Glossary of accounting and tax terms

CAC Customer acquisition cost: marketing and sales spend divided by the number of new customers. It only means anything next to what a customer brings in over the whole relationship.

Cafeteria benefits A scheme in which employees receive points or a budget and choose their own benefits from a menu, such as sport, culture, holidays or training. The tax and contribution treatment depends on the benefit chosen.

Call to action A button, link or sentence that leads a visitor to the next step, such as requesting a quote, calling or buying. Each page should have one main, clearly visible call to action.

Call-off stock Goods held at the customer's warehouse in another EU country and sold only when called off. The supply is reported when the goods are taken, not when they are moved.

Cancelling a trade licence Ending a trade licence at the entrepreneur’s request or by decision of the trade licensing office. Unlike a suspension it is permanent, and the tax return, contributions, VAT and business assets then have to be dealt with.

Cancelling an insurance policy Ending cover by unilateral notice, usually at the end of the insurance period or within a set time after taking it out or after a claim. When switching insurers, the dates must line up so no gap in cover opens.

Canonical URL A tag telling search engines which of several similar addresses is the main version of a page. It stops, for example, shop filters or campaign parameters being indexed as duplicate content.

Cap table A table of who owns what share of the company, including options and instruments that will only later convert. It is not a register, but it has to reconcile with the commercial register and the founding documents.

Capacity planning Matching workload to available people and time. In accounting it decides whether filing deadlines are met.

CAPEX Capital expenditure: money spent on acquiring or improving long-term assets such as machinery, buildings or software. It is not expensed immediately but capitalised, reaching the profit and loss statement gradually through depreciation.

Capital adequacy A regulatory ratio comparing a bank's own funds with its risk-weighted assets and determining how much lending it can afford. Stricter requirements mean banks are more selective and ask for more security on business loans.

Capital budgeting The process of evaluating and selecting investment projects, such as buying machinery or opening a new site, using methods like NPV, IRR or payback period. It helps allocate limited capital where it creates the most value.

Capital funds Part of equity outside registered capital: share premium, shareholder contributions, gifts and revaluation differences. They are not profit, and returning them to shareholders follows its own rules.

Capital gain The difference between the sale and purchase price of an asset such as shares, a stake in a company, crypto or property. For individuals it is usually taxed as other income, with exemptions once a holding period test is met, while for companies it is part of the tax base.

Capital goods for VAT Assets whose input VAT the VAT Act keeps watching for years after the purchase: five years for more expensive movables, twenty for buildings and flats. A change of use reopens the deduction.

Capital improvement An extension, conversion or upgrade of an asset above EUR 1,700 a year. It does not go straight to expenses but raises the asset's cost and depreciates with it.

Capital income Interest on deposits, bonds and loans and other returns on an individual’s money. Bank interest is taxed by withholding at the bank; the rest goes into the tax return.

Capital increase Putting further funds into the company and entering it in the commercial register. Unlike a shareholder loan it is not repaid and it improves the balance of own and borrowed funds.

Capital structure The mix of equity and borrowed funds a company is financed with. It affects the cost of capital, risk, access to credit and tax, since interest is deductible and dividends are not.

Capitalisation of borrowing costs Including interest on a loan used to acquire an asset in its acquisition cost instead of expensing it immediately. It covers interest for the period until the asset is put into use, for example while a building is under construction.

Capitalisation of own work Booking the company’s own work as an asset, such as software developed by its own staff or material from its own production. The costs stay in expenses and the capitalisation offsets them in income.

CAPM The capital asset pricing model, under which the required return on an investment equals the risk-free rate plus beta times the market risk premium. It is most often used to estimate the cost of equity in WACC.

Carbon border adjustment mechanism A carbon adjustment at the EU border on imports of selected goods such as steel, aluminium and fertilisers. The importer reports the emissions embedded in the goods and later surrenders certificates for them.

Carbon footprint The greenhouse gases attributable to a company, product or event, converted into CO2 equivalent. It splits into three scopes, and the underlying data already sits in the accounting records.

Carbon neutrality The state in which a company, product or country releases no more greenhouse gases than it offsets through reductions and removals. A neutrality claim must be backed by measurement and a reduction plan, otherwise it is greenwashing, which the EU is progressively banning.

Carbon offsetting Buying carbon credits from projects that reduce or absorb emissions elsewhere, such as tree planting, to balance one's own emissions. It does not replace cutting them, and carbon-neutral claims based only on offsets risk being greenwashing.

Card acquiring A service in which a bank or payment institution enables a merchant to accept card payments through a terminal or payment gateway and credits the money to its account. The merchant pays a percentage of transactions, and sales must be booked gross in the accounts.

Card terminal A device or app for accepting card or mobile payments in a shop or on delivery. The bank deducts transaction fees, and sales to consumers need an e-kasa receipt even when paid by card.

Card tokenisation Replacing a payment card number with a unique code, a token, used for mobile and online payments. The merchant never stores the real card number, which reduces the risk from data breaches and eases PCI DSS compliance.

Cargo insurance Insurance of goods in transit against damage, loss or theft, either per shipment or for all shipments in a year. The carrier’s liability is capped, so it is not enough for valuable goods, and Incoterms decide who insures.

Carousel fraud A VAT fraud in which goods circulate between companies in different EU states and one link fails to pay the tax while the next deducts it. The tax office denies the deduction even to a party that should have known about the fraud.

