SaaS Glossary - Essential Terms Defined

A heat map (or heatmap) is a graphical representation of data with color-coded values. Heatmaps make it easy to visualize and interpret complicated data at a glance. Heatmaps are a great way to see where visitors click, how far they scroll, and what they look at or miss on your website pages.

Indexing is a method for improving database efficiency by reducing the number of disc accesses needed when a query is run. It's a data structure technique for finding and accessing data in a database easily.

The basic idea is that interactive elements transform users from passive to active participants. Therefore, an interactive element is anything on the web page with which the user interacts. An interactive element is one that allows the user to take action.

Incident management is the process that focuses solely on handling and escalating incidents as they occur to restore defined service levels. Incident management does not deal with root cause analysis or problem resolution.

An incident report is used for recording and documenting incidents, such as: hacking, accidents, injuries of any kind or any other unforeseen event.

The Invoice History Report is needed to justify the balance for a given range of invoices. It helps you to quickly identify and review a detailed list of all activities pertaining to a specific invoice including all payments, gain/loss, credit/debit memos, and discounts.

Interactive voice response (IVR) is telephony software technology commonly found in call centers. IVR allows businesses to interact with callers through a series of automated menus, often enabling the customer to self-serve for faster resolution.

Idea management is a structured process of generating, capturing, discussing and improving, organizing, evaluating and prioritizing valuable insight or alternative thinking that would otherwise not have emerged through normal processes.

Inventory involves managing your product levels and efficiently getting your stock in and out of the system accurately. Maintaining up to date product data is imperative to the success of the system. When storing inventory, businesses must consider the possibility that inventory may get spoiled or go out of demand if stored for too long. Therefore, businesses must take measures to make sure that the inventory stored in the business is sufficient to meet the current manufacturing or sales needs. Implementing proper inventory control measures ensures the long-term stability of the company, and the production process will run smoothly without interruption due to stock-outs.

An invoice is a time-stamped commercial document that itemizes and records a transaction between a buyer and a seller. If goods or services were purchased on credit, the invoice usually specifies the terms of the deal and provides information on the available methods of payment. An invoice typically contains contact information for the seller or service provider in case there is an error relating to the billing. Payment terms may be outlined on the invoice, as well as the information relating to any discounts, early payment details or finance charges assessed for late payments. It also presents the unit cost of an item, total units purchased, freight, handling, shipping, and associated tax charges, and it outlines the total amount owed.