subscription

Definition

A formal agreement to pay for ongoing access to a service, resource, or property over a set period—the modern way to ensure consistent income or perpetual FOMO depending on which side you're on.

Example Usage

The building management company moved to a subscription model for maintenance services, replacing sporadic contracts.

Source: Merriam-Webster via Free Dictionary API

Related Terms

Intermediate

accrual accounting

An accounting method that records revenues and expenses when they're earned or incurred, not when cash actually changes hands. It's the difference between promising to pay someone and actually opening your wallet.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

going concern

The assumption that a company will continue operating for the foreseeable future rather than liquidating, which underpins how financial statements are prepared. When auditors question this assumption, update your résumé.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Beginner

financing

The art of obtaining money for a venture, purchase, or operation, typically through loans, investments, or creative accounting that would make your grandmother worry. In real estate and business, it's the difference between owning something outright and owing a bank for the next 30 years. Everyone says they're 'exploring financing options' which usually means 'we're broke but optimistic.'

💰 Finance / Accounting

Beginner

Bear Market

A prolonged period when stock prices fall and investors pretend they saw it coming all along. Named after bears because, like encountering an actual bear, the best strategy is to play dead and hope it goes away before it eats your retirement fund.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Advanced

Derivative

A financial instrument whose value is derived from something else, like a bet on a bet, which is exactly as stable as it sounds. They played a starring role in the 2008 financial crisis, proving that when you stack enough abstractions on top of each other, reality eventually comes knocking.

💰 Finance / Accounting

Intermediate

write-down

The accounting equivalent of admitting you overpaid for something—a reduction in the book value of an asset that's lost value faster than a new car leaving the dealership. Companies take write-downs when reality crashes their optimistic valuation party. It's how CFOs say 'oops' in the annual report without actually saying it.

💰 Finance / Accounting

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tax increment financing

A public financing method using future property tax increases from development to fund current infrastructure improvemen...