# WhatsApp automation glossary | Meta Reva > Plain-language definitions of the terms you meet when connecting WhatsApp to business software: Business API, template message, 24-hour window, ERP, live query. Source: https://metareva.com/en/glossary/ Glossary # The terms, _in plain language._ Everything you will hear while connecting WhatsApp to your software, explained in one or two sentences each. No prior knowledge needed. WhatsApp Business API The official interface that lets a business use WhatsApp through software. Unlike the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business apps, messages can be sent and received automatically by a system. Meta Reva receives customer messages through this interface and answers with data from your software. WhatsApp Business app A free phone app for small businesses with a catalogue, quick replies and greeting messages. It cannot be connected to business software, so it cannot answer stock or account questions by itself. Business Solution Provider (BSP) A company authorised by Meta to provide access to the WhatsApp Business API. Businesses reach the API either directly through Meta or via a BSP. Verified business number A phone number verified by Meta for use with the WhatsApp Business API. Your existing number can be moved, so customers keep writing to the number they know. Template message A pre-approved message type used when the business writes first or after the 24-hour conversation window closes. Appointment reminders and shipping notices are typical examples. 24-hour conversation window The period after a customer writes in which the business can reply freely. Once it closes, only template messages can be sent. ERP Enterprise resource planning: software that keeps accounting, stock, sales, purchasing and production in one place. Logo, Mikro, Netsis, ETA and SAP are common examples in Turkey. Bookkeeping software Lighter than a full ERP: invoices, customer accounts, stock and collections. Paraşüt, Bizim Hesap and KolayBi’ belong to this group. Customer account (cari) The ledger of purchases, sales and payments with one customer or supplier. An “account statement” is the list of its movements over a chosen period. Integration Two programs connected so they exchange information. With Meta Reva, integration means a WhatsApp question being passed to your software and the answer coming back. API The interface a program offers so other programs can talk to it (Application Programming Interface). If your software has one, the connection is usually made this way. Database connection A way to connect to software that has no API, through the database where its data lives (for example Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL or Firebird). It can be set up with read-only access. Live query Reading information from the software at the moment of each question instead of copying it. The stock or price a customer receives is always the current value in your software. Write-back Recording a transaction completed on WhatsApp (an order, an appointment, a fault report) in your software. Access rule A definition of who may see what: a customer sees only their own account, a sales rep only their region. Verification by phone number is the basis of these rules. Human handover Passing a conversation the system is unsure about, together with its history, to a member of your team. No automatic decisions are made. KVKK Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698. Names, phone numbers and order details processed over WhatsApp fall under it, which is why an information notice and retention rules are needed. Chatbot An automatic reply system that gives pre-written answers. Meta Reva differs in that answers come from live data in your software rather than canned text, and the result is written back. Visual product search Finding a product by comparing the photo a customer sends with the images in the business’s product catalogue. An exact match is returned when there is one; otherwise similar products are suggested. Meta Reva runs this search on photos received over WhatsApp. Barcode reading Reading the barcode in a photo and matching it with the product record in the software. A customer or field worker photographs the barcode; stock and price are read from the software and answered. Voice message transcription Converting a WhatsApp voice message to text and processing it like a written question. Lets customers and field teams who prefer talking to typing ask by voice. Let’s start ## Have a question the glossary doesn’t answer? _Ask us._ Tell us which software you use and what customers ask most. We will map out the right flow for free. [WhatsApp **Contact us**](https://wa.me/905325498861) [Phone **+90 532 549 88 61**](tel:+905325498861) [Email **info@metareva.com**](mailto:info@metareva.com) - **Same-day reply**Usually the same day, during working hours. - **20 minutes is enough**We listen to your software and your most common question. - **No commitment**The first call is free; what follows is up to you.