ERP & accounting glossary
41 plain-English definitions of the ERP, accounting, inventory and tax terms — from double-entry and landed cost to NTN, STRN, FBR digital invoicing and ZATCA e-invoicing.
Accounting basics
The core bookkeeping terms every business owner meets first.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
ERP is software that runs a business's core operations — accounting, inventory, sales, purchasing, manufacturing and reporting — in one system with one shared database. Instead of separate accounting software, Excel stock sheets and a standalone billing tool, every department works on the same live data, so a sale updates stock, accounts and reports at the same time. See how AmalERP connects the whole flow on the supply chain page.
Double-entry accounting
Double-entry accounting is a bookkeeping method where every transaction is recorded in at least two accounts — a debit in one and an equal credit in another — so the books always balance. For example, a cash sale debits Cash and credits Sales, keeping assets, liabilities, income and expenses in agreement automatically. Full explainer: what is double-entry accounting?
Chart of accounts
A chart of accounts is the organised list of all the accounts a business uses to classify its transactions — typically grouped into assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses. Every journal entry posts to accounts from this list, so a clean chart of accounts is what makes reports like the profit & loss and balance sheet meaningful.
General ledger
The general ledger is the master record of every financial transaction a business has posted, organised account by account. Each account's ledger shows its debits, credits and running balance, and it is the single source from which the trial balance, profit & loss and balance sheet are built.
Trial balance
A trial balance is a report listing every ledger account with its debit or credit balance at a point in time, used to check that total debits equal total credits. In a double-entry system the two columns must match; if they don't, a posting error exists somewhere in the books.
Journal entry
A journal entry is the record of a single transaction in debit-and-credit form, showing which accounts are affected, by how much, on what date and why. In an ERP, most journal entries are created automatically — an invoice, payment or stock movement posts its own entry — with manual entries reserved for adjustments.
Accounts receivable (AR)
Accounts receivable is the money customers owe your business for goods or services sold on credit. It sits as an asset on the balance sheet, and managing it — through ageing reports, credit limits and payment reminders — is what keeps cash flowing in a credit-sales business.
Accounts payable (AP)
Accounts payable is the money your business owes suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It sits as a liability on the balance sheet, and tracking it by supplier and due date helps you pay on time without paying early or twice.
Tax & compliance (Pakistan)
The FBR and provincial tax terms Pakistani businesses deal with every month. Rates and criteria change with budgets and notifications — always check FBR's latest notification for current rules.
GST (sales tax)
GST, or sales tax, is the tax charged on the supply of taxable goods in Pakistan under the Sales Tax Act, 1990, collected by registered businesses from customers and remitted to FBR. The rate is set by the federal budget and can vary by item, so check FBR's latest notification for the current rate on what you sell. See what a compliant invoice must show: sales tax invoice requirements in Pakistan.
Withholding tax (WHT)
Withholding tax is tax deducted at source: the payer deducts a percentage from certain payments — such as payments to suppliers or contractors — and deposits it with FBR on the payee's behalf. Rates depend on the nature of the payment and whether the payee is on FBR's Active Taxpayer List, so check the latest withholding rate card before deducting.
NTN (National Tax Number)
An NTN is the registration number FBR issues to a taxpayer — individual or business — for income tax purposes in Pakistan. It identifies the taxpayer on returns, invoices and official filings, and businesses commonly need it to open bank accounts, import goods or bid for contracts.
STRN (Sales Tax Registration Number)
An STRN is the registration number FBR issues to a business registered for sales tax in Pakistan. A sales-tax-registered seller must show its STRN on tax invoices, and buyers generally need the supplier's STRN to claim input tax. More in sales tax invoice requirements in Pakistan.
IRN (Invoice Reference Number)
An IRN is the unique number FBR's digital invoicing system assigns to each invoice reported to it electronically. Once an invoice is transmitted and accepted, FBR returns the IRN (with a QR code), which is printed on the invoice as proof it was reported in real time. How it works end to end: FBR digital invoicing guide and AmalERP's FBR digital invoicing integration.
FBR digital invoicing
FBR digital invoicing is Pakistan's system for reporting sales invoices to the Federal Board of Revenue electronically, in real time, at the moment of sale. Notified businesses must integrate their invoicing software with FBR so each invoice is transmitted, assigned an IRN and stamped with a QR code; which businesses are covered is set by FBR notifications, so check the latest one for your sector. Read the FBR digital invoicing guide or see how AmalERP handles it.
Tier-1 retailer
A Tier-1 retailer is a category of larger retailers defined in Pakistan's Sales Tax Act — based on criteria such as being part of a national or international chain, operating in an air-conditioned shopping mall, or crossing thresholds FBR specifies — that must integrate their point-of-sale systems with FBR for real-time sales reporting. The exact criteria are updated by law and notification, so check FBR's latest definition before classifying yourself. Details: FBR POS integration for Tier-1 retailers.
