Assets - These fall into three categories. Current assets include cash on hand, investments that can be liquidated quickly, inventory, and payments due from customers. Fixed assets are permanent aspects of the business: the property and building, equipment and fixtures, and any other tangible property. Finally, there are intangible assets, which covers patents on inventions or processes, trademarks, and copyrights.

Liabilities - This includes the debts a business owes and any other claims on company assets. Current liabilities entail those debts that will be settled during the current fiscal year. Long-term liabilities will include things like mortgages and equipment costs, the type items that will take several years to pay off.

Owner's equity - This is the owner's investment in a business. How it's actually listed will vary depending on whether the organization is a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. For a single-owner company, the equity would be the difference between assets and liabilities. In a partnership, the equity would be each owner's share of the business. And with a corporation, that's generally the amount of outstanding common stock.

Unearned income - This is revenue that will be earned once the terms of a contract have been fulfilled. For instance, a neighborhood youth is to rake your yard this weekend for $15. Until the work is done, the youth has $15 in unearned income. Once the work is done and payment made, the unearned income has become revenue.

Cash flow - This is a means of measuring a company's financial health measuring cash receipts against cash payments over a given period of time. It is the pattern of income and expenditures, and the resulting availability of cash.

Capital - In the broader arena of economics, capital refers to equipment or machinery that permits a greater production of goods. For the purposes of financing, capital means money.