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Journal	A chronological record of daily transactions of a business. Journals are the books of original entry, i.e.; the book where a transaction is initially recorded before being posted into a ledger. For each transaction, the journal shows the debits and credits to be entered in specific ledger accounts, as well as a description of the transaction.
Just-in-time-Inventory	A process whereby materials needed for a particular day in the manufacturing cycle are expected to arrive at the factory exactly when needed.

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Letter of Credit	A non-negotiable instrument authorizing an agent to pay a bank or other firm when specific conditions are met.
Liabilities	Claims of outsiders against the business.
Long Term Liabilities	Obligations that do not need to be satisfied during the next 12 months or operating cycle.

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Mail Float	The time between a check being mailed and its presentation for payment.
Master Credit Limit	Total credit limit available to a firm's entire purchasing card program.
Materiality	A quantified measure of the adverse business impact that would be incurred if one or more specific business processes were disabled for a defined period of time. Materiality is measured for every business process by means of a business impact analysis (BIA). The resulting materiality value for each business process is compared against the business process materiality grid to determine the appropriate level of BC/DR protection required.
MICR	Special ink used in printing checks.
Mission-critical	Applications that will, if interrupted, result in severe financial, regulatory or safety issues for the organization. Systems that are so vital that if they are taken down, they'll severely disrupt the company and potentially broad sections of an economy. Recovery time for these applications will be in seconds, minutes or several hours.

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NEXUS	A seller’s minimum level of physical presence within a state that permits the taxing authority to require the seller to register in order to levy the tax, and to collect and remit sales/use tax to comply with the state’s taxing statutes and regulations.
Notice CP2100 or CP2100A	Notification from the Internal Revenue Service that one or more taxpayer identification numbers do not match the taxpayer reported on Form 1099. Specific actions are required by the business entity when these notices are received.

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Optical Character Recognition (OCR)	A more advanced application of imaging technology where invoices are fed into an imaging system and converted to electronic documents that are integrated into a company’s ERP system or invoice match system.
Output Tax	Associated with value added tax, the output tax is the tax collected on the sale of a good or service. It is collected by the seller.
Outsourcing	Strategically using outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources.
Owners’ Equity	The residual after all liabilities (that which the firm owes) are deducted from total assets (that which the firm owns). Owners’ Equity is frequently referred to as “Net Worth.”

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Pareto Chart	A graphical presentation employing bars to highlight cumulative effects.
Payment Discount	Reduction in invoice amount offered to a customer for prompt payment, commonly a 2% reduction for payment within 10 days.
Payment File	An accumulation of payments made to a vendor/payee usually in connection with reporting amounts on Form 1099.
Payment Terms	The parameters by which a vendor requires a firm to pay an invoice.
Payment Timing Optimization (PTO)	A vendor payment system based on the assumption that real terms may deviate from those on the invoice.
Per Diem	Absolute ceiling or guideline for certain types of travel expenses.
Phone Card	A credit card used particularly in travel as both a convenience and cost saver for making telephone calls.
Positive Pay	A way of preventing check fraud by transmitting the daily AP and Payroll check information to a corporation’s bank to help detect bogus or altered checks.
Prepaid Phone Card	A card that prepays telephone cost at lower per-minute rates.
Prime Contractor	A contractor providing service to a government agency that is eligible to do so because it subcontracts or purchases supplies from a certified women- or minority-owned businesses.
Process Level Control	A control implicit in a process. An example would be a requirement that two individuals approve a payment transaction.
Procurement Card (P-card)	A credit card issued to an employee, generally for specified low-dollar transactions, as a time/cost saver for accounting, management, purchasers and vendors.
Purchase Order	Document authorizing an employee to make a purchase for an organization; contains a description of the good, or service, to be purchased, the total amount of the purchase and authorizing signatures from appropriate approvers.
Purchasing Card	Payment mechanism where an organization issues credit cards to select employees empowering them to make purchases on behalf of the organization without prior approval.
Purchasing Card Cycle	Period by which the financial institution issuing a firm's purchasing cards bills the firm for charges on the purchasing card, typically a month.
Purchasing Card Monthly Limit	Total amount of credit available to a purchasing card program cardholder during a monthly cycle.

