Glossary
Quick reference for terms used across the ema platform.
If you are new to ema, start with the onboarding guide for your role, then return here when a term is unfamiliar.
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · K · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · T · W
A
Abstract
A written summary of a talk submitted by a speaker. Abstracts are reviewed by the event team before a talk is accepted into the program.
Approval
A request for sign-off on a budget, document, or schedule. Approvals can be sent to clients or team members and tracked through the approvals dashboard.
B
Booth
A designated space on the floor plan assigned to an exhibitor. Booths have IDs, dimensions, and optional pricing tiers.
Budget
The financial plan for a project. Budgets contain line items organized by service type and can have multiple scenarios for comparison.
C
Client
An external organization that commissions or collaborates on a project. Clients access their projects through the client portal.
Compliance Item
A document, form, or certification that an exhibitor must submit before the event. Each item has a deadline and approval workflow.
D
Deal
A sales opportunity tracked through a pipeline. Deals have stages, expected values, and can be converted into projects when won.
Deal Stage
A step in the sales pipeline (e.g., Lead, Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Won, Lost). Deals move through stages as they progress.
E
Exhibitor
An organization that has purchased or been assigned booth space at an event. Exhibitors manage their details through the exhibitor portal.
Exhibitor Portal
A self-service area where exhibitors manage their profile, upload compliance documents, and view their booth location.
F
Floor Plan
An interactive map of the event venue showing booth locations, zones, and dimensions. Created using the canvas editor in the admin portal.
G
Gamification
Points, badges, and leaderboards that reward attendee participation during events.
Group Registration
A batch of registrations purchased together and managed by a single group manager.
H
Health Status
A color-coded indicator on the admin dashboard showing whether a project is On Track (green), Needs Attention (amber), or At Risk (red).
I
Integration
A connection between ema and an external system like EventsAir, Productive, or Microsoft Graph.
K
Knowledge Base
A searchable collection of articles, FAQs, and documentation associated with a project. Can be made public or restricted to specific roles.
L
Line Item
A single entry in a budget representing a cost or revenue item. Line items have quantities, unit rates, and service types.
Lost Reason
A categorized explanation for why a deal was not won. Used for sales analytics and pipeline reporting.
M
Module
A feature set that can be enabled or disabled per project. Modules control which capabilities and sidebar items are visible.
N
Networking
The engagement feature that lets attendees connect, book meetings, and build relationships during events.
O
Onboarding
The guided setup experience for new admins creating their first organization and project.
Organization
A company or entity in the system. Your own company, clients, exhibitors, and sponsors are all organizations with different relationships to projects.
P
Pipeline
A configurable sequence of stages that deals move through. Each pipeline represents a sales process (e.g., "Inbound", "Enterprise", "Renewals").
Project
The central container in ema. A project holds all data for an event — schedule, speakers, exhibitors, budget, tasks, and documents.
R
Rate Card
A predefined set of pricing rates used to populate budget line items. Rate cards speed up budget creation by providing standard pricing.
Room
A physical space in the venue where sessions take place. Rooms appear as columns in the schedule builder.
S
Scenario
A budget variation. Multiple scenarios allow side-by-side comparison of different pricing options (e.g., "Standard", "Premium", "Lite").
Session
A time block in the schedule assigned to a specific room. Sessions can contain one or more talks.
Service Type
A category for budget line items (e.g., "AV Equipment", "Catering", "Venue Hire"). Used for grouping and reporting.
Speaker
A person presenting at the event. Speakers have profiles with bios and photos, and are linked to talks and sessions.
T
Talk
A presentation submitted by a speaker. Talks go through a review process and, when accepted, are assigned to sessions in the schedule.
Task
A unit of work assigned to a team member. Tasks have statuses, priorities, due dates, and can be viewed in board, calendar, or Gantt formats.
Task List
A grouping of related tasks within a project. Task lists help organize work by workstream, phase, or team.
Track
A thematic grouping for sessions (e.g., "Keynote", "Workshop", "Panel", "Networking"). Tracks are color-coded in the schedule builder.
W
Wallet Pass
A digital pass (Apple Wallet or Google Wallet) containing your event QR code for check-in.