Glossary

accounts payable: refers to money owed to suppliers for goods or services which have already been received and for which payment is due. It is also known as the purchase ledger or bought ledger.

accounts receivable: refers to money that is owed to a company by its customers for products and services provided on credit. It is also known as the sales ledger.

accrual: refers to something that is owing at the end of a financial period i.e. expenses which have been incurred in the period but will be invoiced after the period end. Accruals allow you to include the cost of the expense in the accounts for the period in which it was incurred, regardless of the period in which it is paid.

ADSL: Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line. A way of making use of existing analogue telephone lines to provide high-speed digital Internet access. As the connection is asynchronous, the download speed is typically higher than the upload speed.

alias code: where multiple stock codes exist for the same product, the base code is your preferred code. The other codes for the item are usually referred to as alias codes. It is not necessary to set up each code with a separate product file, alias codes allow you to attach all codes for the same product to the base product code file allowing for easier stock control.

application: a set of computer programs designed for a specific task or use that make up software for the user. Application software is also known as end-user programs.

asset: a debit item on the balance sheet representing what a firm owns. Assets are bought to increase the value of a company or to benefit the company’s operations. Assets are either current or fixed. Current assets will be consumed within one year. Generally this includes things like cash, accounts receivable and inventory. Fixed assets are those that are expected to keep on providing benefit for more than one year such as equipment, buildings, real estate etc.

back order: the portion of an order that cannot be delivered at the scheduled time due to insufficient stock, but will be delivered at a later date when available.

back to back ordering: raising a purchase order specifically for the goods required by a single sales order. It is known as single order shopping on Power-Gx.

Balance Sheet: Also called the statement of financial condition, it is a summary of a company's assets, liabilities, and net worth on a specified date.

barcode: a series of vertical bars of varying widths, in which each of the digits zero through nine are represented by a different pattern of bars that can be read by a laser scanner. The barcodes are commonly found on consumer products and used in electronic point of sales.

barcode reader: also known as a barcode scanner or laser scanner, is an electronic device used to read barcodes and converts them into digital data that is transferred to a computer. Readers may be attached to Electronic Point of Sale systems for sales recording and stock control.

base code: where multiple stock codes exist for the same product, the base code is the one created as a stock file on your system. The other codes for the item are attached to this base code, rather than creating them as separate stock files, and are usually referred to as alias codes. The base code is usually the product code of your main supplier.

batch: a group of transactions e.g. customer payments, that are collected and processed on the system at one time.

batch control total: the sum of a particular field in a collection of transactions, used as a control total to ensure that all data has been entered into the computer. For example, when posting payments from customers, you would manually calculate the sum of all payments in the batch and enter this as your batch control figure. After entering all the payments onto the system, the total is checked with the computer's sum of the payments. If it does not match, an error has been made and the source documents are manually checked against the computer's listing.

BOSSF groups: a classification system, based on Industry Standard Product Classification, used to categorise office products through product groups and subgroups. For example category (group) 015 = writing instruments, cohort (sub-group) 100 = ballpoint pens. See www.bossfederation.co.uk for details.

broadband: comes from the words broad bandwidth and is used to describe a high-capacity, communication channel for sending and receiving large amounts of data, video or voice information.

brought forward: accountancy method whereby the outstanding balance on an account at the end of a financial period is brought forward to the new period as one amount. This method is considered outdated, creating queries as there is no breakdown of the transactions that make up the brought forward balance. The alternative is 'open item' accounts.

browser: a program that accesses and displays files and other data available on the Internet and other networks.

button: a defined area of the screen, usually designed to look like a pushbutton, which, when clicked with a mouse, will perform a given action.

cache: a temporary storage area on the hard disc of a computer which duplicates original values such as graphics and web pages that are stored elsewhere, usually on a server or a website. When a page or form is revisited on that computer, it will use the copied cache version rather than re-fetching and re-computing the original data, making the access time lower second time round. Use of cache speeds up retrieval, reduces network traffic and decreases load on the server.

call back: a date and time an operator set themselves or another operator to call a customer or prospect.

