Difficult words in business financing

Aandeel 

Share 

Aandelenkapitaal

Share capital 

The amount for which a company has issued shares. 

Accountant

Achterstelling,
achtergestelde lening

Subordination, 

subordinated loan 

A loan with a lower grade than other loans.

Is repaid only when other loans have been repaid. 

Actief, activa

Asset, assets 

The assets of a business.

You will find assets on the  
left-hand side of the balance sheet. 

Aflossen

Redemption, repayment

Repaying (part of) a loan or debt. 

Afschrijven

Depreciation 

Accounting depreciation of an asset (actief).

Only for assets that last more than one year and cost more than €450.

The depreciation amount counts as an expense for the company. 

Afzet

Sales 

The quantity of goods or
services sold in a period. 

Alternatieve financiering

Alternative financing 

Corporate finance where financing is provided
not through the bank but through another party. 

Balans

Balance sheet 

Snapshot of the business's assets, liabilities, and equity capital.

A balance sheet consists of two sides, assets (activa) and liabilities (passiva).

The most important feature of a balance sheet is that it
should always be balanced. 

Bancaire financiering

Bank financing 

business financing through a bank, e.g. a business loan or an
overdraft. 

Bankgarantie

Bank guarantee 

A bank guarantees to pay an amount to a beneficiary party on behalf of the entrepreneur, if the beneficiary party claims it.  
Form of security deposit.  

Bedrijfsmiddelen

Company assets 

Assets are resources with an acquisition value of at least €450
that are not intended to be sold but will be used by the company for a longer period.

Assets are listed as assets on the balance
sheet.  
You will depreciate on company assets. Assets fall under fixed
assets.  

Begroting

Budget 

An estimate of income and expenditure in a given period. 

Belastingadviseur, fiscalist

Tax adviser, tax expert 

Tax specialist. Advises and provides tax returns. 

Betaaltermijn

Payment term 

The number of days within which an invoice must be paid. 

BKR

Stichting BKR (Bureau Krediet Registratie) registers closed loans
and any payment arrears of individuals. By requesting a free
credit report, you can see which loans and any arrears are in
your name. 

BMKB

SME loan guarantee. Guarantee from the government to the
financier. The financier thus has additional security. 

Boekhouder

Bookkeeper 

Audits accounts, prepares financial statements  
and advises on amninistrative topics. 

Boekhouding

Accounting 

The financial administration of a business. 

Boekwaarde

Book value 

The value of assets at a given time.  
The book value is calculated by subtracting depreciation
from the acquisition value.  

Borg, borgtocht

Deposit, bail 

Guarantee by a natural or legal person (the guarantor) to pay
the debt if the borrower does not pay. 

Bruto winst

Gross profit 

Turnover minus costs. 

Btw

VAT 

see omzetbelasting. 

Bullet lening

Bullet loan 

An interest-free business loan that is repaid in one lump
sum at the end of the term. 

Cashflow,
kasstroom

Cash flow 

Income minus expenditure over a given period. This can be a month, but also
a year. Cash flow lets you see how you are performing as a business. Cash
flow is not the same as your profit and loss account. You can have a positive
cash flow, while actually making a loss. For instance, because depreciation
has not yet been included or because outstanding invoices have not yet been
paid.  

Cofinanciering

Co-funding 

Financing in which another party also co-finances. 

Credit

Credit 

The right-hand side of a balance sheet, liabilities of the company. 

Crediteuren

Creditors 

Suppliers to whom you have yet to pay. 

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding 

Raising money from the general public. 

Current ratio

Current ratio 

Accounting term for current assets divided by short-term borrowed capital in
the company. For getting business financing, it is important to keep this key
figure above 1.5. 

Debet

Debit 

The left side of the balance sheet, assets of the company. 

Debiteuren

Debtors 

Customers from whom you have yet to receive money. 

Debiteurenfinanciering

Debtor financing 

A form of financing in which a business sells its outstanding invoices
(debtors) to a finance company. For this, the finance company pays a
percentage of the value of the outstanding invoices and assumes the
risk of collecting payments from customers. Factoring and invoice
financing are both forms of receivables financing.  

Declarabele uren

Billable hours 

Hours you can charge to your customers. 

Directe kosten

Direct costs 

Costs directly attributable to the activities and turnovers of your
business. Also often called production costs. 

Dividend

Distribution of realised profits to equity holders. 

EBIT

'Earnings Before Interest and Tax'. Operating profit. This is the result from
"normal" business operations, before interest and taxes 
have been paid. 