Case study A detailed account of how a company solved a specific customer's problem, with the starting point, approach and measurable results. It is strong proof of expertise but may be published only with the client's consent.

Cash accounting scheme for VAT A scheme where VAT falls due when payment is received and is deducted only once the supplier is paid. It is open to payers below a statutory turnover, and the invoice must carry a special note.

Cash book A record of cash received and paid out with a daily balance. That balance can never go negative, and it is the first thing an inspection checks.

Cash conversion cycle The number of days between paying a supplier and collecting from a customer. The longer it runs, the more of the financing the company does instead of a bank.

Cash count Physically counting cash and vouchers in the cash desk and comparing them with the cash book balance, at least at the reporting date and preferably regularly. Any difference is booked as a shortage or surplus and its cause investigated.

Cash document A record of cash received or paid out. The cash box must agree with the ledger; a negative balance is an error.

Cash flow The real movement of money in and out of the company. Unlike profit it ignores non-cash costs — a profitable company can still run out of money for payroll.

Cash flow statement A statement splitting money movements into operating, investing and financing activity. It shows whether profit actually brings cash or only growing receivables.

Cash holding limit The maximum amount of cash a business may keep in its cash desk at the end of the day, set by an internal policy. The law sets no general limit for companies, but any excess should be paid into the bank, which reduces the risk of theft and of questions during an audit.

Cash in transit Money that has left one place and not yet arrived at another, such as cash taken to the bank or a transfer between own accounts across month end. At year end the balance must be cleared or supported.

Cash journal The main book of single-entry bookkeeping, recording every receipt and payment in cash and through the bank in date order. Each entry is classified as taxable or non-taxable and allocated for the tax base.

Cash on delivery A payment method in which the customer pays the courier or post office on receiving the parcel. Cautious customers like it, but for the shop it means fees, uncollected parcels and waiting for the carrier to pass on the money.

Cash payment limit The statutory ceiling above which a single payment may not be made in cash and must go through a bank. Payments split into parts are added together, and both parties can be fined for a breach.

Cash pooling Joint cash management for a group, where the bank sweeps balances to a master account daily or nets them notionally. It reduces interest, but it creates intra-group loans with transfer pricing consequences.

Cash ratio Cash in hand, at bank and short-term securities divided by current liabilities. It shows what part of its debts a company could pay immediately, and a value of roughly 0.2 to 0.5 is considered reasonable.

CCTV Cameras recording a company’s premises, a shop or a building. Recording people is processing personal data, so there must be a legal basis, signs marking the monitored area, a set retention period and, at work, information for employees.

CDN Content delivery network: a worldwide network of servers that delivers website content from the location nearest the visitor. It speeds up loading, takes load off the main server and protects against DDoS attacks.

CE marking The mark by which a manufacturer declares that a product meets EU safety, health and environmental requirements, for example for electronics, toys or machinery. Importers and sellers must check that the product carries it and has a declaration of conformity.

Central register of contracts A public register run by the Government Office where contracts concluded with the state, local government or other obliged bodies are published. Such a contract usually takes effect only on the day after publication, which also affects the companies that sign it.

Central securities depository An institution that keeps the records of book-entry securities and their owners and settles trades in them. In Slovakia this is the Central Securities Depository of the Slovak Republic, which also issues statements of share ownership.

Certificate of no arrears A document from the tax office, the Social Insurance Agency or a health insurer confirming that a company owes them nothing. Public tenders, grants, banks and new business partners ask for it.

Certificate of tax residence A document issued by the tax office confirming in which country a person is tax resident. Without it a foreign payer will usually not apply the lower treaty rate of withholding tax.

Certificate of taxable income The employer’s statement of an employee’s income, tax advances withheld, contributions and child tax credit for the year. The employee needs it to file a return or for the annual reconciliation by another employer.

Certified accountant An accountant who has passed examinations and holds a certificate from a professional body, in Slovakia mainly the Slovak Chamber of Certified Accountants. Certification is voluntary but proves expertise and requires continuing education.

Certified translation A translation with the clause of a translator on the ministry's register. Authorities, courts and banks normally accept a foreign-language document only in that form.

CFC rules Controlled foreign company rules. Profit of a subsidiary in a low-tax country is added to the Slovak parent's tax base even if it was never distributed.

Chain transaction The sale of the same goods through several successive buyers while the goods are shipped directly from the first to the last. Only one supply, the one the transport is attributed to, can be the exempt intra-EU supply.

Change in accounting method A switch to a different method of valuation, depreciation or recording, such as moving from method A to method B for inventory. It is allowed only from the first day of an accounting period, and its reason and effect must be disclosed in the notes.

Change in inventory The difference in the value of work in progress, semi-finished and finished goods between the start and end of a period. In the income statement it adjusts revenue so that profit reflects what was actually sold.

Change management Steering a change so people accept it — communication, training and phased rollout.

Change of circumstances A situation where, after a contract is concluded, conditions such as energy or material prices change so unforeseeably and fundamentally that performance becomes disproportionately hard for one party. Slovak commercial law responds to this only exceptionally, so it is handled by a contract clause.

Change of employment terms Changing the agreed type of work, place of work, pay or working hours. The employer cannot do it unilaterally: it needs a written agreement with the employee or a statutory reason for a transfer.

Change of legal form Converting a company into another form, such as an s. r. o. into a joint-stock company, without it ceasing to exist, so it keeps its IČO, contracts and liabilities. It needs a shareholders’ resolution, sometimes an expert valuation, and registration.

