Resources

Integration glossary

Plain-English definitions of the terms you’ll come across when connecting accounting, ecommerce, CRM and logistics systems.

3

3PL (third-party logistics): An outsourced warehouse and fulfilment provider that stores your stock, picks and packs orders and ships them on your behalf. Orders need to reach the 3PL quickly, and dispatch and tracking details need to flow back. Shipping integration →

A

Agentic integration: An integration that uses AI agents to handle setup and routine decisions, such as mapping your data and dealing with exceptions, while the data itself moves through fixed, repeatable rules. Zynk Autopilot is agentic integration for small businesses. Zynk Autopilot →
AP/AR automation: Software that automates accounts payable (supplier bills) and accounts receivable (customer invoices and payments), from capturing documents to posting them in the ledger. AP/AR automation integrations →
API (application programming interface): A defined way for one piece of software to request data from, or send data to, another. Most modern cloud platforms expose REST APIs that integrations use to read and write records. Zynk Workflow →

B

B2B ecommerce: Online selling to other businesses, typically with customer-specific price lists, payment terms, credit limits and trade accounts that must stay in step with the accounting system. B2B ecommerce integrations →
Batch vs real-time integration: Batch integration moves data on a schedule, such as every 15 minutes or overnight. Real-time integration moves each record as soon as it changes, usually triggered by a webhook or event. Batch vs real-time explained →

C

Connector: A ready-made integration component that knows how to talk to a specific system, such as Shopify or Sage 200, so you don’t have to build the connection from scratch. Browse connectors →
CRM (customer relationship management): A system for managing customers, contacts, leads and sales opportunities, such as Salesforce or HubSpot. Connecting it to finance gives sales teams live account, order and credit information. CRM integration →
CSV (comma-separated values): A plain-text file format where each line is a record and values are separated by commas. Still one of the most common ways to export and import orders, stock and price lists between systems. CSV connector →

D

D2C (direct-to-consumer): Selling straight to the end customer, usually through your own online store, rather than through wholesalers or retailers. D2C orders need to reach your accounts, warehouse and couriers without rekeying. Ecommerce integration →
Data mapping: Defining how each field in one system corresponds to a field in another, including any conversions, so data arrives in the right place and format. Data mapping explained →

E

EDI (electronic data interchange): The standardised electronic exchange of business documents such as purchase orders, invoices and advance shipping notices between trading partners, replacing paper and email. EDI integration →
EDIFACT: The United Nations EDI standard used widely in UK and European retail and logistics. D96A is one of its most common versions. EDIFACT D96A connector →
EPOS (electronic point of sale): The till system used to take payments in a shop or venue. Sales, payments and stock movements from EPOS need to reach accounts and inventory. EPOS integrations →
ERP (enterprise resource planning): Business management software that runs finance alongside operations such as stock, purchasing and sales orders. Sage 200, Sage Intacct, NetSuite and Dynamics 365 Business Central are common examples. ERP integration →
ETL (extract, transform, load): A process that pulls data out of a source system, reshapes it, and loads it into a target such as a database or data warehouse. File and database integration →

F

FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon): An Amazon service where Amazon stores, picks, packs and ships your products. FBA sales, fees, storage charges and reimbursements all need to be recorded correctly in your accounts. Amazon Seller Central connector →
Field service management: Software for businesses that send engineers or technicians to customer sites, covering scheduling, job sheets, quotes and invoicing. Jobs and invoices need to flow into the accounts. Field service management integrations →

I

Integration template: A pre-built, tested integration between two specific systems, such as Shopify to Sage 200, that is configured to your business rather than built from scratch. Browse templates →
Inventory sync: Keeping stock levels consistent across your stores, marketplaces, warehouse and accounting system, so you don’t oversell or hold stale availability. Inventory sync →
iPaaS (integration platform as a service): A platform for building, running and monitoring integrations between applications, with connectors, data mapping, scheduling and error handling in one place. Zynk Workflow is Zynk’s iPaaS. Zynk Workflow →

