Feng Shui: An ancient Chinese practice, Feng Shui seeks to order the environment in such a way as to reduce negative energy, increase positive energy, radiate harmony, and promote health, happiness, and prosperity.
Files: Files refer to both paper documents and computer data containing pertinent information, records, research material, and other data important to the functioning of the home office.
Financial Software: Software programs such as Quicken, Quickbooks, and others, provide a way for the user to collect, store, analyze, and track financial data on a personal or professional level.
Folders: Folders refer to both cardstock-type paper envelopes used to categorize and store paper files and to the categories in which computer files are sorted and saved.
Forms: Forms are documents (paper) or pages (internet) with predetermined text which remains the same for every user as well as data-entry spaces (paper) or fields (internet) which each individual user personalizes with the appropriate information. Forms are often used to gather marketing information.
Formats: Computer files can be saved in different ways, which results in a different type of file. These different types are called file formats. If you save a file in Microsoft Word, it will default to being saved as a Word document, which has a .doc extension: the name of your file would be something like "myfile.doc." Generally, whatever program is being used to edit the document will determine how the file is saved, but files can also be converted from one format to another so that they can be used in different applications and on different computers.
Freelance: Many home office workers are what is now commonly referred to as freelancers, that is, they are self-employed individuals who provide services or products for a number of different clients. It's common for freelancers to have a varied array of clients and for the clients to change over time, which means that freelance work is often varied (and often the pay is, as well). Many freelancers enjoy the variety and challenge of working with different clients, but also crave the steadiness of contractual, extended work.
Function: A function is the specified use of a particular object, program, or tool (or person), though many objects, programs, and tools can be used for more than one function. A function is also a mathematical term that means, basically, that an element of one set is associated with an element of another set; computers use mathematical functions to complete programs and perform calculations.