Change of managing director Removing or accepting the resignation of the current director and appointing a new one, decided by the general meeting and filed with the commercial register without undue delay. The new director is responsible from appointment, so should also take over the files and documents.

Change of registered office Moving a company's registered address elsewhere, approved by the general meeting or the shareholder and entered in the commercial register. The property owner's consent is needed, and the change also affects the tax office, banks and contracts.

Chargeback The reversal of a card payment at the cardholder’s request through their bank, for example over goods not delivered, fraud or a double charge. The merchant loses the money and a fee and must prove with documents that the goods or service were properly supplied.

Chart of accounts The list of accounts grouped into classes that the bookkeeping follows. The framework is set by ministerial decree and the company adds its own analytical detail.

Chatbot A program that talks to website visitors or customers in text or voice, answers frequent questions and takes requests. Today it often runs on a large language model and must disclose that it is a machine.

Chief accountant The head of the accounting department, responsible for accurate books, the financial statements, tax returns and meeting deadlines. They set accounting policy and internal procedures and are the contact for auditors and tax audits.

Chief financial officer The executive responsible for a company's finances: planning, budgets, funding, cash flow, reporting, tax and relations with banks and investors. In smaller firms the managing director often fills the role together with an external accountant.

Child benefit A monthly state benefit that the labour office pays to the eligible person for each dependent child regardless of family income. It is separate from the child tax bonus, which is claimed through payroll or the tax return.

Child sports allowance An employee benefit through which the employer reimburses the cost of a child’s sports club or activity. Up to a limit it is free of tax and contributions for the employee and deductible for the employer.

Child tax bonus A credit for a dependent child that reduces an employee's or entrepreneur's tax. It is applied monthly in payroll or once a year in the annual reconciliation.

Childcare allowance A state allowance for a parent who works or studies while a nursery, kindergarten or another person looks after the child. It covers childcare costs up to a statutory limit and cannot be drawn at the same time as the parental allowance.

Choice of law The agreement of the parties to an international contract on which country's law governs it. If there is none, EU rules determine the applicable law, usually by the seller's or service provider's location, but choice of law does not decide which court hears a dispute.

Churn The share of customers lost in a period — in services, the fastest signal of a quality problem.

CI/CD Building, testing and deploying software automatically after every code change. It cuts the risk that a fix in one part of the system quietly breaks another.

CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight, the Incoterms rule for sea transport under which the seller pays carriage and minimum insurance to the port of destination. Risk, however, passes to the buyer when the goods are loaded at the port of shipment.

Circular economy A model in which products and materials stay in use as long as possible through repair, reuse and recycling instead of being thrown away. For companies it brings new duties on packaging and waste, but also savings and grants.

CISG The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, which applies automatically to sales of goods between businesses in contracting states unless the contract expressly excludes it. It has its own rules on formation, defects, avoidance and damages.

Civic association A legal person founded by at least three people for a shared purpose and created by registration with the Ministry of the Interior. It may run a surplus but cannot share it out among members.

Civil Code Act No. 40/1964 Zb., the base of private law: ownership, lease, damages, succession and consumer contracts. It applies wherever a special statute says nothing.

Claims against the estate Claims that arose during bankruptcy or relate to its conduct, such as the trustee's fee, the cost of managing the assets or wages for work after bankruptcy was declared. They are paid ahead of ordinary filed claims.

Claims handling The process in which the insurer assesses a reported loss and sets the payout. Documents decide it: the inspection, invoices, photographs and proof of ownership.

Click and collect Buying online and collecting in person at the retailer's shop or warehouse. The customer saves postage and time, the retailer saves delivery costs and often sells something extra at pickup.

Climate transition plan A company's plan to align its business model with limiting global warming: emission reduction targets, investments, milestones and governance. Large companies are expected to disclose it in their sustainability report.

Closing accounts The class 7 accounts through which the books are opened and closed: 701 opening balance account, 702 closing balance account and 710 profit and loss account. They make sure every set of books has an exact beginning and end.

Closing the books The final entries that close income and balance sheet accounts at period end. Once the books are closed and the statements drawn up, the period can only be touched through correction procedures.

Cloud Running applications and data on a provider's remote infrastructure, turning hardware needs into a monthly cost.

Cloud storage Data space in a provider's data centre, reachable from anywhere. For accounting data it needs encryption and access control.

CMR consignment note The transport document for international road carriage of goods under the CMR convention, signed by sender, carrier and consignee. For a supply to another EU country it is key evidence that the goods actually left Slovakia.

CMS A content management system letting you edit text and pages without a developer.

Co-financing The share of project costs that a grant recipient must pay from its own funds, such as 30 or 50 % of eligible expenditure depending on company size and region. It must be secured before the project starts.

Co-ownership in shares Ownership of one thing by several people, each with a defined share, such as half a house or a third of a plot. Ordinary matters are decided by a majority of shares, and when a share is sold the other co-owners may in some cases have a pre-emption right.

Code of ethics An internal regulation on rules of conduct: conflicts of interest, gifts, corruption, confidentiality and reporting breaches. It binds only once the employer has issued it and can show that people were briefed on it.

Code review Another developer checking code changes before they are merged into the main version, looking at bugs, security, readability and adherence to standards. It catches problems before they reach users and spreads knowledge in the team.

