We get it, spend management and finance are full of buzzwords and terms that are just plain confusing. In our glossary, we break down spend management language into digestible chunks, so you can understand what means what.
Click on a topic for in-depth information and resources.
A
Accounts payable (AP) represents the amount a company owes to its vendors and supplies for goods that have not been paid for, recorded as a liability on the company's financial statement.
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Accounts payable automation (AP automation) refers to the utilization of software tools to streamline and enhance routine vendor invoice activities.
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Accounts payable fraud is dishonest and illegal actions that steal funds from your business’s payment system.
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Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can make decisions and take actions autonomously, without human input or oversight. It learns and acts based on predefined goals, rules, or learned behavior.
Artificial intelligence (AI) expense management uses AI-powered technology to automate and streamline the expense management process.
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AI in AP automation uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to make the accounts payable process faster, smoother, and more efficient.
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AI invoice automation uses artificial intelligence to streamline the entire invoice lifecycle — from data extraction and coding to fraud detection, approval workflows, and supplier communications.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) powered automation takes care of tasks like data extraction, validation, and entry, improving accuracy, speeding up processing times, and empowering you with tighter financial control.
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An automated payment system allows a business to pay invoices electronically instead of through paper checks.
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Autonomous accounts payable goes beyond automating tasks. It eliminates the need for manual intervention for a self-sufficient end-to-end AP process.
B
Cross border payments are payments made internationally. These cross border transactions have become increasingly common over the years due to the globalization of the market.
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A batch payment is a grouping of payments that are paid out from the same bank account.
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A business case for AP automation is an internal project that collects all the information needed to evaluate the costs and benefits of automating accounts payable processes.
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C
Contract management is the process of managing agreements, from their creation to their execution by the chosen party and the eventual termination of the contract.
E
An eAuction is a transaction between sellers (the auctioneers) and bidders (suppliers in the business-to-business scenarios) in an electronic marketplace.
E-invoicing, also known as electronic invoicing, is a form of billing that is presented to the buyer in an electronic format via a predefined structured data exchange.
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An e-invoice mandate is a regulatory requirement imposed by a government or a governing body that mandates electronic invoicing systems for businesses.
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eProcurement is an electronic procurement or supplier exchange system that allows for purchasing and selling supplies, equipment, works, and services through a web interface or other networked system instead of paper-based processes.
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eSourcing uses web-based systems to collect and compare information about several suppliers to help the buyer select a preferred provider.
eTendering is part of the process of conducting procurement online, primarily to facilitate a more efficient way of sourcing suppliers.
Expense management is a systematic process that organizations use to track, analyze, and maintain control over their employees' expenses efficiently.
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Expense management software is a digital tool that empowers businesses to effortlessly track, manage, and optimize employee expenses while staying aligned with corporate policies and tax regulations.
I
Invoice approval means reviewing and approving supplier invoices before these are posted as a cost in the ERP system and sent for payment.
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Invoice fraud is when someone sends fake bills to a company. They might also trick the business by saying a vendor's contact or payment details have changed, giving false information to cheat the company out of money.
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Invoice matching involves comparing and linking a supplier invoice with the underlying data on which the cost is based – a purchase order and goods delivery receipt (GDR), or a contract.
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Invoice processing is the comprehensive management of vendor invoices from receipt to payment, conducted primarily by the accounts payable department.
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The term invoice scanning is sometime used to broadly mean digitizing a paper invoice. But in today's increasingly digital world, hardware scanners are actually rarely used. Instead, many organizations rely on an invoice data capture solution that automatically extracts invoice data from e-invoices or pdf files.
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The invoice-to-pay process includes receiving, verifying and processing invoices to ensure timely delivery of goods and services and prompt payments.
M
Multi-currency payment processing is the processing of payments in different currencies. The economy continues to globalize, and supply chains grow ever more complex.
P
The Payment Times Reporting Scheme is an Australian law introduced in January 2020. It mandates large businesses and certain government enterprises to publicly disclose their payment terms and times for small business suppliers.
S
Spend Management is a procurement function within an organization, and it involves managing how an organization spends money to most cost-effectively obtain the desired products and services.
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Strategic procurement is a company-wide procedure that ensures the timely delivery of goods and services following the company's business objectives while decreasing supply chain risk and cost.
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Supplier information management (SIM) refers to a business's system capturing, storing, updating, and analyzing all supplier data in a single location.
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Supplier management is the process that ensures maximum value is received for the money that an organization pays to its suppliers.
T
Tail spend is defined as the bottom 20% of spend that accounts for 80% of suppliers. It can be effectively managed through a combination of strategic sourcing, supplier consolidation and process automation.
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Tariffs are government taxes on imported goods and trade policy is a broader strategy for international trade. As these shift, they can disrupt accounts payable, raising costs, complicating cash flow, and obscuring landed costs within ERP and AP systems.
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