abbreviations: business terms and symbols

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.