Terms are often abbreviated for the purpose of conserving space in routine business correspondence. The following are common abbreviations used in tables and on business forms:
- acct. (account)
- Assn. (Association)
- bal. (balance)
- bldg. (building)
- CEO (chief executive officer)
- cont. (continued)
- dis. (discount)
- dtd. (dated)
- ea. (each)
- fwd. (forward)
- FY (fiscal year)
- G.M. (general manager)
- gr. (gross)
- hdlg. (handling)
- ins. (insurance)
- Ltd. (Limited)
- max. (maximum)
- min. (minimum)
- n.d. (no date)
- oz. (ounces)
- pd. (paid)
- qty. (quantity)
- recd. (received)
- sec. (secretary)
- treas. (treasury, treasurer)
- V.P. (vice-president)
- whsle. (wholesale)
The following is a list of symbols for terms used in business correspondence and in tabular and statistical material.
- at: @
- and: &
- percent: %
- dollar(s): $
- cent(s): ¢
- degree(s): °
- equals: =
- number (before a figure): #
- pounds (after a figure): #
- feet: ’
- inches; ditto: "
- paragraph: ¶
- section: §
- by; multiplied by: ×
Note that a space is usually required before and after the symbols @, =, & and ×:
- Yearwood & Boyce
- 2 shirts @ $19.95 each
Exception: No extra space is required before or after these symbols in upper-case abbreviations or in e-mail addresses.
- R&D at AT&T
- sales@wordlink.ca
Note also that no space is required between figures and the symbols %, ¢, #, ’ and ":
- 10% deficit reduction
- nearly 75¢ a pound
- 43# per bag
- 159’ × 259’ deck
Do not leave any space after the symbols $, #, ¶, § when they precede a figure:
- less than $278
- as mentioned in ¶21
- package #3412
- Refer to §1.28.
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