Glossary

Contractor terms, defined in plain English.

From ESIGN to phase template to lien waiver — definitions of the contractor business terms that come up daily, written for contractors not lawyers.

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Activity feed: A chronological list of recent events across a contractor's organization — leads created, appointments scheduled, proposals sent, payments received. Used as a dashboard overview.
Audit trail: The complete chronological record of who did what and when on a document or transaction. For e-signatures, the audit trail typically includes signer identity, timestamp, IP address, and a hash of the document version signed.

Bid: An offer to perform specified work for a stated price. In contracting, often used interchangeably with 'proposal,' though some use 'bid' for competitive scenarios and 'proposal' for direct customer negotiations.

Change order: A formal modification to a signed contract that adjusts scope, price, or schedule. Most disputes between contractors and customers stem from informal changes that should have been written change orders.
Closing rate: The percentage of leads or proposals that convert to signed contracts. Tracked per source, per sales rep, and per job type to identify what's working.
CRM: Customer Relationship Management software. For contractors, a CRM tracks leads, customers, projects, proposals, and the activity history tying them together.
Critical path: The longest sequence of dependent tasks or phases in a project. A delay anywhere on the critical path delays the whole project. Knowing your critical path tells you where to focus attention.

Dependency cascade: When one phase's date change automatically updates all phases that depend on it. If Permits slips a week, every downstream phase also shifts by a week without manual intervention.
Deposit: An upfront payment received at contract signing, typically 10–33% of the contract value depending on state law. Florida caps residential deposits at 10% for jobs over $2,500.

ESIGN: The federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, passed in 2000. Makes electronic signatures legally equivalent to handwritten ones for most commercial contracts, including contractor proposals.
Estimate: An informal ballpark of project cost. Less committal than a proposal — both contractor and customer treat estimates as a starting point for negotiation rather than a firm offer.

Gantt chart: A horizontal timeline visualization where each row is a phase or task and each bar shows the duration. The clearest way to see a multi-phase construction project at a glance.

Lead: A prospect — someone who has expressed interest in your services but hasn't yet become a paying customer. Leads progress through statuses: New, Contacted, Qualified, Appointment Set, Proposal Sent, Won, Lost.
Lead source: Where a lead came from: website, referral, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, yard sign, walk-in, etc. Tracking lead source lets you measure ROI per marketing channel.
Lien waiver: A document signed by a contractor or supplier waiving their right to file a mechanic's lien on the property in exchange for payment. Required by many lenders before final payment.

Margin: Profit on a project: contract value minus all costs (materials, labor, subs, permits, overhead). Live margin tracking means watching the number as expenses come in, not at year-end.
MMI / mobile-first: Software designed primarily for phone use rather than desktop. Critical for contractor tools since most field work happens away from a desk.

Phase: A logical chunk of project work with a defined start, end, and set of tasks. Construction projects break into phases like Permits → Demo → Rough-in → Finish → Punch list.
Phase template: A reusable set of phases (and tasks within them) for a specific job type. Apply a Kitchen Remodel template to a new project and the phases populate automatically.
Pipeline: The visual representation of leads at each stage of the sales process. Most contractor CRMs show pipeline as columns or a table grouped by status.
Project P&L: Profit and loss tracked at the individual project level. Shows contract value, payments received, expenses logged, and live margin per job.
Proposal: A formal offer to perform specified work at a stated price under specified terms. When signed by the customer, becomes a binding contract.
Punch list: The list of small remaining items at the end of a project — touch-up paint, missing trim, a sticky door. The final phase before sign-off.

RFI: Request for Information. A formal question from a contractor to an architect, engineer, or customer asking for clarification on plans or specifications.
Role-based access (RBAC): Permission system where users see only what's relevant to their role. Sales reps see leads, PMs see projects, admins see everything. Reduces noise and prevents accidental edits.

Sales funnel: The conceptual model of leads narrowing into customers. Wide at the top (lots of leads), narrow at the bottom (signed jobs). Funnel reports show conversion rate at each stage.
Scope of work (SOW): The detailed description of what work will be performed under a contract. Vague SOWs are the root of most contractor-customer disputes.

Take-off: The process of measuring quantities from plans (square footage, linear feet, count of fixtures) to build an estimate. Specialty tools exist for this; BuildEasyPro keeps takeoff to line-item entry.

UETA: The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, adopted by 49 US states. Like ESIGN at the federal level, makes electronic signatures legally binding for state-law contracts.

Work order: An instruction to perform specific work, typically a single visit or short task. Common in field-service businesses (HVAC, plumbing repair). Contractors with multi-phase projects typically use 'project' rather than 'work order.'