WIXLIB

The UltimateEcommerce GlossaryThe big list of helpful terms forenterprising online retailersA Guide by

commerce is complicated enough without having to guess your waythrough a whole new language. Here’s Webgility’s glossary for theonline retail industry, whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned seller.CategoriesRetail and Ecommerce TermsAccounting TermsTechnical TermsBBrick-and-mortar store A physicalstore location where customers can enterand purchase a product.Brick to click The transition fromoperating only physical (brick-and-mortar)stores to selling online (either solely or inAaddition to brick-and-mortar stores).Bundles (aka multi-packs) Groups ofAccrual A system of accounting underspecified items that are sold together—which revenue is recorded when earned,but are also sold in other configurations,and expenses are recorded when incurred.such as individually or as parts of otherAt the end of the accounting period, totalbundles.revenue and total expenses are reported.Essentially, accrual tracks your revenuesCand expenses at the time they occur.Cash Money on hand (e.g., a bank accountAlternative Lookup number (ALU) Anbalance, petty cash, and customer checks).additional item identifier. This is a rarelyThis is how much money youused identification, only necessary incan access immediately fromsituations in which the SKU, item name ornon-credit resources.number, and UPC are unavailable orChild item The product that derivesinappropriate.from the parent item after the attributes,API A set of clearly defined syntax andvariants, or options are applied—mostmethods of communication betweencommonly a size and/or color. This issoftware components.the item that the customer actually buysAssembly build A product that is made(e.g., if someone selects “t-shirt,” they arefrom individual components which arepresented with color and size options. Thecommitted to the final item.item specified by the selection of thoseAutomation Movement of dataoptions is the the child item.without manual entry.Clearing account A virtual bank accountA Webgility Guide The Ultimate Ecommerce Glossary2

used to temporarily keep funds from aa designated decrease in price. The itemspecific source separate (e.g., an Amazonusually shows a negative price in theclearing account) for accounting clarity.transaction and thus applies the discount.The cloud An offsiteDropshipping The selling of inventoryserver (and often multiple,the seller doesn’t own directly from aredundant servers) wherethird-party vendor (aka dropshipper) todata is securely stored—for gated accessthe buyer, so that fulfillment is handled byfrom any site. Access is granted usingthe dropshipper.logins, passwords, and other means ofsecure user authentication.ECompliance Meeting the requirements ofEcommerce platform A service thata governing body (e.g., paying sales tax toallows individual sellers to create hostedthe local government).websites using their own business nameConsolidated post Sales data groupedand web address (e.g., Magento, Shopify,into a single accounting transaction basedX-Cart, BigCommerce). Typically,on a specified frequency (e.g., daily,ecommerce platforms include everythingweekly, or monthly).needed for an ecommerce website, suchDas website hosting, payment processing,and a shopping cart.Direct connection Online channelEtail A snappy term for ecommerce retail.directly connected to Webgility’s Unifysoftware.FDiscount code A specified code for anFulfillment The processonline store (like Amazon, eBay, etc.) thatof receiving, packaging, anddecreases the price of individual itemsshipping orders.or entire orders by a designated amount(e.g., when the buyer enters a word likeG“HOLIDAY” into the discount code sectionGross The amount preceding theduring checkout to receivesubtraction of deductions or adjustments25% off).(e.g., your gross receipts is the totalDiscount itemamount of money you received in a day.A specific item used forThe gross expenses would be the amountdiscounts in certain shopping carts, likeof money spent, with no adjustments forMagento or BigCommerce, that initiatesany other consideration).A Webgility Guide The Ultimate Ecommerce Glossary3

IMInventory asset An income accountManufacturer Part Number (MPN)that reflects the total value of inventoryThe number a manufacturer uses topurchased and held within a company.denote their items. This is often stored inThis would be the value of your inventory,the item information for easy reordering.usually expressed as how much you willMapping The process of linking itemscharge for the product (e.g., If you havewith different names or IDs across10 100 troll dolls in inventory, yoursystems.inventory asset account has a valueMargin The difference between the costof 1,000).of an item and its selling price.Inventory part Items with a quantifiableMarketplace A branded website (likeavailability (and therefore limited at anyAmazon, eBay, or Etsy) that allows third-given time). Any physical object would beparty sellers to offer their own productsclassified as an inventory part.within the branded site. The primaryInvoice A bill (paid or unpaid)advantages of selling throughissued by a seller to a buyer.marketplaces are their easyInvoices are often used forsetup and use—and their large,business-to-business transactions.built-in customer bases.KMatching criteria Data used toKits See assembly buildits corresponding twin in QuickBooks. TheLmost common pair to match are the SKULocal tax Municipality or county tax,Merchant The seller or retailer of ausually charged at a separate andproduct.additional percentage from the state tax.Multichannel business A business thatThis is almost always a sales tax (e.g., Ifutilizes more than one venue or vehicleyou are selling something in San Francisco(i.e., multiple channels) for selling (e.g.,to someone in San Francisco, youthrough a Shopify store, Amazon, and awould have to pay both the sales tax forbrick-and-mortar location). This allowsCalifornia and the local sales tax for Sansellers to reach a much wider group ofFrancisco).customers and utilize several marketingrecognize a product in the online store andand the item name or number.and outreach strategies.A Webgility Guide The Ultimate Ecommerce Glossary4

