LNF Cymru Literacy and numeracy for Wales

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Skills for Work: Business Finance

Business finance is a Skills for Work unit about how businesses get money, spend it, invest it and save costs, applied in a real enterprise activity such as a tuck shop, cake sale or fundraising stall. It is one 20 hour unit that learners combine with others into a Skills for Work, or Skills for Life and Work, Award, Certificate or Diploma, from Entry 1 to Level 2. Numeracy is central: counting and adding money at Entry Level, then budgets, records of income and expenditure, profit and loss, percentages, cash flow and break-even at Levels 1 and 2. Literacy sits in explaining and evaluating reasons and justifying money decisions.

Awarding body
WJEC
Level
Entry Level 1 to Level 2
Guided learning hours
20
First taught
September 2027
Amount of literacy work
Medium
Amount of numeracy work
High
Unit pack
Open the unit delivery and assessment pack
How this unit is assessed
  • Entry Level (Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3): Four learning outcomes with assessment criteria at Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 (unit codes S653E1, S653E2, S653E3). Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours. Learners must take part in an enterprise activity.
  • Level 1 and Level 2: Four learning outcomes with assessment criteria at Level 1 and Level 2 (unit codes S653L1, S653L2). Evidence goes in a portfolio, internally assessed by the centre and externally quality assured by WJEC. 20 guided learning hours. Learners must take part in an enterprise activity.

Skills that use Financial literacy

  1. Planning a budget and keeping within it

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    Entry 3 learners show how to keep spending within a set budget, Level 1 learners produce a budget or plan for spending and income, and Level 2 learners plan and monitor income and spending in their enterprise activity. The amplification sets out the budget plan: items, estimated costs, total planned expenditure, expected income and remaining balance or projected profit.

    Numeracy: Financial literacy, Strategic competence

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils are given £15 and a price list and choose stationery for a class box, adding up as they go so they do not overspend.
    Year 8
    Pupils plan a cake sale budget listing ingredients, quantities and prices, total the planned spending and work out the remaining balance from a £30 float.
    Year 9
    Pupils write a full budget for a school stall with estimated costs, expected income from a sales target and projected profit, then update it when one supplier's price rises.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 4, assessment criterion E3 4.4, page 6; Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 4, assessment criteria L1 4.1 and L2 4.1, page 8; Amplification of LO4, page 11

    “Produce a budget or plan for spending and income for a project or enterprise activity”
    Progression step 3

    • I can manage money, compare costs from different retailers and determine what can be bought within a given budget.

    • I can realise that budgeting is important.

    Progression step 4

    • I can appreciate the basic principles of budgeting, saving (including understanding compound interest) and borrowing.

    • I can prioritise and organise the relevant steps needed to complete the task or reach a solution.

  2. Recording income and expenditure accurately

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    Entry 2 learners suggest how income and costs can be recorded, Entry 3 learners produce a record of income and costs, and Level 1 learners record income and expenditure in their activity. The amplification lists receipts, tables, tallies and bank statements as ways to track money.

    Numeracy: Financial literacy, Representing data, Calculation, Communicating with symbols

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils keep a tally chart of tuck shop sales for one break time and turn it into money taken, writing amounts in pounds and pence.
    Year 8
    Pupils record a week of stall income and spending from receipts in a two column table and add each column to two decimal places.
    Year 9
    Pupils keep a running balance ledger for a fundraising event, checking each total against the cash count and finding the cause of any difference.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Entry Level, learning outcome 4, assessment criteria E2 4.3 and E3 4.3, page 6; Level 1 and Level 2, assessment criterion L1 4.3, page 8; Amplification of LO3, page 11

    “Produce a record of income and costs for an enterprise activity”
    Progression step 3

    • I can plan and track money and savings by keeping accurate records.

    • I can add and subtract totals less than £100 using correct notation, e.g. £28.18 + £33.45.

    • I can represent data using:

      • lists, tally charts, tables, diagrams and frequency tables
      • bar charts, grouped data charts, line graphs and conversion graphs
      • pictograms where one symbol represents more than one unit using a key
      • Venn and Carroll diagrams.
    Progression step 4

    • I can use efficient written methods to add and subtract numbers and decimals of any size, including a mixture of large and small numbers with differing numbers of decimal places.

    • I can refine methods of recording calculations.

  3. Working out profit and loss

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    The unit overview says learners represent amounts, compare costs and income and, at Level 1 and Level 2, calculate income, costs, profit and loss. No single criterion names profit, but the budget plan includes projected profit and Level 2 criterion 3.1 asks how controlling costs improves profitability, so the calculations sit inside the assessed budget and review work.

