Glossary & frequently asked questions (FAQ)
This article explains the most important easycompliance terms in one place and briefly answers the most common cross-cutting questions. It is meant as a reference: each term stands on its own, and each answer points to the relevant detailed article if you would like to go deeper. For how the platform, modules and permissions work together in general, start with the article How easycompliance works (overview).
Glossary
Customer number. Your sign-in identifier for the customer portal – numeric only (e.g. 1000 or
1000001). Each access has its own customer number. Test accesses carry the prefix TEST (e.g.
TEST1000).
Additional access. An extra staff login with its own customer number and its own permissions. Which features an additional access sees depends on its permissions; the enabled modules, by contrast, are the same for all accesses of the same customer.
Customer / tenant. Your company as the contracting party. The main access is the customer’s customer number; all additional accesses belong to the same customer (tenant).
Manager access. An access that can use “Switch Tenant” to move between several customers (tenants). The corresponding dropdown only appears for a manager access.
Permission. Defines what an individual access is allowed to do (e.g. import, assess, print, edit settings). Permissions can differ from access to access. If a permission is missing, the feature is hidden or a corresponding note appears.
Module. A screening area: Sanctions Lists, PEP or Dow Jones (with the sub-modules MAE, TRAE, SCO). Which modules are available depends on your plan.
Enabled. A module is enabled if your plan covers it for your customer. Only enabled modules appear in the menu; modules that are not enabled are not visible at all.
Individual check. An ad-hoc check of one name that returns a result immediately – ideal for quickly screening a new business partner. You can add results to the archive.
Consolidated individual check. An individual check that screens a name in one run against all modules enabled for you (sanctions lists, PEP, Dow Jones). You receive a separate result block per module. The option only appears when more than one module is active and is not available in test accounts.
Automated monitoring / list screening. The continuous, automatic screening of an uploaded list of your business partners. The system screens the records continuously and reports new hits without you re-entering every name.
Quota. The extent to which your plan covers checks or monitored records. You see your current utilization in the dashboard under “Quota”.
Record. A single entry in your monitoring list (e.g. a business partner with a name and an optional reference) that is screened continuously against the lists.
Hit. When screening finds one of your records on a list, a hit is created. You then rate every new hit.
False positive. The rating for a hit that refers to a different person or organisation. According to the system note, false-positive-rated names “will no longer be reported as hits in future checks as long as the record remains on your list”.
Confirmed hit (positive). The rating for a hit that actually applies. Such hits move to the “Confirmed Hits (Positive)” section with the note to take the necessary compliance measures according to your internal guidelines.
Hit assessment. The act of marking a hit as “False Positive” or “Positive”. A hit only counts as processed once it has been rated. A rating can be reset later.
Reference. An optional additional identifier for a record (e.g. an internal customer/partner number). On request, duplicate detection can use the reference instead of the name.
Archive. The collection of your saved individual checks, separated by module. From the archive you can re-run entries, print the screening protocol or save it as PDF, and delete entries.
Screening protocol. The printable protocol of a check (page title “Screening Protocol”). It documents the result in a traceable manner and can be printed or saved as PDF.
Check ID. The unique identifier of a check, shown on the screening protocol.
Search pattern. The configured percentage match (default 90%) that determines how strict or tolerant name matching is. “Lower values produce more hits, higher values fewer.” The special value “Name part” searches for individual name components. A change triggers a full re-screening of all records.
Name variants. Alternative spellings and permutations of a name (e.g. swapped first and last names) that are searched as well, depending on the search options, so that hits are found despite minor deviations.
Duplicate detection. The automatic skipping of entries that already exist when adding or importing records. Duplicates are detected either by “Name” (default) or “Reference”.
Data analysis. The data quality analysis that checks your records for conspicuous characteristics (e.g. Unicode problems, filler phrases, artefacts) and helps you improve list quality.
Sanctions lists. The screening module for matching against the relevant sanctions lists (the “Sanctions Lists” menu). Ship screening by IMO number also runs through this module.
PEP. Politically exposed persons. The “PEP Screening” module matches names against lists of politically exposed persons.
Dow Jones (MAE / TRAE / SCO). The “Dow Jones” module (Dow Jones risk data) with the sub-modules “Dow Jones MAE”, “Dow Jones TRAE” and “Dow Jones SCO”.
Test account. A time-limited trial access (customer number with the prefix TEST). Test
accounts are not representative; printing and export are disabled there.
Two-factor authentication (2FA). An additional security level at sign-in: after the customer number and password, you enter a time-based security code from your authenticator app.
Event log. The overview of the latest activities of your account (e.g. sign-ins, settings changes, imports, integration tests) with the columns “Date”, “Event”, “Status” and “Detail”.
Import. Reading records from a file (CSV, Excel) into the monitoring list. Records that already exist are skipped automatically (duplicate detection).
IMO number. The ship identifier IMO followed by exactly 7 digits. If you enter it in the normal name field of the individual check against sanctions lists, the system specifically searches for listed ships with that IMO number.
Frequently asked questions
What does a percentage match mean?
It is the configured search pattern and determines how strictly names are matched. The default
is 90%. High values (e.g. 100%) return only very exact matches; low values (e.g. 50%) also
return more distant ones – and thus more (including false) hits. See Configuring search options.
Why don’t I see module X? Modules depend on your plan. If a module is not enabled, its menu entry does not appear at all. Discuss the scope with customer service. See How easycompliance works (overview).
Why do old hits reappear? Usually because existing records were deleted before an update and then uploaded again – in which case already-rated hits are reported again as new hits. Update your list without deleting first: simply upload a new file; existing records are skipped as duplicates. See Deleting or resetting records.
What is the difference between deleting and resetting? Deleting removes the record completely from the monitoring list. Resetting keeps the record but only clears its previous rating – the record is screened again on the next check. See Deleting or resetting records.
What does “false positive” mean? You rate a hit as “false positive” when it refers to a different person or organisation. Such hits “will no longer be reported as hits in future checks as long as the record remains on your list”. The counterpart is “positive” (the hit actually applies). See Rating a hit as false positive or positive.
How do I screen a ship? Simply enter the IMO number (the prefix IMO plus exactly 7 digits) in the normal name field of the individual check against sanctions lists – there is no separate IMO field. The system recognises the identifier automatically and searches specifically for listed ships. See Screening ships by IMO number.
Where do I find more help? All detailed articles are in this manual at https://hilfe.easycompliance.de/en/. If you have questions, you can reach us via the chat or contact customer service.
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