Cohort analysis Tracking groups of customers who started in the same period over time: how many stay, how much they spend and when they leave. It reveals whether the product is improving, which summary numbers hide.

Cold calling Phoning potential customers the company has had no prior contact with to offer a product or a meeting. For consumers the law requires prior consent; in B2B, objections and data protection must be respected.

Cold email A sales email to someone who has not dealt with the company before. It may be sent to businesses at their work addresses under strict conditions, to individuals usually only with consent, and it must always include a clear way to opt out.

Collection of deeds The part of the commercial register where a company’s documents are deposited: articles, statutes, decisions changing the director and signature specimens. It is public and anyone may look into it.

Collective agreement A written agreement between an employer and the trade union on pay and working conditions. It can give employees more than the Labour Code provides, never less.

Collective bargaining Negotiations between trade unions and an employer or employers' association over pay, working time, benefits and other conditions. The outcome is a collective agreement; if talks fail, a mediator, an arbitrator or, as a last resort, a strike follows.

Collective redundancies Terminating the employment of a larger number of staff within a short period for organisational reasons. It requires consultation with employee representatives and advance notice to the labour office, or the dismissals can be challenged.

Combined nomenclature The eight-digit goods classification used across the European Union, built on the Harmonised System. The code sets the duty rate and, in Slovakia, whether the reduced VAT rate applies.

Commercial agency contract A contract under which a commercial agent undertakes to find business for the principal on a long-term basis for commission. On termination the agent may be entitled to compensation for the clientele gained.

Commercial Bulletin The official Ministry of Justice publication for legally required notices of companies and courts, such as entry into liquidation, calls to creditors, bankruptcies, restructurings or reductions of share capital. Publication has legal effect.

Commercial Code Act No. 513/1991 Zb. on entrepreneurs, companies, the commercial register and obligations between businesses. It is the special statute beside the Civil Code and is still in force in Slovakia.

Commercial register The public company register kept by the courts. Corporate changes take effect only once recorded.

Commercial register extract A record of what the commercial register holds on a company: seat, company number, activities, shareholders and how it acts. The print-out from the website carries different weight from the official court extract.

Commercial register filing The filing that records a company's formation or a change of details: director, seat, member, scope of business. It goes in electronically, and some changes take effect only on entry, not on the decision.

Commission Remuneration expressed as a percentage of the value of a deal brokered or closed, paid to an employee, commercial agent or intermediary. For employees it is part of pay; an external partner invoices it and is taxed on it as business income.

Commission agreement A contract in which the commission agent sells or buys in its own name on the principal’s account for a fee. For VAT it counts as two supplies, which changes invoicing and the tax point.

Commission-based pay Pay set as a share of sales, profit or deal volume, typically for sales staff. It is often combined with a basic time-based wage so the employee has a secure income even in a weak month.

Community property of spouses The joint property spouses acquire during marriage, including assets from a sole trade and a business share bought with their common money. Creditors of one spouse’s business may, under certain conditions, enforce against it.

Company car A passenger or commercial vehicle among the business assets of a company or sole trader. It is depreciated and its running costs are tax-deductible insofar as it serves the business, while private use creates taxable income or cuts the deductible costs.

Company car for private use A company car an employee or director may also use privately. For each month a non-cash benefit equal to a percentage of the car’s entry price is added to their pay, and both tax and contributions are due on it.

Company card A payment card issued on the business account to a director or employee for company purchases. Every payment needs a receipt and a purpose, or it becomes a cost that has to be explained, or a loan to the shareholder.

Company chart of accounts The list of synthetic and analytical accounts a particular company actually uses, drawn from the statutory chart of accounts. The company sets it itself for each accounting period and it forms part of its accounting records.

Company division A transformation splitting a company into successor companies or spinning off a part of it. Assets, liabilities and staff pass across according to the division project.

Company formation The first step in setting up a company: signing the articles of association or deed of foundation before a notary or electronically. The company itself only comes into existence on entry in the commercial register, and until then the founders act in their own name.

Company ID number The organisation identifier assigned when the company is registered. It identifies the firm to authorities and partners and has nothing to do with VAT.

Company in crisis The state where a company is insolvent or close to it because equity is too low against its debts. While in crisis it may not repay funding that substitutes for equity, typically shareholder loans.

Company phone A mobile phone and plan provided by the employer for work. If the employee also uses it privately, the private part must be quantified and either reimbursed by the employee or taxed as a benefit in kind.

Compensation for damage The duty to compensate the injured party for actual loss and lost profit caused by a breach of contract or law. In business dealings liability does not require fault and can be limited by contract only in part.

Compensatory benefit A sickness insurance benefit for a pregnant employee or a mother until the end of the ninth month after birth whom the employer moved to other, lower-paid work because the original job endangered her or the child. It makes up the difference in income.

Competency model The set of knowledge, skills and behaviours a company expects in each role, with defined levels. It provides a common language for recruitment, appraisal, development and pay.

Complaint claim Exercising the right arising from liability for defects in goods or services against the seller. For a consumer it must be settled within the statutory deadline, otherwise they may withdraw, and the company must keep a register of complaints.

Complaints policy A document in which a seller tells consumers how and where to exercise their rights for defects, how quickly a complaint will be handled and what they need to provide. An online store and a shop must publish it visibly.

Compliance Keeping the business aligned with law and internal rules — tax, GDPR, AML and employment law included.

