 Placing an orderCompanies buy and sell goods and to do so they need to deal with orders. Typically orders have a date and a reference number and are usually written on a company’s official order form. Order - example:  Order no. – this is the reference number of your order; use it when referring in correspondence or telephone calls Quantity – this is how many you order Item description – this is what you order; usually you write here the size, colour, etc. Cat. No. – this is the number of the item you can find in the catalogue Price – this is how much each item costs When making an order you usually produce a covering letter where you inform the buyer that you are enclosing your order, confirm terms of payment, discounts and delivery. Dear ………………….. Please find enclosed our order No AB 1234/2020. Although we anticipated a higher trade discount than 15%, we will place an initial order and hope that the discount can be reviewed in the near future. We would like to confirm that payment will be made on delivery. If you do not have any of the items we have ordered currently in stock, please do not send alternatives. We would appreciate delivery within the next two weeks, and look forward to your acknowledgment. Your sincerely, Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson Chief Buyer Enc. Order No. AB 1234/2020 A covering letter helps you add any necessary points and confirm the terms that have been agreed. See below what you should include in your covering letter while placing an order. OPENING
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PRESENTATIONS and MEETINGS - a crash online courseFeel invited to my crash course on Presentations and Meetings. The course will start in May 2020 - as soon as the minimum three participants sign up for it. It's a great opportunity to practise your English, as well as to meet new people and exchange views and ideas on business issues. You will get the link to a conference room, all the materials and instructions via mail. Any other questions? You can write to me or call me: Contact me   Profit and Loss account or Income StatementProfit and loss account or also known as the income statement is one of the major financial statements (others include: balance sheet, the cash flow statement, the statement of stockholder’s equity).
Profit and loss account shows the profitability of a company in a given period of time. There are certain elements in the P&L which refer to revenues or gains from a certain type of activity or expenses and losses:
Take this short quiz to check what you already know: 1. Amounts earned by a company in its main operating activities are: a. Revenues b. Gains 2. A company sells a car that is no longer used in its business. The amount received is more than the book value of the asset. The company will report a(an): a. Expense b. Gain c. Loss d. Revenue 3. Is a company’s Interest Expense: a. an operating expense or b. a non-operating expense? 4. Net Sales minus the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) equals: a. Gross profit b. Net income 5. Gross profit minus Operating expenses is also known as: a. Net income b. Operating income Now check your answers below. Would you like to learn more about accounting in English? Contact me. Key: 1. a/ 2 b / 3 b/ 4 a/ 5 b Glossary: Profit and loss account (P&L) or Income Statement – Rachunek Zysków I Strat Profitability – rentowność Revenues – przychody Gains – zyski finansowe Expenses – wydatki Losses – straty Operating activity – działalność operacyjna Investing activity – działalność inwestycyjna Financial activity – działalność finansowa Single-step – format uproszczony Multiple-step – format kalkulacyjny Net income – przychody netto Cost of goods sold – koszt sprzedanych towarów Book value – wartość księgowa Interest - odsetki  What is double-entry bookkeeping?There are many business transactions that must be recorded in separate accounts, for example: sales, purchases, debts, expenses, etc. Each transaction is recorded in a separate account – cash account, the liabilities account. The bookkeepers use a system that records two aspect of every transaction – double-entry bookkeeping. Every transaction is both a debit – a deduction – in one account and a credit – an addition – in another. For example, if a company buys raw materials for production, it debits its purchases account and credits the supplier’s account. Each account records debits on the left and credits on the right. The total debits should always equal the total credits. Accountants and bookkeepers call these accounts T-accounts, because they look like a ‘T’ letter - look at the examples below. Glossary: Double-entry bookkeeping – zasada podwójnego księgowania An account - konto A debit – ‘winien’ – lewa strona rachunku rozliczeniowego, obciążenie A deduction - potrącenie A credit – ‘ma’ – prawa strona rachunku rozliczeniowego, uznanie An addition - dodawanie An asset – składnik aktywów A liability – zobowiązanie To increase – wzrastać To decrease – zmniejszać się  Do you work in accounting and need to speak English?
