Turn-key refers to something that is ready for immediate use, generally used in the sale or supply of goods or services. The term is common in the mlm world, for instance, in which it refers to a prebuilt and managed website with your personal URL. The site will have various features such as contact forms and sing up pages.

This is commonly used in motorsports to describe a car being sold with drive train (engine, transmission, etc.) as a racer may prefer to keep the pieces to use in another vehicle to preserve a combination. Similarly, this term may be used to advertise the sale of an established business, including all the equipment necessary to run it, or by a business-to-business supplier providing complete packages for business start-up.

Use In Business

In a turnkey business transaction, different entities are responsible for setting up a plant or equipment and for putting it into operation. It can include contractual actions - at least through the system, subsystem, or equipment installation phase. It may also include follow-on contractual actions, such as testing, training, logistical, and operational support. It is often given to the best bidder in a procurement process.

Turnkey projects can also be extended, known as turnkey plus, where there is perhaps a small equity interest by the supplier and it will later on continue its operation through a management contract or licensing.

Turnkey is often used to describe a home built ready for the customer to move in. If a contractor builds a "turnkey home" they frame the structure and finish the interior. Everything is completed down to the cabinets and carpet.

Specific Usage

The term turnkey is also often used in the technology industry; most commonly to describe pre-built computer "packages" in which everything needed to perform a certain type of task (e.g. audio editing) is put together by the supplier and sold as a bundle. This often includes a computer with pre-installed software, various types of hardware, and accessories. Such packages are commonly called appliances.