Term |
Explanation |
|---|---|
|
3D-Secure |
3-D-Secure is a procedure developed to enhance the security of online payments with credit cards. |
|
Summary of all voucher items for a defined invoicing period at the contract level. A billing voucher can be an invoice (or reversal invoice) or a credit note (or reversal credit note). |
|
|
Billing Item |
The individual components of a charging session (transaction fee, kWh price, dwell time fee, base fee) Billable items at the contract level, which are invoiced in the defined invoicing period. Possible item types:
A charging session consists of at least one item of the type kWh, Start, or Dwell time depending on the price setting (n billing items (transaction fee, dwell time, consumption) → 1 charging session) |
|
The invoicing status indicates the processing stage of an invoice or payment. |
|
|
The billing time is the exact moment when a service or transaction is recorded for billing. |
|
| AC |
Alternating Current = Colloquially alternating current/voltage |
| Accounting Control Unit; Controller from the company Mennekes | |
| An acquirer handles the flow of money in card payments, including checking credit card limits and paying out to the merchant. It usually has a credit card acceptance agreement that authorizes it to accept credit card payments. | |
| Sticker with QR code at the charging point, through which a charging session can be started. | |
|
AFID |
The AFID regulation (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive) of 2014 is the predecessor of the AFIR regulation (see below). The regulation established features for the use of alternative fuels within the EU. |
|
The current (2023) AFIR Regulation (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation) is a binding legal instrument. It obligates EU countries, charging station operators (CPO), and e-mobility providers (EMSP) to follow certain rules when providing public charging stations . For more information, see here. |
|
| Ampere (A) |
Unit of electric current. |
| Application Programming Interface; interface for connecting and transmitting data between different software or hardware components | |
|
APN |
Access Point Name; connection point between two different networks (e.g., mobile network and internet) |
|
Asynchronous Price Calculation (Rating) |
Price calculation subsequently via Cron job |
| Items that should no longer belong to the company's value and are therefore removed from the balance sheet. Example: Open receivable, whose settlement is no longer expected. | |
|
Steering Out |
Remove a SEPA instruction in chargecloud so that it is not included in the monthly booking folder. The receivable must also be removed from the banking tool at the same time. |
|
DPA |
Data Processing Agreement; a contract that companies that have personal data processed on their behalf must conclude according to GDPR. |
| Amazon Web Services Inc. | |
|
B2B |
B2B stands for Business-to-Business. It refers to business relationships between at least two companies. |
|
B2C |
B2C stands for Business-to-Consumer and thus refers to the relationship between a company and a private individual, usually consumers or customers. |
| BaFin | Federal Financial Supervisory Authority |
| Battery Capacity | Quantity of charge of a battery, specified in kilowatt-hours (kWh) |
| BDEW | Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry |
| Voucher item | Summary of billing items. Voucher items are always monthly and optionally also specific to tax regions. |
| User | Operator of the chargecloud backend |
|
Bidirectional Charging |
Charging in both directions: The electric car can not only draw energy from the grid but also feed back the drawn energy. |
|
The final process of billing/invoicing of the service (the charging session). |
|
|
Component of a charging session: Fee that can only be charged from a point in time after the charge at the LV falls below 0.1 kW |
|
|
BMS |
Battery Management System: Electronic circuit for monitoring and controlling the battery |
|
BMWK |
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of the Federal Republic of Germany |
|
Internal financial preparation of payment and billing processes for external accounting. |
|
|
Manual credit in the contract account; can be offset with an invoice upon payment, but has no impact on tax calculation |
|
|
CAMT |
CAMT (Cash Management) is a SWIFT format used for the electronic transmission of account information and payment transaction data between banks and their customers. |
|
CCS Connector (Combined Charging System) |
Charging connector model: Extension of the Type 2 connector. Allows direct current charging (DC); European fast charging standard |
|
CDR |