NNet The amount after the subtractionof deductions or adjustments. Net isgenerally the key number to realizebecause it reveals profitability.Non-inventory part Items with no setlimit on availability. These items can bepurchased indefinitely (e.g., a service or adownload).OOrder status The current state orlocation of an order along its fulfillment (orprocessing) path—from the moment anitem is purchased until it is delivered (e.g.,You might make a sale “pending” when it isfirst ordered and then “shipped” after ashipping label is generated).Other charge A term used formiscellaneous charges (e.g., shippingcharges).Out-of-state tax Tax charged to buyersoutside of the state where goods werepurchased.Overselling When a seller doesn’t havehave enough inventory to fulfill currentorders (this commonly occurs when sellingfrom multiple channels).PPackagingThe physical wrapping ofmerchandise in order tocontain, identify, protect, display, and shipinventory.Parent item The parent item is the baseitem to which variants, options,and attributes are applied (e.g., if you’reselling a t-shirt in multiple sizes and styles/colors, you would create a parent item,“t-shirt” that encompasses all “child item”variations—like size and color). The parentitem specified by its “child” variants is theactual item selected.Partial order An order that has at leastone in-stock item and one out-of-stockitem which must be fulfilled later.PHP A coding language primarily designedfor web development.Pick list A list of purchased items, used toselect inventory to fulfill orders.Post 1-way upload or push to anaccounting (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero)company file.Profit The amount left over after costs arededucted from revenue. Profit is used tomeasure a business’s success.Purchase order An offer issued by amerchant to a vendor which indicatesquantities and prices for items beingordered.RReconciliation Procedure for confirmingthat the balance or activity in variousfinancial accounts matches theA Webgility Guide The Ultimate Ecommerce Glossary5

corresponding bank statement.Shopping cart A software componentRetailer A seller or merchant thator extension that creates items andmarkets and distributes products to thesells those items within its interface onend user.any website (e.g., Zencart, Ubercart,Revenue The amount earned from a saleosCommerce). Shopping carts are usedof goods before costs or expenses arewhen selling from one’s own websitededucted.without using a platform or a marketplaceSand are considered a cost-Sales order An order for items orsellers.services to be paid for by the customerSQL Programming language that allowsand then fulfilled by the business.information contained within a databaseSales receipt A written proof of ato be modified, queried (located andcompleted sale which includes taxes,viewed), updated, and deleted.discounts, and adjustments for a paid sale.Stockkeeping unit (SKU)A receipt requires goods or services toAn identifier, usually alphanumeric, of ahave been exchanged.particular product in a store or catalogSales tax Tax that applies to the sale ofthat allows it to be tracked for inventorygoods to the final user.purposes.Scale The process of adjusting the sizeSubchannels Multichanneland scope of a business (e.g., adding newbusinesses contained within a directlysales channels, closing a physical location,connected channel (e.g., Amazon,growing a customer base, or adjusting theSkubana, ShipStation, ChannelAdvisor,number and variety of products offered).ShippingEasy, SkuVault).Scheduling Automation on a regular, pre-Sub-item A designation of a product.set cadence (e.g., nightly, hourly).In QuickBooks, the sub-item is alwaysShipping chargesassociated with and combined with theThe amount a customer pays the seller forparent designation and separatedshipping an order.by a colon (:).Shipping cost The amount a seller paysSync 2-way data update.a shipping provider (like FedEx or theU.S. Postal Service) toTtransport an order to aTax code The body of law whichcustomer.determines the rules and amounts of taxation.effective solution for newA Webgility Guide The Ultimate Ecommerce Glossary6

Tracking Status updatesVendor A supplier of inventory, products,throughout theor services.workflow of a sale.Transactional accountingWRecording the financial events of theWholesaler A seller that markets andbusiness according to acceptabledistributes products—often in largerpractices.quantities—to middlemen like retailers orVother wholesalers.Value-Added Tax (VAT) Similar to awhich a business completes a task.Workflow The series of processes bysales tax, this is tax added to the marketvalue of an item—used in Canada, theEuropean Union, Australia, and NewZealand.201 Mission Street, Suite 1550San Francisco, CA 94105(877) 753-5373 USA1 (415) 666-2621 he Webgility logo is a trademark of Webgility, Inc. in the United States. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the propertyof their respective owners. Webgility Incorporated. All rights reserved.A Webgility Guide The Ultimate Ecommerce Glossary7

Shopping cart A software component or extension that creates items and sells those items within its interface on any website (e.g., Zencart, Ubercart, osCommerce). Shopping carts are used when selling from one’s own website without using a platform or a marketplace and