Important concepts/definitions

Cooperative (Co-op.): a cooperative is a type of social enterprise that is operated solely for the benefit of those who own it and use its services. This implies that the business distributes its generated earnings to its members, also called user-owners. The company’s members typically vote to elect a board of directors to make any necessary managerial decisions.

Liquidity (of an asset): the fact of being available in the form of money, rather than investments or property, or of being able to be changed into money easily.

Profit and Loss count: a document that shows a company’s receipts and expenditure in a particular period.

Cashflow: a document that shows the money coming into and going out of a company during a particular period.

Unit cost: the cost of producing one single product, calculated by dividing the cost of producing a group of products by the number produced. A unit may consist of both a physical item plus a time element for servicing or delivering the physical item.

Breakeven point: the point of sales that bring in enough income to pay for the total cost of running the enterprise; beyond the breakeven point you will start to make a profit.

Exposure: the risk of losing money, for example through a loan or investment, or the amount of money that might be lost.

Bridging capital loan: a type of loan for managing cashflow deficits related to ex-post funded grants.

Stakeholders: could be any person, group or organisation who can affect or be affected by an outcome or process of the social enterprise.