Glossary

The words of the trade, made simple.

34 terms about stock, collections, invoicing and technology that come up when you sell construction materials in Paraguay. And, where relevant, how they show up in Aty.

Updated on

A

ABC curve #
A way of ranking products by how much they contribute to sales. The A items are few and make up most of it; the C items are many and contribute little. It helps you decide what can never run out.
In Aty: ABC report by period, downloadable as CSV.
API #
A door for another system to read or write data without a person entering it by hand. You get in with a key that defines what can be done.
In Aty: REST API with keys you create and revoke, each with its own permission (from Pro).
Available stock and physical stock #
Physical stock is what is in the warehouse. Available stock is physical stock minus what is reserved for orders that have not shipped yet. You sell what is available, not what is physical.
In Aty: What Aty publishes on each channel comes from available stock.

B

Blind count #
A stock count where the person counting cannot see how much the system expects to find. It avoids the bias of "writing down what the screen says".
In Aty: Aty counts are blind, and each difference is adjusted with its reason.

C

Credit limit #
The most you extend on credit to a customer. Beyond that amount, the next credit sale would have to wait for a payment.
In Aty: It is set on each customer's profile.
Credit note #
The document that cancels or corrects, in full or in part, an invoice that has already been issued. For example, because of a return or a later discount.
Customer account #
The record of what a customer buys from you on credit and what they pay back over time. The balance is what they still owe (known in Paraguay as "cuenta corriente").
In Aty: Each customer has their own account, their credit limit and the price list they are entitled to.
Cycle count #
Counting one part of the warehouse at a time (a zone, a product family, the fastest-moving items) instead of everything once a year. Differences are found while they can still be explained.

D

Delivery note (nota de remisión) #
The document that accompanies the transport of goods, for example from the warehouse to a job site. In everyday use it is usually called a remito.

G

Guaraní (₲) and exchange rate #
The guaraní (PYG) is Paraguay's currency and in practice it is used without decimals. Many materials, such as steel, are priced in dollars; the exchange rate is the quote you use to go from one to the other.
In Aty: Each product has its price in ₲ or in US$, and Aty converts using the exchange rate your business sets.

M

Margin #
The difference between what you charge and what a product costs you, almost always expressed as a percentage of the price. Selling a lot at a low margin can leave you with less than selling a little at a high margin.
In Aty: Margin report by category, downloadable as CSV.
Marketplace #
A platform where many sellers list their products and buyers find them all in one place.
In Aty: Aty publishes the same stock on +OGA, Mercado Libre, Clasipar, Facebook and Instagram and Google Shopping, plus your WooCommerce or Shopify store and the public catalog.
MCP (Model Context Protocol) #
An open standard that lets a language model, such as an artificial intelligence assistant, use another system's tools in a controlled way.
In Aty: Aty has an MCP server that uses the same keys and permissions as the API (from Pro).

P

Post-dated check #
A check that can only be cashed from a future date. Until then it stays "in portfolio", and keeping track of those dates is part of collections.
In Aty: Checks stay in portfolio with their bank, number and deposit date, and are marked as deposited or bounced.
Price list #
A set of prices for a type of customer: counter, wholesale, installer, contractor.
In Aty: Each list adjusts the price by customer type; from Pro, the product × list matrix sets agreed prices.

Q

Quote #
A price offer with an expiration date that the customer accepts or not. In building materials, it almost always comes from the takeoff of a job.
In Aty: Quotes with frozen prices and an expiration date; once accepted they become an order.

R

Receivables aging #
How long each part of what a customer owes you has been outstanding, grouped into brackets (current, 30, 60, 90 days or more). It tells you who to call first.
In Aty: Customer accounts are ordered by age, and payments clear the oldest items first.
Remito #
The everyday name for the nota de remisión (delivery note), the document that goes with the goods leaving the warehouse. Signed by whoever receives them, it is proof of delivery.
Reorder point #
The quantity at which, when stock reaches it, you need to place an order. It is calculated from daily consumption, the days the supplier takes to deliver and the safety stock.
In Aty: Suggested replenishment (from Pro) does this calculation using actual consumption over the last 30 days and each supplier's lead time.
Replacement cost #
What it costs you today to buy a product again, not what it cost when you bought it. It is the basis for calculating real margin.
In Aty: Each product has its replacement cost, which the margin reports use.
Reservation #
Goods set aside for a customer that have not left the warehouse yet. They are still counted in physical stock but can no longer be sold to someone else.
In Aty: Orders set the goods aside; from Pro, quotes do too, for 72 hours.
RUC #
The Registro Único del Contribuyente (Single Taxpayer Registry): the number each person or company uses to identify themselves to the tax authority in Paraguay. It ends in a check digit, separated by a hyphen.
In Aty: Customers and suppliers have their RUC on their profile.

S

Safety stock #
A cushion of goods to cover the unexpected: a week of higher sales or a supplier running late.
In Aty: It is included, in days of consumption, in the suggested replenishment calculation (from Pro).
Shrinkage #
Goods lost without being sold: breakage, moisture, cuts, expiry or shortages (known in Paraguay as "merma"). Not recording it is the most common reason stock stops adding up.
In Aty: It is recorded as a stock adjustment with its reason.
SIFEN #
The Sistema Integrado de Facturación Electrónica Nacional (National Integrated Electronic Invoicing System) of Paraguay, run by the DNIT. It defines how electronic invoices and other electronic documents are issued and validated.
In Aty: The SIFEN integration is in development; today Aty does not issue invoices and connects through the API to your invoicing system.
SKU or product code #
The code that identifies a product, unique across the whole business. Each size or variant has its own, and it should never change.
In Aty: The code is unique per business and identifies the product in each warehouse and on each channel.
Stock movement #
Each change in the quantity of a product in a warehouse, with its reason: a receipt, an issue, a transfer or an adjustment.
In Aty: In Aty, stock only changes through movements, each with who made it and why.

T

Timbrado #
The authorization the tax authority grants to issue invoices and other tax documents in Paraguay (a kind of tax stamp). It has a number and a validity period, and it is printed on every invoice.
In Aty: Aty's SIFEN screen already accounts for the timbrado and the issuing points, as part of the integration in development.
Transfer between warehouses #
Moving goods from one warehouse to another. They leave one and enter the other; the business's total quantity does not change.
In Aty: Transfers are recorded and tracked (from Pro).

U

Unit of measure and conversion #
What a product is counted in. In building materials the same item can be expressed in several units, such as cement by bag or by kilo, sand by m³ or rebar by bar or by kilo (a 12 m bar of Ø8 mm weighs about 4.7 kg). It is best to choose one unit per product, the same one you sell in, and use it for counting.
In Aty: Each product has its own unit (bags, bars, m², units).

V

VAT (IVA) #
Value Added Tax, known in Paraguay as IVA. The standard rate is 10%, with a reduced rate of 5% for some goods.
Volume pricing #
A lower unit price from a certain quantity. For example, if you take 100 bags or more, each bag costs less.
In Aty: Volume promotions (from Pro) are shown in the catalog with the quantity from which they apply.

W

Warehouse #
Each physical place where you keep goods with its own stock: a yard, a branch, a shed.
In Aty: Each warehouse has its own balance; Starter includes 1, Pro up to 3 and Max up to 10.
Webhook #
An automatic notice that one system sends to another when something changes, for example when a product's stock drops. It saves the other system from having to keep asking.
In Aty: Aty notifies the systems you connect through webhooks (from Pro).

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