Charge Detail Record; Protocol for the transmission of data from the CPO to the EMP for billing of a charging session |
|
CHAdeMO |
Charging connector model: Suitable for bidirectional charging |
|
Clearing |
Billing; mutual offsetting of receivables and liabilities |
| The services provided by chargecloud to the client as Software as a Service (SaaS) for use (see here). | |
| The charging station manufacturer EBG Compleo has been operating under the new name Compleo Charging Solutions since 2019, with the company appearing under the well-known brand "Compleo". | |
| ConnectorId |
ConnectorId or also charging point: The charging point is the physical system where an electric vehicle can be charged. A charging point has one or more connectors. |
|
Contract-ID |
Contract-ID |
|
Also Operator |
Company that operates charging stations (installation, service, maintenance). |
|
CRMI |
Customer Relationship Management Interface or "CRM Intelligence" was the original name of our base software and founding company "powercloud". We understand it as our chargecloud system for managing charging infrastructure and billing of charging sessions. |
|
CronJob |
A CronJob is a recurring task that can be automated on certain systems (including chargecloud). The so-called Cron daemon forms the basis for CronJobs. It acts as a time trigger for the various tasks and runs in the background of the system as soon as it is started. If CronJobs are defined, they are automatically executed by the system at the specified times or intervals. When a CronJob starts, it processes the task from start to finish and not simultaneously. If a CronJob runs, for example, every hour on the hour, it may take until a quarter past, depending on the size of the effort, to have everything updated once. |
| Datatrans is a payment service provider. | |
| DC |
Direct Current = Colloquially direct current/direct voltage |
| Direct Payment. Option for spontaneous customers without contractual obligation (ad-hoc) to invoice a charging session via credit card. | |
| Company car billing, fleet management or Fleet & Home Charging | |
|
Driver App |
App for electric car drivers and employees (iOS and Android) |
| General Data Protection Regulation | |
| e-clearing | Roaming Hub (like Hubject or Gireve) |
| According to European Directive 2014/94/EU, since 04/01/2019, energy at public charging stations must be delivered via calibration law-compliant charging stations. In Germany, the legal framework of the European directive is formed by the Measurement and Calibration Act (MessEG) and the Measurement and Calibration Ordinance (MessEV), as well as the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV), which prescribes appropriate, clear, comparable, and transparent prices. Billing is uniformly based on consumed kilowatt-hours (kWh) (cf. PAngV §3). | |
|
Single Booking |
Simplest form of bookings. They only involve two different accounts: An amount is transferred from one account to another (e.g., paying a supplier invoice via bank: Creditor A / Bank). The transaction is recorded on both the credit side (Creditor A) and the debit side (Bank). |
| Detailed listing of all charging sessions of a billing period | |
|
Electronic Bank Account Statement |
An electronic bank account statement is the digital version of the bank account statement provided by banks. It contains an overview of all transactions of an account. |
|
End Customer |
Electric car driver, operator/user of the charging station, EMU (E-Mobility User) and EV Driver |
| e-Mobility Account Identifier; Unique string that identifies an end customer with an EMP | |
|
Also Provider |
Also MSP; Provides service for the use of charging infrastructure and is in a contractual relationship with the end customer. It is responsible, among other things, for tariff structures, handling of charging sessions, and billing. |
|
EMU |
As an E-Mobility User (EMU) or end customer, the end consumer who charges at a charging station is referred to. |
|
Energy Industry Act: Law on Electricity and Gas Supply
|
|
|
EREF |
Serves to identify the SEPA bank transfer from the orderer to the receiver
|
|
ERP System |
Enterprise Resource Planning System
|
| Possibility for customers to draw energy at charging stations of a foreign CPO. The requirement for this is that it is connected to the same roaming network as the own EMP (e.g. via Intercharge from Hubject or the chargecloud e-Roaming Hub) | |
|
A JSON event is an event that is triggered and initially a JSON file with certain information is written. This information can then be further processed, e.g. an invoice can be created with it. A list of our JSON events can be found here. |
|
| Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment ID; Unique identifier of a charging point | |
