QCE Business exam 2026Exam: Tue 3 Nov · QCAA timetable
Your QCE Business exam:
When and how long
- BusinessAfternoon session2 h plus 15 min perusal or planning time
QCAA's timetable sets the day and the morning (AM) or afternoon (PM) session, not a start time: your school tells you when to arrive. Durations are working time plus perusal or planning time.
Source: QCAA external assessment timetable 2026 (QCAA), checked Wednesday 23 September 2026. Where a start time, reading time or duration isn't shown, the timetable doesn't publish it: check your personal timetable and the front of your paper.
Paper format
We haven't been able to confirm the 2026 paper format from a public QCAA document yet, so we don't describe it here. Check the QCAA syllabus and your teacher's advice; our mock exam flags the same caveat.
What the exam covers
We don't have past-paper frequency data for this exam, so here is the course, module by module. Make sure every module is covered.
Night-before and exam-morning checklists
The night before
- QCAA's timetable fixes the day and the AM or PM session only: confirm the start time and venue with your school.[2]
- Check your calculator is on QCAA's approved list for the subject.[1]
- Pack a clear plastic container or zip-lock bag: black or blue pens, pencils, eraser, sharpener, a highlighter.[1]
- An ordinary watch only if you want one (no smart watch or fitness tracker); it goes on the desk.[1]
- Pack a water bottle (it stays on the floor).[1]
Exam morning
- Arrive at least 30 minutes before the start.[1]
- Switch your phone off and leave it in your bag outside the room.[1]
- More than 40 minutes late needs permission, and you lose perusal and planning time.[1]
- During perusal and planning time, don't write in the response book or touch your calculator.[1]
- You can't leave in the first 40 minutes or the last 10 minutes.[1]
Exam-week survival kit: The last 7 days · The night before and exam morning · What to bring, and what's banned · How to use reading time · If you're sick or something goes wrong · Handling exam-week stress.
Last-week revision
QCE Business cram sheet
Key formulas, definitions and facts copied from our Business syllabus pages. One page when printed.
Unit 1: Business creation
Debt finance is money borrowed from a lender that must be repaid, usually with interest, by an agreed date. The lender does not gain ownership.
Unit 2: Business growth
Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities. It is the pool of short-term funds the business uses to meet its day-to-day obligations.
For example, labour productivity is units of output per labour hour. A bakery that produces 600 loaves using 40 labour hours has a labour productivity of 15 loaves per hour.
Unit 4: Business evolution
Globalisation is the increasing integration and interdependence of economies, markets and businesses across national borders, driven by trade, investment, technology and the movement of people. For business, it means both wider markets and inputs and stronger global competition.