SRB (Sindh sales tax on services)
SRB is the Sindh Revenue Board, the provincial authority that collects sales tax on services provided in Sindh. In Pakistan, sales tax on goods is federal (FBR) while sales tax on services is provincial — so a Karachi service business registers with SRB, charges Sindh sales tax on services at the rate SRB notifies, and files its returns with SRB rather than FBR.
Input tax vs output tax
Output tax is the sales tax you charge customers on your sales; input tax is the sales tax you pay suppliers on your purchases. A registered business generally pays FBR the difference — output tax minus admissible input tax — in its monthly return, which is why keeping supplier tax invoices (with valid STRNs) matters: they are your input-tax claim.
Tax & compliance (Saudi Arabia / ZATCA)
The e-invoicing vocabulary every VAT-registered business in the Kingdom now needs.
ZATCA (Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority)
ZATCA is Saudi Arabia's tax authority — the body that administers VAT, Zakat, excise and customs, and that issued the e-invoicing regulation making electronic invoicing mandatory for every VAT-registered resident business. It was formed in 2021 by merging the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) with the customs authority, which is why older guides still say GAZT. Start with the ZATCA e-invoicing guide.
Fatoora (FATOORA platform)
Fatoora is the name ZATCA uses for its e-invoicing programme and for the online platform that invoicing systems connect to in Phase 2. Businesses log in to the Fatoora portal to onboard their invoicing devices and obtain cryptographic stamp identifiers; the systems then send standard invoices to Fatoora for clearance and report simplified invoices to it within 24 hours.
ZATCA Phase 1 (Generation Phase)
Phase 1, in force since 4 December 2021, requires every VAT-registered resident business to generate and store invoices electronically through a compliant system rather than by hand or in an editable document. Invoices must carry the mandatory VAT fields, simplified (B2C) invoices must show a QR code, and the system must not allow anonymous access, deletion or editing of issued invoices. Full requirements on the Phase 1 page.
ZATCA Phase 2 (Integration Phase)
Phase 2, rolling out in waves since 1 January 2023, requires the invoicing system to integrate with ZATCA's Fatoora platform. Each invoice becomes a signed UBL 2.1 XML document with a UUID, a counter and a hash chain; standard (B2B) invoices are cleared by ZATCA in real time before they are valid, and simplified (B2C) invoices are reported within 24 hours. Businesses are notified of their wave by revenue threshold, at least six months before their deadline. See the wave table on the Phase 2 page.
Standard tax invoice (فاتورة ضريبية)
A standard tax invoice is the full invoice issued for business-to-business and business-to-government supplies in Saudi Arabia. It must carry both the seller's and the buyer's details including VAT numbers, and in Phase 2 it must be cleared by ZATCA before it is issued to the customer.
Simplified tax invoice (فاتورة ضريبية مبسطة)
A simplified tax invoice is the shorter invoice issued for business-to-consumer supplies — the receipt a shop, restaurant or e-commerce store hands over. It needs the seller's details, the VAT breakdown and, since Phase 1, a QR code; buyer details are not required. In Phase 2 it is reported to ZATCA within 24 hours of issue rather than cleared in advance.
Clearance vs reporting
Clearance and reporting are the two Phase 2 transaction models. Clearance applies to standard invoices: the system sends the XML to ZATCA, which validates it, applies its own stamp and QR code and returns it — only then may it be issued. Reporting applies to simplified invoices: the system signs and issues the invoice immediately and reports it to ZATCA within 24 hours.
CSID (Cryptographic Stamp Identifier)
A CSID is the digital certificate ZATCA issues to each invoicing device or system so that it can sign invoices. Onboarding produces a temporary Compliance CSID first, used to pass ZATCA's compliance checks with sample invoices, and then a Production CSID that is used for real clearance and reporting. CSIDs are obtained with a one-time password generated in the Fatoora portal and must be renewed before they expire.
EGS (E-Invoice Generation Solution)
EGS is ZATCA's term for the software or device that generates e-invoices — an ERP, an accounting package, a POS terminal or an e-invoicing middleware. Each EGS unit that issues invoices must be onboarded and hold its own CSID, which is why a retailer with five tills registers five units.
ZATCA QR code (TLV)
The ZATCA QR code is a base64 string of tag-length-value records printed on the invoice. Phase 1 codes carry five tags — seller name, VAT number, timestamp, total with VAT and VAT amount. Phase 2 adds the XML hash, the ECDSA signature, the system's public key and, on simplified invoices, ZATCA's stamp of that key, so the code is cryptographically tied to one signed invoice. Decode one with the free ZATCA QR code decoder.
