Glossary of Expian Terms

Definition

Receipt / Ticket Printing (POS)

Allows two systems to exchange information securely and efficiently. It is a sales channel that connects Expian to third-party systems and applications, allowing automated bookings, amendments, and cancellations to flow between platforms.

Vanilla Website / Vanilla Site

Sub-Locations

A mode where POS retrieves live availability and capacity from the backend. Requires staff to select a timeslot manually and capacity is shown.

Allows administrators to provide essential, concise customer information (under 200 characters is recommended) that appears on confirmation emails and PDFs, such as arrival guidance or instructions.

Configured Entities

The action required to apply saved updates to all connected systems and sales channels, making changes live.

Events (Product Type)

Defines how often or in what way a membership or patronage can be used with specific products, managing capacity or restricting use (e.g., limiting employee concession travel to twice per month).

API Key

High-value supporter tiers (Entitlement type) that include exclusive experiences, enhanced control for recognition, and donation tracking, sharing the operational framework of memberships.

Open Pass (Timetable Access)

History Tab

Intelligent product suggestions configured to appear automatically during the customer booking journey, triggered when specific products are added to a basket.

A tab used to tag products for tracking through connected analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager (GTM), Power BI, or Google Tag Manager (GTM).

Defines the base cost of a product, including default price, fees, taxes (VAT), deposits, and linked financial rules.

The foundational modules of the Expian system (Terms & Amendment Fees, Locations, Capacity, Venues, Custom Fields, and Ticket Types) that must be defined before creating and selling tickets.

Define the rules and charges applied when a booking is modified (changed) after purchase. They allow organizations to balance fairness to the customer with recovery of operational costs. They can be set as a fixed amount, a percentage of booking value, or a percentage of value reduction.

Used to organise Ticket Types by category or experience for customer purchase searches and to control which tickets can access specific venues, routes, or vehicles (e.g., Passenger Tickets, Vehicle Tickets).

Define when and how a product is made available for sale. They combine Ticket Types, Venues, and Capacity Plans into scheduled, bookable time slots (e.g., an hourly event or a ferry crossing).

A benefit or right (e.g., membership discount or access pass).

Account Codes

The active selling point selected when POS starts (e.g., Kew Palace - Ticket Office). Controls which products, prices, and settings appear in POS.

Define the rules and charges applied when a booking is cancelled. They can be set as a fixed amount or a percentage of the booking value.

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

A UK-specific feature that enables charities to claim tax back on eligible donations. It marks eligible donations as Gift Aid qualifying for UK tax reporting.

Discount Group (Entitlements)

General term for connections to external systems, such as Google Analytics, financial systems, CRM, or third-party booking engines.

Timeslot

A sales channel that supports manual bookings made by internal teams, often via phone or email. It also refers to the staff-managed sales environment (Reservations Portal).

Gift Membership Voucher Sales

Enables partners to safely test and validate integrations before going live.

A Custom Field type that creates a dropdown list of predefined choices from which the customer must pick one value.

Token

Trade Partner (B2B)

A product type used for timed or scheduled experiences such as performances, guided tours, or workshops, linked to specific timetabled services with defined start and end times.

Freeze Sales

API (Application Programming Interface)

Ticket Groups

Redeemed

The sellable items customers can book or purchase, such as an admission ticket, event entry, or travel journey (grouped into Admissions, Events, and Journeys).

A sales channel that handles bookings from external partners such as tour operators, resellers, or travel agents, supporting negotiated pricing and commissions.

The physical spaces where activities, services, or journeys take place, linked to a Location (e.g., a specific Ferry, Train, or Palace Gardens) and containing Capacity Plans.

Support products, bookings, memberships, payments, and reporting as discrete, connectable services.

A required, unique system reference/identifier used for external integrations, APIs, and reporting across various modules.

Publish

Journey Product

The child entity of Orders, representing visit or event-level data.

Ancillary Items (Add-ons)

Admissions / Events (Service Type)

The total number of guests who have actually attended. For Travel, it is the count of passengers whose tickets were successfully redeemed for a specific trip; for Attractions & Events, it is the count of visitors whose tickets were redeemed upon entry.

