Accounting and finance
- 13-week cash flow forecast
A 13-week cash flow forecast is a week-by-week projection of the cash coming in and going out of a business over the next quarter, starting from today's bank balance.
- Accrual vs cash basis
Accrual basis accounting records revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred, whatever the date cash moves.
- AP aging (accounts payable aging)
An accounts payable (AP) aging is a report that lists unpaid supplier bills grouped by how long they have been outstanding or how soon they are due.
- AR aging (accounts receivable aging)
An accounts receivable (AR) aging is a report that lists unpaid customer invoices grouped by how long they have been outstanding, typically current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days past due.
- Cash runway
Cash runway is how long a business can keep operating before it runs out of cash if nothing changes.
- Days sales outstanding (DSO)
Days sales outstanding (DSO) is the average number of days it takes a business to collect payment after a sale.
- Forecast vs actual
Forecast vs actual is the comparison of what a forecast said would happen with what actually happened over the same period, line by line.
- Gross margin
Gross margin is revenue minus the cost of goods sold (COGS), shown as a percentage of revenue.
- Materiality threshold
A materiality threshold is the size of change, or error, that is big enough to matter to the people reading the numbers.
- Minimum cash balance
A minimum cash balance is the lowest bank balance a business agrees it should hold at any point, so it can cover payroll and bills through the gaps between customer payments.
- Month over month (MoM)
Month over month (MoM) compares a figure for one month with the same figure for the month before, as a dollar change and a percentage change.
- Month-end close
The month-end close is the set of steps an accounting team completes after each month ends to make sure the books for that month are complete and accurate, before locking the period.
- Percentage points vs percent
A percentage point is the simple difference between two percentages, while a percent change is that difference relative to the starting value.
- Trailing twelve months (TTM)
Trailing twelve months (TTM) is the total of a figure, such as revenue or net income, for the most recent 12 consecutive months.
- Variance analysis
Variance analysis is the process of comparing actual results with a budget, forecast or prior period, measuring the difference and explaining why it happened.
- Year over year (YoY)
Year over year (YoY) compares a figure for a period with the same period one year earlier, such as October 2026 against October 2025.
Property management
- Owner distribution
An owner distribution is the money a property manager pays out to a property owner from the funds held for them, after expenses, fees and any reserve have been covered.
- Owner statement
An owner statement is the report a property manager sends to each property owner, usually monthly.
- Repair approval limit
A repair approval limit is the most a property manager may spend on a single repair without asking the owner first.
- Reserve fund
In property management, a reserve fund is cash the manager holds back from an owner's funds to pay repairs and bills that come up between statements, usually a fixed amount set in the management agreement.
Construction
- Certificate of insurance (COI)
A certificate of insurance (COI) is a short document, issued by an insurer or broker, that summarizes a business's insurance policies: the insurer, policy numbers, types of coverage, limits and effective dates.
- Change order
A change order is a written amendment to a construction contract that changes the scope of work, the price, the schedule, or all three, agreed by both parties.
- Draw request
A draw request is a request to be paid for construction work completed during a period, sent to a construction lender or to the project owner.
- Lien waiver (statutory declaration)
A lien waiver is a document in which a contractor, subcontractor or supplier gives up its right to file a lien on a property for amounts it has been paid.
- Retainage (holdback)
Retainage is a percentage of each progress payment that the owner or contractor holds back until the work is complete, to protect against unfinished work and unpaid subcontractors.
- Schedule of values (SOV)
A schedule of values (SOV) is a breakdown of a construction contract or loan budget into line items, each with a dollar value, that together add up to the contract sum.
IT services
- QBR (quarterly business review)
A quarterly business review (QBR) is a meeting a service provider holds with each client every quarter to review results against agreed targets, discuss risks and plan the next quarter.
- SLA (service level agreement)
A service level agreement (SLA) is the part of a service contract that sets measurable targets, such as how quickly the provider will respond to and resolve an issue.