Man in front of a whiteboard, presenting to a group of workers, illustrating the blog topic How to Say “Let’s Get Down to Business” in Spanish

No matter the language you speak, the business and work industries have many phrases they use on a constant basis. Even if you change workplaces or your job, you’ll keep hearing the same phrases or corporate jargon.

That’s because those phrases are serious and formal without being mean and they’re also useful to express particular ideas.

“Let’s get down to business” is one of those phrases. It’s perfect to say that you have to stop doing unnecessary tasks or talk and start discussing or doing the main task or work.

But does this phrase exist in Spanish? How would you say it? Or how would you express the same thing?

These are important questions if you work in a Spanish speaking company, among a multilingual workforce, or with Hispanic employees or bosses.

So, here’s how to say “let’s get down to business” in Spanish.

Spanish Phrases for “Let’s Get Down to Business”

Here the two main phrases that we consider are the best way to say “let’s get down to business” in Spanish:

 

Pongamos manos a la obra

Literally this means “let’s put hands on the play”.

It’s a common idiomatic expression in Spanish to say that it’s time to start doing whatever you have to do. It’s the closest Spanish way of saying “let’s get down to business”.

You can use it in business and formal environments to talk to your employees, coworkers, business partners… Or you can use it in more casual situations.

Sometimes, you could also simply say: “¡Manos a la obra!”

For example:

  • Okay, ha sido mucha charla, así que pongamos manos a la obra. / Okay, it’s been a lot of chitchat, so let’s get down to business.
  • Hoy tenemos que terminar la presentación de ayer y crear los primeros bocetos para la nueva campaña de shampoo. ¿Listos? ¡Manos a la obra! / Today we have to finish yesterday’s presentation and create the first drafts for the new shampoo campaign. Ready? Let’s get down to business!

 

Entrar en materia

Literally, this means “to enter into subject/matter”.

It’s used to say you have to or are about to focus on and discuss the important and main topic of the meeting. It’s used in business and in workplaces a lot! Because it sounds formal and serious.

For example:

  • Dicho eso, vamos a entrar en materia de negocios… / That being said, let’s get into matters of business.
  • Ya perdimos mucho tiempo hablando del proyecto pasado, entremos en materia. / We just wasted a lot of time talking about the past project, let’s get down to business.
  • Antes de entrar en materia, debemos presentarnos. / Before getting to the main point, we must introduce ourselves.

Other Spanish Expressions to Say You Must Focus and Work

Besides “manos a la obra”, there are other expressions that also work as “let’s get down to business”. Because you can also use them to say you must start doing something and focusing on work and important tasks. Here are some of those phrases:

 

¡A trabajar!

Literally this translates as “to work”. It actually expresses “let’s work!”. So really, it’s a very common and normal phrase. You could also say “vamos a trabajar”.

For example:

  • Hola a todos, hoy es un día muy ocupado. ¡A trabajar! / Hello everyone, today is a very busy day. ¡Let’s get to work!
  • Ya nos excedimos del tiempo de descanso, vamos a trabajar. / We’ve exceeded our break time, let’s get to work.

 

Vamos a empezar

This means “let’s get started”. It’s good for those moments where you must start working or doing a task, but you haven’t.

For example:

  • Ahora que ya presentamos a todos, vamos a empezar para que no se alargue la junta. / Now that we’ve introduced everyone, let’s start, so the meeting doesn’t lengthen.

 

¡A darle!

This one is similar to “a trabajar” but it’s more casual and informal. Therefore, it’s not the best phrase to use in business and serious environments. It literally means “to give it”. But in reality, it’s used to say “let’s do it!”, “let’s go for it”, or “let’s get to it”.

You could also say “vamos a darle”.

For example:

  • ¡Nos falta mucho trabajo y ya casi es hora de irnos a casa, así que a darle! / There’s still a lot of work left to do and it’s almost time to go home, so let’s do it!
  • ¿Hay alguna pregunta? ¿No? ¡Okay, entonces vamos a darle! / Is there any question? No? Then, let’s get to it!

Let’s Get Down to Business and Learn Spanish with Fluency Corp!

Now that you’ve learned an important business phrase in Spanish, it’s important that you keep improving your Spanish knowledge. From vocabulary to fluency!

We know your company, employees, and yourself can grow into the international business world. All you need is a proper guide. If we’re being honest, Fluency Corp is a great option.

We offer corporate language classes for you and your workforce in more than 10 languages, including Spanish! Our lessons are instructed by native teachers and are completely customized to your needs and job. We offer:

Just tell us what you need, and we’ll plan accordingly.

The best of all is that through our Bellieu Method we encourage students to speak in their target language in every single class. It’s the best way to achieve language fluency!

Pick between our online or onsite classes. Then, contact us for a free consultation!