The Ultimate Expense and Spend Management Glossary

ABN

Australia’s 11-digit public business identifier used for tax, invoicing, and supplier verification.

ABR

The Australian Business Register, which maintains ABN records and related business details.

ACN

ASIC’s 9-digit company identifier for registered Australian companies.

Accounts Payable

Money the business owes suppliers for goods or services already received.

Accounts Receivable

Money customers owe the business for goods or services already provided.

Accrual

Recognition of income or expenses when earned or incurred, not when cash moves. Read more

Accrual Accounting

An accounting method that records transactions when they occur rather than when paid. Read more

Action Logs

Time-stamped records showing user actions, approvals, edits, and system events.

Admin

A user role with authority to manage settings, users, controls, and workflows.

Aged Payables

Supplier balances grouped by how long they have remained unpaid.

Aged Receivables

Customer balances grouped by how long they have remained unpaid.

AI Agent

Goal-driven software that can analyse, decide, and take actions across systems.

AI Impact Assessment

A structured review of an AI use case’s risks, controls, and governance.

AML/CTF

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing obligations applying to regulated entities.

API

A defined way for software systems to exchange data or trigger actions.

APPs

The Australian Privacy Principles governing how many organisations handle personal information.

Approval Matrix

Rules showing who can approve which transactions and at what limit.

Asset

A resource with economic value, such as cash, equipment, software, or receivables.

Audit

An independent review of records, controls, or reporting for accuracy and compliance.

Audit Trail

A record of who did what, when, and why within a system or process.

Automated GST Extraction

Technology that identifies GST amounts from invoices or receipts automatically. Read more

Automation

Using software to complete repeatable finance tasks with less manual work. Read more

AUSTRAC

Australia’s financial intelligence agency and AML/CTF regulator.

Balance Sheet

A snapshot of assets, liabilities, and equity at a point in time.

Bank Reconciliation

Matching bank transactions to ledger records and resolving differences.

BAS

Business Activity Statement used to report GST, PAYG, and certain tax obligations. Read more

BAS Agent

A registered professional authorised to provide BAS services for a fee.

Benchmark

A reference point used to compare financial performance, cost, or process efficiency.

Bill Payments

The process of paying supplier invoices through controlled workflows and approvals.

Bookkeeping

Recording and organising financial transactions accurately and consistently.

BPAY

An Australian electronic bill payment system using biller codes and customer references.

Break-even Point

The level of sales where total revenue equals total costs.

BSB

The 6-digit Australian code identifying a bank branch for domestic payments.

Budget

A financial plan that sets expected revenue, costs, and spending limits.

Budget Cycle

The period over which a budget is set, reviewed, and reset.

Budget Variance

The difference between budgeted and actual results.

Bulk Payment

A single payment run processing multiple supplier or reimbursement transactions.

Burn Rate

The speed at which a business is using cash.

Capex

Capital expenditure on assets expected to provide value over multiple periods.

Cash Basis

Recognising revenue or expenses only when cash is received or paid. Read more

Cash Flow

The movement of cash into and out of the business.

Cash Flow Forecast

An estimate of future cash inflows, outflows, and balances.

Cash Runway

How long current cash reserves are expected to last.

Category

A label used to classify transactions for reporting and analysis.

Chargeback

A card payment reversal initiated through the payment network or issuer.

Chart of Accounts

The structured list of ledger accounts used for financial reporting.

Close the Books

Finalising the accounting period and locking numbers for reporting.

Close Process

The recurring finance workflow to finalise results for a reporting period.

Compliance

Following laws, regulations, policies, and internal controls.

Confidence Score

A system signal indicating how certain a model or rule is about an output.

Contract

A legally binding agreement setting terms, obligations, pricing, and responsibilities.

Control Owner

The person accountable for operating and maintaining a specific control.

Corporate Card

A company-issued payment card for approved business spending. Read more

Cost Centre

A reporting unit used to track spending by team, function, or location.

Covenant

A condition in a loan or financing agreement that the business must meet.

Credit Note

A document reducing the amount owed on a prior invoice.

CSV

A simple file format used to exchange tabular finance data between systems.

Data Mapping

Matching fields in one system to fields in another during integration.

Data Schema

The defined structure of fields, formats, and relationships in a dataset.

Days Payable Outstanding

The average number of days taken to pay suppliers.

Days Sales Outstanding

The average number of days taken to collect customer payments.

Delegation of Authority

Formal approval powers assigned to roles or individuals.