Component depreciation A method of accounting depreciation in which significant parts of one asset with different useful lives, such as the roof, lifts and structure of a building, are depreciated separately. It shows wear more accurately than a single charge.

Compound interest Interest where credited interest is added to the principal and itself earns interest in the next period. For deposits it boosts returns, while for debts it means an unpaid balance grows faster than the interest rate alone suggests.

Concurrent employment An additional employment relationship an employee enters alongside the main one, with the same or another employer, for a different kind of work. Each relationship is assessed separately for pay, leave and contributions.

Conflict of interest A situation where the personal interest of a director, employee or adviser could influence a decision they are meant to take in the interest of the company or client. The law forbids some conflicts, and the rest must be disclosed in advance.

Consent to processing A freely given, specific and informed indication by which a person allows their data to be processed for a set purpose, such as a newsletter. It is only one of the legal bases, can be withdrawn at any time, and the company must be able to prove it was obtained.

Consolidated financial statements Statements presenting a parent and its subsidiaries as one business once intragroup balances are eliminated. They follow IFRS and do not replace each company’s own statements.

Consolidation Combining the statements of a parent and its subsidiaries into one set, as if they were a single company.

Construction all risks insurance Cover for a building or installation under construction against damage or destruction, for example from fire, storm, theft of materials or workmanship errors, often with third-party liability. Investors often require it from the contractor.

Construction supervision A qualified person who oversees that construction follows the permit and design and complies with regulations and quality standards. For larger projects the developer must appoint one, and their site diary entries matter in disputes.

Consultation An expert answer to a specific client question, charged from €55 per hour excl. VAT by topic and complexity.

Consumer A natural person buying goods or services outside their business or profession. Consumers enjoy strong legal protection, such as the right to withdraw from a distance contract within 14 days, and a trader cannot agree terms with them that are worse than the law allows.

Consumer contract A contract between a business and a consumer acting outside any business. The law protects the consumer strongly: unfair terms are void, information duties apply and distance sales carry a right of withdrawal.

Consumer credit A loan to a consumer for private purposes, governed by a special act that requires disclosure of the APRC, a creditworthiness check and a 14-day right of withdrawal. Firms offering such loans need a licence from the National Bank of Slovakia.

Consumer protection The body of rules protecting people buying for private purposes from unfair practices, unfair terms and dangerous products. The Slovak Trade Inspection is the main supervisor, and breaches are punished with fines.

Containerisation Packaging an application with everything it needs to run into an isolated container that behaves the same on a developer's laptop, a server or in the cloud. It simplifies deploying and scaling software.

Content calendar A plan setting out what content a company will publish, when and on which channel, such as articles, newsletters or social media posts. It keeps output regular and ties content to the season, for example tax deadlines.

Content marketing Winning customers with content that answers their questions before they start choosing a supplier. Unlike an ad, a piece written once keeps returning for months or years.

Contingent assets A possible asset or claim whose existence depends on an uncertain future event, such as a damages lawsuit the company has not yet won. It is not recognised in the balance sheet and is at most described in the notes.

Contingent liabilities Possible future obligations that arise only if an uncertain event occurs, such as a guarantee of another company’s loan or a pending dispute. They are not booked on the balance sheet but must be disclosed in the notes.

Continuous supply A supply of goods or services provided on an ongoing or recurring basis for agreed periods, such as rent, utilities, flat-fee bookkeeping or subscriptions. The tax point arises on the last day of the period to which the payment relates.

Contract for work A contract to produce a defined result, with an agreed price, deadline and handover. On IT projects the definition of the work and the acceptance criteria decide, not the hours logged.

Contract of carriage A contract under which a carrier undertakes to move a consignment from the place of dispatch to its destination and the sender pays the freight. International road transport follows the CMR convention, which also caps compensation for loss or damage.

Contractual penalty An agreed sanction for breaching a contractual duty, payable whatever the actual loss. It must be agreed in writing and set at a reasonable level, or a court may reduce it.

Contribution administrator The person appointed by the founders to receive and hold paid-up contributions until the company comes into existence. Their written statement that the contributions were paid is attached to the application for entry in the commercial register.

Contribution exemption The option for a student on a student work agreement, or a pensioner on an agreement, not to pay pension insurance up to a certain monthly income. It applies to one agreement only and has to be designated in writing with the employer.

Contribution margin Price less variable costs: what is left to cover fixed costs and profit. For pricing decisions it is a sharper guide than a percentage margin.

Contribution of a business Transferring a sole trader’s whole business, or part of it, into a company as a non-cash contribution. It is the usual route from trade licence to s.r.o., moving assets, liabilities and contracts in one step, and for tax the sole trader’s values can be carried on.

Contribution outside registered capital A cash payment by a shareholder into an s. r. o. beyond the capital contribution that raises neither registered capital nor their stake. It can later be returned tax-free if that does not harm the company’s finances.

Contribution payer A person obliged to pay social or health insurance: an employer, an employee, a self-employed person, a self-payer, a voluntarily insured person or the state. The employer pays for itself and for its employees, withholding their share from wages.

Controlling A management system joining planning, tracking of actuals and variance analysis so that management can step in on time. It relies on accounting data but looks forward, not back.

Controlling interest A share of voting rights that lets the holder decide company matters, usually a majority or a smaller stake backed by agreement with others. It triggers consolidation, related-party rules and, in listed companies, a mandatory bid.