    Numeracy: Financial literacy, Calculation, Conceptual understanding

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils find the profit on a batch of 12 cupcakes that cost £4.80 to make and sell for 50p each.
    Year 8
    Pupils work out the cost per item of handmade bookmarks from the price of card, ribbon and packaging, then the profit at three different selling prices.
    Year 9
    Pupils compare planned and actual profit for a class enterprise, decide whether it made a profit or a loss on each product, and explain which costs made the difference.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit overview, Curriculum for Wales, pages 3 and 4; Amplification of LO4, page 11; Level 1 and Level 2, assessment criterion L2 3.1, page 7

    “work out simple relationships such as profit and loss”
    Progression step 3

    • I can use profit and loss in buying and selling calculations.

    • I can add and subtract numbers using whole numbers and decimals.

    Progression step 4

    • I can use the four operations and the connections between them, e.g. apply division as the inverse of multiplication.

    • I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.

  4. Percentages and best value comparisons

    Assessed: Taught, but not assessed

    The unit overview says Level 1 and Level 2 learners work with percentages, totals and simple forecasts, and suggested activities include comparing prices online and in store for best value and, at Entry Level, costing per item with coins or calculators. No criterion names percentages, so this numeracy supports the assessed spending decisions rather than being assessed on its own.

    Numeracy: Financial literacy, Calculation

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils compare the price per 100 g of two packs of flour and decide which is better value.
    Year 8
    Pupils work out a 20% discount on stall supplies and decide whether a bulk buy offer or the discount saves more money.
    Year 9
    Pupils find the percentage profit on each product sold at a school event and the percentage rise in costs if ingredient prices go up.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Unit overview, Curriculum for Wales, page 4; Suggested activities, page 12

    “They will work with percentages, totals, and simple forecasts”
    Progression step 3

    • I can make comparisons between prices and understand which is best value for money.

    • I can calculate a percentage, fraction and decimal of any quantity with a calculator where appropriate.

    Progression step 4

    • I can make informed decisions relating to discounts and special offers.

    • I can express one quantity as a percentage of another.

    • I can calculate a percentage increase or decrease.

  5. Using financial information to decide and review

    Assessed: In coursework (non-examination assessment, NEA)

    Level 1 learners use financial information to decide how to spend money, Level 2 learners make and justify spending decisions and review the impact of financial decisions on the success of the activity, and Level 2 learners analyse the benefits and risks of investment options. The amplification adds comparing planned and actual outcomes and funding conditions such as repayment terms and interest rates.

    Numeracy: Interpreting data, Logical reasoning, Financial literacy

    Getting pupils ready

    Year 7
    Pupils use last term's tuck shop sales table to decide which two snacks to restock and give one reason using the numbers.
    Year 8
    Pupils compare buying or renting a gazebo for three school events using the costs, and justify their choice with a calculation.
    Year 9
    Pupils compare a £200 loan with interest against sponsorship for a school enterprise, then after the event compare planned with actual figures and judge which decisions helped most.
    Show the specification wording and the LNF statements

    Where it is in the specification: Level 1 and Level 2, learning outcome 4, assessment criteria L1 4.2, L2 4.2 and L2 4.3, page 8; learning outcome 2, assessment criterion L2 2.3, page 7; Amplification of LO1 and LO4, pages 10 and 11

    “Use financial information to make and justify decisions about expenditure in a project or enterprise activity”
    Progression step 3

    • I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.

    • I can justify my procedures and predictions.

    Progression step 4

    • I can justify my procedures, predictions and conjectures.

    • I can understand the risks involved in different ways of saving and investing.

    • I can carry out calculations relating to VAT, saving and borrowing.

    Progression step 5

    • I can justify my procedures, predictions and conjectures.

    • I can draw conclusions from data and recognise that some conclusions may be misleading or uncertain.

Good to know

Links with other qualifications

The pack names Enterprise venture, Financial literacy, Teamwork and Using IT in the workplace as closely related Skills Suite units, with Ethical choices for responsible business decisions, and points to the VCSE and Foundation qualifications in Retail and Customer Service and to GCSE Business. GCSE Business shares sources of finance, costs, profit, cash flow and break-even, and GCSE Mathematics and Numeracy covers the same money calculations, percentages and reading graphs. Explaining and evaluating business decisions in writing and speech supports GCSE English Language and Literature.

Source: WJEC Business finance unit delivery and assessment pack, read with the WJEC Entry 1 to Level 2 Skills for Life and Skills for Work specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).