EBITDA

'Earnings Before Interest and Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation'. Operating profit
plus depreciation and amortisation.   

Eigen vermogen

equity capital 

The money owners have in the business. Equity capital is equal to all assets minus
all liabilities. 

Factoring

Common form of debtor financing. With factoring, you as an
entrepreneur sell your outstanding invoices to a factoring
company. The factoring company pays you part of the invoice
amount and (usually) takes over the debtor risk from you. The
factoring company then collects the outstanding invoices from
your customers.  

Failliet, failissement

Bankrupt, bankruptcy 

A business is bankrupt when there is no longer enough money
to meet its obligations. The court can then declare  

bankruptcy. 

Financiële vaste activa

Financial fixed assets 

These are holdings in other companies, shares or  
other financial receivables.  

Financiering

Funding 

Making money available to realise the plans. 

Financieringsbehoefte

Financing requirement 

The amount you need to realise the plans. 

Financieringslasten

Financing charges 

Interest, costs, and repayment of a financing added together. 

GO

Enterprise Finance Guarantee. Banks can get a 50% state guarantee on medium and large loans
under this scheme, making it possible for more entrepreneurs to borrow money from the bank. 

Goodwill

The difference between the market value of a purchased business and the 
book value of assets (such as land, buildings, machinery, patents, and 
inventories). 

Herfinancieren

Refinancing 

Refinancing is taking out a loan to repay one or more pre-existing loans. 

Hypotheek,

hypothecaire lening

Mortgage, 

mortgage loan 

Loan for a house or business premises, with the house or business
premises as security. 

Immateriële vaste activa

Intangible assets 

Non-tangible assets you use to conduct the business  
such as licences, patents, goodwill, or development costs.  

Indirecte kosten

Indirect costs 

Costs that cannot be directly allocated to activities/turnovers.  

Inkomstenbelasting

Income tax 

The tax a natural person pays on income.  

Inventaris

Inventory 

Business assets used to run your business.  
Examples of inventory are your desk, laptop, or other tools. They
are assets of a business that are therefore on the asset side of the
balance sheet.  

Investeren 

Invest  

Buying fixed assets (e.g. machinery, premises) for  
your business. With the investment, you hope to make money in
the future.  

Kortetermijn-schuld,
kort vreemd vermogen

Short-term debt,  
short-term borrowed capital 

Loans and debts with a maturity of less than one year.  

Kosten

Cost 

The value of what you consume to produce goods or provide
services. In accounting, there is a difference between
expenses and costs. We speak of expenses the moment there
is a profit reduction in a given period.  
This need not involve an actual payment (expenditure).
Depreciation is an example of a cost that is not an  
expense. 

We speak of expenses when money goes out of your business.
Buying a property is an example of an expenditure that is not
a cost. 

Langetermijn-schuld,
lang vreemd vermogen

Long-term debt 

Loans and debts with a maturity of more than one year.  

Lease

Lease 

A form of financing in which the leasing company finances the
asset and the user pays a monthly amount for its use. There are
different forms of leasing.  

Lening

Loan 

An amount provided by a lender, with the condition that the
amount will be repaid later.  

Leverancierskrediet

Supplier credit 

A short-term loan where the supplier provides goods or  
services that the customer pays for later. A supplier credit
falls under the item creditors on the balance sheet.  

Liquide middelen

Cash and cash equivalents 

The amount in bank accounts and cash. 

Liquiditeit

Liquidity 

How well a company is able to pay its current payment
obligations. There are different ways to measure
liquidity, such as the current ratio and the quick ratio. 

Marge

Margin 

Sales price minus purchase price. To arrive at the profit,  
costs still have to be deducted from the margin.  

Materiële vaste activa

Property, plant and equipment 

Land and buildings, machinery and equipment, inventory
worth more than €450 that are used by the business for a long term.
The value of these assets is shown on the balance sheet
and decreases due to depreciation.   

Netto winst

Net profit 

Gross profit minus operating expenses. Available to company owners. 

Obligatielening

Bond 

Loan issued by a business, where the total amount is divided into
negotiable parts representing a smaller amount (the bonds). The bond
loan has a fixed term, interest rate, and repayment schedule.   

Omzet

Turnover 

The total amount of sales in a given period. 

Omzetbelasting

Turnover tax, VAT 

Also called VAT (value-added tax). Tax that most business owners must
charge to customers on sales.  
VAT paid on business costs and expenses may be offset when remitted
to the Netherlands Tax Administration.  

