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RESOURCES · GLOSSARY

325 compliance terms, in plain English.

Every term you will meet on a state form, an IRS instruction, or a lawyer's email, defined in one plain sentence before any fine print. Each entry links to the guide that goes deeper.

Written by File.Business specialists Reviewed July 2026 325 terms
Search the terms → Learn the system instead
01 · Look it up

Type the word that stopped you.

The filter narrows the full index as you type. Every entry starts with one plain sentence, then links to the guide behind it.

325 TERMS
Registered agent 83(b) election EIN Annual report Operating agreement
325
terms, defined plainly
1
plain sentence before any fine print
790+
guides the entries link into
0
legalese left unexplained
02 · The full index

All 325 terms, A to Z.

#
1099 Contractor → 401 Plan → 409A Valuation → 501 Organization → 83 Election → ® Symbol → ™ Symbol →
A
Acceleration Clause → Acceptance → Accounts Payable → Accounts Receivable → Accredited Investor → Accrual Accounting → Acquisition → Actual Authority → ADA → Agency Relationship → Agent → Amortization → Annual Report → Anonymous LLC → Anti-Dilution → Apparent Authority → Arbitration → ARR → Articles of Incorporation → Articles of Organization → Asset Purchase → At-Will Disclaimer → At-Will Employment → Attorney-Client Privilege → Authorized Shares →
B
Background Check → Balance Sheet → Beneficial Ownership Information → Benefit Corporation → Bill of Sale → Blue Sky Laws → Breach of Contract → Burn Rate → Business Judgment Rule →
C
C-Corporation → CAC → CapEx → Capitalization Table → Cash Accounting → Cash Flow Statement → CCPA → Cease and Desist Letter → Certificate of Good Standing → Churn Rate → Class Action → Close Corporation → COGS → Collateral → Commingling → Common Stock → Compensatory Damages → Conflict of Interest → Consideration → Contract Breach → Contract Capacity → Contract Damages → Contract Formation → Contract Representation → Contract Warranty → Contributory Infringement → Conversion Rights → Convertible Note → Cookie Policy → Copyright → Corporate Bylaws → Corporation → Counter-Offer → CPA → CPRA → Current Ratio →
D
Data Breach → Data Room → DBA → Debt-to-Equity Ratio → Declaratory Judgment → Default → Defend Trade Secrets Act → Definitive Agreement → Deposition → Depreciation → Derivative Lawsuit → Design Patent → Dilution → Disclosure Schedule → Discount Rate → Discovery → Disregarded Entity → DMCA → DMCA Safe Harbor → DMCA Takedown → Domestic Entity → Double Taxation → Drag-Along Right → Due Diligence → Duty of Care → Duty of Loyalty → Duty to Mitigate →
E
Ea → Earnout → EBITDA: → Economic Nexus → EEOC → Effectively Connected Income → Employer Identification Number → Employment Contract → Entire Agreement Clause → ERISA → Escrow: → Exempt Employee → Expectation Damages →
F
Fair Use → FATCA: → FBAR: → FCRA → FDAP Income → FICA: → Fiduciary Duty → FIFO → Financial Audit → Financial Compilation → Financial Crimes Enforcement Network → Financial Review → Flow-Through Entity → FLSA → FMLA → Force Majeure → Foreign Entity → Foreign Qualification → Foreign Tax Credit → Form 1040 → Form 1042 → Form 1065 → Form 1099-MISC → Form 1099-NEC → Form 1120 → Form 1120-S → Form 2553 → Form 5472 → Form 8832 → Form 940 → Form 941 → Form S-1 → Form SS-4 → Form W-2 → Form W-8BEN → Form W-8BEN-E → Form W-9 → Franchise Tax → Freedom to Operate → FSA → FUTA: →
G
GAAP → GDPR → Goodwill → Governing Law → Gross Margin →
H
HIPAA → Holding Company → Hr → HSA →
I
IFRS → Income Statement → Indemnification → Indemnity Basket → Indemnity Cap → Independent Contractor → Individual Taxpayer Identification Number → Injunction → Intangible Assets → Intercreditor Agreement → Interrogatories → Invention Disclosure → Inventory → Investor Rights Agreement → IP Assignment → IP Assignment → IP Infringement → IPO → IRA → ISO 27001 → Issued Shares →
J
Jurisdiction Clause →
L
Licensing Agreement → Lien: → LIFO → Limited Liability Company → Liquidated Damages → Liquidation Preference → LLC Manager → LLC Member → LTV →
M
M&A → MAC → Mediation → Membership Interest → Merger: → Motion to Dismiss → MRR →
N
Net Margin → Nexus: → Non-Disclosure → Non-Disclosure Agreement → Non-Disparagement Clause → Non-Exempt Employee → Non-Obviousness → Noncompete Agreement → Noncompete Agreement → Nonprofit → Nonsolicitation Agreement →
O
Offer → Operating Agreement → Operating Margin → Operating State → OpEx → Oral Contract → Overtime →
P
Par Value → Pass-Through Taxation → Patent: → Payroll Tax → PCI-DSS → Personal Guaranty → PHI → Physical Nexus → Piercing the Corporate Veil → PLLC → Post-Money Valuation → PPA → Pre-Money Valuation → Preemptive Rights → Preferred Stock → Priced Equity Round → Principal → Prior Art → Privacy Policy → Promissory Note → Provisional Patent Application → PTO → Punitive Damages →
Q
Quantum Meruit → Quarterly Estimated Tax → Quick Ratio →
R
R&W Insurance → Ratification → Ratification → Registered Agent → Registration Rights → Reliance Damages → Representations and Warranties → Respondeat Superior → Restitution → Retained Earnings → Revocation → Right of First Refusal → Royalty → Rule 506 → Rule 506 → Runway: →
S
S-Corporation → SAFE: → Sales Tax Nexus → Schedule C → Schedule K-1 → Scope of Employment → SEC → Section 230 → Self-Employment Tax → SEP-IRA → Series A → Series B → Series C → Series LLC → Severability Clause → Severance → SOC 2: → Solo 401 → Specific Performance → Specific Performance → State of Formation → Statute of Frauds → Statute of Limitations → Stock Purchase → Stock Purchase Agreement → Subordination Agreement → Summary Judgment → SUTA: →
T
Tag-Along Right → Tax Treaty → Tax Withholding → Term Sheet → Terms of Service → Title VII → Trade Dress → Trade Secret → Trademark → Trademark Dilution → Trademark Tarnishment → Transaction Closing →
U
UCC → UCC-1 Financing Statement → Unemployment Insurance → Unenforceable Contract → Uniform Trade Secrets Act → USPTO → Utility Patent →
V
Valuation Cap → Vesting → Vesting Cliff → Vesting Schedule → Vicarious Infringement → Void Contract → Voidable Contract →
W
W-2 Employee → Work for Hire → Worker Misclassification → Workers Compensation → Working Capital → Written Contract →
03 · Why trust this