Conversion rate The share of visitors who take the desired action — an order, enquiry or sign-up.

Conversion rate optimisation Systematically improving a website so a larger share of visitors take the desired action, such as buying or filling in a form. It relies on analytics, testing and removing friction.

Convertible loan An investor loan that turns into a stake at the next round. Until conversion the books treat it as a liability, not as equity.

Cookie consent Prior permission to store and read data on a visitor’s device for everything that is not strictly necessary to run the site. It must be freely given, withdrawable and provable from a log.

Cookies Small files a website stores in a visitor's browser to remember a login, a basket or settings, or to track behaviour for analytics and advertising. Apart from strictly necessary cookies, they require prior consent.

Cooperation agreement An unnamed contract in which parties agree to work together, for example on a project, sales or development, without forming a company. It must clearly set out how work, costs, revenue and rights to results are shared and how it ends.

Cooperative A legal person with an open number of members that runs a business or serves its members’ needs. Members are not liable for its debts, and membership changes without touching the founding documents.

Copyright Protection of a work, such as a text, photo, software or design, arising from its creation without registration. A company may use the work only under a licence or where it is an employee work.

Copywriting Writing text meant to sell or persuade: web pages, ads, emails, product descriptions. Good copy speaks the customer’s language, addresses their problem and, for professional services, must also be factually accurate.

Core Web Vitals Measurable page speed and stability metrics Google uses in ranking. They are measured on real visitors, not on a developer's laptop.

Corporate criminal liability A company's liability for crimes such as fraud, tax evasion, bribery or money laundering committed for its benefit by its officers or employees. Penalties include fines, forfeiture of property, a ban on activities or dissolution.

Corporate culture The shared values, norms and behaviours that shape how people in a company work, communicate and make decisions. It affects staff satisfaction and turnover and whether change can be made to stick.

Corporate income tax Tax on the company's adjusted result. The rate depends on the level of taxable income for the period.

Corporate social responsibility Voluntary activities beyond legal requirements for the benefit of employees, the community and the environment, such as volunteering, donations or ethical sourcing. It is gradually being replaced by more systematic ESG management and reporting.

Correcting an accounting entry A change to a transaction already booked, made by a reversal or an additional entry and never by overwriting. The correction has to show the original content, who made it and when.

Correction of prior-period errors How to record an error found after the financial statements for a closed period were prepared. Material errors are corrected through retained earnings or accumulated losses, immaterial ones through current costs and revenue, and the tax through an amended return.

Correction of the taxable amount The VAT Act procedure for changing a taxable amount and tax already declared: a cancelled supply, returned goods, a discount or a surcharge. The difference is declared forward, not back in the original period.

Corrective invoice A document that changes an invoice already issued and refers to its number. Depending on whether it lowers or raises the amount it is called a credit note or a debit note; the original invoice stays in the books.

Cost Resources consumed, expressed in money. Not every cost is tax-deductible and not every payment belongs to the period.

Cost centre A part of the company whose costs are tracked separately, such as a branch, department or project. It shows where the money really goes and underpins management accounting.

Cost of debt The price a company pays for loans and bonds, mainly interest and fees. Because interest is usually tax-deductible, the after-tax cost is used in WACC.

Cost of equity The return a company's owners expect for the money they put in and the business risk they bear. It does not appear in the accounts, but it is higher than loan interest and is part of WACC and investment decisions.

Cost of quality All costs of ensuring quality and of failing to: prevention, inspection, fixing defects in-house, and complaints or lost customers after delivery. Tracking them shows that preventing errors is cheaper than correcting them.

Cost per acquisition How much a company pays in advertising to gain one customer, order or other conversion. It is compared with customer value and margin to see whether a campaign pays off.

Cost per lead The cost of acquiring one lead, meaning a potential customer's contact details, for example from a form or a download. It matters in B2B, where a lead becomes a customer only after a long sales process.

Cost-benefit analysis A comparison of all the costs and expected benefits of a project or decision, expressed in money and spread over time. It is used for investments, EU-funded projects and software selection, and yields a net present value or payback period.

Costing Working out the cost of one product, job or hour of work. It shows which part of the business earns and which the rest subsidise.

Costing formula A fixed sequence of items a company uses to build the price of a product or job: direct materials, direct labour, other direct costs, production overhead, administrative overhead and profit. It ensures no part of the cost is forgotten in any quote.

Costing unit The specific output for which costs are calculated, such as one product, one hour of service, a tonne of material or a single job. Its choice determines how precisely a business knows what each product costs.

Costs by function Classifying costs by what they were incurred for: a product, job, cost centre, production, administration or sales. It is the basis of costing and management accounting and complements the by-nature classification of financial accounting.

Costs by nature Classifying costs by what was consumed: materials, energy, services, wages, contributions, depreciation or taxes. The Slovak profit and loss statement is structured this way, mirroring account class 5.

Country-by-country reporting Mandatory reporting by large multinational groups of revenue, profit, taxes paid, employees and assets in every country where they operate. Tax authorities exchange it, and in the EU part of it must also be published.

Court enforcement officer A person authorised by the state to enforce monetary and other claims under an enforcement title, for instance by wage deductions, seizing money from a bank account or selling movable property. On the creditor’s application the court assigns the case at random.

Court fee A fee for starting court proceedings or for a court act, such as filing a claim or a commercial register entry. For a money claim it is a percentage of the amount and is usually lower when filed electronically.

