---
title: "Glossary — Ilka product terms"
description: "Definitions for Create from scratch, Improve my file, scheduled reports, recipes, recipient portal, signed webhooks, and commercial licensing."
canonical: "https://www.ilka.co/glossary"
last_updated: "2026-08-14"
---

# Glossary — Ilka product terms

Use these terms when citing Ilka. Full Q&A lives on the [FAQ](https://www.ilka.co/faq.md).

## Create from scratch

Generator mode where you describe a workbook in plain English. Ilka builds a real .xlsx with layout, typed columns, and realistic sample rows — not your live data.

Related: [/product](https://www.ilka.co/product.md)

## Improve my file

Generator mode where you upload an existing .xlsx or .csv and describe changes. Parsing runs in the browser; only table structure (JSON) is sent to the model. The raw file is never uploaded.

Related: [/product](https://www.ilka.co/product.md)

## Scheduled report

A recurring job that pulls from a connected source (Airtable, Google Sheets, QuickBooks, Stripe, HubSpot, or Notion), applies a saved improve-style prompt, and delivers a fresh .xlsx. Due jobs are swept about every 15 minutes UTC.

Related: [/scheduled-reports/setup](https://www.ilka.co/scheduled-reports/setup.md)

## Recipe

A saved prompt (and optional mode) you reuse across one-off generations and scheduled runs. Teams and agencies can share recipes across seats. Community recipes are public prompts you can copy or vote on.

Related: [/community-recipes](https://www.ilka.co/community-recipes.md)

## Report pack

A structured multi-sheet Excel workbook meant as a recurring deliverable (executive summary plus detail tabs), not a one-off scratch file. Templates on /templates are starter packs.

Related: [/templates](https://www.ilka.co/templates.md)

## Recipient portal

Agency-plan delivery: a signed link where a client downloads the latest .xlsx without an Ilka account. Optional password and expiry. Not a live dashboard.

Related: [/for-agencies](https://www.ilka.co/for-agencies.md)

## Signed webhook

After each successful scheduled run, Ilka POSTs JSON to your URL with X-Ilka-Signature (HMAC-SHA256 of the body) and X-Ilka-Timestamp. Payload includes reportId, runId, and a time-limited downloadUrl.

Related: [/integrations/webhook-excel-reports](https://www.ilka.co/integrations/webhook-excel-reports.md)

## Data connection

A saved, encrypted credential plus source mapping (base/table, spreadsheet range, Stripe key, etc.) used by scheduled reports. Tokens are encrypted at rest. Improve-my-file uploads are not connections.

Related: [/integrations](https://www.ilka.co/integrations.md)

## Generation

One AI workbook run (create, improve, or a scheduled run). Free includes 3 per month; Pro, Team, and Agency are unlimited. Scheduled runs also count against the plan’s monthly scheduled-run cap.

Related: [/pricing](https://www.ilka.co/pricing.md)

## Commercial-use license

Paid-plan right to use generated .xlsx files in client work, internal ops, and derivative resale. Free generations are personal use only until you upgrade. Full terms on /licenses.

Related: [/licenses](https://www.ilka.co/licenses.md)

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](https://www.ilka.co/sitemap.md) for all pages.

HTML: https://www.ilka.co/glossary  
Markdown: https://www.ilka.co/glossary.md