A
Accounting
Accounting consists of the company’s income, expenses, assets, own funds and liabilities. Accounting provides information for preparing the financial statements, for taxation, and for internal accounting.
Auditor
ensures that the income statement and balance sheet correspond to the records and that the records are correct. In addition, the auditor supervises the compliance of the company with existing laws and regulations.
B
C
Controller
Determines the purposes and means of processing personal data. If your business decides, why and how personal data will be processed, it is a controller.
Customer
The end user of the service or a travel agent.
D
Data subject
A natural person to whom the personal data relates, e.g. a customer or employee.
Depreciation
For example the purchase costs of machinery, furniture and equipment are written off as depreciation during their lifetime.
Distribution channels
Through distribution channels tourism entrepreneurs deliver their products or services to be purchased by the customer. A sales channel, such as Booking.com, or a visibility channel, such as a service provider’s own website, can serve as a distribution channel. A distribution channel may be direct, for example service provider – customer or multilevelled such as producer – tour operator/travel agency – end user. The number of levels affects the pricing and price level of the product or service and the time span of supply. Distribution channels improve the availability of products and services.
Dividend
is the share of profit paid to the owners of a company.
E
EBITDA
EBITDA margin indicates the company’s operating result before depreciation and financial items (interest + other financial expenses). The EBITDA margin is useful only when compared to companies in the same industry. The EBITDA is calculated in the income statement as follows:
Net sales (total operating income)
-Purchases during the financial year
-Initial inventory at the beginning of the period
+ Closing stock at end of period
-External services
-Staff costs
-Other fixed expenses
______________________
EBITDA
EBITDA-% = 100 x EBITDA/net sales
Ecological tourism, ecotourism
highlights the intactness and naturalness of the area. Aims at minimal strain on the environment.
Employer register
An employer who pays wages regularly must register as a regular employer to the employer register maintained by the Tax Administration.
F
Financial result
Describes a company’s ability to use its result to take care of loan repayments and the self-financing shares of its working capital and investments.
Financial statement
calculates the company’s assets and liabilities together. It shows the company’s result and its financial standing.
Fiscal year
is the company’s accounting period (usually 12 months).
Fixed assets
Fixed assets include machinery, equipment, buildings, land, and securities acquired for operating the company.
Fixed costs
are costs that remain the same regardless of the quantity of goods or services produced. Fixed costs include for example monthly-paid costs, such as rent of premises, accounting costs, and wages.
G
Gross price
Price of the product or service before deductions.
H
Hygiene Passport
Hygiene Passport can be obtained by taking hygiene proficiency training. The passport certifies that a person is able to handle unpacked and easily perishable foods. Training courses and tests are organised by instructors approved by Evira (Finnish Food Authority).
I
Income statement
is included in the financial statements and discloses all income and all costs of the financial year in the form of a subtraction table. The income statement shows the result (profit or loss) over a given period.
Individual, FIT (free independent traveller)
The type of customer who travels independently (not in a group). Often books accommodation and activities independently and travels by rental car or public transport at the destination.
Intellectual property rights (IP rights)
Intangible rights, such as copyright and industrial rights, for example patent rights, design rights, trade mark rights and trade name rights.
J
K
L
Leasing
A long-term rent agreement, usually on movables, for example equipment, tools, or real estate. The lessor remains the owner, but the renter receives the right of use against leasing payments.
Liquidity
A company’s ability to make payments.
Long-term liabilities
Debts with a longer payment period than one year.
M
Marginal taxation
A marginal tax is a tax on additional income. A special marginal taxation procedure is applied to travel agency services. As defined in the Value Added Tax Act, a travel agency or a company providing adventures, experiences or other leisure activities can be regarded as a tour operator.
Micro enterprise
is defined as an enterprise employing fewer than 10 employees.
N
Net price
The price of the product after discounts.
Net profit for the period
All income received by a company minus all costs and taxes.
Net sales
Total income from the sale of products or services, excluding VAT.
O
Occupational health care
An entrepreneur must organise occupational health care for his/her employees. For entepreneurs, occupational health care is optional but recommended.
Operating profit (EBIT)
Net sales of a company minus variable and fixed costs and depreciation. The operating profit is calculated as follows:
Net sales (total operating income)
-Purchases during the financial year
-Initial inventory at the beginning of the period
+ Closing stock at end of period
-External services
-Staff costs
-Other fixed expenses
= EBITDA
-Depreciation according to plan
= Operating profit
EBIT-% = 100 x operating profit/net sales
The EBIT-% is good if the figure is more than 10%, satisfactory if 5-10%, weak if less than 5%.