I can help, contact me.  Are your relationships harmonious?''We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics.'' Joyce Meyer Maintaining good relationships is crucial not only in private life, all good businesses are based on trust and healthy relationships. How to talk about them? Find out more.
POSITIVE VERBS Maintain, Strengthen, Foster, Build up, Cement, Cultivate, Encourage, Establish, Improve, Promote - they all mean more or less that we work on our relationship and build it. e.g.: The company strengthened its sales force after the merger. We are improving relations with customers thanks to better communication. They always try to maintain proper relations with their suppliers. Restore, resume – mean that the relationship was disrupted somehow and now we want to bring it back to the previous state. e.g.: We managed to restore our relations with the customer who was dissatisfied with our delay in delivery. NEGATIVE VERBS Endanger, Sour, Damage, Disrupt, Jeopardise, Sever, Undermine, Strain – all mean more or less that we don’t do much or enough to keep the relationship or even do something negative to damage it. e.g.: A strike at our factory disrupted production for several weeks. Poor after-sales service undermined relations with customers. His lack of negotiation skills jeopardised the deal. POSITIVE ADJECTIVES Cordial, Healthy, Harmonious, Good, Strong, Friendly e.g. We have very healthy mother-daughter relationship. Their relations were rather cordial. NEGATIVE ADJECTIVES Strained, Stormy, Broken, Failed, Rocky, Uneasy, Volatile e.g.: Their relations were stormy after the argument they had the other day. Britain has rather volatile relations with EU.  Future Perfect TenseHave you already set goals for the New Year? Are you good at keeping them? Some goals or resolutions are all the same each year, and we fail to achieve them. Here are the most common ones:
Original and Reviewed Resolutions: I will have lost 10 kilos by the end of first quarter. --> I will have found a good gym by the end of January. I will have started a new diet in January. -->I will have finished what I have in my fridge before I start a new diet. I will have found a better job in 2020. --> I will have updated my CV by December. I will have read at least 10 books in 2020. --> I will have bought at least 1 book in 2020. I won’t have drunk any alcohol in 2020. --> I won’t have had a hangover each weekend in 2020. Future Perfect tense – used to talk about action that will be finished before some point in the future. Form: will have + Past Participle Affirmative: I will have finished this report by 5 pm. Negative: I won’t have finished this report by 5 pm. Interrogative: Will you have finished this report by 5 pm? And what are your goals? Will you have started communicating in English in 2020? Do you need help? Contact me.  HOW TO TALK ABOUT PROBLEMS AND DIFFICULTIESLife is not a bed of roses, there are times when we need to face some difficulties. Some of them are small, some are much more important. How to talk about problems?
SMALL DIFFICULTIES SNAG – a problem, especially a small one, hidden or unexpected We hit a snag – we couldn’t pay for the shopping because there was not enough funds on the bank account. SETBACK – a problem that delays or prevents something, makes the situation worse The company suffered a major setback when it hadn’t been granted credit. GLITCH – a problem that stops something working successfully A few technical glitches made us put off the launch of our new product. MORE IMPORTANT DIFFICULTIES: STUMBLING BLOCK – a problem that prevents action or agreement. Conflict within a team is often a stumbling block to positive cooperation. PITFALL – an unexpected difficulty (often in plural – pitfalls) There are many pitfalls while buying a house. OBSTACLE – stops progress A lack of qualifications can be a major obstacle to finding a job. IMPEDIMENT – prevents free action, progress or movement The level of red tape is a serious impediment to set up a new company in Russia. DILEMMA – a situation which makes problems and you have to make a choice between things of equal importance Job seekers face the dilemma of unsatisfying job against the risk of long-term unemployment. ORDEAL – a severe experience, which is very difficult, painful or tiring The refugees talked about the terrible ordeal they had been through due to the war. Are you having difficulties with your English? I can help. Contact me.  What is Master Budget?
it is a strategy that documents expected future sales, productions levels, purchases, future expenses incurred, capital investments, etc. Find out how to calculate Master Budget Read the text: How to prepare a master budget? Start with your sales.