| Energy supplier (electricity, gas, heat) | |
| e.xpand is the outbound eRoaming product of chargecloud. EMP can offer their customers numerous charging points in roaming via e.xpand. | |
|
Function that allows positions of an entire charging session to be excluded/blocked for invoicing. |
|
|
Fallback (Price) |
Price (ct./min.) for charging, which becomes valid in the event that none of the defined pricing applies. You can read about how to set up a fallback price here. |
| The File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol for transferring files between computers. FTP is considered insecure because data is sent unencrypted. | |
| The File Transfer Protocol Secure is an extended, secure version of FTP that uses SSL/TLS encryption. | |
|
Cancellation of an incorrect booking by placing the amount on the opposite side (double-entry bookkeeping). |
|
|
Accountable event code: Defines all accountable events resulting from the bank booking in the form of a uniform 3-digit key, which enables clients to separate into operational-specific accountable event types when processing revenue information. |
|
|
Represents a receivable (amount of money) from a debtor. For example, clients are creditors where end customers (debtors) charge. |
|
|
Direct Current (DC) |
Energy flow where the charge carriers (electrons, protons, ions) have a constant direction of movement (cf. alternating current); used in fast charging stations |
|
Threshold |
Thresholds that qualify a CS as a noticeable charging session and thus exclude it from billing. |
|
Health Index |
Health index; a metric that reflects the condition of a system. Monitors the health or efficiency of a system to detect early signs of problems or differences. |
|
Heartbeat |
A heartbeat in e-mobility is a regular signal exchanged between charging infrastructure and backend systems to monitor operational readiness and connection. It serves the stability and early error detection in the system. |
|
Hubject |
Roaming Hub (like e-clearing or Gireve). Market leader and largest roaming hub. |
|
Hubject Session-ID |
The Hubject Session-ID is the identification number of a charging session on the roaming platform Hubject. The charging session ID you know from chargecloud is used only internally by chargecloud. The Hubject Session-ID can therefore be communicated to the roaming partner, for example, if they are looking for a specific charging session on Hubject. The ID can be viewed in chargecloud in the charging session details (however, it is not available for every charging session). |
| SIM-card number Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) is a globally unique electronic serial number that can identify the SIM-card. SIM-cards contain various numbers such as the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) |
|
|
IEC 61851 |
The IEC 61851 standard describes the communication between the charging station and the electric vehicle |
|
IMEI |
The International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a unique 15-digit serial number that can be used to uniquely identify any GSM or UMTS device (e.g., a modem) worldwide. |
| IMSI | Refers to the globally unique number for identifying network subscribers |
|
Induction |
Technology that enables wireless energy transfer through electromagnetic fields. |
| Sticker with QR Code on the charging station at the charging point, which identifies the charging station as eRoaming-capable (via Hubject). | |
|
Intercharge Network |
Global roaming network by Hubject |
| invit.e is the inbound eRoaming product of chargecloud. CPO can offer their charging points with invit.e via chargecloud on roaming platforms. | |
|
ISO15118 |
ISO15118 or PlugnCharge is a new protocol for charging electric vehicles. Through ISO 15118, the contract data of electromobilists is directly submitted from the vehicle to the charging station. No separate authorization with an RFID card, app, or ad-hoc access is necessary. Normally, there is a contract in the vehicle, and switching between contracts is usually only cumbersome via an app or similar. |
|
JSON |
JavaScript Object Notation; data format for data transmission of OCPP 1.6 (cf. SOAP) |
|
A card print can be freely assigned to an RFID card to use this information, for example, for evaluations (see here). |
|
|
Bank Account Statement |
Official document about a bank account that summarizes all inflows and outflows (transactions) over a specific period. Further information on the topic of bank account statements can be found in this section of our Help Center. |
| Rectified Items |
Subsequently changed/rectified billing items that are then adjusted accordingly in the contract account - e.g., the quantity |
