Finance • Module glossary
This glossary explains common words and fields you’ll see when using Core Accounting in XFatora.
Also known as: Accounting and Bookkeeping
What it is: Accounts payable is the money you owe suppliers for bills and purchases.
When you use it: Use AP to manage outgoing payments and avoid late fees.
Example: Your AP list shows supplier invoices due this week.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Procurement, Supplier, Cash Flow
What it is: Accounts receivable is the money customers owe you from issued invoices.
When you use it: Use AR to track who owes what and to manage cash collection.
Example: Your AR report shows which invoices are overdue and need follow-up.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Invoice, Payment, Aging Report
What it is: An aging report shows outstanding receivables or payables grouped by age (0–30 days, 31–60 days, etc.).
When you use it: Use it to prioritize collections and manage cash planning.
Example: You focus on 60+ day overdue invoices first to reduce risk.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Accounts Receivable (AR), Accounts Payable (AP)
What it is: An audit trail is the history of changes: who created, edited, approved, or deleted records.
When you use it: Use it for accountability, compliance, and faster troubleshooting when numbers change.
Example: You review the audit trail to see who edited an invoice amount and why.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Permissions, Approvals
What it is: A balance sheet shows what your business owns (assets), owes (liabilities), and the remaining value (equity) at a point in time.
When you use it: Use it to understand financial stability and obligations.
Example: Your balance sheet shows cash, receivables, payables, and loans.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Trial Balance, Asset Management, Inventory
What it is: A bank account record helps link real bank activity to accounting transactions.
When you use it: Use bank accounts to keep cash balances accurate and make reconciliation easier.
Example: You maintain separate bank accounts for operating expenses and payroll payments.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Bank Reconciliation, Payment
What it is: Bank reconciliation is matching your recorded payments and receipts against bank statements to confirm accuracy.
When you use it: Use it monthly (or weekly) to catch missing transactions and prevent accounting errors.
Example: You reconcile and find one bank fee that wasn’t recorded—then add it as an expense.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Bank Account, Payment, Expense
What it is: The chart of accounts is the structured list of all accounts your business uses (assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses).
When you use it: Use it to keep reporting consistent and to group transactions properly.
Example: You create accounts like “Sales Revenue”, “Office Rent”, and “VAT Payable”.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: General Ledger, Trial Balance
What it is: A credit note reduces what a customer owes—used for refunds, returns, or billing corrections.
When you use it: Use credit notes instead of deleting invoices so your audit trail stays clean.
Example: A customer returns an item; you issue a credit note and apply it to the next invoice.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Invoice, Refund, Audit Trail
What it is: A debit note increases what is owed (often used when additional charges are discovered after invoicing).
When you use it: Use it when you need to add charges without editing the original invoice.
Example: You bill extra shipping after delivery and issue a debit note for the difference.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Invoice, Adjustment
What it is: Exchange rate is the conversion rate between currencies at a specific time.
When you use it: Use it to ensure accurate reporting when transactions occur in different currencies.
Example: You record the EUR→SAR rate used on the invoice date.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Multi-Currency, Profit & Loss (P&L)
What it is: An expense is money spent to run your business (rent, salaries, supplies, services).
When you use it: Use expense tracking to control costs and to prepare accurate financial statements.
Example: You record a monthly internet bill as an expense under Utilities.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Accounts Payable (AP), Budget
What it is: The general ledger is the master record of all financial activity—every transaction ultimately affects the ledger.
When you use it: Use it to produce accurate financial statements and to understand where money is coming from and going to.
Example: When you record an invoice payment, cash increases and receivables decrease in the ledger automatically.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Chart of Accounts, Journal Entry, Trial Balance
What it is: An invoice is a request for payment and the primary document for recording sales revenue.
When you use it: Use invoices to bill customers and to track revenue, taxes, and receivables.
Example: You issue an invoice for a completed service with VAT included.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Accounts Receivable (AR), Payment, Tax
What it is: Invoice status tells you whether an invoice is unpaid, paid, overdue, or partially paid.
When you use it: Use statuses to prioritize collections and keep reporting accurate.
Example: An invoice becomes Overdue automatically when it passes the due date without full payment.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Invoice, Accounts Receivable (AR), Aging Report
What it is: A journal entry is a manual accounting entry used to correct, adjust, or record transactions not captured by standard documents.
When you use it: Use journal entries for accruals, depreciation, corrections, and year-end adjustments (with appropriate approvals).
Example: At month end, you record an accrual for an expense that hasn’t been invoiced yet.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: General Ledger, Period Closing
What it is: Multi-currency support lets you invoice and report in different currencies while keeping totals consistent.
When you use it: Use it if you sell internationally or pay suppliers in other currencies.
Example: A customer is billed in EUR, while your base accounting is in SAR.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Currency, Exchange Rate, Reporting
What it is: A payment records money received from a customer or paid to a supplier, depending on context.
When you use it: Use payment records to keep balances correct and to match bank activity.
Example: You record a bank transfer payment against an invoice to mark it as paid.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Bank Reconciliation, Invoice, Accounts Payable (AP)
What it is: Payment mode is how the money was paid (bank transfer, cash, card, cheque).
When you use it: Use it for reporting and reconciliation—different modes may settle at different times.
Example: You filter reports to see how much revenue came via card vs bank transfer.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Payment, Bank Account
What it is: Period closing is locking a month/quarter so reports don’t change after you finalize them.
When you use it: Use it to prevent accidental edits and to maintain consistent reporting for audits.
Example: After finalizing December, you close the period so late edits require approval.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Journal Entry, Audit Trail
What it is: A Profit & Loss report shows revenue minus expenses over a period, resulting in profit or loss.
When you use it: Use it to understand performance, margins, and where costs are increasing.
Example: Your P&L shows revenue increased 20% while marketing costs stayed stable.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Revenue, Expense, Reporting
What it is: Revenue is money earned from selling goods or services.
When you use it: Use revenue tracking to understand growth and profitability.
Example: Monthly recurring revenue is recorded when subscription invoices are issued and paid.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Invoice, Profit & Loss (P&L)
What it is: Tax is an amount added (or sometimes withheld) based on local rules—VAT is a common example.
When you use it: Use tax tracking to stay compliant and to avoid surprises at filing time.
Example: Your invoice applies VAT 15% to taxable items automatically.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Tax Rate, E-Invoicing (EU), ZATCA Compliance
What it is: Trial balance is a summary of all account balances at a point in time—used to verify that debits equal credits.
When you use it: Use it to check accounting health before producing final reports.
Example: Before closing the month, you review the trial balance for unusual balances.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: General Ledger, Profit & Loss (P&L), Balance Sheet
What it is: A VAT number is a tax registration identifier used on invoices and compliance reports (where applicable).
When you use it: Use it to ensure invoices are valid for tax purposes in VAT jurisdictions.
Example: You add the customer VAT number so the invoice meets legal requirements.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Tax, E-Invoicing (EU)
