what is turnover 
turnover is how quickly a company has replaced assets within a specific period it can include selling inventory collecting receivables or replacing employees it can also represent the percentage of an investment portfolio that is replaced turnover might also mean something different depending on the area you re in for instance overall turnover is a common synonym for a company s total revenues in europe and asia investopedia zoe hansenunderstanding turnoverturnover ratios calculate how quickly a business conducts operations this measures efficiency and how well it is using its resources two of the largest assets owned by a business are usually accounts receivable and inventory if any is kept both of these accounts require a significant cash investment and it is important to measure how quickly a business collects cash turnover ratios are used by fundamental analysts and investors to assist them in determining if a company is managing its finances and assets correctly common types of turnover ratios include companies can better assess the efficiency of their operations by looking at a range of these ratios good turnover ratios can be high mid range or low depending on what a company is measuring for instance a low accounts receivable turnover ratio means a company s collection procedures or credit issuing policies might need to be fixed however the same company might be a retailer with a high inventory turnover ratio which can indicate strong sales 