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CRM glossary

CRM glossary - the terms, in plain words

This CRM glossary explains the sales, marketing, billing and automation terms Indian businesses meet when choosing and using a CRM - from lead management and the sales pipeline to GST invoicing, lead scoring and workflow automation. Each term is defined in plain English, with a link to the CIPHER CRM feature that puts it to work where there is one.

Glossary sections CRM basicsLeads & salesBilling & paymentsCommunication & marketingAutomation & productivityService & retentionData, access & security

Glossary

CRM terms, defined

CRM basics

  • CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

    A CRM is one place to keep every customer, lead, conversation, quote and bill, so your whole team works from the same picture instead of scattered spreadsheets, notebooks and WhatsApp chats. A good CRM captures each enquiry, reminds you to follow up, and shows the owner exactly where every deal stands.

    What CIPHER CRM is

  • Industry-specific CRM

    A CRM that arrives already set up for how one trade sells and serves - the sales stages, fields and reminders match your sector from day one - instead of a blank tool you configure yourself. CIPHER CRM ships 31 industry editions across 465 sub-industries.

    Browse 31 industry editions

  • Cloud CRM

    A CRM you use through a browser or app, hosted online, so there is no server to buy or software to install. Your team can open it from the office, home or the field, and updates reach everyone at once.

  • Mobile CRM / field CRM

    Using your CRM from a phone out in the field, so staff can capture leads and update records on the road and the office sees it straight away. CIPHER CRM does this in the browser, with nothing to install, and keeps working on a weak signal, updating itself once you are back online.

    See offline mode

  • CRM implementation / onboarding

    The work of setting a CRM up for your business - configuring stages and fields, importing your existing data, connecting channels, and training the team. Done well, it is why a CRM actually gets used instead of abandoned. CIPHER does the setup, data import and training for you, and most teams go live in 1 to 3 days.

  • Data migration

    Moving your existing leads, contacts and records from spreadsheets or an old tool into the new CRM, cleanly, so nothing is left behind and nobody has to retype anything.

Leads & sales

  • Lead

    A person or business that has shown interest in what you sell - an enquiry from your website, a WhatsApp message, a phone call or a walk-in - but has not yet bought. The first job of a CRM is to catch every lead so none slip away.

  • Lead management

    Capturing every enquiry into one place, giving it an owner, and tracking it through follow-ups until it is won or lost - so no lead sits forgotten in someone's inbox or personal phone.

    See lead management

  • Sales pipeline

    A visual view of your deals as they move through stages - for example New, Contacted, Quoted, Negotiation, Won - so you can see at a glance what is likely to close this month and where each deal is stuck.

    See the sales pipeline

  • Pipeline stage

    One step in your sales process. Clear stages that match how you really sell make the pipeline honest, so forecasts mean something and nothing falls between two steps.

  • Deal / opportunity

    A specific chance to sell to a customer, with an estimated value and an expected close date, tracked from first interest to signed order.

  • Lead scoring

    Ranking leads by how likely and how ready they are to buy, so your team spends its time on the ones most worth chasing instead of treating every enquiry the same.

  • Lead assignment

    Automatically routing each new lead to the right salesperson - by area, product or turn - so enquiries get a response fast and nobody wonders whose job it was.

  • Follow-up

    The next planned contact with a lead or customer. Most deals are lost to forgotten follow-ups, not to price, which is why a CRM turns every follow-up into a task with a name and a date on it.

    See follow-up tracking

  • Conversion rate

    The share of leads that turn into customers. Tracking it stage by stage shows exactly where deals leak, so you can fix the weak step instead of guessing.

  • Sales cycle

    The typical time from first enquiry to closed sale. Knowing yours helps you forecast revenue and spot deals that have gone quiet for too long.

Billing & payments

  • GST invoice

    A tax invoice that carries the GST details Indian businesses need - GSTIN, tax breakup and totals. In CIPHER CRM you add the taxes to each item and print the customer's tax number on the bill, which saves hours of spreadsheet work every week.

    See invoicing

  • Estimate / quotation

    A priced proposal you send a customer before the sale. When a quote can turn into an invoice in one click, there is no re-typing and nothing gets lost between the two.

