Sale and leaseback A process by which a firm sells assets such as land, buildings or equipment to another firm (or institution) and leases the assets back for a specific period of time.

Secured Protected or guaranteed. A secured loan makes the lender better protected, by having the debtor place something of value as collateral as a guarantee of repayment (e.g., a chattel mortgage, debenture, etc).

Shareware Software that is available throughout the Internet. You can usually try it out for free, and if you plan to use it, pay a fee to be properly licenced.

Shotgun agreement An agreement between partners that gives either party the right to offer to buy all of the other’s shares in the event of a disagreement. The offer states a price, which can be accepted or rejected. If the other party refuses the bid, he/she must buy the offerer’s shares at the offerer’s offering price.

Small business A firm with 20 or fewer employees. This is the definition used in Statistics Canada’s monthly employment survey. According to the federal or various provincial governments, a small business is any manufacturing firm with fewer than 100 employees or, in any other sector, a firm with fewer than 50 employees. Using either definition, small business accounts for 80% to 90% of all businesses in Canada.

Software The programmed instructions that tell the computer what to do. There are two types: operating system software and applications software.

Spread Expression used among financial sources to describe the difference between the interest rate they pay on money and the interest rate received (e.g., cost is 12%, rate charged is 14%, spread is 2%).

Subject clauses Conditions that have to be met or escape options in an offer to purchase and sell, allowing the potential buyer or seller to back out if the deal starts to look unsatisfactory.

Subordinated debt An obligation where one lender has agreed in writing to rank behind another in claiming against an asset. The lender will receive his or her capital back only after the other has been fully paid out. A bank will often insist that shareholder loans be subordinated to the obligations to the bank. This is also known as subrogation.

Supervising Directing, coordinating, motivating, and controlling staff in getting things done.

Supplier discounts Price reductions given by suppliers based on the kind of customer (trade discounts) or the size of orders (quantity discounts), or to encourage prompt payment (cash discount), etc.

Sale and leaseback A process by which a firm sells assets such as land, buildings or equipment to another firm (or institution) and leases the assets back for a specific period of time.