When you’re a young student, your English teacher will give you spelling tests to make sure you know how to write out and pronounce the words you’re learning to read. You’ll also need to be a good speller if you want to get top grades in university, or score well on your GRE in your pursuit of an advanced degree. But once you’re in the workforce, a proud holder of an MBA or a business owner supervising your own staff, you don’t need to worry so much about spelling, right? Wrong. As studies have shown, poor spelling has been proven to cause lost earnings, and that’s something that you should be concerned about whether you’re working for yourself or for someone else. It’s especially important if you’re just starting out in the job market; poor spelling skills might keep you from getting the job you want, or from advancing in your career. Pay close attention to your spelling from start to finish – and you can start with this list of 20 essential business terms you need to know how to spell correctly.

acknowledgment
waive
bankruptcy
unanimous
collateral
statistics
discrepancy
receipt
forfeit
illegible
lucrative
personnel
mortgage
affidavit
courteous
eligible
voucher
pamphlet
reimburse
schedule

Even if you employ a secretary to do your correspondence, it’s important that you know how to spell. Anyone can make a mistake, even with computer-assisted spell-checking, and it’s your responsibility to look over the text of a letter before you sign it. Not only will you be able to spot any errors in spelling, but you’ll also have one more opportunity to review your thoughts and the way you expressed them. Remember, written documents and advertisements are often the first thing that potential customers see. Sometimes they’re the only things that make someone decide to buy your product, or avoid your business. With well-written and correctly-spelled communication, you and your company are sure to succeed.

Cross-posted on the Ultimate Spelling blog.