cell: a box or other unit of storage on a spreadsheet or similar array, at the intersection of a column and a row. It can be used to hold one unit of information such as a character, word or numeric value.

check box: a selection feature used in a graphical user interface (GUI) when there are lists of options and the user may select any number of choices, including zero, one, or several. Each check box is independent of all other check boxes in the list, so selecting one box does not deselect the others.

closed order: a sales order that has been invoiced. It cannot be amended or deleted.

commodity codes: codes allocated to different classes of goods according to the UK Tariff, published annually by HM Customs & Excise. Power-Gx provides a field in Product Details to attach the correct commodity code to the product. The correct commodity code ensures that correct amounts of duty and VAT are paid and any export refunds due are correctly received. As an exporter you are legally responsible for the correct Tariff classification of your goods. For further information refer to www.hmrc.gov.uk

context menu: the term used for menus which popup when you right-click an item in a graphical user interface. They offer a list of options which vary depending on the item right-clicked, as the menu is always appropriate to the context of the item. It is also known as a shortcut menu. The menu is displayed on top of the existing text or image and disappears when a menu option is selected or left-click the screen.

contra postings: postings used when a supplier is also a customer and there are outstanding invoices on the credit and debit accounts.

country codes: codes set up to represent countries. They are assigned to customer and supplier files to indicate the country they trade from. Power-Gx uses the country code to determine the VAT code applicable to transactions.

credit: an accounting term referring to a negative (-) entry against a nominal account. Credits are recorded on the right side of the ledger. The opposite of a credit is a debit. Credit is abbreviated to CR. Credit transactions decrease assets, cost of sales and overheads, and increase liabilities and sales.

CRM: Customer Relationship Management. CRM entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customers, whether it be pre-sales, sales or service related. It is the process of recording and analysing customer buying habits in order to offer them goods and services they will be interested in. CRM is often referred to as the practice of building long-term customer relationships to promote customer loyalty. CRM is also an information industry term for software solutions, such as Power-Gx, that help a business manage customer relationships in an organised way.

CSM: Customer Support Management. Providing technical support and maintenance for products you have sold to a customer, or they have sourced elsewhere. A contract is issued defining the terms of the support agreement. This contract is often referred to as a Service Level Agreements (SLA).

CSV: Comma-Separated Values. A file format used as a portable representation of a database. Each line is one entry or record; the fields in the record are separated by commas. This format is often used to import data into spreadsheet software.

currency codes: codes set up to represent currencies. They are assigned to customer and supplier files to indicate the currency they trade in. Currency rates are set on the system to convert foreign currency transactions into their Sterling value.

cursor: a bright, usually blinking, movable indicator on a display, marking the position at which the next character typed will be entered. The cursor is typically a straight vertical line or I-shaped flashing object. You can use the mouse pointer to click the position on screen where you would like the cursor to be, allowing you to type there.

customer type: used to define the customers according to how you want to classify them. For example trade customers, retail customers or stationery customers, print customers etc. The market class field is already available for defining the customer's industry sector so customer type should not be used for this.

data source: in mailmerge, this is the file containing all the variable information, in the form of fields, that are to be merged into a document. For example, the data source may contain a list of names and addresses to be merged into a letter. Information from the data source is merged into letters or labels at the locations marked by merge fields.

debit: a book keeping term referring to a positive (+) entry against a nominal account. Debits are traditionally entered on the left side of the ledger. (The word debit comes from the Latin word debere which means left). The opposite of a debit is a credit. Debit is abbreviated DR. Debit transactions increase assets, cost of sales and overheads, and decrease liabilities and sales.

desktop: the term for the computer screen background display on which windows, icons, menus and dialog boxes appear. The electronic desktop is a metaphor for an actual desk representing the kinds of objects you might find on a real desk, such as documents, reference sources, writing tools, phone books and project folders.