    See estimates and quotes

  • Recurring invoice

    A bill that goes out automatically on a set schedule - useful for AMCs, retainers, subscriptions and rentals - so you never forget to raise a repeat invoice.

  • Credit note

    A document that reduces or reverses an invoice - for a return, an over-charge or an adjustment - keeping your books and the customer's account correct.

    See credit notes

  • Payment & collection tracking

    Seeing what is received, pending and overdue against every customer, so chasing dues is a quick, organised job instead of a guessing game at month end.

    See payment tracking

  • Multi-currency billing

    Billing overseas customers in their own currency from the same CRM, so exporters and service firms do not need a second tool for foreign invoices.

    See billing in any currency

Communication & marketing

  • WhatsApp CRM

    A CRM that keeps WhatsApp conversations tied to the right customer record instead of a personal phone. CIPHER CRM does not run WhatsApp chats inside the app today. Each lead and each contact person has a one-click WhatsApp button that opens the chat, and your team logs a lead conversation as a follow-up on that lead.

  • Omnichannel

    Handling customers across every channel they use - WhatsApp, calls, email, web forms, walk-ins - in one place, so the conversation carries on smoothly no matter where it started.

  • Lead nurturing

    Keeping in useful touch with leads who are not ready to buy yet - a helpful message, a timely reminder, a relevant offer - so you are the one they call when they are ready.

  • Segmentation

    Grouping customers or leads by something they share - area, product, value, stage - so you can talk to each group with a message that actually fits, instead of one blast to everyone.

Automation & productivity

  • Workflow automation

    Letting the CRM do the repetitive steps - assign a lead, send a reminder, raise a recurring invoice, notify a manager - the moment a trigger happens, so your team spends the day on customers instead of admin.

    Read the automation guides

  • Task management

    Handing out work with a name and a date on it, and tracking it to done, so follow-ups and jobs stop living in someone's memory.

    See task management

  • Reminders

    Nudges for the next call, the pending payment or the renewal that is due. In CIPHER CRM a reminder pings you or a teammate when the time comes, so the important-but-easy-to-forget things actually get done.

    See reminders

  • Reports & dashboards

    Live views of sales, leads, billing and team activity, so owners and managers can see performance at a glance and answer their own questions without waiting on anyone or opening Excel.

  • KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

    A number you watch to know if things are on track - leads this week, conversion rate, revenue collected, overdue payments. A CRM makes KPIs live instead of a monthly scramble.

Service & retention

  • Customer portal

    A login your customers use to see their own projects, documents, invoices and messages, which cuts the back-and-forth and makes your business feel organised.

    See the customer portal

  • Client onboarding

    The steps a new customer goes through after they buy. A standard, tracked onboarding means every new client gets the same smooth start instead of depending on who is handling them.

    See checklists

  • Retention & churn

    Retention is keeping the customers you already won; churn is losing them. Since winning a new customer costs far more than keeping one, timely follow-ups and renewals are some of the highest-value work a CRM helps with.

  • Upsell & cross-sell

    Selling more to a customer you already have - a bigger plan (upsell) or a related product (cross-sell). A CRM that remembers what each customer bought makes these the easiest sales you will make.

Data, access & security

  • Role-based access control

    Deciding what each person can see and change based on their role, so a salesperson, an accountant and the owner each see only what their job needs, and every action stays traceable to a name.

    See roles and access

  • Sign-in lockout

    Temporarily locking sign-in after repeated wrong passwords, with a visible countdown, so nobody can keep guessing their way into your customer data.

    See protection from password guessing

  • Encryption in transit

    Locking the data travelling between you and the CRM using HTTPS/TLS, so it cannot be read on the way. It is the basic protection every business tool should have.

    How CIPHER protects your data

  • Uptime

    The share of time a service is up and working, usually shown as a percentage. A 99.9% uptime posture means the CRM is built to be there whenever your team needs it.

See CIPHER CRM

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Put it to work

From the words to the working CRM

All 92 features

The tools behind many of these terms, in one CRM.

31 industry editions

A CRM set up for how your trade works.

The CRM playbook

Practical, India-first guides.
Fluent in the terms?

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