Accounting & E-Invoicing Glossary
A practical glossary of accounting, e-invoicing, and tax terms for Saudi business owners.
103 terms · 11 categories
Core software basics
Accounting software#
Software to record financial activity and manage expenses, revenue, and reports.
Invoicing software#
Software to create, send, and manage invoices and sales documents.
Subscription#
A paid monthly/annual plan to access software features.
Billing cycle#
The period used to charge and renew a subscription (monthly or annual).
Invoicing & documents
E-invoice#
An invoice issued and stored electronically under e-invoicing requirements.
Sales invoice#
A document that records a sale to a customer, including items, totals, and VAT.
Supplier bill#
A supplier invoice used to record purchases, costs, and payables.
Quote#
A price proposal before final agreement; often convertible to an invoice once approved.
Purchase order (PO)#
A document issued before purchasing to confirm what will be bought and on what terms.
Credit note#
A document that reduces a sales invoice amount (returns/discounts), depending on the case.
Debit note#
A document used to adjust/raise a purchase amount or correct supplier bill differences.
Invoice numbering#
A structured numbering system to track invoices and support audits.
Sequential numbering#
Continuous numbering sequence with minimal gaps (policy-dependent).
Due date#
The date an invoice is expected to be paid.
Payment terms#
Terms like Net 7/30, upfront, on delivery.
Tax invoice#
An invoice containing mandatory VAT details required for compliance.
Attachments#
Supporting documents attached to transactions (PDF invoices, receipts, etc.).
Invoice status#
Invoice state such as paid, unpaid, or overdue.
Receipt voucher#
A record confirming money received.
Payment voucher#
A record confirming money paid.
Saudi e-invoicing (ZATCA)
ZATCA#
Saudi authority overseeing zakat, tax, customs, and e-invoicing.
E-invoicing Phase 1#
"Issue & store" stage: invoices are issued and stored electronically.
E-invoicing Phase 2#
"Integration" stage based on rollout phases.
Fatoora#
The e-invoicing framework reference used in Saudi e-invoicing.
QR code#
A QR element that appears on invoices per requirements depending on the case.
XML#
Structured format used to represent invoice data.
PDF/A-3#
Archival PDF format sometimes used for compliant invoice outputs.
Embedded XML#
Embedding the XML invoice file inside a PDF/A-3 where applicable.
VAT & compliance
Value Added Tax (VAT)#
An indirect tax applied to taxable supplies under Saudi rules.
VAT rate#
Percentage applied to a transaction (standard, zero-rated, or exempt).
VAT number#
Tax identification number used for VAT purposes.
VAT return#
A filing/report summarizing VAT outputs and inputs for a period.
Output VAT#
VAT collected on taxable sales.
Input VAT#
VAT paid on purchases, potentially recoverable under conditions.
Zero-rated supply#
A taxable supply at 0% under specific rules.
Exempt supply#
A supply not subject to VAT; treatment differs from zero-rated.
Withholding tax (WHT)#
Tax withheld on certain payments to non-residents.
Record keeping#
Keeping invoices, books, and documents for required periods and formats.
Audit trail#
A record of changes showing who did what and when.
Accounts & reconciliation
Account reconciliation#
Matching bank/cash/card activity with recorded transactions to ensure accuracy.
Bank account#
An account used to track bank activity and balances.
Bank statement#
A bank's transaction record for a period.
Bank feed#
Importing bank activity into the software (if available).
Petty cash#
A cash account for small day-to-day business spending.
Card account#
An account used to track card activity and balances.
Opening balance#
Starting balance at the beginning.
Closing balance#
Ending balance after transactions.
Unmatched transaction#
An account movement not yet matched to a recorded item.
Partial payment#
Paying part of an invoice total.
Overpayment#
Payment exceeding the invoice amount.
Underpayment#
Payment less than the invoice amount.
Accounts receivable#
Money owed to you by customers.
Accounts payable#
Money you owe to suppliers.
Collections#
Follow-up process for customer payments.
Payment reminder#
A reminder message for unpaid invoices.
Expenses & costs
Expense#
A business cost (rent, utilities, operations, etc.).
Expense category#
A label to group expenses for clearer reporting.
Cost center#
Allocating costs by branch/department/activity for clearer insight.
Cost allocation#
Distributing a cost across centers/branches/activities.
Inventory#
Goods/materials held for sale or use.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)#
Direct cost tied to sold goods/services.
Gross profit#
Revenue minus COGS.
Net profit#
Profit after all expenses and taxes (if any).
Fixed assets#
Long-term assets like equipment.
Depreciation#
Allocating asset cost over its useful life.
Prepaid expense#
Paid upfront and expensed over time.
Accrued expense#
Expense incurred but not yet paid.
Reporting & periods
Basic reports#
Simple reports to understand revenue and spending faster.
Cash flow#
Movement of cash in and out of the business.
Trial balance#
A report showing account balances to validate accounting accuracy.
Balance sheet#
A report showing assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific date.
Income statement#
A report showing revenue, expenses, and net profit/loss over a period.
Fiscal year#
The 12-month reporting period.
Accounting period#
A month/quarter/year used for reporting and closing.
Period close#
Closing a period to reduce changes after approval.
Lock date#
A date before which edits are restricted.
Accounting engine & settings
Chart of accounts#
A structured list of accounts for organizing records and reporting.
General ledger#
A master record of financial activity by accounts.
Journal entry#
An accounting entry representing a transaction.
Accrual basis#
Recognize revenue/expenses when incurred, not when cash moves.
Cash basis#
Recognize transactions when cash is paid/received.
Revenue recognition#
Rules for when/how revenue is recorded.
Teams, permissions & growth
Users, roles & permissions#
Adding users and controlling what they can view/create/edit.
Role-based access#
Access control based on user roles.
Branch#
A business unit/location used to organize reporting.
Multi-currency#
Working with multiple currencies and tracking exchange rates.
Exchange rate#
Conversion rate between currencies at a point in time.
ERP#
Enterprise Resource Planning system (broader business operations).
SME#
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.
Saudi terms & standards
SOCPA#
Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants.
IFRS#
International Financial Reporting Standards.
IFRS for SMEs#
Simplified IFRS tailored for SMEs.
Zakat#
Zakat obligation under relevant Saudi rules (where applicable).
Corporate Income Tax (CIT)#
Corporate tax applying to certain entities under Saudi rules (where applicable).
Commercial Registration (CR)#
Official business registration record in Saudi Arabia.
MISA#
Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia.
GOSI#
General Organization for Social Insurance.
WPS#
Wage Protection System.
Nitaqat#
Saudization classification program.
Security & data
Two-factor authentication (2FA)#
Extra login security step.
Data residency#
Where data is hosted geographically.
Backup#
Copies of data for recovery.
Uptime#
Service availability percentage.
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