Depreciation

Allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life.

Direct Debit

A pull payment authorised by the payer and initiated by the payee.

Direct Entry

Australia’s traditional bulk payment rail for direct credits and debits.

Direct Transfer

An electronic bank-to-bank transfer of funds.

Director ID

A permanent identifier issued to an individual company director in Australia.

Duplicate Payment

Paying the same invoice more than once by mistake.

Duplicate Transaction

A transaction recorded more than once in the system.

EBITDA

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.

eInvoicing

Sending invoice data directly between systems in a structured digital format.

Embeddings

Numerical representations of meaning used in AI search and retrieval.

Encryption at Rest

Protection of stored data through encryption.

Encryption in Transit

Protection of data while it moves between systems.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Software managing core finance and operational processes.

EOFY

End of financial year in Australia, usually 30 June.

ETL

Extract, transform, load; a common method for moving and reshaping data.

Exception Handling

Reviewing and resolving transactions that fail rules or automation.

Exception Queue

A list of items needing manual review because automation could not complete them.

Expense Management

The process of controlling, approving, and reporting business expenses.

Expense Management Software

Software used to automate expense capture, controls, approvals, and reporting.

Expense Policy

Rules governing employee and company spending. Read more

Expense Report

A submitted record of business expenses for review or reimbursement.

Fair Work Ombudsman

Australia’s workplace regulator for pay, awards, and employee entitlements.

Financial Controller

The finance leader responsible for reporting, controls, close, and compliance.

Financial Management System

The tools and processes used to plan, control, and report finances.

Financial Year

The 12-month accounting period used for financial reporting and tax.

Fine-tuning

Additional training of an AI model on targeted examples or tasks.

Forecast

An estimate of future financial performance based on current assumptions.

Fraud

Intentional deception causing unauthorised spending, theft, or financial loss.

Free Cash Flow

Cash remaining after operating needs and capital spending.

Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)

Employer tax on certain non-cash benefits provided to employees.

Function Calling

A way for AI to return structured actions that software can execute.

General Ledger

The master record of all financial transactions and account balances.

Generative AI

AI that creates new text, code, images, or other outputs from prompts.

GL Code

A ledger account code used to classify a transaction.

Goods Received Not Invoiced (GRNI)

Items received before the supplier invoice has arrived.

Governance

The rules, oversight, and accountability structure for decisions and controls.

Gross Margin

Revenue minus direct costs, usually expressed as a percentage.

GST

Australia’s 10% tax on most goods and services.

GST Credit

A claim for GST paid on eligible business purchases.

GST-free

A sale where no GST is charged but credits may still be claimable.

Guardrails

Technical or policy limits designed to reduce AI or process risk.

Hallucination

An AI output that sounds plausible but is wrong or unsupported.

Hard Close

The final locked version of period-end numbers after adjustments are complete.

Human Error

Mistakes caused by manual input, oversight, or incorrect judgement.

Human-in-the-loop

A workflow where a person reviews or approves system or AI output.

IAS

Instalment Activity Statement or notice used for certain PAYG or GST obligations.

Idempotency

Repeating the same request without creating extra unintended transactions.

Impairment

Writing down an asset when its carrying value is no longer recoverable.

Input Tax Credit

GST claimable on eligible business purchases. Read more

Input-taxed

A sale with no GST where related GST credits usually cannot be claimed.

Integration

A connection allowing systems to exchange data automatically.

Internal Control

A policy, workflow, or system setting designed to reduce risk.

Invoice

A document requesting payment for goods or services supplied. Read more

Invoice Approval

The workflow step where an invoice is reviewed and authorised for payment.

Invoice Capture

Extracting invoice data from email, PDF, scan, or upload.

Invoice Management

Receiving, reviewing, matching, approving, and paying supplier invoices.

ISO 20022

A structured payments messaging standard supporting richer transaction data.

Journal

A chronological accounting record of transactions before posting to the ledger.

Journal Entry

A debit-and-credit posting used to record or adjust transactions.

JSON

A structured text format commonly used in APIs and integrations.

Key Management Personnel (KMP)

Individuals with authority and responsibility for directing the entity.

Key Risk Indicator (KRI)

A metric used to monitor emerging risk exposure.

Know Your Customer (KYC)

Identity and verification checks used in regulated onboarding.

Large Language Model (LLM)

An AI model designed to understand and generate text.

Last-mile Reporting

The final manual shaping of data before board or management reporting.