Fields used in the Reporting Tab to assign accounting or analytical codes to a product, ensuring sales data can be accurately tracked across systems and departments.

Tickets (Data Entity)

Capacity Types

A recommendation behavior where the customer must choose whether to add the recommended product to their basket, rather than having it added automatically.

Used in Journey Products to group ticket types with similar attributes, enabling dynamic pricing or upsell logic (e.g., Passenger Low, Passenger High).

API All-Day Ticket

Flexible, redeemable tokens (Entitlement type) that hold monetary or access value. They are typically one-time or limited-use, designed for smooth redemption across multiple channels for gifts or promotions.

Pricing Rules Tab

An organisation that purchases and uses the Expian product to access or integrate its data, insights, or services into their own business operations. B2B customers interact with Expian through enterprise channels such as APIs, dashboards, or data feeds and typically have multiple internal users relying on the product.

Individual ticket records with status (Valid, Redeemed, Cancelled, etc.) and the base source for visit-level reporting.

Data sources describing the building blocks of the Expian environment, defining what can be sold, scheduled, or scanned.

A setting that defines a required partial payment (fixed amount or percentage) upfront for products, typically used for large-value products such as group bookings, events, or transport charters.

Integration Partner

Polling

Term

Unpublish

Modular Endpoints

Used to apply conditional price adjustments based on specific time periods, days, or ticket types (e.g., seasonal pricing, weekend rates, promotions) without manually changing the base product prices.

One of the two main Service types, used for attractions, exhibitions, or shows, or for attractions, journeys, or time-based experiences.

Manual (Recommendation Behaviour)

Reservations (Channel)

Location / Sub-location (POS)

Validity Tab (Product)

A ticket validity option where the ticket is valid for any time on the chosen date.

B2B

Limit Group (Entitlements)

Markets

An option that provides flexibility when a specific capacity type is sold out or a defined measurement (like vehicle height) exceeds a set threshold, ensuring the booking automatically draws capacity from an alternative compatible type.

Entitlements (Module)

Represents sets of services or capacities that share similar pricing structures, allowing prices to be defined for different combinations (e.g., General Admission, Banquet Ticket).

Reporting Code 1 / 2

Recommendations

A warning message that appears when attempting to edit a record currently active in the system, alerting the user that changes may affect live products or bookings.

Combos

The action of temporarily removing a configuration from active use without deleting the record.

Deposits

The tax rate applied to products and memberships to ensure compliance and accurate reporting.

Cancellation Fees

Describe how capacity is allocated and sold, linking back to Capacity Types (e.g., Standard Admission, 2.4 Lane Metre Low for vehicles).

Data Model

Integrations

The section that manages all system users, their roles, and their access rights, essential for system security, compliance, and operational accountability.

An Entitlement type for ongoing or annual subscriptions that provide members with defined benefits or access rights (e.g., free admission, event discounts), supporting renewals and Gift Aid eligibility. It is a time-based or benefit-based account granting entitlements.

Groups created to organize related Capacity Options under a single structure, simplifying reporting and allowing operators to apply pricing and capacity limits in a structured way (e.g., Passenger Capacities and Vehicle Capacities).

Booking

The lightweight data format that APIs use to send and receive information. It is easy for both users and computers to read.

Define the internal structure and key attributes of a service (event or travel route), including location, route, duration, and capacity, serving as the foundation for generating timetables.

Locations

A ticket validity option where the ticket is valid for any time within the overall validity period, with no specific date/time selection required.

Define the physical or operational places where products, services, or journeys occur (e.g., stations, piers, or route stops). They act as the anchor point that connects Venues, Routes, and Services.

Memberships

Cached Booking Options

An architectural style for APIs that follows REST (Representational State Transfer) principles, using standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and returning data in a structured format such as JSON.

Controls where, who, and how often a product or service/membership can be booked or sold, including selection of sales channels, purchase limits, and market restrictions.

