Meaning & use
business case
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Meanings
nouncountablebusiness
A written or spoken argument showing why a project or purchase is worth the money and effort, usually with expected costs and benefits.
Grammar: Countable: a business case, two business cases. Often followed by for: a business case for hiring.
Patterns
- a business case for something
- make a business case for something
Maria wrote a business case for buying a new printer.
Without a clear business case, the board will not approve the project.
The team presented a strong business case for opening a second office.
nouncountablebusiness
A document that records the reasons, costs and risks of a proposed project so decision-makers can approve or reject it.
Grammar: Often treated as a formal document: submit the business case.
Patterns
- submit a business case
- approve a business case
The manager asked us to submit the business case by Friday.
The finance department reviewed the business case line by line.
A good business case includes a realistic budget.
Word forms
| plural | business cases |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a business case
- You will need to make a business case for the extra staff.
- build a business case
- We built a business case around lower running costs.
- a strong business case
- There is a strong business case for working from home.
- a business case for
- She wrote a business case for a new training program.
- approve the business case
- The directors approved the business case last week.
Synonyms and how they differ
- proposal
- A proposal is any suggested plan, while a business case must specifically argue the money-and-benefit reasons.
- justification
- Justification is a general word for reasons, but a business case is a structured document with costs and expected returns.
- rationale
- Rationale explains the reasoning behind a choice, and it usually does not include a budget the way a business case does.
- feasibility study
- A feasibility study asks whether something can be done, whereas a business case argues whether it should be done.
Word family
- business noun
- work done to make money; a company
- businesslike adjective
- efficient and practical
- businessman noun
- a man who works in business
- business plan noun
- a document describing how a company will operate and grow
Commonly confused: business case or business plan?
business case vs business plan
A business plan describes how a whole company will run, while a business case argues for one specific project or decision.
Practice
Before the company buys new software, the IT manager must write a ___ explaining the costs and benefits.
Choose one answer.
A business case argues for one specific purchase. A business plan covers a whole company, a court case is a legal matter, and a case study looks back at an example.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “business case”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.