|
kWh |
Abbreviation for kilowatt-hour |
| Totality of all components used for charging electric vehicles | |
| RFID Chip Card in credit card format. Provides the ability to start a charging session at a charging station. Available from various EMPs. | |
|
Charging Capacity |
Specified in kilowatts (kW). The most important criterion for the duration of a charging session |
| Connection at the charging station where energy for the electric car can be drawn | |
| LSV; Ordinance of the BMWi for the expansion of electric charging stations | |
| Column where the charging points are installed, comparable to a fuel pump for combustion engines. | |
| Charging Connector Models |
|
| Load Management | see: Smart Charging |
| Power Class | Possibility to differentiate based on the charging capacity. |
| LIS | Under charging infrastructure (LIS) fall all technical installations that enable the supply of electric vehicles (EV). |
| LSV | The charging station ordinance (LVS) (LSV) regulates in Germany the technical minimum requirements for charging stations and defines the requirements for the operators of public charging stations (public traffic areas and a large part of customer and company parking lots). |
|
The fee incurred in a reminder after the initial payment deadline to settle an open position has been exceeded. |
|
|
Procedure for tracking unpaid, overdue receivables. |
|
| Client | Client refers to both customers who have a direct contractual relationship with chargecloud and, in a broader sense, their account in the chargecloud backend. |
| Merchant | In the context of payment service providers , a merchant refers to the merchant account (essentially the access) with the payment service provider. |
| MREF |
Mandate reference number (SEPA direct debits). A valid mandate reference is mandatory for a SEPA direct debit mandate (e.g., customer or invoice number).
|
|
MSP |
Mobility Service Provider, see EMP |
|
The MT940 format (short for Message Type 940) is a standard format for bank communication in the SWIFT network, containing bank account statement data. MT940 is an international standard for the electronic exchange of bank transaction data. |
|
|
Grid connection point |
NAP; The point at which charging stations are connected to the grid |
|
NFC |
Near Field Communication; contactless data transmission |
|
NOK (Not OK) refers to a failed or declined credit card transaction. |
|
|
NSP |
Navigation Service Provider |
|
A number group is a systematic sequence of numbers used for assigning documents such as invoices, orders, or delivery notes. It ensures a unique and seamless identification of the documents. |
|
|
Price that a CPO calculates for roaming charging sessions with EMPs that have accepted the Offer2All. The Offer2All is stored for a specified period on the roaming platforms (e.g., Hubject). |
|
|
OCHP |
Open Clearing House Protocol; protocol language of e-clearing |
|
OCMF |
Open Charge Metering Format; used for transmitting signed measured values |
|
OCPI |
Open Charge Point Interface (OCPI) is an open protocol used for direct connection between charging station operators and service providers. Important for communication with roaming partners or roaming platforms. |
| Open Charge Point Protocol; universal communication protocol, among others for communication between charging station and backend. | |
|
OCPP Transaction ID |
Unique ID to filter charging session in the OCPP messages of the new OCPP layer. |
|
OICP |
Open InterCharge Protocol; protocol language of Hubject |
| Training of customers and employees in new work processes and systems | |
| Output Management; various processes for creating and forwarding documents to a specific receiver group | |
| Sensor for determining the availability of parking spaces in front of charging stations | |
|
Payment |
The payment of invoiced items, including all associated processes from the banking environment as well as external service providers. |
| POI data (Point of Interest data) in the context of electromobility refers to detailed location information of charging stations. This includes, among other things, the geographical coordinates of the location, information on the charging capacity of the available connections, and other relevant features of the charging station. | |
| Pony (Payment Symfony) | Pony is a payment platform based on Symfony that enables flexible integration and management of online payments. |
| Portal (B2B Portal) | Web-based portal for managing charging infrastructure, own fleet, employees (location partner context and fleet/employer context) |
|
Position Number |
Each client receives all existing and future positions with a consecutive, integer, gapless position number starting from 1.