Inventory & costing
How stock is tracked and valued — the terms behind accurate margins.
Landed cost
Landed cost is the full cost of getting a product into your warehouse — the purchase price plus freight, customs duty, insurance, clearing and handling charges. Importers who value stock at invoice price alone understate cost and overstate profit; spreading these extra charges across items gives the true per-unit cost. Full explainer: what is landed cost?
FIFO (First In, First Out)
FIFO is an inventory costing method that assumes the oldest stock is sold first, so cost of goods sold uses the earliest purchase prices and remaining stock is valued at the most recent ones. It mirrors how most physical goods actually move, especially perishables. Compare methods: FIFO vs weighted-average costing.
Weighted-average costing
Weighted-average costing values inventory at the average cost of all units on hand, recalculated each time new stock is purchased at a different price. It smooths out price fluctuations — useful when the same item is bought repeatedly at changing rates — and is the method AmalERP uses to keep stock value and cost of goods sold current automatically. See FIFO vs weighted-average costing for a worked comparison of the main costing methods.
Batch / lot tracking
Batch (or lot) tracking records which production or purchase batch each unit of stock belongs to, along with attributes like manufacturing and expiry dates. It lets pharmacies, food and FMCG businesses sell first-expiry-first-out, spot near-expiry stock early, and trace any batch through purchases and sales if a recall is needed. Guide: batch & expiry tracking — part of AmalERP inventory management.
Serial / IMEI tracking
Serial (or IMEI) tracking follows each individual unit of stock by its unique serial number — such as a mobile phone's IMEI — from purchase through sale and warranty. It is essential for high-value items like mobiles, laptops and batteries, where you need to know exactly which unit went to which customer. Guide: serial / IMEI tracking for mobile & electronics — see it in AmalERP inventory.
Sales & purchase cycle
The documents that move goods and money between you, your customers and your suppliers.
GRN (Goods Received Note)
A GRN is the document that records goods physically received from a supplier — what arrived, in what quantity and condition — usually checked against the purchase order. It updates stock on receipt and gives accounts a basis to verify the supplier's invoice before paying, closing the gap between what was ordered, received and billed.
Delivery challan
A delivery challan is the document that accompanies goods dispatched to a customer, listing what is being delivered and to whom — issued at delivery time, before or alongside the invoice. In Pakistan it is the standard proof-of-dispatch for credit sales and partial deliveries, and in an ERP it reduces stock at dispatch and later converts into the sale invoice.
Sale order
A sale order is a confirmed customer order recording what was agreed — items, quantities, prices and delivery terms — before goods are delivered or invoiced. It anchors the order-to-cash cycle: deliveries and invoices are created from it, so you can always see what is ordered versus delivered versus billed. See the full flow: the order-to-cash sales cycle in an ERP and AmalERP's supply chain module.
Purchase order (PO)
A purchase order is a formal document a buyer sends a supplier committing to buy specified items at agreed quantities and prices. It starts the procure-to-pay cycle — goods are received against it (via a GRN) and the supplier's invoice is matched to it — giving you control over what was ordered versus what you are being billed for. Part of the procure-to-pay flow in AmalERP supply chain.
Manufacturing
The terms behind turning raw material into finished goods.
BOM (Bill of Materials)
A BOM is the recipe for a manufactured product: the list of raw materials, components and quantities needed to make one unit of a finished item. Production orders consume materials according to the BOM, which is how an ERP calculates production cost and keeps raw-material stock accurate as you manufacture. See AmalERP manufacturing for BOMs and production orders.
Work in progress (WIP)
Work in progress is inventory that has entered production but is not yet a finished product — raw materials and labour already consumed by jobs still on the floor. WIP is tracked as its own stock value so the cost of unfinished goods isn't lost between raw-material stock and finished-goods stock. Tracked in AmalERP manufacturing.
Software terms
The software vocabulary you'll meet when choosing a system.
POS (Point of Sale)
A POS is the system a retail business uses to ring up sales at the counter — scanning items, taking payment and printing receipts. A POS connected to an ERP also updates stock and posts to accounts with every sale, and in Pakistan can transmit invoices to FBR in real time where integration is required. See AmalERP POS, including offline mode and FBR integration.
Cloud ERP
Cloud ERP is ERP software delivered over the internet and used in a web browser or mobile app, with data hosted on the provider's servers instead of a computer in your office. There is no server to buy or maintain, updates arrive automatically, and the same live data is available from any device and any branch.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS is a way of buying software as an ongoing subscription to an online service rather than a one-time licence installed on your own machines. The provider hosts, maintains and updates the software; you pay per month or year and access it over the internet — the model cloud ERP systems like AmalERP use.
See these terms working in one system
Double-entry accounting, inventory, POS and FBR digital invoicing — connected in AmalERP.
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