P
Payroll expenses
Statutory fees and insurance payable by the employer of the employee’s wages.
Personal data
means any data relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. The data can be used to identify the person directly (personal identification number) or indirectly (car registration number). Personal data includes, for example, name, address, email address, phone number, personal ID, picture, network identifiers, IP address, user name, and location information. In the future, biometric and genetic data will be regarded as personal data.
Prepayment Register
The Tax Administration keeps a register of self-employed individuals, companies and corporate entities engaged in trade, business, farm or other income-generating activities. A company entered to the prepayment register is liable to make regular prepayments, which ensures that customers or partners do not have to withhold tax on nonwage compensations they pay to the company.
Processing of personal data
The collection, storage, organisation, parsing, retaining, modification, retrieval, inquiry, use, disclosure, and dissemination of data, or otherwise making data available. Processing also includes combination, restriction, removal or destruction of data.
Processor (of personal data)
processes personal data on behalf of the controller, e.g. outsourced payroll management, IT provider, cloud service provider, occupational health care provider, marketing agency
Q
R
Restructuring
A company’s reorganisation for better profits. In restructuring, costs are cut, for example, by reducing the number of employees while aiming to increase profits and improve the circulation of capital.
S
Sales margin
Sales Margin % = 100 x sales margin/total operating income
Segment
can be formed by e.g. gender, age, education and income level. Segmentation, or targeting, is essential in order to direct marketing to the right customer group.
Self-employed person’s pension insurance
is a compulsory pension insurance scheme for entrepreneurs which ensures old-age pension, invalidity and rehabilitation aid to entrepreneurs.
Share capital
is mandatory in all limited liability companies. The initial capital invested and paid to the account of the company by the owners. Share capital must be at least EUR 2 500 in a private limited liability company.
Short-term liabilities
Debts maturing in less than a year.
Start-Up Money
is a discretionary allowance granted by the TE Services to a new full-time entrepreneur.
Statutory pension insurance premium (TyEL insurance)
All private sector employers must take care of the statutory pension security of their employees by the TyEL insurance. The TyEL insurance provides the employee protection in cases of old age, invalidity and death of the family provider. Tyel fee is paid of all employees between 18 and 67 years with a monthly income is at least EUR 59.36 (2019). Retired employees must also be insured if they are still working. Contract employers receive an invoice from TyEL and temporary employers settle their TyEL payments on a monthly basis to the pension insurance company.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors sell their products/services to other service providers, e.g. a activity company buys a dog sled safari from another provider. The service/product quality of the subcontractors must be similar to that of the main contractor.
Supplier
A contracting party that supplies goods or services to a company to be used as part of its product or service to the customer.
Sustainability
includes social, economic, cultural and ecological sustainability.
T
Target audience
Company’s customers, i.e. to whom a company’s products or services are marketed and who buy them.
Tax prepayment
is the tax payable in advance. The amount of a prepayment is based on the taxable profit of a business. Prepayments must correspond as closely as possible to the final tax of the fiscal year. Any overpaid tax will be refunded and the Tax Administration pays interest on the tax refund. If the entrepreneur has not paid enough, the missing part of the tax together with the accumulated interest must be paid in the final taxation.
Tour operator
A trader who compiles and sells or offers for sale travel packages directly or through another trader. Tour operator is usually the person who actually executes the travel package and plans it him/herself of with another person.
Travel agent
A trader who, on the basis of a mediation agreement, sells or offers tour packages compiled by the tour operator.
U
Unemployment insurance
An entrepreneur is obliged to insure his/her employees according to the Accidents Insurance Act.
V
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Value added tax is added to the sales price of the product. The general rate of VAT is 24% in Finland. It is an indirect tax which is always paid by the end user. Companies pay the VAT received from customers to the Tax Administration. A company can deduct VAT on products or services it has purchased from other companies. Only VAT registered companies can make the deduction.
Variable costs
are for example material and outsourced services costs, which vary according to the quantity of products or services produced.
W
Wellness tourism
The purpose of travel is primarily to improve wellness, both physical and mental. Wellness tourism does not aim to heal nor improve health, but to maintain and enhance a person’s wellness.
Working capital
Working capital is the money that is used to pay a company’s expenses before it receives payment from its customer.
Y
Z