Court-appointed expert A specialist listed by the Ministry of Justice who prepares expert reports, such as valuations of a business, property or a non-cash contribution. The law requires such reports in many situations, and they serve as evidence in court.

Court-ordered dissolution A decision of the registry court to dissolve a company, for example when it has long had no director, fails to file financial statements or has no real registered office. Liquidation follows, and directors risk disqualification.

Coworking Shared office space where freelancers and small firms rent a desk by the day, month or longer, along with meeting rooms and services. It often also offers a registered office address and mail handling.

CPC Cost per click in paid advertising. On its own it says nothing: what matters is the cost of an order those clicks produce.

CPM Cost per thousand ad impressions. It fits campaigns about reach and awareness rather than an immediate order.

Craft trade licence A notifiable trade from the list annexed to the Trade Licensing Act, which requires proof of vocational training in the field. Without that proof it is run through a responsible representative.

Crawl budget The number of a site's pages a search engine is willing and able to crawl in a given time. On large sites it decides how fast new pages get indexed, and duplicates, broken links and endless filters waste it.

Credential stuffing An attack in which stolen usernames and passwords from another site are tried, because people often reuse passwords. Unique passwords from a password manager and two-factor authentication defend against it.

Credit card A payment card drawing on a bank credit line, with the debt repaid later, often after an interest-free period followed by high interest. With company credit cards every payment must be backed by a document for the books.

Credit note A correcting document by which a supplier reduces the amount originally invoiced — on returned goods, a claim or a later discount. It enters the VAT return in the period the customer received it.

Credit rating An assessment of the creditworthiness of a country, company or bond, assigned by rating agencies on a letter scale. A higher rating means lower default risk and cheaper funding, and banks also produce their own internal ratings when lending.

Credit register A shared database of loans and how they are repaid, which a bank consults on every application. It is not a blacklist: a clean history is recorded too, and that is what makes creditworthiness assessable.

Credit risk The risk that a customer, debtor or counterparty will not pay on time or at all. A company manages it through partner checks, credit limits, advance payments, trade credit insurance and monitoring due dates, and it appears in the accounts as impairment allowances.

Credit scoring An automated points-based assessment of a client's creditworthiness using income data, repayment history, credit register records and other factors. Banks and leasing companies use it to decide on approval and pricing.

Creditor default A situation in which the creditor fails to accept properly tendered performance or to provide necessary cooperation, for example by not collecting goods or not supplying documents. The debtor is then not in default and may claim the costs this caused.

Creditors’ committee A body elected by the creditors’ meeting that supervises the trustee in a bankruptcy and issues binding instructions to them. Where no committee is elected, the bankruptcy court exercises its powers.

Creditors' meeting A meeting of creditors in bankruptcy or restructuring that elects the creditors' committee, can replace the trustee and votes on key issues. Votes are weighted by the amount of admitted claims, so it pays to file a claim properly and on time.

Creditworthiness A lender’s assessment of the ability and willingness to repay, built from filed accounts, account turnover, payment history and collateral. A minimal reported profit weakens it even when the cash is there.

Criminal Office of the Financial Administration A Financial Administration unit with police powers that detects and investigates tax and customs crime, such as carousel fraud, smuggling or illegal trade in excise goods. It works with the police and prosecutors.

Criminal record extract A document showing whether a person has a final criminal conviction. It is needed for a trade licence, registering a director, certain jobs and public tenders, and authorities today often request it electronically themselves.

Crisis communication How a company informs customers, staff, the media and authorities during a crisis, such as a data breach or product recall. Fast, truthful and consistent communication protects trust better than silence.

Crisis management Preparing for and handling unexpected events that threaten a company, such as losing a key supplier, a cyber attack, an accident or the owner's departure. It covers a crisis team, scenarios, communication and recovery.

Critical path method A scheduling technique that finds the longest sequence in a network of dependent tasks, the critical path, which sets the shortest possible project duration. A delay to any task on the critical path pushes back the end of the whole project.

CRM A customer relationship system — contacts, opportunities, communication history and tasks.

Cross-border conversion A merger, division or cross-border transfer of a company’s seat between Slovakia and another EU country without the company being wound up. It requires a conversion plan, reports for shareholders and creditors and a legality check before registration.

Cross-border e-commerce Selling goods or services online to customers in other countries. It brings VAT rules on distance sales and OSS, the language and legal requirements of the customer's country, returns logistics and, outside the EU, customs duty.

Cross-border worker A person who lives in one country and works in a neighbouring one, commuting regularly. Tax on the wage follows the double tax treaty and social insurance follows EU regulations, and both need settling as soon as the job starts.

Cross-docking A logistics practice in which goods unloaded at a warehouse are sorted and loaded onto vehicles for customers almost immediately, without long-term storage. It saves warehousing costs and shortens delivery times.

Cross-site scripting An attack in which a malicious script is injected into a web page and then runs in other visitors' browsers, where it can steal their session or data. Proper input handling and security headers prevent it.

Crowdfunding Funding a project from the contributions of many people through an online platform. Depending on what the backer gets in return it is a pre-sale, a donation, a loan or a stake, and each form is booked and taxed differently.

CRS The OECD Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information. Banks and other financial institutions report balances and income on accounts of tax non-residents, and the authorities send the data to the owner’s country of residence.

CSAT The customer satisfaction score, gathered with a short question after a specific interaction, such as resolving a request or delivering an order, usually on a scale of 1 to 5. Unlike NPS it measures the immediate impression rather than overall loyalty.

