Capital – the total owned and borrowed funds in a business.

Capital gain – a financial gain made from selling fixed assets such as land, buildings, or a business at a price above the original purchase price.

Capital requirement – a list of expenses that must be met to establish a business. Even before a business is started, owners should start keeping records.

Cash – includes all money in the bank, in the cash drawer and in petty cash. Banknotes, coins, bills and negotiable securities (like cheques) are cash. But so is the money you can draw on demand – your bank accounts or savings accounts also represent "cash".

Cash book – a record of cash payments and receipts, showing these under various categories.

Cash discount – a deduction that is given for prompt payment of a bill.

Cash flow – the flow of internal funds generated within the business as a result of receipts from debtors, payments to creditors, drawings and cash sales.

Cash receipts – the money received by a business from customers.

Caveat emptor – 'let the buyer beware' (latin). The condition of sale is that the purchase is at the buyer’s risk.

Chamber of commerce – An association of business people gathered to provide contact, support, leadership and lobbying.

Client/server network – a network where one computer acts as the central storage device for files/programs that can be accessed by PCs on the network.

(Industry) code of practice – A set of industry-specific guidelines, usually developed by an industry body, created to guide the conduct of industry members in the absence of binding legislation.

Collateral – security provided by a borrower to cover the possibility that the loan will not be repaid.

Collections policy – a policy relating to the process of debt collection, usually including clear guidance on how the business handles outstanding debts.

Commercialisation – the process of bringing a business opportunity to market, including feasibility studies, a business case and production.

Company – a business owned by a group of people called shareholders, which has its own legal identity separate from its owners.

Compliance – steps taken to ensure that your business is operating in accordance with all applicable legislation, regulations, standards, codes of practice and contractual requirements. Compliance can also include conformity to internal policies and procedures.

Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) – a software program that replaces manual drafting on paper by allowing the designer to formulate projects on screen, using two and three-dimensional representations.

Computer database design and estimating package – a software program that enables the user to develop, store, retrieve and edit a growing bank of designs, and automatically predict the cost of producing a design in a particular material or construction method.

Consequence (AS/NZS 4360) (Risk Management) – An outcome or impact of an event. (Note: There can be more than one consequence from one event; consequences can range from positive to negative; consequences can be expressed qualitatively or quantitatively; and, consequences are considered in relation to the achievement of objectives.)

Constitution - regulations governing the relationships between the shareholders and directors of the company (formerly 'Articles of Association' and 'Memorandum of Association').

Consultant – a professional who provides services and/or advice, usually relating to a specific area of expertise, to businesses and individuals, often on an ad-hoc or short-term basis.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) –  a measure of the aggregate rise or fall in prices of commonly used goods and services, published by the Commonwealth Government as a basis, among other things, for deciding what overall increases should be made to wages and salaries.

Consumer protection – laws and regulations relating to the prevention of disadvantage or harm to purchasers of goods and/or services. For more information, see Department of Fair Trading or ACCC.

Content Management System (IT) (CMS) –  infrastructure system that is used to store and retrieve information on a website.

Contingency planning – the part of risk management that aims to ensure that swift and appropriate action is taken when an undesirable outcome, particularly an emergency situation, arises. It has two broad aspects: development of crisis management plans aimed at maximising safety for people and minimising damage and disruption during a crisis; and, development of business resumption plans or continuity plans aimed at ensuring business functions are recovered as quickly as possible after a crisis.

Contingent liability – a liability which will only arise on the occurrence of a certain event like, the guarantor of a loan being asked to honour the guarantee if the borrower defaults.

Contract – a legally binding agreement between two or more parties.

Controllable expenses – those expenses that can be controlled or restrained by the business person.

Copyright – a type of property right which protects the expression of ideas such as literary or dramatic works, television productions, drawings and the like, from being used for commercial gain without permission of the copyright owner. Registration is not a prerequisite for protection.

Co-signers – people who together share responsibility for a business by jointly signing documents or cheques.

Cost-benefit analysis – a method of evaluating projects or investments by comparing the present value or annual value of expected benefits to costs.

Cost of goods sold – the total cost to the business of the goods sold during an accounting period. In its simplest form, this is the sum of the opening stock plus all purchases less the closing stock.

Cover note – a temporary certificate of insurance issued by an insurance company to give immediate insurance cover until a formal document is prepared and issued.

Credit – an entry made on the right hand side of an account and indicating a gain to a liability, owner’s equity or revenue account.

Credit application – a form to be completed by an applicant for a credit account, giving sufficient details to allow the seller to establish the applicant’s creditworthiness.

Credit card transfers – the electronic transfer of funds which are debited to the customer’s credit card.

Credit control – any policy designed to increase or decrease credit.

Credit limit – the upper limit of credit that a business will allow a customer to have.

Creditor – a person or business to whom money is owed.

Crossed cheque – a cheque across which two parallel lines have been drawn. The effect of crossing a cheque is to direct your bank to pay the cheque only through another bank account.

Current assets – includes cash, short-term deposits, customers’ accounts, stock (includes work in progress, raw materials and finished goods), that will be converted into cash during the normal course of business, within a year.

Current liabilities – short-term debts such as bank overdraft, creditors and provisions set aside to pay taxation and other commitments (for example, holiday or long-service leave) and expected to come due within one year of the balance sheet.

Custom-written software – software that is tailor-made for a client’s specific purposes (as distinct from generic or packaged software bought off the shelf).

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) –  the systematic collection and utilisation by a business of data relating to the identity, spending patterns and interests of each of its customers, in order to foster customer loyalty through individualised correspondence and tailored benefits and offers.

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