Definitions with a working spine.

Plain sentence first
Every entry opens with a definition your neighbor would understand, before any statute numbers or exceptions appear.
Readable by design
Linked, not stranded
A definition tells you what a thing is; the linked guide tells you what to do about it. Entries route to the deep guide every time one exists.
Cross-linked
Kept current
When a rule changes meaning, like BOI reporting did, the entry is rewritten rather than left describing the old world.
Reviewed · July 2026
BosAI speaks this language. Ask it any term with your business as the example, and it explains until it clicks, using these entries as its source.
04 · Questions

The glossary, answered.

Is a glossary entry enough, or do I need the full guide?

The entry is enough to keep reading whatever stopped you; the guide is for when the term describes something you actually have to do. Every entry links onward, so start with the definition and follow the link only when it is your problem. For the system the terms live in, Compliance Basics is the front door.

How is this different from the FAQs?

The glossary answers "what does this word mean"; the FAQs answer "what should I do in this situation." If your question has a verb in it, the FAQ library is usually the faster path.

A term I met is not in the index. Where else can I look?

Try the library search, which covers every guide, not just definitions. If it is still missing, tell a specialist: missing terms get written, and yours would not be the first entry that started as a reader's question.

Are the definitions legally precise?

They are accurate and honest about being summaries. Where precision matters, the entry says so and the linked guide carries the exact rules with their sources. A one-sentence definition is a map, not the territory, and the glossary never pretends otherwise.

Why do some terms differ by state?

Because states name the same thing differently: one state's annual report is another's statement of information or decennial report. Entries note the aliases, and your state guide uses the name your state actually puts on the form.

Can I suggest a better wording?

Please do, via contact. Clarity is the entire product here, and entries get rewritten when someone shows us a plainer sentence than ours.

05 · Act on it

Know the words. Then learn the system.

Vocabulary is the start, not the point.

The terms make sense together inside the compliance system they describe. One page teaches that system from zero, in order.

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