Automation glossary

How to use this automation glossary

Picture a meeting about your new booking system. Someone says the API pushes a webhook to the CRM, and everyone nods. You nod too. Inside, you're wondering what any of it means, and whether it's going to cost you.

You're not alone. Tech people speak in shorthand, and most of it describes simple ideas. This page turns that shorthand back into plain words.

Terms are listed alphabetically and grouped by letter. Each one starts with a short, simple meaning. Where it helps, there's an example from a typical New Zealand small business.

Heard a term that isn't here? Ask whoever's building your system to explain it. A good builder will happily do that without making you feel silly. And where an entry touches on law or tax, it's general information, not legal or tax advice.

A–B: AI agents, APIs and automation

AI (artificial intelligence)

Software that can handle work that used to need a person's judgement, such as understanding a question, reading a photo of a receipt or drafting a reply. For a small business, AI is most useful with messy input like emails, voice memos and handwriting, with a person checking anything that matters.

AI agent

An AI system that can carry out tasks, not just answer questions. For example, it might read a booking request, check the calendar and offer a time. It should work within clear limits, with a person able to step in.

API

Short for application programming interface. Think of it as a secure doorway that lets one program ask another for information, or send it some. Most modern business software has one, including Xero, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. It's what makes most app connections possible.

Approval step

A point where an automation pauses so a person can check and confirm before it carries on. For example, a drafted quote waits for your OK before it goes to the customer.

Automation

Getting software to do a repetitive task a person used to do by hand, following the same rules every time. For example, sending booking reminders, or turning an approved job into an invoice. Not sure where to begin? Our guide on choosing what to automate first covers where to start.

Backup

A separate copy of your data that you can restore if the original is lost, deleted or damaged. A good backup is stored somewhere different from the original. It's also tested now and then, so you know it actually works.

Bank feed

A connection that brings your bank transactions into your accounting software automatically, so nobody has to type them in. It's usually the starting point for matching payments to invoices. For example, a customer's payment lands in the feed, ready to match to the invoice it pays.

Business process automation

Automating a whole routine from start to finish, not just one step. For example, an enquiry becomes a quote, then a job, then an invoice, with a person approving the steps that matter. It's also called business automation or workflow automation.

C: chatbots, cloud software and CRM

Chatbot

A program that answers messages in a chat window, such as one on your website. Simple chatbots follow fixed scripts. AI chatbots can understand questions written in everyday language. Either way, there should be an easy route to a real person.

Cloud software

Software you use through a web browser or app, with your data stored on the provider's servers rather than on your own computer. Xero, Gmail and Google Sheets are all cloud software. For example, you can check an invoice from the café counter or the ute, not just the office PC.

CRM

Short for customer relationship management. It's a system that keeps all your customer details, enquiries, notes and history in one place. There's plenty of dedicated CRM software. For a very small business, though, a well organised spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets can do the job.

CSV file

A simple text file of data in rows and columns, separated by commas. Most software can export and import CSV files. That makes them a handy go-between when two tools can't connect directly. For example, you might export a customer list from one system and import it into another.

D–G: dashboards, data mapping and GST

Dashboard

A single screen that shows your key numbers, such as sales, unpaid invoices and jobs, and updates itself as things change. Our guide to your business numbers every week explains what to put on one.

Data mapping

Working out which piece of information in one app matches which piece in another. For example, deciding that "Client name" in your booking system goes into "Contact" in your accounting software. Getting this right is a big part of any integration.

Data entry

Typing information into a system by hand, such as copying a supplier invoice into Xero or a booking into a spreadsheet. Double entry, typing the same thing into two or more apps, is one of the most common jobs to automate first.

Field

One piece of information in a form or record, such as a name, phone number or invoice date. Automations move information field by field.

Google Business Profile

Google's free listing for your business, which can appear in Google Maps and local search results. It shows your hours, location, phone number, photos and reviews. It's one of the most useful things a local business can keep up to date. For example, a public holiday change to your hours belongs here first.

GST

Goods and Services Tax, New Zealand's 15% tax on most goods and services. Any automation that creates quotes or invoices needs to handle GST correctly. Your accountant can confirm how it applies to your business.

H–N: hallucinations, integrations and no-code

Hallucination

When an AI tool states something that sounds confident but is wrong or made up. It's the main reason a person should check AI-written content before it goes to a customer. For example, a drafted reply might quote opening hours you don't actually keep.

