A business is a legal entity where independent individuals work together. In a normal business, workers hire other workers to do work or perform functions. The business owner is usually the person that hires humans for labor. However, in a partnership business, the business owner hires other individuals such as consultants, accountants, or designers. These individuals are considered partners in the venture.
There are two major types of business: limited and unlimited. Limited partnerships are a special type of limited liability company (LLC). A limited partnership is a separate legal entity from its owners. This means partners have limited liability with respect to the liabilities of the owners. Partnerships are able to engage in all business activities related to the business such as manufacturing, financing, selling, and advertising.
A sole proprietorship, on the other hand, is a different type of business structure. A sole proprietorship is similar to a corporation in that there is only one owner. However, the business is separate from its owners. It is important to remember that every business has both limited liability and unlimited liability.
The profit or loss in every business organization is calculated based on certain measurements. One measurement of profit is net income or earnings. Net profit includes the sales of assets or products that were sold, less the total cost of production, less the value of the services sold or the value of the investments used. Another measure of profit is gross profit which is equal to the difference between total cost of production and the value of the services purchased. A third measure of profit is net profit.
Profits and losses are always associated with business activity. When a business organization conducts business activities, it incurs some type of expense. Some examples of business activities that incur expenses are related operations such as: purchasing real estate; furnishing and equipping the building and grounds; and other related operations.
There are two primary reasons why a business activity may incur costs. The first reason is that the goods or services bought and/or sold are necessary or valuable to the operation of the business activity. The second reason is that the goods or services are an investment or substitute for cash. In order to determine whether the price of the goods or services is their intrinsic value or a necessary substitute, the profit made is adjusted by the quantity of money invested or the number of goods or services purchased.