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Receiving Document	Document prepared by a firm's receiving department indicating goods the firm has received from a vendor.
Reengineering	The radical, rapid, redesign of a business process for breakthrough changes.
Remittance/Check Request	A form used to pay an invoice that usually lacks any formal document matching such as a Purchase Order.
Risk	An event or consequence that prohibits or delays the achievement of a business objective.
Risk Assessment	A process performed by management to identify and analyze risks that might inhibit or prevent the achievement of a business objective.
Rush Processing	Rushing a payment as an exception through the process.

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Sales Tax	A consumption tax levied on the consumer of the good or service. Sales tax is collected and remitted by the seller of the good or service.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act	Legislation that requires the management of public companies to assess and certify as to the quality of their internal control structure as it relates to preparing accurate and relevant financial statements in accordance with professional standards.
Single Transaction Limit	The most a cardholder within a purchasing card program can spend on any one transaction.
Statement Of Cash Flows	A financial statement that summarizes a reporting entity’s sources and uses of cash over the accounting period.
Statement of Changes in Financial Position	A financial statement that summarizes a reporting entity’s sources and uses of cash over the accounting period.
Summary Invoices	Vendor invoicing that summarizes many small charges on one document.
Supply Chain Management	Focuses on the design, development, optimization and management of all internal and external components of the organization’s supply system.
Sweep Account	Type of checking account utilized by firms where the financial institution totals all checks presented against the account and then informs the firm of the total funds necessary to clear the checks, allowing the firm to keep funds in an interest bearing account for the maximum possible length of time.

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Tax Exemption Certificate	Certificate issued by the taxing jurisdiction that exempts a purchaser from paying sales tax on items held for resale or included in a manufacturing process. Tax exemption certificates are issued to wholesalers, manufacturers, and other organizations exempted by taxing jurisdiction.
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)	A number used by the Internal revenue Service to track individuals and organizations and their income tax reporting responsibilities. For individuals, the social security number is considered the taxpayer identification number. For business entities, the employer identification number is considered a taxpayer identification number.
Third Party Recovery Auditors	Outside vendors who audit AP invoices to determine if overpayments have been made and recommend process improvements to avoid overpayments in the future.
Three-way Match	Traditional invoice confirmation method where the figures on the invoice must match those on the purchase order and receiving documents before accounts payable will issue a check to a vendor.
Total Quality Management (TQM)	A management process and set of disciplines that is coordinated to ensure that the organization consistently meets and exceeds customer requirements on a journey toward excellence.
Transmittal Control Code (TCC)	A five digit control code provided by the Internal Revenue Service in connection with filing Forms 1099 electronically.

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UN/EDIFACT	An international set of EDI standards adopted in Europe.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)	Laws governing commercial practices.
Use Tax	A consumption tax self assessed, reported, and remitted to the state of jurisdiction by the consumer of the good or service. This tax is applicable when the consumer has not paid a sales tax on a taxable transaction.

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Value Added Tax (VAT)	A consumption tax typically found in countries other than the United States. Taxes are collected as value is added to the good or service.
Value-Added Network (VAN)	A service provider that typically furnishes communication, mailboxes, and an EDI interface.
Vendor	entity from which a firm purchases goods, or services
Vendor Master File	A database that stores information about each vendor, including names, addresses and contacts.
Vulnerability	A flaw or weakness in organizational security procedures, system design and implementation, or overall internal controls that could be exercised (accidentally triggered or intentionally exploited) and result in a disaster or incident event that could lead to a disruption of service or an inability to recover operations.

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Wire Transfer	Method of payment by which a firm transfers funds directly from its financial institution to another entity's financial institution.