|
|
Prepaid Credit Card |
A prepaid credit card is not (like a standard credit card) linked to a bank account. The prepaid credit card is loaded with credit before use. This credit serves instead of the credit limit defined for a standard credit card. Prepaid cards are offered by all major credit card providers. |
|
Private Key |
Part of an asymmetric data encryption method for encrypting messages and electronic signatures (see also Public Key). |
|
Progressive Test |
In the progressive test of the booking folder, an economic fact (receipt of goods/service) is assumed, and the consideration of this fact is progressively tested according to the actual sequence of processes in accounting. |
|
Proxy |
A proxy or proxy server is an intermediary within a network. It is placed between the user and the network resource. |
|
PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2) |
The second EU Payment Services Directive, or PSD2, is a regulatory requirement to enhance security in payment transactions and promote competition in the financial sector. |
| Payment Service Provider: Company responsible for the technical execution of online payment methods (see also Acquirer) | |
| Part of an asymmetric data encryption method for encrypting messages and electronic signatures (see also Private Key). | |
|
Discounting |
Due to special circumstances or as part of sales strategies, incurred items can be discounted after charging and before payment/billing. |
|
Rating |
The price calculation or pricing of the individual items of an executed charging session. |
|
The invoice run refers to the process in which a series of invoices for services or products provided are created and sent. It occurs regularly, e.g., monthly, and includes the collection, test, and shipping of the invoices to the customers. |
|
|
An invoice template is a pre-made template for creating invoices. In chargecloud, Word templates are filled with data from JSON events. |
|
| A release refers to the publication of a software version or an update that is made available to users. It usually includes new features, bug fixes, or improvements. | |
| A REST API (Representational State Transfer) is an interface that allows access to data and functions of a server through standardized HTTP requests. | |
|
Retrograde Test |
In the retrograde test of the booking folder, a process is examined in the reverse order of its chronological sequence, meaning backward from its recording in accounting to the economic fact. |
|
Reverse Charge (RC) is the reversal of the tax liability (between the service provider and the service recipient) for VAT reasons. |
|
|
The subsequent correction of the initial pricing/rating. |
|
| Radio Frequency Identification; Used to identify an end customer at the charging station and is part of a charging card. | |
|
RPA |
Robotic Process Automation |
|
Refund of an amount from the contract account back to the main account |
|
|
SaaS |
Software as a Service; A licensing model where applications are offered exclusively as a cloud-based service over the internet. |
|
Collective Booking |
The consolidation of similar bookings. By sorting during voucher preparation, for example, multiple payment transactions of a customer can be entered in a complete collective booking. |
|
Debtor |
Is obligated to pay an amount of money to the creditor (for example, end customers charging with the client). |
|
SEPA |
Single Euro Payments Area - abbreviated from English: Single Euro Payments Area You can read about how billing via SEPA direct debit works in chargecloud here. |
| Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is a form of file transfer | |
| Service Level Agreement refers to an agreement between provider and customer and serves quality assurance. This agreement specifies the exact performance characteristics and quality levels (Service Levels) of the product or service and attempts to objectify performance and scope in this way. The quality levels can vary depending on the contractor and can be selected by the client from a business perspective. By clearly defining the scope and quality of performance, more transparency is created for the client and clear performance claims are established. | |
|
Smart Charging |
Load management; Describes the efficient distribution of the total available energy capacity to the connected charging points |
|
SOAP |
Simple Object Access Protocol; Data format for data transmission of OCPP 1.5 (cf. JSON) |
| SPP | Location Partner Product or also Partner Solution Management. Business model in which CPO collaborate with location partners from industry and commerce. Operation and service of the charging stations remain with the CPO. |
|
SSL/TLS |
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) are protocols that enable secure data transmission on the Internet. They encrypt the communication between client and server and protect it from eavesdropping and manipulation. TLS is the more modern, secure version of SSL. |
|
Component of a charging session: Fee that can be charged independently of measured values (similar to regular parking fees in parking lots) |
|
| Electronic module that establishes the communication of the charging station with the chargecloud backend. | |
|