Least Privilege

Giving users only the access needed for their job.

Leave Accrual

The liability for employee leave earned but not yet taken or paid.

Ledger

A record of transactions by account.

Liability

A present obligation to pay cash, transfer value, or provide services.

Lights-out Processing

Fully automated processing that runs without human intervention.

Liquidity

The ability to meet short-term obligations when due.

Long Service Leave

An employee leave entitlement earned after long service under applicable rules.

Maker-checker

A control where one person creates and another approves a transaction.

Manual Workaround

A human process used because systems cannot handle the case automatically.

Master Data

Core reference data such as suppliers, employees, and ledger accounts.

Materiality

The threshold at which information could influence a user’s decision.

Merchant Fee

A fee charged for accepting certain payment methods.

MFA

Multi-factor authentication using multiple identity checks before access is granted.

Mobile Wallet

A digital wallet storing payment credentials on a device.

Model Drift

Declining model performance caused by changes in data or behaviour.

Model Governance

Policies and oversight for how models are developed, used, and monitored.

Month-end Close

The recurring process to finalise monthly financial results.

National Employment Standards (NES)

Australia’s minimum employment entitlements under workplace law.

NDB Scheme

Australia’s regime requiring notification of eligible serious data breaches.

Net Profit Margin

Net profit expressed as a percentage of revenue.

New Payments Platform (NPP)

Australia’s fast account-to-account payments infrastructure.

No-touch Processing

A workflow completed without any human intervention.

Normalisation

Standardising data into a consistent format for reporting or automation.

OCR

Optical character recognition; converting text in images or PDFs into machine-readable text.

Onboarding

Setting up a new user, customer, supplier, or system connection.

Operating Cash Flow

Cash generated or used by normal business operations.

Operating Expense (Opex)

Day-to-day business costs incurred in running operations.

Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE)

Earnings generally used to calculate super guarantee.

Overhead

Indirect operating costs that support the business but are not directly tied to sales.

Pay Cycle

The recurring schedule on which employees are paid.

Pay Event

The payroll reporting file sent to the ATO on or before payday.

Payday Super

The proposed model where super is paid on payday rather than quarterly.

PayID

A simple identifier, such as email or ABN, linked to a bank account.

PAYG Instalments

Periodic prepayments toward expected tax on business or investment income.

PAYG Withholding

Tax withheld from wages and certain payments and remitted to the ATO.

Payroll Tax

A state or territory tax on wages above the relevant threshold.

PayTo

A digital payment agreement system for bank account payments in Australia.

PDF

A document format commonly used for invoices, reports, and attachments.

Peppol

The network and standard used for interoperable eInvoicing in Australia.

Personal Information

Information about an identified or reasonably identifiable individual.

Petty Cash

A small fund used for minor business expenses.

Policy Breach

Spending or behaviour that does not comply with company policy.

Prepayment

A payment made upfront and recognised as expense over time.

Privacy by Design

Building privacy controls into systems and processes from the outset.

Privacy Impact Assessment

A structured review of privacy risks in a project or change.

Procurement

Sourcing, selecting, and purchasing goods or services.

Procure-to-pay (P2P)

The full workflow from purchasing through invoice and payment.

Prompt

The instruction or input given to an AI system.

Prompt Injection

Malicious input intended to manipulate an AI system’s behaviour.

Prompt Template

A reusable prompt structure for consistent AI outputs.

Provision

A liability of uncertain timing or amount recognised under accounting rules.

Purchase Order (PO)

A formal document authorising a supplier purchase.

Quarter-end Close

The process of finalising financial results for a quarter.

Query

A request used to retrieve specific data from a system or database.

RAG

Retrieval-augmented generation; AI answers grounded in documents or approved data.

Rate Limit

A system cap on the number of requests allowed over a period.

Real-time Reporting

Reporting updated continuously or near instantly as transactions occur.

Receipt

Proof of purchase showing what was bought, from whom, and for how much. Read more

Receipt Capture

Digitally collecting and storing receipts for finance processing.

Reconciliation

Matching records between systems to ensure completeness and accuracy.

Recurring Payment

A payment made automatically at regular intervals.

Refund

Money returned to reverse or correct an earlier payment.

Reforecast

Updating a forecast using new results or assumptions.

Reimbursement

Repaying an employee or other party for approved business expenses.

Related Party

A person or entity whose relationship could influence transactions.

Remittance Advice

Information sent with a payment explaining what is being paid.