EX. 1 Match the words in bold with their definitions below:
check your answers below. Glossary: master budget - budżet łączny expected sales - przewidywana sprzedaż purchases - zakupy expenses incurred - poniesione wydatki/nakłady pieniężne to estimate - oszacować direct labor - koszty bezpośrednie robocizny overheads - koszty ogólne, pośrednie cash flows - przepływy pieniężne financial statements - sprawozdania finansowe np.: bilans, RZiS Klucz: 1. financial statements, 2. generate, 3. quantity, 4. cash flows, 5. inflows, 6. estimate Are you an accountant? Do you need to speak English at work? Are you preparing budgets or financial reports? Contact me to schedule your free trial lesson.  Collocations for Key Business Words Collocations for Key Business WordsWhat is a collocation?
It’s a pair of group of words that often go together. They can be made of a verb + noun (set up a business), adjective + noun (direct costs), noun + noun (market leader). You should learn how words combine to sound natural and be more fluent in English. Collocations for key business words – Verb + … Verb + a COMPANY Set up / establish / start a company The company was established in 1997. Buy / take over / acquire a company We are planning to take over our main competitor. Leave / resign from a company She resigned from a company because she found a better job. Manage / run a company We have been running our company since 2001. Verb + a CONTRACT / an AGREEMENT Change / alter / amend a contract We will have to amend the contract as our situation has changed. Break / breach a contract They breach the contract and didn’t supply the goods on time. Negotiate a contract The company needs to renegotiate the contract with its suppliers. Draw up / prepare a contract I won’t be able to draw up the contract by the weekend. Enter into / conclude / make a contract We concluded the agreement on 21st May. Renew / prolong a contract They wish to renew the contract. Terminate a contract Because our supplier doesn’t meet the provisions of the contract, we need to terminate it. Verb + COSTS Bring down / cut / reduce costs The costs are too high and we need to cut them. Cover costs Who will cover the costs of transportation? Incur costs The company incurred costs associated with retraining its stuff. Pay / meet costs We will have to pay the costs of new software implementation. Verb + a CUSTOMER / a CLIENT Attract a customer What can we do to attract new customers? Deal with a customer My main responsibility is to deal with customers and meet their needs. Look after / take care of a customer In our company we really look after our customers. Lose a customer We can’t afford to lose this client. Do you want to learn more collocations? Schedule your lesson with me, contact me.  CHANGEChange is inevitable (can't be avoided). People fear change as it usually comes unexpected and it is not easy to prepare for it. Resistance (being unwilling to do something) is something natural. Good managers are capable of overcoming resistance to change (fighting unwillingness) by preparing their staff for it. Verb + change to accept change - to stop resist A lot of people find it difficult to accept change. to bring about a change - to introduce The government's advertising campaign is an attempt to bring about a change in the way we think about the environment. to resist change - to be afraid and be reluctant to It is natural that people resist change, as they don't want to leave their comfort zone. to undergo change - to go through Our company has undergone major changes over last few years. Adjective + change last minute change - very recent I'm sorry for the last minute change in the agenda. minor change - small The problems of health service won't be solved by making minor changes. noticeable change - significant The has been a noticeable change in his attitude to work. sweeping change - radical The taxation system requires a sweeping change to help the poorest. welcome change - wanted Let's eat out, it will be a welcome change from cooking. Read more about how to OVERCOME RESISTANCE TO CHANGE WITH TWO CONVERSATIONS from Harvard Business Review. Are you resistant to change or do you welcome change? |
AuthorKatarzyna Sawicz 
Key facts:
- teacher of English - interpreter PL-EN, EN-PL - B.A in English Linguistics, M.A in Linguistics, Sworn and Business Translations, Financial Analysis and Reporting - over 18 years experience teaching and designing materials - experience teaching online to individuals and small groups - experience teaching in-company - 3500+ hours of online lessons Archives
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