double-entry book-keeping: standard accountancy practice for recording financial transactions as both a debit and a credit. The system is based on the concept that a business can be represented by a number of different accounts, each describing an aspect of the business in monetary terms. Every transaction has a 'dual effect' increasing one aspect and decreasing another, in such a way that the sum of the different accounts is always zero, leading to a set of balanced debit and credit accounts.

drill-down: in information technology, to drill-down means to move from summary information to the detailed data that created it. To drill-down through a database is to access information by starting with a general category and moving thought the hierarchy of field to file to record. When you drill-down you perform data analysis on a child attribute, exploring multi-dimensional data by moving from one level of detail to the next.

drop-down menu: also called a pull-down menu, it is the common type of menu used with a graphical user interface (GUI). Clicking the down facing icon

causes the menu items to “drop down” from that position and be displayed. Options are selected by clicking the menu item.

due date: the date that payment is due for an invoice. In Power-Gx Sales, a customer invoice due date is calculated by adding the number of days credit the customer is allowed to the transaction based on the payment due date indicator on their account, i.e. from invoice date, from month end or from period end. In Power-Gx Purchases, a supplier invoice due date is calculated based on the transaction date entered when the invoice is entered on the system plus the number of days credit on the account. Again this will be added according to the payment due date indicator on their account.

EDI: Electronic Data Interchange. The electronic transfer of business transactions, such as orders, confirmations and invoices, between different companies using networks or the internet.

ellipses: from the Greek word for omission, it is written as three equally spaced full stops (…) and is used to indicate intentionally omitted or missing material, especially in quoted text. In computing, an ellipsis suffix on a data field, menu item or command button indicates that the command requires additional information from the user in order to be performed. It provides a visual cue that selecting the item or clicking the ellipsis button will display an additional dialog box or window from which you can choose options or enter data.

Email Client: Software that is used to access and manage emails, typically this is Microsoft Outlook.

field: a space allocated for a particular item of information. For example a prospect record has fields for company name, telephone number, postcode etc. Each field must have a field name. Power-Gx refers to these field names as dictionaries.

financial period: an accounting period in your fiscal year, usually corresponding to calendar months, though not necessarily beginning with January. It is possible to run a 13 month fiscal year with each financial period last 4 weeks exactly rather than a calendar month.

fiscal year: Accounting period covering 12 consecutive months over which a company determines earnings and profits. The fiscal year serves as a period of reference for the company and does not necessarily correspond to the calendar year.

future postings: transactions posted into a financial period ahead of the current one on the system. Future postings can be used to post transactions for a new financial period onto the system, even if the ledger is still open for a previous financial period. This saves you waiting until the ledger has been closed to enter the new transactions.

gap analysis: a business assessment tool enabling a company to compare its actual performance with its potential performance. In Power-Gx it analyses the products bought by customers, identifying accounts who are not buying some of the products that you could potentially supply to them.

global discount: a discount category set up in Gx SOP\Category and Colour Band Discounts that is assigned to a customer in Gx Sales\Customer Details and is applied to all products they order if there is no higher level in their price and discount hierarchy. Discounts are never applied to nett priced products.

greyed out: refers to functions in a computer program that are visible but not available for selection. They appear in lighter grey font that options that are available for selection.

GRN: Goods Received Note. A supplier delivery note acting as proof that a purchase order has been delivered. Power-Gx uses a program called Receive Goods Into Stock to book in purchase orders that have been received. The Receipt Reference fields is used to records the supplier GRN reference.

gross profit margin: calculation of gross profit divided by sales, expressed as a percentage (i.e. gross profit/sales * 100). The percentage represents the amount of each £ of sales that results in gross profit.

GUI: Graphical User Interface. A GUI is a human-computer interface; a way for humans to interact with computers that uses windows, icons and menus which can be manipulated by a mouse, and often to a limited extent by a keyboard as well.

hardware: is a comprehensive term for all of the physical parts of a computer. It refers to objects that you can actually touch e.g. discs, disc drives, display screens, keyboards, mouse, printers etc.

html: HyperText Markup Language, the authoring language used to structure text and multimedia documents used extensively on the World Wide Web. It allows you to set up links between documents using a variety of markup symbols and codes inserted in the file, often referred to as tags.

icon: a small, on-screen, pictorial representation of a program or software function or feature in a graphical user interface (GUI). Users can select the program or function by clicking on its icon.

ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network. Digital telephone systems capable of transmitting data much more quickly than conventional analogue systems and without the need for modems.

journal: an accounting term for a facility which enables the transfer of actual charges between nominal cost codes. Generally journals are used to ensure that accounts for a financial period accurately reflect all items of income and expenditure within that period.

JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group. A standard image compression mechanism. JPEG compression is "lossy," meaning that the compression scheme sacrifices some image quality in exchange for a reduction in the file's size.

liabilities: the debts and financial obligations of a business, recorded as credits in the balance sheet. Examples include loans, accounts payable, mortgages, deferred revenues and accrued expenses. Current liabilities are debts payable within one year, while long-term liabilities are debts payable over a longer period.

login: the combination of username and password that must be entered to authenticate your identity when accessing a computer system.

mail merge: a word processing feature for taking data from a database (e.g. names and addresses) and inserting it into a document such as a letter, to produce multiple personalised copies. It requires two files: the Data Source which contains the variable information from the database, and the Main Document which contains the template information that remains the same, e.g. the letter.

mailshot: an item of mail sent to many recipients as part of a direct marketing campaign.

mailshot category: a code assigned to a customer or prospect to identify the mailing category they fall into. You can then produce target mailshots by these categories.

market class: used to define the market or industry sector a customer or prospect is in, for example education, health, legal, manufacturing etc.

matrix pricing: a discount structure where a discount category is divided into products classes (colour bands on Power-Gx), and varying levels of discount can be assigned to each product class. Customers can then be assigned a discount category.

merge field: a field used as a placeholder in mailmerge to identify which item of variable information from a data source e.g. customer name, city, postcode etc, will be printed in its location on a document such as a letter.

mouse pointer: a small shape, typically an arrow, on the screen that follows the movement of the mouse. It can be used to point to objects on your screen and you can click or double-click the mouse button over an object to perform an action such as select a menu item or open a program. It can also be used to position the text cursor where you wish to type. The mouse pointer can change into other images, such as a small hand when you move over a link to a web page or in the case of Power-Gx Help, a link to another topic.

multisession: a session refers to having an application program open. Multisession refers to having more than one program in the same application software open at a time.

mvBase: the Windows database environment, written by Raining Data Corporation, within which Power-Gx operates.

nett price: a price that cannot be discounted. In Gx Stock\Product Details, the nett price indicator is on the Catalogues tab.

nett profit: profit that is left after all expenses, overheads and deductions have been made. It is calculated as gross profit minus total overheads. Also known as nett earnings or nett income.

nett profit margin: calculation of nett profit divided by total sales, expressed as a percentage (i.e. nett profit/sales * 100). The percentage represents the amount of each £ of sales that results in total nett profit. The higher the nett profit margin is, the more effective the company is at converting revenue into actual profit.

NOF: Not On File. Refers to bespoke products that do not have a product file so are entered as free type description lines instead of using a product code.

open item: accountancy method whereby the outstanding transactions on an account at the end of a financial period are brought forward individually to the new period. This benefit of this method is that you can see a full breakdown of the outstanding transactions, rather than a single outstanding amount being brought forward. This is known as 'brought forward' accounts.

open order: a sales order that has not been invoiced. It may be amended or deleted.

operand: part of a computer instruction, in this case a search instruction, that specifies the data to be retrieved. Power-Gx operands include equals (EQ), not equals (NE), greater than (GT), less than (LT), greater than or equal to (GE) and less than or equal to (LE). They can be used in conjunction with search dictionaries and selection criteria to specify the records selected in searches.

order status: refers to the stage in the order process that an order is currently at, for example undelivered, part delivered, fully delivered, invoiced etc.

overheads: the indirect costs incurred in running a business. These include rent, rates, marketing, publicity, administrative and financial costs. Also known as operating costs, these are additional to the direct costs of manufacturing or providing services (cost of sales).

password: a string of characters used for authenticating a user on a computer system. In order to access the system, the user must usually provide a valid username and password. This combination is often referred to as a login. While usernames are generally public information, passwords are private to each user.

pathname: the fully specified name of a computer file or folder, including the position of the file in the file system's hierarchical directory structure. Here is an example pathname: C:\Calidore\Reports\CRM\LETTER To open the file named LETTER, you would need to look in the C drive on your PC, then in the Calidore folder, then in the Reports Folder, and finally in the CRM folder.