A shortened key of a specific tax rate (for example, M19 for the VAT rate of 19%). How to set a tax ID can be found in this article. |
|
|
The percentage at which the affected tax (for example, VAT) is calculated. |
|
|
A cancellation/reversal refers to the withdrawal or annulment of an already placed order, booking, or completed contract. |
|
|
Incident (according to Core Function) |
Impairment of the suitability of the Cloud Services |
| Stripe is a payment service provider. | |
|
Sub-EMP Sub-CPO |
Designations for the client roles EMP and CPO in the roaming context via Hubject. The actual EMP or CPO role is assumed by chargecloud in roaming for our clients. Our clients are accordingly Sub-EMPs and Sub-CPOs. |
|
Pricing |
Based on the offered product matrix and the tariff zones and customer groups defined therein, the corresponding product or price setting is determined during authentication at a charging station, which is subsequently used as the basis for rating. |
| also location group. Tariff zones allow locations to be grouped so that they can be assigned to specific price settings in your products as a group. | |
| Instrument for reducing greenhouse gases in the transport sector | |
|
TLS |
Transport Layer Security also known by its predecessor name Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), is an encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet. Most current web browsers and web servers prefer TLS 1.3 and TLS 1.2. |
|
Type 2 Connector |
European standard connector (AC), primarily developed by the company Mennekes (also Mennekes connector) |
|
Transaction ID |
Unique charging session number within chargecloud |
| Identification number of an RFID card | |
| VAT Exemption | The exemption from VAT generally applies only within the framework of the small business regulation. This means that small businesses do not have to pay VAT to the tax office due to their low revenue. However, this also has a disadvantage: small businesses are not entitled to deduct input VAT (see also here). |
|
Unzer |
Unzer is a payment service provider. |
|
URL |
Uniform Resource Locator Internet addresses, web address |
|
Validation |
Upon receipt of all data for a completed charging session, they are validated for their validity based on defined rules and parameters. If a validation is not successful, the charging session is marked as a noticeable charging session and not released for subsequent rating. |
|
Value Date (also Value Date) |
refers to the setting of the calendar date on which a credit note or debit becomes effective on an account. |
| Unit of electrical voltage. | |
| VPN = Virtual Private Network; Encrypted connection through which a VPN client can connect to a VPN server. | |
| Wall charging station: Small charging station, mainly for charging in private areas; usually AC | |
| Unit of power. | |
|
Web App |
A web application, also abbreviated as "Web App," is a software solution accessible via a web browser and an active internet connection through a URL. Unlike traditional desktop or mobile applications, a web app does not need to be installed on the user's device. |
|
Web service |
Web services enable data exchange between different software systems. Further information about our interfaces can be found here. |
|
WebSocket |
WebSocket is a protocol for a bidirectional, permanent connection between client and server. It enables fast data transmission without repeated HTTP requests. |
|
Alternating Current (AC) |
Current flow in which the charge carriers (electrons, protons, ions) have a regularly changing direction of movement (cf. direct current). |
|
In the resale of gas or energy supplies, a reverse charge mechanism (Reverse Charge) is applied for VAT reasons. A so-called reseller certificate is required for this. |
|
| XRechnung is a standard for the type and technical composition of invoice information in an XML data set. This data set corresponds to an electronic invoice. The standard enables receipt and further processing by different software systems. | |
|
XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a flexible, text-based file format for storing and transmitting structured data. In chargecloud, primarily in connection with SEPA payment instructions and electronic account statements. |
|
| A payment method refers to the way a payment is processed. Examples include credit cards or the direct debit procedure. | |
| A payment instruction is an order to a bank or a payment service provider to transfer a specific amount of money to a receiver. It contains all required information such as amount, receiver data, and purpose. | |
|
The payment term is the period a buyer has after receiving an invoice to settle the due amount. |
|
| Component of a charging session: Umbrella term for Dwell Time Fee and Blocking Fee | |
|
ZUGFeRD |
ZUGFeRD is a cross-industry data format for electronic invoice data exchange and is intended to be used in chargecloud for electronic invoicing (E-Invoice). More information about ZUGFeRD can be found here. |
Glossary
NOTE: This translation of the article was automatically generated. We are gradually reviewing and editing all articles to ensure the highest quality. We will also replace the screenshots and provide them in the respective national language.
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