CSDDD The EU directive on corporate sustainability due diligence, requiring large companies to identify and address human rights abuses and environmental harm in their supply chains. It indirectly affects their smaller suppliers too.

CSIRT A computer security incident response team that receives reports, analyses attacks and coordinates the response. Such teams operate nationally, by sector and in large companies, and also help attack victims.

CSRD The EU directive that turns sustainability reporting into a standardised, auditor-assured part of the annual report. After the Omnibus package it catches only very large undertakings, and it phases in by waves.

CTR Clicks divided by impressions for an ad or link. It shows whether the message attracts, not whether it sells.

Currency risk The risk that a change in exchange rates reduces the value of income or increases the value of liabilities in a foreign currency. It affects companies buying or selling outside the euro area and can be reduced by hedging or the choice of contract currency.

Currency swap A derivative in which two parties exchange amounts in different currencies and swap them back later at a pre-agreed rate, sometimes exchanging interest too. Companies use it to hedge foreign-currency loans or income against currency risk.

Current assets Assets that a company uses up, sells or turns into cash in its normal course of business, usually within a year: inventory, short-term receivables, cash at bank and in hand. Their amount and mix determine liquidity.

Current income tax The income tax computed in the tax return for the period, which the company actually pays to the tax office. It is recorded on account 591 and, together with deferred tax, makes up the tax expense in the profit and loss statement.

Current pension value An amount in euros representing the value of one personal wage point, adjusted every year in line with wage growth. It enters the formula for calculating old-age, disability and survivors' pensions.

Current ratio Current assets divided by current liabilities, showing how many times a company could cover its short-term debts by turning inventory, receivables and cash into money. A value of around 1.5 to 2.5 is considered healthy.

Custody agreement A contract under which a custodian takes an item to look after it and return it on request. It may be free or paid, the custodian is liable for loss or damage, and for money and documents notarial or attorney escrow is often used.

Custom CRM A system built around your processes instead of bending the company to fit a package — for non-standard business models.

Customer data platform A system that merges customer data from the website, online shop, CRM, email and stores into a single profile. It enables sharper segmentation and personalisation but requires strict consent management.

Customer effort score A measure of how easy it was for a customer to resolve an issue, such as a complaint or a support request. Low effort is strongly linked to loyalty, often more than delight.

Customer journey Every step and touchpoint a customer passes through, from first awareness of a company through purchase to service and repeat business. Mapping it shows where customers hesitate, leave or complain.

Customer success Proactive care for existing customers so they achieve their goals with a product or service, stay and buy more. Unlike support, it does not wait for problems but monitors usage and reaches out.

Customs clearance The procedure that releases goods into a customs regime on the basis of a declaration. Without the right classification and declaration, import VAT cannot be recovered.

Customs debt The obligation to pay import or export duty on specific goods. It arises when the declaration is accepted or a procedure is breached, and the debtor is the declarant, joined by the representative under indirect representation.

Customs declaration The act by which the declarant tells customs which procedure goods are to enter and with what particulars. Duty and import VAT depend on its accuracy, and a representative is liable for errors too.

Customs duty A charge on goods imported from outside the EU, calculated from the customs value under the tariff. Import VAT is assessed alongside it.

Customs duty relief Cases in which no duty is paid on import even though the goods would otherwise be dutiable, such as returned goods, personal belongings when moving, samples of no value or low-value consignments. Relief from duty does not automatically mean relief from VAT.

Customs office The Financial Administration body that collects customs duty, import VAT and excise duty, releases goods into customs procedures and controls imports and exports. In Slovakia customs offices are in regional cities, with branches at borders and airports.

Customs representative A person who handles customs formalities for an importer or an exporter. Under direct representation the represented party stays the debtor; under indirect representation the agent shares the customs debt with it.

Customs transit A procedure in which goods move under customs supervision between two customs offices with no duty or tax paid on the way. The declaration runs through NCTS and the holder covers the whole journey with a guarantee.

Customs value The base on which import duty is assessed, and the starting point for the import VAT base. It builds on the price paid for the goods, adjusted mainly for transport and insurance up to entry into the Union.

Customs warehouse A customs procedure in which non-EU goods sit under customs supervision with no duty or import VAT paid. The payment is not waived but postponed until the goods leave for free circulation.

Cut-off time The time by which a bank must receive a payment order to process it the same business day. If entered later, the payment goes out the next day, which can make a tax or invoice payment late.

CVE A public list of known software vulnerabilities in which each has a unique identifier and description. Companies and vendors use it to track which patches they need and to assess the severity of the risk.

Cyber insurance Cover for the fallout of an attack or a data leak: data restoration, downtime, crisis communication and claims from affected clients. The security questionnaire that becomes part of the contract sets the scope.

Cyber Resilience Act An EU regulation requiring makers of hardware and software with digital elements to design them securely, fix vulnerabilities throughout their life and report exploited flaws. Without compliance, products may not carry the CE mark.

Cybersecurity Act The Slovak act transposing the NIS2 Directive, requiring selected companies and institutions to implement security measures, report serious incidents and submit to inspection. Breaches carry high fines, and management is accountable too.

Cycle counting Counting inventory physically in parts throughout the year instead of in one big stocktake. The Accounting Act allows this for inventory if the company keeps stock records and reflects differences correctly at the reporting date.

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