PDF: Portable Document Format is a file format created by Adobe Systems that enables a document to be distributed on different systems and platforms while preserving the layout. This makes it possible to send formatted documents and have them appear on the recipient's monitor or printer as they were intended. To view a file in PDF format, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free application distributed by Adobe Systems.

period end: the generic term used to identify when all financial transactions relating to a particular accounting period will be captured and the period ‘closed’ so that the information within it will not be subject to further change. It is also known as month end.

platform: in computing, a platform is an underlying computer system on which application programs can run. On personal computers, Windows 2000 and the Mac OS X are examples of two different platforms.

popup: a small window that is displayed on top of the existing windows on screen. A popup window can be used in any application to display new information. The window that "pops up" is officially known as a "dialog box."

posting date: the date that a transaction or entry is to be debited or credited to an account balance. This date determines whether the transaction is to be posted to the current or a future financial period. It also determines the ageing of the transaction.

prepayment: refers to money paid in advance of the period to which it pertains i.e. where an invoice has been received before the period-end which relates in whole or in part to the next period. Prepayments allow you to include the cost in the correct accounting period, regardless of the period in which it is actually paid.

product class: an indicator attached to a product file (colour bands in Power-Gx) to determine the group it falls into. They are then used in matrix pricing to assign different discounts to different product classes.

product group: a group assigned to a product file to allow you to categorise items. Product groups can be split further into subgroups. Power-Gx uses BOSSF groups and subgroups as outlined on www.bossfederation.co.uk

product subgroup: a sub-category within a product group that is assigned to a product file to allow further categorisation of items. Power-Gx uses BOSSF groups and subgroups.

Profit and Loss: also called the income statement, it is a summary of the revenues, costs and expenses for a business over an accounting period. It shows the show gross and net profit or loss over the period.

proforma: a financial projection based on assumptions. A proforma invoice is usually a quotation in the form of an invoice, prepared by the seller, that details items which would appear on a commercial invoice if an order results. Power-Gx uses proforma invoices as a pre-invoice for an existing order on the system, allowing you to view the expected invoice before it is generated.

quantity breaks: a pricing model used to encourage customers to buy in larger quantities. The price reduces as the quantity purchased increases.

quick access code: a code allocated to a record such as a customer file, supplier file, nominal code or product file to enable easy retrieval of the record. It allows you to enter all or part of the quick access code rather than having to type in the exact account code or product code. On Power-Gx the field for inserting a quick access code is called the ‘sort access string’ or ‘sort string’. The sort string can be up to six characters long, and where prompted for an account code, nominal code or product code, you can type all or part of the sort string to find the record. E.g. a customer call North East Business Machines with account code N001 might be given the sort string NEBM allowing you to type NE, NEB or NEBM to find their account without having to remember the account code or search on the company name. Sort strings can be amended which is useful if a company changes name. Another example: the nominal code for the current bank account might be 000/010/0100. Giving it a sort access string of BANK will allow you to type in BA, BAN or BANK to find the account without having to remember or look up the full nominal code.

radio button: a selection feature used in a graphical user interface (GUI) when there is a list of two or more options that are mutually exclusive, and the user must select exactly one choice. Clicking a non-selected radio button will deselect whatever other button was previously selected in the list.

ring list: a pre-generated target list of customers or prospects to be called by an operator, usually as part of a telemarketing effort.

reboot: the process of turning a computer off and then back on again, to restart the operating system and reload the software. This reinitialises a program by repeating the initial program load (IPL) operation. It is usually done in response to a computer crash. Restarting the PC while it is still on is known as a warm boot. You can also perform a cold boot by turning the computer off completely and then turning it on again.

