FinTech and Accounting Glossary
Cord bridges worlds that speak different languages: developers, accountants, and the people who read the business’s reports.
This glossary resolves the most common ambiguities so everyone can use the platform without friction.
Invoicing Terms (SAT)
CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet)
It is the official XML file that represents an electronic invoice in Mexico. Cord stamps CFDI version 4.0 from the Starter plan, with your business’s CSD.
PUE (Pago en Una sola Exhibición)
Used when the invoice is already paid when issued. Cord decides it on its own: if the sale is fully collected when stamping, the CFDI is issued PUE with the real payment method.
PPD (Pago en Parcialidades o Diferido)
Used when the invoice is issued and payment will be received later (credit or installments). Cord stamps PPD with payment method 99 when the invoice is not paid when issued, and each later payment requires a REP.
REP (Recibo Electrónico de Pago)
Also known as “payment complement”, “Payment Receipt Supplement” or type P CFDI. It is the receipt that documents each payment on a PPD invoice. Cord issues it on its own every time a payment is applied to a PPD invoice: when recorded manually, paid online or moved from the quote to the invoice. A payment in another currency is left to your accountant. See PPD invoices and payment complements.
CSD (Certificado de Sello Digital)
These are the cryptographic files (.cer and .key) issued by the SAT that allow software to digitally sign invoices on behalf of a company. It is different from the FIEL (Advanced Electronic Signature). In Cord, you only need to upload your CSD.
CFDI Usage (Uso de CFDI)
A key from the SAT catalog that indicates what the recipient (customer) will use the invoice for (e.g., G03 - General expenses, I04 - Computer equipment).
Global invoice (Factura global)
A CFDI that documents, addressed to PUBLICO EN GENERAL (RFC XAXX010101000), the collected sales of a period where the client did not ask for an invoice. See General public invoicing and the global invoice.
Replacement (reason 01)
The way to correct a CFDI with another: the new one is related to the original and Cord cancels the original under reason 01. See Void invoices.
Invoicing terms in other countries
Pro forma and commercial invoice
A pro forma (Mexico and Spain) is a commercial document that states it does not replace a tax invoice. A commercial invoice (the other countries) carries a number, taxes and both parties’ details, but Cord does not submit it to any authority.
Verifactu
The verifiable invoicing system required by Spanish law: each invoice creates a chained record sent to the AEAT. In Cord it is in beta: from Starter, it turns on when you upload your electronic certificate. See How to invoice in Spain.
Factur-X, XRechnung, Peppol and Facturae
European e-invoice formats that the client’s system reads without manual entry. See European e-invoicing.
CAE, CUFE and DTE
What each LatAm authority gives an authorized invoice: the CAE from ARCA (Argentina), the CUFE from the DIAN (Colombia) and the DTE with its SII folio (Chile). In Cord, those rails are being turned on. See Invoicing by country.
NFS-e and NF-e
In Brazil, the NFS-e documents services (issued by the national NFS-e system) and the NF-e documents the sale of goods (authorized by each state’s SEFAZ). See How to invoice in Brazil.
Debit note
A document that increases what the client owes on an issued invoice (interest, price difference). In Cord it exists for Chile (DTE 56). See Debit note and SII certification.
Technical Terms (Developers)
Idempotency
It is the property of Cord’s APIs that guarantees that the same operation is not executed twice, even if the request is sent multiple times due to a network error. To achieve this, you send an Idempotency-Key in the headers of your requests. More information.
Webhook
It is a mechanism by which Cord proactively notifies your server (via an HTTP POST request) that an important event has occurred (e.g., quote.paid, quote.invoiced). More information.
Cord Elements
It is our suite of pre-built user interface (UI) components that you can embed directly into your application (React, Vue, or plain HTML) to process payments without having to design the checkout flow from scratch. More information.
Test mode
sk_test_ keys don’t consume your usage meter or count toward billing, so they’re useful for integrating the API without affecting your plan. Note: they operate on the same organization data (there’s no 100% isolated sandbox yet), and whether stamping is real or simulated depends on whether you have your CSD connected.
Endpoint
A specific URL of the Cord API designed to execute an action (e.g., POST /api/v1/cotizaciones to create a quote).
Financial Terms
Net-30 / Credit Terms
It means that the customer has 30 calendar days from the issuance of the invoice (or product delivery) to settle the total balance.
Dispute (Chargeback)
Occurs when an end customer contacts their bank to reject a charge processed via Cord. The bank temporarily holds the funds while Cord helps you submit evidence to win the dispute.
Reconciliation
The process of matching a money movement in the corporate bank account with its respective invoice or accounting record. Cord automates this for payments that go through Cord Payments (card, bank debit, and bank transfer with a reference or, in Mexico, SPEI); a manual bank transfer deposit is confirmed by you.
Reports and Analytics Terms
Range
The period you pick in the date picker on Home or in a report (for example, Last 30 days or a Custom range). Widgets tagged Range follow it; those tagged Today are a snapshot of right now, and those tagged All time add up your whole history. Learn more.
Previous period
The period of the same length immediately before the chosen range: each figure’s change is calculated against it. Last 30 days is compared with the 30 days before, and This month on the 8th is compared with the previous 8 days, not all of last month. Amounts change as a percentage and rates in points.
Collected
Money that came in, by payment date: quote and invoice payments (including partial payments) and quotes marked as paid manually, minus refunds. It means the same thing on Home and in every report.
Close rate
Of the quotes sent in the period, what percentage was won (approved, paid, or invoiced). It’s measured on a cohort so two periods compare without mixing dates.
Cohort
A group followed over time based on when it started. In Close rate and the Custom report, the cohort is the quotes created in the period and what happened to them afterward. In Repeat purchase by cohort, it’s the clients who first bought in the same month.
Average ticket
What was sold in the period divided by the number of sales that make it up.
Base currency
Your business’s currency (Settings › General). Every amount on Home, in reports, CSV files, and scheduled emails is expressed in it; sales in other currencies are converted with the exchange rate locked on the quote or, if there’s none, with today’s published rate. Learn more.
Table report
A report with key figures compared with the previous period, a chart, and a full table you sort by column and export with Export CSV. For example, Sales over time or Payments received. Learn more.
Custom report
A table report you build yourself: you choose Group by and up to six metrics. You can share it with a link, save it with a name for the whole team, and get it by email. Learn more.
Drill-down (view detail)
Going from an aggregate figure to what makes it up: a click on a client’s bar opens their page, and one on a month’s bar opens that month in more detail. On a phone, the first tap shows the value and View detail takes you there.
Widget
Each card on Home and in widget reports. You move, resize, hide, and add them from the library with Customize. Learn more.