Orders (Data Entity)

A unique identifier used to authenticate and authorise a system or application to access the API; it is like a password for an integration, issued by Expian for an organisation.

Patronages

Pricing Tab

Followed by the Expian API (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) to ensure backward compatibility and smooth upgrades.

A sales channel or system used by on-site teams/for in-person, high-volume transactions made by staff at ticket desks or retail counters, optimised for speed and fast customer service.

Specific, optional areas within a main Location (e.g., Main Entrance, Gift Shop) that can have tailored permissions determining which ticket types can be sold or scanned there.

A system message automatically sent by Expian to another platform when a specific event occurs, allowing real-time updates such as booking confirmations.

A mandatory time gap specified within Location setup to ensure customers have sufficient time for check-in, passport control, or operational requirements during a transfer between connected timetable legs.

The module that defines how physical spaces, resources, visitors, and vehicles are allocated and measured within a venue or journey.

Used to capture specific, additional details needed from customers during the booking process, such as dietary requirements or accessibility information.

Booking Fees

OAuth Credential

Defines how information flows through the platform, from configuration and sales to redemption and reporting.

Fallback Capacity Type

A Custom Field type that displays a set of radio buttons for selecting one option from a list, ideal for quick single-choice questions.

A short-lived credential proving an app is allowed to call the API, included in each request's Authorization header.

Terms & Amendment Fees

Optional or mandatory extras that can be purchased alongside, or independently from, core products (e.g., Guidebooks, service upgrades, or charitable donations).

A payment method allowing recurring charges for memberships or subscriptions to be processed automatically from a customer's bank account.

Products

Customer-selectable accessibility or support flags offered during booking that help define special requirements (e.g., Electric Wheelchair or Walking Difficulties) which inform capacity selection and operational handling.

A process allowing purchase of a membership on behalf of another person, requiring buyer details but not the recipient's.

Discounts applied to bookings. POS supports selecting from a list, scanning barcodes, or entering codes manually. Only valid promotions are accepted.

Pagination

A Ticket-Level Status meaning the ticket has been scanned successfully.

External ID

In Use Banner

Defines how memberships, patronages, or vouchers connect to other products, controlling where benefits, discounts, or restrictions apply.

A product type used for general entry to attractions or sites, typically linked to capacity and booking settings. These products usually reference a single Service with daily or hourly capacity.

A setting that defines how long a customer's selection remains reserved before being released back into availability. It is set in System Settings and is typically measured in minutes (e.g., 10-15 minutes).

A confirmed purchase of a product, journey, or event.

Defines how and when a ticket can be used after purchase, including the number of scans allowed, timetable access (Scheduled, Day Pass, Open Pass), and the overall validity period.

Important Info Tab (Product)

Direct Debit

Locally stored booking data used when Check Real-Time Availability is OFF. It loads quickly but may not reflect last-minute capacity changes.

Capacity

The standard 'action' used in web communication to tell the API what to do with data (GET, POST, PUT/PATCH, DELETE).

Cost Centre Code

Historical versions of core records (Orders, Configurations) used to audit changes over time.

RESTful Design

Venues

Capacity Option Groups

A button/status used to temporarily make a time slot unavailable for booking, providing quick control for managing availability or schedule adjustments.

Webhook

VAT (Tax)

Configuration within a Venue that allows operators to assign total capacity limits to specific services or events, defining the total number of spaces allowed (the quantity) for each Capacity Option.

Scheduled (Timetable Access)

User Administration

Assistance Options

One of the two main Service types, used for transport or travel services such as ferries or bus routes.

Analytics Tab

Minimum Transfer Time Between Legs

A tool within Expian that enables users to generate data-driven insights, track performance, and validate transactions.

Statuses

Journeys (Product Type)

Custom Fields

Radio Select (Custom Field Type)

Associated with Cancellation and Amendment Fees to ensure proper financial tracking within bookings and refunds, working alongside Cost Centre Codes to ensure correct financial reporting and reconciliation.

The module that defines and manages all products that grant customers ongoing access, benefits, or redeemable value, including Memberships, Patronages, and Vouchers.