Onderhandse lening

Private loan 

A loan where a person borrows money from family or acquaintances,
without the intervention of a bank.  

Onderpand

Collateral 

Something of value that serves as security for the lender. If the
borrower defaults, the lender can claim the collateral. Mortgage is a
well-known form of collateral.  
Your inventory, machinery, stocks, and debtors can also be collateral.  

Overbruggingskrediet

Bridging loan 

Business loan to get through a short period of financial tightness.

Also called supplementary working capital. 

Participatie

Participation 

Risk capital in the form of shares. 

Passief, passiva

Liabilities 

A business's debt and equity capital. You will find the 
liabilities on the right side of the balance sheet.   

Pitch

Pitch 

Short presentation of yourself, your product or service or
your business. 

Preferente aandelen

Preferred shares 

Shares with fixed returns and, in some cases,  
exceptional voting rights.  

Quick ratio

Rekening-courantkrediet

Current account credit 

An amount you are allowed to be 'in the red' in a bank account. A credit
limit is agreed with the lender. You can use the amount in parts or
immediately in full. You can repay and withdraw again and again up to
the credit limit. You only pay interest on the amount withdrawn. This is
different from a loan, where you pay interest on the entire loan amount.  

Rentabiliteit

Profitability 

(Net profit divided by capital employed) x 100%. 
Key figure for the profitability of the business.   

Rente

Interest 

Remuneration for debt providers. 

Reserves

Reserves 

Part of a company's equity capital. Arises from undistributed past
profits, issue of shares above par value, or revaluation of assets.   

Risicokapitaal

Venture capital 

Financing provided in exchange for an interest in the company,
often in the form of share capital or a subordinated loan.

Also called venture capital or venture capital. 

Solvabiliteit

Solvency 

Accounting term for the ability of a business to meet its financial
obligations.   
Formula: (equity capital divided by total assets) x 100%.  
Healthy solvency varies by industry but is ideally between 25% and
40%.  

Stapelfinanciering

Stack funding 

Corporate finance combining ('stacking') multiple forms of business
finance. 

Uitgaven

Expenditure or expenses 

Payments your business makes. In accounting, there is a difference
between expenses and costs. 
We speak of expenses when money goes out of your business.
Buying premises is an example of an expenditure that is not a cost.   

We speak of expenses the moment there is a
profit reduction in a given period. This need not involve
an actual payment (expense). Depreciation is an example
of a cost that is not an expense. 

Variabele kosten

Variable costs 

Costs that move with the quantity produced.   

Vaste activa

Fixed assets 

see operating assets 

Vaste kosten

Fixed costs 

Costs that do not vary (or only in very large increments) with the
quantity produced. For example, the cost of your premises.  

Vennootschapsbelasting

corporate income tax 

The tax paid by a legal person (e.g. a PLC) on its profits.  

Vlottende activa

Current assets 

Current assets are assets in your company that can only be used
during one production process use. In other words, they are
assets that can be converted into cash "quickly" (within a year).

Examples of current assets: inventory, debtors.  
Current assets are on the balance sheet on the left. 

Vlottende passiva

Current liabilities 

Current liabilities. On the balance sheet, these are on the right-hand side (Liabilities). Short-term liabilities can include taxes to be paid (VAT), wages, but also short-term loans. 

Voorbelasting, voorheffing

Input tax, withholding tax 

VAT you paid on business costs and expenses. You claim this input
tax back in your VAT return.  

Voorraad

Stock 

Inventory consists of the goods needed to make your finished
product, as well as finished goods that have not yet been sold.
Packaging materials are also included in your stock. The value of
stock is shown on the balance sheet under current assets.  

Voorziening

Provision 

Provisions are recognised under the liabilities  (right) side of the
balance sheet. A provision is a  liability for your business, the size
and timing  of which is still unknown. You can think of provisions
as a pot that you can use in the future for the purpose for which
it was created. Provisions fall under loan capital. 

Vreemd vermogen

Foreign equity 

The money in the company that does not belong to the company
itself. Loan capital includes, for example, loans, credits, lease
debts, and creditors. 

Werkkapitaal

Working capital 

Accounting term for the difference between a company's current assets and
current liabilities. Working capital is needed to meet day-to-day expenses.  

Winst- en
verliesrekening

Profit and loss account 

Listing of revenues and expenses of a company in a period. The result
of this listing reflects the financial condition of the company. 

Zekerheden

Collateral 

See Onderpand