Ubiquitous Language
The terms below are the single source of truth for product, design, and engineering. Use them consistently in UI text, tickets, docs, schemas, and code.
Brainstorming Session
Core Finance
| Term |
Definition |
| Account |
A financial container representing a source or destination of funds (checking, savings, loan, wallet, brokerage). |
| Transaction |
Immutable record of a financial movement (income, expense, transfer). |
| Transfer |
Two-legged movement between accounts; total inflow = total outflow. |
| Balance |
Real-time or historical value of an account derived from transactions. |
| Reconciliation |
Process that ensures imported transactions match source records and balances are accurate. |
🏷️ Categorization & Intelligence
| Term |
Definition |
| Category |
Label describing the type of spending or income (e.g., Rent, Groceries, Salary). |
| Merchant |
Vendor or payee linked to a transaction. |
| Classification Rule |
Deterministic rule used to categorize a transaction based on patterns. |
| Merchant Profile |
Enriched metadata for a vendor, including industry and common categories. |
| Category Taxonomy |
Hierarchical organization of categories used across the app. |
Budgeting & Planning
| Term |
Definition |
| Budget |
Spending plan for a time period or set of categories. |
| Envelope |
Sub-allocation of a budget for a more specific goal. |
| Allocation |
Assigned portion of funds within a budget or envelope. |
| Variance |
Difference between planned and actual spending. |
| Rollover |
Unused or exceeded funds transferred to the next budget period. |
Goals & Savings
| Term |
Definition |
| Goal |
Financial target the user aims to reach (e.g., “Save $3,000 for vacation”). |
| Funding Plan |
Rule or schedule defining how and when money will be added to a goal. |
| Milestone |
Intermediate checkpoint for tracking progress toward a goal. |
| Goal Progress |
Calculated ratio between contributed amount and target total. |
Debt & Credit
| Term |
Definition |
| Debt Account |
Liability record such as a loan, credit card, or mortgage. |
| Amortization Plan |
Table of future payments dividing principal and interest. |
| Paydown Strategy |
Prioritization rule for debt repayment (e.g., snowball or avalanche). |
| Debt Forecast |
Future projection of balances and payoff dates. |
Forecasting & Financial Advice
| Term |
Definition |
| Forecast |
Predictive projection of balances and cashflows across all accounts. |
| Scenario |
Simulation of a possible financial path given specific inputs. |
| Advice |
Actionable recommendation generated by AI or rule-based policies. |
| Advice Policy |
Business logic defining how and when to issue advice. |
| Risk Indicator |
Early warning or flag for a possible negative outcome (e.g., low cashflow). |
Conversational Financial Assistant
| Term |
Definition |
| User Message |
Text or voice input received through chat interfaces. |
| Intent |
Structured meaning derived from a user message. |
| Action/Tool |
Safe operation that can be executed on behalf of the user (e.g., fund_goal). |
| Conversation |
Stateful context representing an ongoing interaction. |
| Memory Context |
Historical record of user interactions and preferences. |
| LLM Gateway |
Orchestrator interpreting messages and mapping them to intents or actions. |
| Channel Adapter |
Connector to external chat channels (WhatsApp, ChatGPT Apps, in-app). |
Data Ingestion & Normalization
| Term |
Definition |
| Connection |
Authorized link to a financial institution or data source. |
| Import Job |
Process of retrieving and transforming external data. |
| Raw Statement |
Original data from a financial institution before normalization. |
| Normalization Map |
Field mapping used to translate institution data into internal models. |
| Deduplication |
Logic preventing duplicate transactions or imports. |
Investments & Net Worth
| Term |
Definition |
| Portfolio |
Collection of investment holdings linked to a user. |
| Holding |
Individual financial instrument (stock, ETF, crypto, etc.). |
| Position |
Quantity and cost basis of a holding. |
| Net Worth Statement |
Snapshot of assets minus liabilities at a point in time. |
📅 Bills & Subscriptions
| Term |
Definition |
| Bill |
Recurring payment due at predictable intervals. |
| Subscription |
Continuous service with scheduled charges. |
| Recurrence Rule |
Logic for calculating the next due date of a recurring expense. |
| Bill Reminder |
Notification triggered before a payment is due. |
Reporting & Tax
| Term |
Definition |
| Report |
Structured aggregation of financial data for review or export. |
| Tax Category |
Classification used for fiscal reporting. |
| Export Format |
Data output type such as CSV, PDF, or JSON. |
| Statement Period |
Timeframe covered by a financial report. |
🏠 Household & Shared Finances
| Term |
Definition |
| Household |
Group of users sharing financial data. |
| Member |
Individual participant in a household. |
| Sharing Policy |
Permissions defining who can view or edit shared data. |
| Expense Split |
Distribution of shared expenses among members. |
Identity & Access Management (IAM)
| Term |
Definition |
| User |
Authenticated individual accessing the platform. |
| Credential |
Means of authentication (password, OAuth, token). |
| Role |
Set of permissions defining access scope. |
| Session |
Active authenticated interaction with the system. |
Consent & Privacy
| Term |
Definition |
| Consent Grant |
Explicit user permission defining scope, purpose, and expiry. |
| Purpose |
Legal or functional reason for processing data. |
| Data Retention Policy |
Rule defining how long data is stored. |
| Data Access Log |
Immutable record of every sensitive access or processing event. |
Notifications & Communication
| Term |
Definition |
| Notification |
Outbound message triggered by a system event. |
| Channel Preference |
User’s selected delivery method (email, push, WhatsApp). |
| Template |
Predefined message layout and wording. |
| Delivery Attempt |
Record of one send operation and its outcome. |
Document Management
| Term |
Definition |
| Document |
Uploaded file (statement, receipt, invoice). |
| Extraction (OCR) |
Automated reading and field recognition process. |
| Attachment Link |
Relation connecting a document to another domain object. |
| Institution Validation |
Process verifying that a document belongs to a legitimate institution. |
| Term |
Definition |
| API Client |
Registered consumer of platform APIs. |
| Webhook |
Outbound call notifying external systems of events. |
| Partner App |
External integration authorized to access parts of the platform. |
| Institution Registry |
Verified directory of financial institutions per country. |
Analytics & Insights
| Term |
Definition |
| Tracking Event |
Logged interaction or event for analytics purposes. |
| Metric |
Quantitative measurement computed from tracking events. |
| Experiment |
Controlled test of feature or recommendation impact. |
| Insight |
Derived knowledge or trend extracted from aggregated data. |