Revenue Recognition

The rules determining when revenue should be recorded.

Risk

The possibility of financial loss, control failure, or non-compliance.

Risk Appetite

The level of risk an organisation is willing to accept.

ROI

Return on investment; the gain relative to the cost of an investment.

Role-based Access Control (RBAC)

Granting permissions based on role rather than individual users.

Rolling Forecast

A forecast updated regularly by extending the planning horizon forward.

SaaS

Software delivered over the internet on a subscription basis.

Salary Sacrifice

Redirecting part of pre-tax pay to approved benefits such as super.

Sandbox

A test environment separated from live systems.

Scenario Planning

Testing different assumptions to see how outcomes may change.

Segregation of Duties

Splitting conflicting tasks across people or roles to reduce fraud risk.

Sensitivity Analysis

Testing how a result changes when one variable changes.

Shadow IT

Tools used without formal IT oversight or approval.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

One login used to access multiple systems.

Single Source of Truth

One trusted dataset or system accepted as authoritative.

SME

Small and medium-sized enterprise.

Soft Close

A fast provisional close before final adjustments are completed.

Solvency

The ability to meet longer-term obligations.

Spend Controls

Rules that restrict or guide how company money can be spent.

Spend Management

Controlling, approving, monitoring, and analysing all company spend.

Spend Management Software

Software providing visibility and control over company spending.

Spend Policy

Rules defining acceptable business spending and required approvals.

Spend Visibility

The ability to see who is spending, how much, and on what.

Spreadsheet Sprawl

Too many uncontrolled spreadsheets used in critical finance work.

SSO

Single sign-on; one identity used across multiple applications.

Straight-through Processing

End-to-end processing with minimal or no manual handling.

Structured Output

AI output constrained to a defined schema or format.

Subscription

A recurring payment arrangement for ongoing access to a service.

Super Choice

An eligible employee’s right to choose their super fund.

Super Guarantee (SG)

The minimum super contribution employers must make.

Super Guarantee Charge (SGC)

The amount payable when required super is late or unpaid.

SuperStream

The mandated standard for sending super payments and data electronically.

Supplier

A business or individual providing goods or services to the company.

Supplier Onboarding

Collecting and validating supplier tax, banking, and commercial details.

Supplier Statement Reconciliation

Matching supplier statements to outstanding invoices and ledger balances.

Suspicious Matter Report (SMR)

A report to AUSTRAC about suspicious activity.

Swivel-chairing

Manual re-entry of data between disconnected systems.

Tag

A label added to a transaction for filtering, searching, or reporting.

Tax Invoice

A GST document needed to support many input tax credit claims. Read more

Tax Period

The reporting period used for BAS and other tax obligations.

Taxable Supply

A sale on which GST is generally charged.

Threshold Transaction Report

A report to AUSTRAC for certain threshold cash transactions.

Token

A chunk of text processed by a language model.

Top-up

Adding funds to a budget, card, or spending allocation.

Touchless Processing

A finance process completed automatically without manual intervention.

Transaction

Any financial event recorded in the system, such as a payment or refund.

Transaction Monitoring

Reviewing payment activity to detect anomalies, risk, or fraud.

Treasury

Management of cash, liquidity, banking, and funding.

Trial Balance

A summary of ledger balances used to test whether books balance.

Trust

A legal structure where a trustee holds assets for beneficiaries.

User Permissions

Settings controlling what a user can see, do, approve, or edit.

Variance Analysis

Comparing actual results to budget, forecast, or prior period and explaining the gap.

Vector Database

A data store designed for similarity search using embeddings.

Vendor Master

The central supplier record used across finance systems.

Version Control

Tracking and managing changes to code, files, or configuration.

Virtual Card

A digital-only card used for controlled online or remote business spending. Read more

Virtual Wallet

A digital store of payment credentials and transaction methods.

Webhook

An automated message sent when a specific system event occurs.

Workers Compensation

Insurance and related obligations for work-related injury or illness.

Working Capital

Current assets minus current liabilities; a measure of short-term liquidity.

Workflow Automation

Software-driven execution of repeatable finance tasks.

Write-off

Removing an asset or receivable from the books when it is no longer recoverable.

Xero Integration

A connection that syncs transactions, suppliers, accounts, or coding with Xero.

Year-end Close

The process of finalising accounts and reporting for the full financial year.

Zero-touch Finance

A finance operating model aiming to automate routine work end to end.