Defines price adjustments or promotions applied to products or add-ons linked to a membership or patronage, allowing for fixed or percentage-based discounts.

A product type used for transport or travel-based routes (e.g., ferries or shuttles), which includes configuration for routes, legs, and capacity tiers.

Real-Time Availability

Pricing Group

Entitlement ID

Linked Products Tab (Entitlements)

A third-party system connected to Expian via API.

Bookings (Data Entity)

HTTP Methods

Sandbox Environment

A method where an external system repeatedly checks Expian's API at regular intervals to see if new data or updates are available (less efficient than webhooks).

The parent entity for all transactions, including key fields such as Order Reference, Channel, Status, and Total Value.

A complex product type designed for timed or multi-stage experiences, often combining transport, admission, and capacity-based elements.

An additional charge configured within each Product or Service, applied either per booking or per ticket, that applies to all Markets and Channels selected for that Product.

Define the commercial and operational regions a client operates in (e.g., UK, Ireland, France), linking to preferred language and currency for localized experiences.

Draft Orders

Capacity Options

Provides a chronological audit trail and record of all edits, publications, and republished versions for an item, tracking who made changes and when they occurred.

A setting for services representing an all-day access product available via API integration or sold through an integrated API, ensuring external systems correctly identify and categorize the ticket type.

Endpoint

Capacity Plans

Gift Aid

Orders that have not been completed yet (AKA 'Carts'), including pending amendments or cancellations to existing orders until they are confirmed or abandoned.

Determine how spaces are measured and controlled (the unit of measurement itself), such as Low Vehicle Lane Metres, Foot Passenger Spaces, Visitor Spaces, or Wheelchair Access.

Expian's default booking website using standard API calls. It is a base implementation of the booking journey, a fully functional template that demonstrates best practice use of the API.

Promotions (Promos)

Revisions

A secure authorisation method that uses tokens instead of passwords, allowing systems to access the API on behalf of a user or service without sharing credentials directly.

POS (Point of Sale)

Automatic or manual printing of receipts and entry tickets (QR-coded). Depends on location printing settings.

A unique system reference used for integrations and reporting for Memberships, Patronages, or Vouchers.

A specific entry time for timed products (e.g., 10:30, 14:00).

Journeys (Service Type)

Reports Module

The module that manages all discount-based offers and campaigns, defining how, when, and where discounts apply, either automatically triggered or manually activated with a promo code.

Describe the lifecycle of every order, ticket, membership, and voucher, determining inclusion in reports and KPIs.

Attendance

Building Blocks

A ticket validity option where the customer must book a specific time slot (default for time-based events or journeys).

Services

Transfers

Capacity Tiers

Semantic Versioning

Cart Expiry & Timer

System Settings

Used for global configuration affecting all portals, defining the core framework for languages, currencies, and markets.

The final Building Block, representing the sellable product (e.g., Adult, Child, Car). They define pricing and capacity for that product and act as the central connection point between capacity, venues, and assistance options.

Option Select (Custom Field Type)

Ticket Types

The process of breaking large sets of data into smaller pages when returned by the API, improving performance and manageability.

Combined offers that package two or more products (tickets, journeys, or experiences) into a single purchasable option, designed to enhance the customer experience and encourage cross-selling.

A code that represents the business area, department, or location responsible for the transaction, used with Account Codes to track income and expenses at a detailed operational level.

The section that defines how cancellations, booking amendments, and customer-facing terms are managed, combining both the T&C text and the financial rules applied to changes.

Vouchers

Promotion / Voucher (POS)

Availability & Channels Tab

Time Slot Templates

Configured within Location setup, they allow customers to move seamlessly between routes, attractions, or transport modes as part of a multi-leg journey, preventing impossible itineraries.

Day Pass (Timetable Access)

Admissions (Product Type)

Amendment Fees

Entitlement

The specific web address (URL) where the API performs a function or provides information. Each endpoint handles one type of task, for example, retrieving products, creating a booking, or processing a payment.