J

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation): A lightweight text format for structured data, used by most modern web APIs to send and receive records such as orders, customers and products. JSON connector →

L

Low-code integration: Setting up integrations mainly through guided configuration and pre-built connectors rather than writing code, so integrations need far less developer time. Zynk Workflow →

M

Marketplace integration: Connecting online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay or Temu to your back office, so orders, fees, refunds and stock levels flow without manual exports. Marketplace integration →
MCP (Model Context Protocol): An open standard that lets AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini connect to external tools and data. An MCP server exposes a system’s data so the assistant can answer questions about it. Zynk Insights AI is an MCP server for your accounting, ecommerce and analytics systems. Insights AI →
Middleware: Software that sits between other applications and passes data between them, so each system doesn’t need a direct connection to every other. Zynk Workflow →
MTD (Making Tax Digital): HMRC’s requirement for UK VAT-registered businesses to keep digital records and file VAT returns using compatible software. Integrated sales and purchase data makes MTD records complete and accurate. Ecommerce accounting →
Multichannel selling: Selling through several channels at once, such as your own website, marketplaces and a B2B portal. Orders, stock and pricing need to stay consistent across every channel. Marketplace integration →

N

Nominal code: A code in the chart of accounts, such as sales, carriage or marketplace fees, that each transaction is posted to. Integrations map sales, fees and refunds to the right nominal codes. Ecommerce accounting →

O

ODBC (Open Database Connectivity): A standard interface for connecting to databases such as SQL Server, so data can be read from or written to them by other software. ODBC connector →
OMS (order management system): Software that manages orders from every sales channel through allocation, fulfilment and returns, often sitting between storefronts, warehouses and accounts. Order processing automation →
Overselling: Selling more of a product than you actually have in stock, usually because stock levels on one channel are out of date. Real-time inventory sync prevents it. Inventory sync →

P

Payout: A payment from a marketplace or payment provider, such as Amazon, Shopify Payments or PayPal, that combines many sales minus fees and refunds. Payouts need to be broken down to reconcile against your sales. Ecommerce accounting →
Point-to-point integration: A direct, one-off connection built between two systems. It works for a single link but becomes hard to maintain as more systems are added, which is where an integration platform helps. Zynk Workflow →
PSA (professional services automation): Software that runs a services business, covering tickets, projects, time and billing. ConnectWise and HaloPSA are common examples for IT service providers. PSA integration →

R

Reconciliation: Matching transactions in one record against another, such as marketplace or payment provider payouts against the sales and fees in your ledger, so the numbers agree. Ecommerce accounting →

S

Sales order: A record of what a customer has ordered, used to allocate stock and arrange delivery before an invoice is raised. Integrations often turn web or marketplace orders into sales orders in the ERP. Order processing automation →
SDK (software development kit): A set of tools and code libraries a software vendor provides so other programs can connect to it. Sage 50, for example, is accessed through an SDK rather than a web API. Sage 50 UK connector →
SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol): A secure, encrypted way to transfer files between systems. Still widely used for exchanging order, stock and EDI files with trading partners. SFTP connector →
SKU (stock keeping unit): A unique code for each product or variant you sell. Consistent SKUs across systems are what let orders and stock levels match up. Inventory sync →

T

Two-way sync: An integration that sends data in both directions, such as orders from your store into Sage and stock levels from Sage back to your store, keeping both systems in step. Zynk Workflow →

W

Webhook: An automatic message one system sends to another the moment something happens, such as a new order, so the receiving system can act straight away instead of polling. Zynk Workflow →
WMS (warehouse management system): Software that controls warehouse operations such as receiving, put-away, picking, packing and stock counts. WMS integrations →

X

XML and XSLT: XML is a structured text format widely used to exchange business data. XSLT is a language for transforming one XML layout into another, often used to map data between systems. XML and XSLT connector →

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