Contractor Software & Trade Glossary

Plain-English definitions of 33 terms used across software reviews, calculators, and guides on this site.

ACV: Actual Cash Value. Insurance payout based on replacement cost minus depreciation. Common in roofing claims — homeowner often only receives ACV upfront and the RCV difference after repairs are completed and approved.
Bond Beam: A horizontal reinforced concrete beam at the top of a CMU wall that ties the structure together and distributes loads. Required by code in seismic and high-wind regions.
Burdened Labor Cost: True hourly cost of an employee including wages, taxes (FICA, FUTA, SUTA), workers comp, health insurance, paid time off, and overhead allocation. Typically 1.25x-1.6x the base wage. Critical for accurate job pricing.
CAC: Customer Acquisition Cost. Total marketing + sales spend divided by new customers won. Healthy CAC for residential service trades is typically 5-15% of first-year revenue from that customer.
Call Tracking: Routing inbound calls through trackable phone numbers to measure which marketing channels drive booked jobs. Tools like CallRail, ServiceTitan Phones, and HCP Pipeline integrate this with FSM data.
Change Order: Formal modification to the original job scope, pricing, or schedule — signed by the customer. Critical to document in writing; verbal change orders are the #1 source of payment disputes.
CMU: Concrete Masonry Unit (concrete block). Standard sizes are 8x8x16 inch. Used for foundations, retaining walls, and structural walls in commercial construction.
Dispatch: The process of assigning techs to jobs based on skill, location, route efficiency, and customer SLA. Modern FSM platforms automate this with drag-and-drop boards or AI optimization.
EagleView: Aerial imagery service providing precise roof measurement reports from satellite/aerial photos. Standard input to roofing estimates; integrates with AccuLynx, JobNimbus, Roofr.
Flat-Rate Pricing: Charging a fixed price per task (e.g., 'install kitchen faucet $385') rather than time-and-materials. Requires a pricebook. Industry standard for residential HVAC/plumbing/electrical service.
FSM: Field Service Management software. Apps that handle scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, customer database, and mobile field operations. Examples: Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, FieldEdge, Workiz.
Geotextile: Permeable fabric used in landscaping, drainage, and paver installations to separate soil layers and prevent erosion without blocking water flow.
GFCI: Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter. Required by NEC in wet areas (bathrooms, kitchens, outdoors). Shuts off power when current imbalance detected — protects against electrocution.
Gross Margin: Revenue minus direct costs (materials + direct labor), expressed as a percent of revenue. Healthy gross margins by trade: roofing 25-40%, HVAC service 40-55%, GC residential 15-35%.
Grout: Cement-based filler between tiles. Sanded grout for joints >1/8", unsanded for narrower joints. Color sealing extends life.
House Wrap: Synthetic membrane (Tyvek, Typar) installed over sheathing before siding. Resists bulk water but allows water vapor to escape, preventing rot.
Insurance Supplement: Additional payment request to an insurance carrier for line items missed in original scope, code requirements, or hidden damage discovered during work. Common in roofing — Xactimate is the standard format.
Markup: Amount added to cost to produce price, expressed as a percent of COST. Different from margin. Example: $100 cost with 50% markup = $150 price, which is a 33% margin.
Multi-Option Proposal: Presenting customers with 3-4 priced packages (good/better/best/premium) rather than a single quote. Industry data shows ticket size lifts 15-30% on average. Built into ServiceTitan pricebook.
NEC: National Electrical Code. Published by NFPA every 3 years (NEC 2023 is current in most states). Defines electrical safety requirements; adopted by states/municipalities with local amendments.
Net Margin: Revenue minus ALL costs (direct + overhead + admin) as percent of revenue. Typically 5-15 percentage points below gross margin. The number that actually matters for take-home.
Onboarding: Vendor-led implementation period when migrating to new software. Critical FSMs (ServiceTitan, FieldEdge) charge $5K-$25K and require 6-12 weeks of company time.
Pricebook: Database of all flat-rate tasks with prices, parts, and procedures. The foundation of flat-rate pricing. Building one in-house takes 80-200 hours; ServiceTitan Pricebook Pro provides a maintained version for ~$300-$700/mo.
Polymeric Sand: Joint sand mixed with polymers that harden when wet. Used in paver installations to lock joints and resist weeds. More expensive than regular joint sand but lasts 8-10 years.
RFI: Request for Information. Formal written question from contractor to architect/engineer/owner during construction. Tracked in PM software (Procore, Buildertrend) and creates an audit trail.
RCV: Replacement Cost Value. What it costs new today to replace damaged property. Insurance pays RCV minus depreciation upfront (ACV); pays the difference after repairs are completed.
Service Call Fee: Flat fee charged just to dispatch a tech (typically $79-$149 for plumbing/HVAC). Covers travel + diagnosis. Usually credited toward repair if customer approves work.
Stamped Concrete: Concrete patterned and colored to mimic stone, brick, or wood. Adds $4-$12/sq ft over plain concrete pricing. Requires sealer maintenance every 2-3 years.
Submittal: Document submitted by contractor to architect/owner for approval (product data, shop drawings, samples). Required before installation in commercial work; tracked in Procore.
T&M: Time and Materials billing. Hourly labor rate plus marked-up materials, usually with a not-to-exceed cap. Used for unknown-scope repairs and rejected by most modern FSMs in favor of flat-rate.
Tack Strip: Wood strip with angled nails used to secure carpet edges against walls. Installed before carpet pad, ~$0.50/lin ft material cost.
Takeoff: Process of measuring and counting materials from plans (lin ft of pipe, sq ft of roof, # of fixtures). Foundation of every estimate. Tools: PlanSwift, Bluebeam, STACK, EagleView for roofs.
Xactimate: Industry-standard insurance claim estimating software. Required for most insurance restoration work (roofing, water damage, fire). Subscription $80-$200/mo plus per-estimate fees.