Hosting

Where a website, app or data actually lives: the servers that store it and keep it running. Hosting location matters for speed and for privacy. Data we store for clients is hosted in New Zealand or Australia.

Human in the loop

A design where a person reviews or approves key steps of an automated process, rather than letting it run entirely on its own. It's sensible wherever a mistake would be costly or embarrassing.

Integration

A connection between two pieces of software so they share information automatically. For example, an integration might turn each approved quote into a draft invoice in Xero. Our guide to connecting your business apps covers how they work.

LLM

Short for large language model. It's the type of AI behind most modern chat and writing tools. It has learned patterns from a huge amount of text. That lets it understand questions and write replies, summaries and drafts. ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot are well-known tools built on LLMs.

Low-code

Tools that let you build apps or automations mostly by dragging and configuring, with a little code where needed. They sit between no-code tools and fully custom software.

Multi-factor authentication

The general name for logins that need more than one proof of identity. Two-factor authentication is the most common kind.

No-code

Tools that let people build automations, forms or simple apps without writing any code, usually by choosing steps from menus. They're great for simple jobs. Complex processes can outgrow them, though.

Notifiable privacy breach

A privacy breach that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to someone. Under the Privacy Act 2020, you must tell the Privacy Commissioner and the people affected as soon as practicable.

O–S: OCR, the Privacy Act and SEO

OCR

Short for optical character recognition. It's software that reads text from a photo or scanned document and turns it into data a computer can use. Receipt and bill capture tools use it to pull details from documents. For example, snap a supplier invoice and the amount and date come out ready to use.

Permissions

Settings that control who can see or change what in a system. Good permissions mean each person sees only what their role needs. For example, your casual staff can see the roster, but not the bank account.

Personal information

Any information about an identifiable person, such as a name, phone number, address, health details or booking history. The Privacy Act 2020 sets the rules for collecting, storing and using it.

Portal

A private website or app where staff or customers log in to see and do things. For example, they might track a job, upload photos, approve a quote or download an invoice. It's your own app on every phone, without an app store.

Privacy Act 2020

New Zealand's main privacy law. It's built around 13 information privacy principles. They cover how personal information is collected, stored, used, shared and deleted. Our guide to the Privacy Act and automation explains what to check.

Prompt

The instructions or question you give an AI tool. Clear prompts, with examples and limits, usually get more reliable results. For example, "Reply in two sentences, and never offer a discount" works better than "Write a reply".

Scheduled task

An automation that runs at a set time, rather than in response to an event. For example, a sales summary sent every Monday at 7am is a scheduled task.

SEO

Short for search engine optimisation. It's the work of helping search engines understand your website, so it shows up when people search for what you offer. For local businesses, it starts with clear pages and a complete Google Business Profile.

Single source of truth

One agreed place where a piece of information is kept and updated, with every other system reading from it. For example, if customer details live only in your CRM and flow out from there, you avoid three slightly different versions.

SSL and HTTPS

The security that encrypts information travelling between a website and a visitor's browser. A site using it has an address starting with https://, and browsers warn visitors when a site doesn't use it. Every website with a contact form should have it.

Sync

Short for synchronise. It means keeping the same information up to date in two or more places, so a change in one shows up in the others. For example, a customer's new phone number, updated once, appears everywhere it's used.

T–Z: triggers, webhooks and workflows

Template

A reusable layout for a document or message, with gaps the automation fills in. For example, the customer's name and appointment time in a reminder text.

Training data

The information used to teach an AI model. Some AI providers use what customers send them to train future models, so check the settings and terms before sharing business data. Data we handle for clients is never used to train anyone's AI model. The AI tools we use on client data run on business plans that don't train on it.

Trigger

The event that starts an automation. A new booking, an email arriving, a form being submitted or a job being marked complete are all common triggers.

Two-factor authentication

A login that needs your password plus a second check, usually a code from your phone or an authenticator app. It makes it much harder for someone with a stolen password to get in. It's worth turning on for email, accounting and banking.

Webhook

A message one app sends to another the moment something happens, such as "a new order has just come in". It lets automations react straight away, rather than checking for changes every few minutes. For example, an online order can reach your packing list within moments.

Workflow

The series of steps a task goes through from start to finish, whether done by people, software or both. Writing the workflow down is usually the first step in automating it. For example: enquiry comes in, quote goes out, job is booked, invoice is sent.

Common questions