From acronyms like “ROI” to the enigmatic “KPI,” these business expressions seem everywhere you turn. Sometimes it even feels like all these acronyms are a whole other language.
But What’s the Point of Them?
- They save time.
- They keep communication concise and to the point.
- They save space on company letters, cover letters, and resumes.
- They ease business communication.
Don’t worry; in this blog post, we’re going to dive headfirst into the world of business acronyms from the ones you hear every day to the ones you may not even believe are a real thing. So let’s dive in and see what acronyms and corporate lingo are out there, and maybe you’ll learn a few that you’d like to start using.
First Things First, What’s An Acronym?
An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the first letters of other words to create a new, shorter word. Many acronyms are pronounced as a regular word (e.g., NASA), but others are said by spelling out the individual letters (e.g., BBC). Here are some examples of acronyms:
- NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- AKA – Also Known As
- ASAP – As Soon As Possible
10 Commonly Used Business Acronyms
There are a ton of acronyms out there, some more formal or informal than others. But here’s a list of commonly used acronyms that were born in the office for the office.
- EOW: End Of Week
- EOD: End Of Day
- OOO: Out Of Office
- N/A: Not Applicable
- TBD: To Be Decided
- AWOL: Absent Without Leave
- ETA: Estimated Time Of Arrival
- PTO: Paid Time Off
- NWR: Not Work Related
- Re: Referring to
18 People and Department Acronyms
It’s safe to say that we’ve all heard of a CEO and VP before, but there are some positions and departments you may not have heard of or know their acronyms. So here you go!
- CEO: Chief Executive Officer
- CFO: Chief Financial Officer
- COO: Chief Operating Officer
- CTO: Chief Technology Officer
- VP: Vice President
- AE: Account Executive
- HR: Human Resources
- PM: Product Manager/ Project Manager
- QC: Quality Control
- QA: Quality Assurance
- R&D: Research & Development
- MDR: Marketing Deverlopent Representative
- SDR: Sales Development Representative
- BD: Business Development
- CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
- PR: Public Relations
- PA: Personal Assistant
- HQ: Headquarters
10 Human Resource (HR) Acronyms
- HRMS: Human Resources Management System
- HRIS: Human Resource Information System
- ATS: Applicant Tracking System
- DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- HRD: Human Resources Development
- ESO: Employee Stock Option
- C&B: Compensation and Benefits
- PTO: Paid Time Off
- WFH: Work From Home
- AR: Annual Review
20 Marketing & Sales Acronyms
- B2B: Business to Business
- B2C: Business to Consumer
- C2C: Consumer to Consumer
- BR: Bounce Rate
- CMS: Content Management System
- CTA: Call To Action
- CTR: Click Through Rate
- CR: Conversion Rate
- LTV: Lifetime Value
- CRM: Customer Relationship Management
- OKRs: Objectives and Key Results
- KPI: Key Performance Indicator
- PPC: Pay Per Click
- SEO: Search Engine Optimization
- SM: Social Media
- SMB: Small to Medium Business
- OC: Opportunity Cost
- WOMM: Word Of Mouth Marketing
- CPC: Cost-per-Click
- SaaS: Software-as-a-Service
19 Technical Acronyms
- IT: Information Technology
- UI: User Interface
- UX: User Interface
- API: Application Program Interface
- CSS: Cascading Style Sheet
- FTP: File Transport Protocol
- HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol
- HTTPS: HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure
- IP: Internet Protocol
- ISP: Internet Service Provider
- OS: Operating System
- LAN: Local Area Network
- DNS: Domain Name System
- XML: Extensible Markup Language
- ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange
- ISO: International Standards Organization
- VPN: Virtual Private Network
- RSS: Rich Site Summary
- AI: Artificial Intelligence
12 Financial Acronyms
- ROA: Return On Assets
- ROI: Return On Investment
- P&L: Profit and Loss
- ACCT: Account
- AP: Accounts Payable
- AR: Accounts Receivable
- BS: Balance Sheet
- CPU: Cost Per Unit
- CR: Credit
- DR: Debit
- EPS: Earnings Per Share
- FIFO: First In, First Out
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Amanee Hasan
Amanee Hasan is a Senior Content Writer at ZenHR, an award-winning and top-rated HR solution that offers world-class HR software services in the MENA region. Her main focuses are SEO, UX writing, copywriting, and creating content highlighting the latest HR trends, and gives organizations and individuals the tools they need to create successful work environments where people thrive.
