Glossary
Business software terms, explained
Short, plain answers to the GST, insurance, real estate, hotel, field service, loyalty and technology terms that business software is built around.
This glossary explains the business software terms shops, brokers, developers, hotels and service firms meet every day. Each answer is short and general; for the rules that apply to a specific business, the official source linked with the term is the reference. Where an EZ Solutions product or service handles the work, the term links to it.
GST and billing terms
What is a GST invoice?
A GST invoice, or tax invoice, is the bill a GST-registered business issues for a taxable sale. It shows the seller's GSTIN, the buyer's GSTIN for business sales, the HSN or SAC code of each item, the taxable value and the tax charged as CGST and SGST, or IGST for sales to another state.
What is a Bill of Supply?
A Bill of Supply is issued instead of a tax invoice when no GST is charged on the sale, for example by a business under the composition scheme or for goods and services exempt from GST. It carries the seller's details and the value of the sale, but no tax.
What is a GSTIN?
GSTIN is the 15-character Goods and Services Tax Identification Number given to every business registered under GST. A business registered in more than one state has a separate GSTIN for each state, and the number appears on its invoices and returns.
What are HSN and SAC codes?
HSN (Harmonised System of Nomenclature) codes classify goods, and SAC (Services Accounting Code) codes classify services, for GST. The code on each invoice line tells the tax system what was sold and which GST rate applies.
What are GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B?
GSTR-1 is the GST return that lists a business's outward supplies, its sales invoices. GSTR-3B is the summary return in which the business declares its tax liability and input tax credit and pays the tax due. Both are filed on the GST portal, usually by the business's CA.
What is the GST composition scheme?
The composition scheme is a simpler GST option for small businesses within a turnover limit. They pay tax at a fixed rate on turnover, file fewer returns, cannot collect GST from customers and issue a Bill of Supply instead of a tax invoice.
What is udhaar?
Udhaar is the everyday Hindi word for goods sold on credit. Indian shops and distributors traditionally record udhaar in a diary or khata book, noting what each customer owes until it is paid.
What is Tally?
Tally, now TallyPrime from Tally Solutions, is accounting software used by a large share of Indian businesses and their CAs for books of account, GST and payroll. Other software often sends sales and receipts to Tally rather than replacing it.
Insurance terms
What is IRDAI?
IRDAI, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, is the regulator of insurance in India. It licenses insurers and intermediaries such as brokers and sets the rules they follow.
What is an insurance broker?
An insurance broker is an intermediary licensed by IRDAI who acts for the customer, compares cover from several insurers and places the policy. Brokers handle policies, renewals and claims across many insurers and products.
What is a POSP in insurance?
A POSP, or Point of Sales Person, is an individual who has completed the training and certification set under IRDAI guidelines to sell certain simple insurance products through a broker or insurer.
Real estate terms
What is RERA?
RERA is the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, and the regulatory authority each state sets up under it, such as MahaRERA in Maharashtra. Developers register projects with the authority and must disclose project details and follow its rules on sales and payments.
What is a construction-linked payment plan?
In a construction-linked payment plan, a home buyer pays in instalments as the building reaches set construction stages, such as the plinth or each slab, instead of paying most of the price upfront.
What is a demand letter in real estate?
A demand letter is the notice a developer sends a buyer when the next instalment falls due, stating the stage reached, the amount, the taxes and the due date. Buyers often pass it to their bank for loan disbursement.
Hotel and homestay terms
What is Form C for hotels?
Form C is the report that hotels, homestays and other places of stay in India submit online to the Bureau of Immigration when they host a foreign national. It records the guest's passport and visa details and must be filed within 24 hours of arrival.
What is an OTA?
An OTA, or online travel agency, is a website or app that sells rooms on behalf of hotels and homestays, such as Booking.com, MakeMyTrip, Agoda and Airbnb. Each OTA has its own extranet where the property updates rooms, rates and availability.
What is a channel manager?
A channel manager keeps a property's room availability and rates the same on every OTA at once. When a room is sold on one site, it closes on the others, which prevents double bookings.
What is a property management system (PMS)?
A property management system is the software a hotel or homestay uses to run its day: bookings, check-in and check-out, rooms and rates, housekeeping, guest bills and reports.
Field service terms
What is an AMC?
An AMC, or annual maintenance contract, is a yearly agreement under which a service company maintains a customer's equipment, such as ACs, RO purifiers, lifts or fire systems, or provides services like pest control, with scheduled visits and repairs for a fixed fee.
What is field service management?
Field service management is the work of scheduling, dispatching and tracking technicians who do jobs at customers' sites, from the first complaint to the completed visit and the payment.
Loyalty and payment terms
What is a channel loyalty programme?
A channel loyalty programme rewards the dealers, retailers and influencers, such as painters, electricians, plumbers and mechanics, who sell or use a brand's products. Points are usually earned by scanning a QR code on the pack or by submitting invoices.
What is a UPI payout?
A UPI payout sends money straight to a person's bank account through UPI, India's instant payment system. Loyalty programmes use UPI payouts to pay cash rewards without vouchers or cheques.
What is KYC?
KYC ("know your customer") is the check of a person's identity documents before a business pays them or opens an account for them. Loyalty and payout programmes complete KYC before releasing money.
Software and technology terms
What is an API integration?
An API integration connects two software systems through their application programming interfaces, so data such as orders, invoices or payments moves between them automatically instead of being typed in twice.
What is the WhatsApp Business Platform?
The WhatsApp Business Platform, often called the WhatsApp Business API, lets a business send messages such as bills, reminders and updates to customers from its own software, using approved message templates.
What is an LLM?
An LLM, or large language model, is an AI model trained on very large amounts of text that can read documents, summarise them, extract details and answer questions in plain language. Business uses include reading invoices and forms and answering customer questions.
What is IoT?
IoT, the Internet of Things, means devices and sensors, such as meters, trackers and machines, that send data over the internet to software, where it is shown on dashboards and can trigger alerts.
What is SaaS?
SaaS, or software as a service, is software used through a web browser or app on a subscription, with the provider running the servers, updates and backups instead of the customer installing it.
What do these business software terms mean for a business?
Most of these terms describe work that many businesses still do on paper, in spreadsheets or across several apps. EZ Solutions builds one product per industry around this work, and builds custom software when no product fits. See all EZ Solutions products, the software development services, or contact the team.