Glossary
Cloud & tech terms, explained for business owners
No CS degree required. Plain-English definitions of the terms you'll encounter when evaluating tools, reading reports, or talking to a tech vendor.
Browse by category
Individual term pages are coming soon — for now, see featured definitions below.
Cloud Infrastructure
18 termsIaaS, SaaS, PaaS, serverless, CDN, and how cloud hosting actually works.
Full category page coming soon
ERP & Accounting
14 termsChart of accounts, accounts receivable, reconciliation, and ERP terminology.
Full category page coming soon
Digital Marketing
22 termsSEO, CPC, CTR, conversion rate, ROAS, attribution — and what they actually mean.
Full category page coming soon
Data & Analytics
16 termsDashboards, KPIs, data pipelines, ETL, and how to think about business data.
Full category page coming soon
APIs & Integrations
12 termsREST, webhooks, OAuth, rate limits — the plumbing that connects software.
Full category page coming soon
Security & Compliance
10 termsSSL, MFA, SOC 2, GDPR basics — what matters for a small business.
Full category page coming soon
Featured definitions
Cloud ERP
An Enterprise Resource Planning system hosted on the internet rather than on your own servers. Instead of buying and maintaining software, you pay a monthly fee and access it from any browser. QuickBooks Online and Xero are cloud ERPs.
API (Application Programming Interface)
A standardized way for two software programs to talk to each other. When your e-commerce store automatically creates an invoice in QuickBooks after every sale, that's an API doing the work. You don't need to understand the code — you need to know APIs are what make integrations possible.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The practice of making your website show up higher in Google search results without paying for ads. It involves your site speed, content quality, how other sites link to you, and technical factors like structured data. A well-executed SEO strategy drives consistent traffic over time.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A specific, measurable number your business tracks to know if it's on track. Revenue per customer, website conversion rate, and days sales outstanding are all KPIs. The key word is "key" — most businesses track too many things and lose signal. Pick the 3–5 that actually drive decisions.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
Software you pay to use on a subscription basis rather than buying a license. You access it in a browser, the provider handles updates and servers. QuickBooks, Slack, Shopify, and Google Workspace are all SaaS products. The opposite is "on-premise" software installed on your own computers.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of website visitors who take the action you want — signing up, buying, or booking a call. If 1,000 people visit your website and 20 fill out your contact form, your conversion rate is 2%. Small improvements in conversion rate compound significantly over time.
More terms coming soon
We're building out individual pages for all 92 terms across 6 categories. Each page will include examples, related tools, and why the term matters for your business.
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