percentage of the value of sales made
committee: official group that meets regularly, often
responsible for organising a particular area, e.g. the staff
social club committee
computer programmer: person who writes computer
programs
computer software: computer programs (as opposed to
machines)
conference: meeting for people with a common interest,
e.g. sales conference = meeting of sales managers,
representatives, publicity staff, etc.
construction company: company which specialises in
building
contact: person you know or person you can ask for help or
advice
contract: legal agreement between two parties
controller: person who controls an area such as finance,
e.g. financial controller
credit: period of time a customer is allowed before he/she
has to pay a debt for goods or services
credit card: plastic card which allows you to borrow money
and to buy goods without paying immediately
(e.g. American Express, Visa)
credit note: note given to someone showing that an amount
of money is owed to them
customer: person or company that buys goods or services
data processing: organising and analysing computer
information
deadline: date by which something has to be done
debrief: to meet to discuss and review information or a past
event
department: specialised section of a large company
deposit: money given in advance as part-payment to secure
something
dept: department
deputy: person who can take the place of another,
e.g. deputy sales director
118 GLOSSARY