reorder level: the minimum quantity of product that you want to keep in stock. When your stock drops below the reorder level, the system will instigate the reordering of the product, using the reorder quantity set for the product.

reorder quantity: the quantity of a product that you want the system to generate an order for when your stock falls below the reorder level set for the product.

rolling periods: a period of 12 consecutive calendar months, independent of financial periods.

session: having an application program open. Multiple sessions refers to having more than one program in the same application software open at a time.

settlement discount: discount allowed if an invoice is paid early to encourage prompt payment.

SM: Service Maintenance. Providing technical support and maintenance for machines a customer has covered in a service maintenance contract with yourself. The contract defining the terms of the service maintenance contract is often referred to as a Service Level Agreements (SLA).

socket server: a piece of communications software on the server used for sending and receiving electronic order, acknowledgments and invoices.

software: anything that can be stored electronically is software, for example computer programs, instructions or data. Software can be divided into two general classes; system software (low-level programs that interact with the computer at a very basic level e.g. operating systems, compilers etc) and application software (end-user programs e.g. database programs, word processors and spreadsheets).

stocked products: products kept in stock that are set with reorder levels so that the system alerts you when your warehouse needs replenished with these items.

switch selling: the practice of substituting the customer with an alternative, similar product instead of the one requested in order to maximise profits. This is also referred to as cross selling.

tab: a feature used in GUIs to allow multiple panes of information to be displayed within a single window. Tabs resemble traditional card tabs inserted in paper files or card indexes and are usually displayed along the top of the view pane. Each tab contains a text label to index the contents held on that particular pane. Clicking a tab with the mouse will activate that view pane, bringing it to the foreground on your screen. The active (or foreground) tab is typically highlighted to make it seem to stand out of the rest of the options in the tab group.

tab delimited: a file format representing a database, where tabs are used as separators between each data element.

tab key: an abbreviation of tabulator key, it is the key on your keyboard that is used to advance the cursor to the next tab stop i.e. data entry field on Power-Gx. It moves the cursor on without selecting any options, unlike the <Return> or <Enter> keys.

taskbar: a bar, usually at the bottom of the screen, on the Windows graphic user interface that shows all open applications and active windows.

task buttons: Windows places a ‘button’ on the taskbar for each window or application that you have open. Clicking one of these taskbar buttons will open the window to the position it was in before it was minimised.

toolbar: a bar with buttons, icons and options that you can use to carry out commands.

touch screen monitor: a monitor screen that can detect and respond to something, such as a finger or stylus, pressing on it.

transaction date: the date on which a transaction was actually raised. For example the date a cheque is written or the date on a purchase invoice. In Power-Gx the transaction date is purely memorandum and has no effect on the ageing of the transaction or the financial period it is posted to.

truncate: in database searching, this means to cut the search term short at any point in order to retrieve all terms with a common root including both the singular and plural forms of a word. It usually requires a truncation symbol such as * ,? or #. For example reconcil* will find reconcile, reconciled, reconciliation etc. The purpose of truncation in searches is to broaden the records retrieved.

turnover: the volume of business traded over a specified period of time, usually monthly or yearly. It is sometimes referred to as sales revenue.

upselling: the practice of offering the customer additional, complimentary products to the one they are currently purchasing in order to increase sales.

username: a unique name used to identify yourself when logging onto a computer system, allowing you to gain access. A username is almost always paired with a password. This username/password combination is referred to as a login and is usually required in multi-user systems.

wildcard: a symbol that stands for one or more unspecified characters, used especially in searching text and in selecting multiple files or directories.

window: a usually rectangular portion of the display on a computer monitor that presents its contents (e.g., the contents of a directory, a text file, a program or an image) seemingly independently of the rest of the screen. Windows are one of the elements that comprise a graphical user interface (GUI).

XML: Extensible Markup Language allows information and services to be encoded with meaningful structure and semantics that computers and humans can understand. It offers a flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere.