Welcome to our Glossary

Here, you’ll find a comprehensive glossary of key financial and environmental terms, tailored to help you navigate your accounting, achieve your mission, and make a positive impact.

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Annual Investment Allowance (AIA)

The Annual Investment Allowance is a tax relief that allows businesses to deduct the full...

Articles of Association

A company's articles of association is its constitutional document, setting out how the company is...

Asset Lock

An asset lock is a legal feature of a Community Interest Company that restricts how...

Basic Rate Band

The basic rate band is the portion of your income taxed at the lowest income...

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is the ongoing process of recording all financial transactions in a business, forming the...

Carbon Accounting

Carbon accounting is the process of measuring an organisation's greenhouse gas emissions to understand and...

CIC Regulator

The CIC Regulator is the statutory body responsible for overseeing Community Interest Companies in the...

Community Benefit Test

The community benefit test is the assessment a company must satisfy to become, and remain,...

Community Interest Company (CIC)

A Community Interest Company (CIC) is a type of limited company designed for organisations that...

Corporation Tax

Corporation tax is the tax a UK limited company pays on its taxable profits, currently...

Creative Industries Tax Reliefs

Creative Industries Tax Reliefs are a group of UK corporation tax reliefs designed to support...

Disbursement

A disbursement is a payment made on behalf of a client for goods or services...

Dividend

A dividend is a payment made by a company to its shareholders from post-tax profits,...

Dividend Allowance

The dividend allowance is the amount of dividend income an individual can receive tax-free each...

Dividend Tax Rates

In 2026/27 dividends are taxed at 10.75% (basic rate); 35.75% (higher rate) and 39.35% (additional...

Electric Vehicles (EVs)

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are zero-emission vehicles are cars and vans that produce no direct exhaust...

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

The Enterprise Investment Scheme offers tax relief to individuals who invest in new shares of...

Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI)

An Enterprise Management Incentive scheme is a government-approved share option arrangement designed to help smaller...

Fixed Fees

Green Accountancy operates on transparent fixed fees across all its services, so clients always know...

Grant Funding

Grant funding is money awarded to support activities that deliver social, environmental or community benefit,...

Higher Rate Tax

Higher rate tax applies to income between £50,271 and £125,140, at which point dividend income...

HMRC

HMRC (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is the UK government body responsible for collecting taxes...

Independent Examination

An independent examination is a form of scrutiny of a charity's accounts that is less...

Joint Venture

A joint venture is a business arrangement where two or more parties collaborate on a...

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key performance indicators are measurable values used to assess how effectively an organisation is achieving...

Letting Income

Letting income is the rental income received by a landlord from tenants occupying a property....

Limited Company

A limited company is a business structure in which the company is a legally separate...

Management Accounts

Management accounts are regular financial reports that help organisations understand their financial position during the...

National Insurance Contributions (NICs)

National Insurance contributions are payments made by employees, employers and the self-employed that fund state...

Ordinary Shares

Ordinary shares are the standard class of share in a limited company, carrying voting rights...

Owner-Manager

An owner-manager is an individual who both owns and runs their own limited company, typically...

Payroll

Payroll is the process of calculating and paying directors' remunertion and employees' wages and salaries,...

Personal Allowance

The personal allowance is the amount of income an individual can earn each year before...

Rent-a-Room Relief

Rent-a-Room Relief is an HMRC scheme that allows individuals to earn up to £7,500 per...

Research and Development (R&D) Tax Relief

R&D tax relief is a government incentive that allows companies to claim an enhanced tax...

Restricted funds

Restricted funds are amounts of income received by a charity or not‑for‑profit that must be...

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme is a government initiative offering 50% income tax relief to...

Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is the system used by HMRC to collect income tax from individuals whose tax...

Statutory Accounts

Statutory accounts are the statutory financial statements a company must prepare at the end of...

Tax Investigation Service

Green Accountancy offers a Tax Investigation Service that provides cover and support in the event...

Tracking Categories

Tracking categories are a feature within accounting software that allow income and expenditure to be...

Unapproved Share Options

Unapproved share options are share options that fall outside HMRC-approved schemes such as EMI, meaning...

Unrestricted Funds

Unrestricted funds are income received by a charity or not-for-profit that can be used at...

VAT (Value Added Tax)

VAT is a consumption tax charged on most goods and services in the UK, currently...

Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform that Green Accountancy recommends to its clients above...

Year-End Planning

Year-end planning is the process of reviewing a company's financial position before its accounting period...