Automation & Order Processing Glossary
Everything you need to know about business automation, order processing, and workflow integration — explained in plain English.
Core Automation Concepts
Business Process Automation (BPA)
Using technology to perform recurring business tasks automatically
Workflow Automation
Automated sequences where one action triggers the next
Trigger-Action Workflows
The fundamental pattern behind all automation
No-Code Automation
Building workflows without writing code
API Integration
How software applications communicate with each other
Webhooks
Real-time data delivery between applications
Done-For-You Automation
Expert-built and managed automation services
Automation ROI
How to calculate your return on investment
Order Processing & Accounting
Purchase Order Processing
The workflow of receiving, reviewing, and fulfilling POs
Order-to-Cash (O2C)
The complete process from order to payment
Accounts Receivable (AR)
Managing and collecting money owed to your business
Invoice Automation
Auto-create, send, and track invoices
Three-Way Matching
PO vs receiving report vs invoice verification
SKU Mapping
Linking product IDs across platforms
EDI vs PDF Orders
Structured data exchange vs document parsing
OCR vs AI Extraction
Traditional text reading vs intelligent document understanding
Cost of Manual Data Entry
The true cost: labor, errors, opportunity, and turnover
Tools & Platforms
What Is Make.com?
Visual automation platform (formerly Integromat)
What Is Zapier?
The most popular no-code automation tool
What Is Parseur?
Cloud-based document and email parsing
QuickBooks Online vs Desktop
Key differences for automation compatibility
What Is ShipStation?
Shipping and fulfillment management platform
What Is Xero?
Cloud accounting software for small business
What Is Airtable?
Spreadsheet-database hybrid for operations
HubSpot CRM Automation
Extending HubSpot beyond the CRM
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