Business Technology Glossary

Plain-English explanations of payment processing, point of sale systems, AI CRM, and business technology terms. No jargon, just clear definitions.

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Business Strategy Business Tools Communication Marketing Payment Processing Security Technology

Business Strategy

Omnichannel: Integrated approach that provides consistent customer experience across all channels - in-store, online, mobile app, and social media - with unified data and inventory.

Business Tools

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Software that manages customer interactions, tracks sales pipelines, and stores customer data to improve relationships and increase sales efficiency.
AI CRM: CRM system enhanced with artificial intelligence to automate tasks, predict customer behavior, prioritize leads, and provide intelligent insights without manual data entry.
Workflow Automation: Automated business processes that trigger actions based on specific events. Examples include sending welcome emails to new customers or follow-up reminders after appointments.
Inventory Management: System for tracking stock levels, managing reorders, and monitoring product movement. Modern systems provide real-time updates and multi-location tracking.

Communication

Two-Way SMS: Text messaging system that allows businesses to send messages to customers and receive replies, enabling real-time conversation and customer engagement.

Marketing

Lead Scoring: Method of ranking prospects based on their likelihood to become customers. AI-powered systems automatically score leads based on behavior, engagement, and demographics.
Marketing Automation: Technology that automatically sends targeted messages to customers based on triggers like behaviors, dates, or actions. Includes email campaigns, SMS, and social media.
Funnel Builder: Tool that creates multi-step marketing and sales processes, guiding potential customers from initial awareness through to purchase with optimized conversion paths.
Reputation Management: Monitoring and influencing your business's online reputation through review requests, response management, and addressing customer feedback across platforms.

Payment Processing

Interchange Fee: The fee charged by card networks (Visa, Mastercard) that goes to the card-issuing bank. This makes up the largest portion of processing costs and varies by card type, industry, and transaction method.
Payment Gateway: Technology that securely transmits payment information between your business and the payment processor. It encrypts sensitive data like credit card numbers during online transactions.
Merchant Account: A specialized bank account that allows businesses to accept credit and debit card payments. It holds funds temporarily before they're transferred to your business bank account.
Chargeback: When a customer disputes a transaction and their bank reverses the payment. Businesses typically lose the product/service and pay additional fees when chargebacks occur.
Batch Processing: The process of submitting multiple credit card transactions together at the end of the business day for settlement. Most terminals automatically batch out at a set time.
Settlement: The process of transferring funds from card transactions into your business bank account. Typically occurs 1-2 business days after the transaction is processed.
Authorization: The approval process where the card issuer confirms the cardholder has sufficient funds or credit and the card is valid. Happens in seconds during a transaction.
Surcharging: Adding a fee to credit card transactions to offset processing costs. Subject to state laws and card network rules - typically 3-4% maximum on credit cards only.
Cash Discount Program: Pricing strategy where the listed price includes a service fee, but customers paying with cash receive a discount. Alternative to surcharging that complies with all regulations.
Virtual Terminal: Web-based interface that allows you to manually enter credit card information for phone or mail orders without a physical card reader.
Recurring Billing: Automated system that charges customers on a regular schedule for subscriptions or memberships. Handles failed payments, retries, and customer notifications.

Security

PCI DSS Compliance: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard - security requirements that all businesses accepting card payments must follow to protect customer payment information.
EMV: Europay, Mastercard, and Visa chip card technology. Chip cards provide enhanced security compared to magnetic stripe cards by creating unique transaction codes.
Payment Tokenization: Security process that replaces sensitive card data with unique identification symbols that cannot be reverse-engineered, protecting stored payment information from breaches.
End-to-End Encryption: Security method where payment data is encrypted from the moment the card is swiped until it reaches the payment processor, preventing interception.

Technology

NFC Payment: Near Field Communication technology that enables contactless payments through tap-to-pay cards, smartphones, and smartwatches like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Point of Sale (POS) System: Hardware and software that processes sales transactions, manages inventory, tracks customers, and generates reports. Modern POS systems integrate payment processing with business management.
Cloud-Based POS: Point of sale software that runs on internet servers rather than local computers. Offers real-time data access from anywhere, automatic updates, and lower upfront costs.
API Integration: Application Programming Interface connection that allows different software systems to communicate and share data automatically, eliminating manual data entry.
Mobile Payment Processing: Accepting card payments through smartphones or tablets using card readers or tap-to-pay technology. Enables payments anywhere with internet connection.

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