Words you will meet
Glossary
Authorities, landlords and wholesalers use words that nobody explains. Here are the most common ones, explained as simply as it can be done.
Summary
This glossary explains the Swedish words you meet when you start a restaurant: egenkontroll, fettavskiljare, personalliggare, kontrollenhet, indexklausul and about forty more. Search in the box above if you are looking for a word.
- Aktiekapital
- The money you put in when you start an aktiebolag. At least 25,000 kronor. It becomes the company's money and may be used for purchases.
- Aktiebolag
- A company form where the company is separate from you as a person. If things go badly you lose what you put in.
- Allergener
- The fourteen substances that can cause allergy and that you must be able to tell guests about, for example gluten, nuts, eggs and milk.
- Arbetsgivaravgift
- A fee you pay to the state on top of the salary. 31.42 percent of the gross salary.
- Avtalstid
- How long the lease runs. Three to five years for restaurant premises.
- Besittningsskydd
- Protection when a lease is terminated. For commercial premises it is indirect, which means a right to compensation in some cases, not a right to stay.
- Bokslut
- A summary of the year's figures. Shows what the company has earned and what it owns.
- Break even
- The level of sales where income and costs cancel each other out. Below that level you lose money.
- Bruttolön
- The salary before tax. The figure at the top of the payslip.
- Dagskassa
- All the money that came in during one day, whatever the payment method.
- Deposition
- Money you leave with the landlord as security. Three months of rent. You get it back when you move out if the premises are undamaged.
- Egenkontroll
- Your written routines for keeping the food safe, plus the notes that show that you follow them.
- F-skatt
- An approval from Skatteverket that shows that you pay your tax. Required in order to invoice companies.
- Fettavskiljare
- A tank that catches fat before the water goes out into the drain. Required by the municipality and has to be emptied regularly.
- Följesedel
- The paper that comes with a delivery and shows what was delivered. Compare it against the invoice.
- HACCP
- A way to find the points in your cooking where something can go wrong, and to decide what you do about them. The base of the egenkontroll.
- Imkanal
- The duct that pulls smell and fat out of the kitchen, up through the building and out over the roof.
- Indexklausul
- A rule in the lease that raises the rent every year in line with prices.
- Inkråm
- The things and the content of a business: equipment, fittings, stock and customers, but not the company itself.
- Kassaregister
- The till that registers all sales. It has to be certified and reported to Skatteverket.
- Kollektivavtal
- An agreement between employers and the union about pay and conditions. Voluntary, but common in the business.
- Kontrollavgift
- A fee Skatteverket charges if, for example, the personalliggare is not in order.
- Kontrollenhet
- A small box connected to the till that stores all sales so that they cannot be changed afterwards.
- Likviditet
- The money you have available now. A company can make a profit and still have no cash.
- Livsmedelsanläggning
- The official word for your premises or cart where you handle food. It has to be registered with the municipality.
- Marginal
- What is left of the price when the cost of the goods is paid.
- Moms
- Tax on sales. Six percent on takeaway, twelve percent when the guest eats on the premises and twenty five percent on alcohol. The VAT is never your money.
- Nedkylning
- Cooling hot food fast. From plus sixty to plus eight degrees within four hours.
- OB-tillägg
- Extra pay for work at inconvenient hours, for example evenings and weekends. Set in the kollektivavtal.
- Organisationsnummer
- The company's identity number. Needed for the bank account, for contracts and for buying from wholesalers.
- Partihandlare
- A company with a licence to sell alcohol to restaurants. An ordinary shop is not allowed to sell to you.
- Personalliggare
- A list where everyone who works is signed in and out every shift. Mandatory in a restaurant.
- Prisbasbelopp
- An amount the state sets every year and that is used in rules, for example the limit for kassaregister.
- Provanställning
- Employment on trial for at most six months. Both sides can end it.
- Riskklassning
- The municipality's judgement of how risky your business is. It decides how often the inspection comes and what it costs.
- Råvarukostnad
- What the food costs to buy, counted as a percentage of sales without moms. Should be around thirty percent.
- Sanktionsavgift
- A fee the authority charges when a rule has been broken, for example opening without registration.
- Semesterersättning
- Twelve percent on the salary that replaces paid holiday for those who do not have it.
- Serveringstillstånd
- The municipality's permit to serve alcohol. It is personal and cannot be bought together with the restaurant.
- Snittnota
- What one guest pays on average. Counted as total sales divided by the number of guests.
- Spårbarhet
- That you can show where an ingredient came from and where it went. Saved delivery notes are enough.
- Svinn
- Food that is thrown away or disappears without being sold. Count it in kronor, not in kilos.
- Täckningsbidrag
- What a dish leaves behind once the ingredients are paid for. It has to cover rent, staff and profit.
- Varmhållning
- Keeping cooked food warm while it waits to be served. At least plus sixty degrees the whole time.
- Verksamt.se
- The shared site of the authorities where you register a company, apply for F-skatt and register for moms.
- Z-rapport
- The daily report from the till that shows the whole day's sales. It is saved and used in the bookkeeping.