Shop language, defined.
31 terms, the system's words and the trade's, each in a sentence or two.
A
The drawing or record of what was actually installed and where, as opposed to what the plan intended. The document the next tech silently thanks you for.
C
A return visit because earlier work failed, or the customer says it did. With records it arrives as evidence and a pattern; without them, as an argument.
A written, priced change to agreed scope, approved before the extra work happens. The alternative is work done free and argued about at closeout.
Finishing a job's record: final invoice, photos, warranties, and as-builts handed over. Easy when the record built itself as the job ran.
The switch from the old system to the new one: the day the whiteboard retires and the board takes over. Best done on a chosen quiet day, not mid-crisis.
D
F
Flat ratealso: flat-rate pricing
One set price for a defined job, quoted before the work starts. The shop carries the risk of a hard day and keeps the reward of a clean one.
I
Turning a call into a scheduled job while the caller is still on the line. Details captured once, so nothing is re-typed and nothing leaks.
L
The honest time a price book entry assigns a job: an average tech on an average day, including setup and cleanup, not the best tech's best hour.
N
NTEalso: not to exceed
Not to exceed: an approved cap on a T&M job. Work pauses for the customer's approval before the cap is passed, so the surprise has a ceiling.
O
The published schedule of who carries the after-hours phone: one name at a time, swapped by agreement, and paid even on quiet nights.
Thorbis posts invoices and payments to QuickBooks; nothing flows back. One direction means one source of truth to audit.
P
PM visitalso: planned maintenance
A planned-maintenance visit: scheduled inspection and upkeep, usually under a service agreement. Movable by nature, which makes it route-friendly.
The shop's catalog of services with materials, labor units, and prices. Estimates pull from it, so the same job gets the same price from every tech.
Progress billingalso: draw
Invoicing a long job in stages instead of one bill at the end. Each stage's invoice is a draw, and each draw is tracked until collected.
The short list of small items standing between almost done and done, walked and written at the end of a job.
R
Matching the bank against the books: every deposit traced to the invoices inside it. With itemized payouts it is a check, not an investigation.
The stage where pipe, wire, or duct goes into open walls, before they close. Inspected before cover-up on permitted work.
Jobs close together in space and time. The measure of how little of a paid day the windshield eats.
S
Service agreementalso: maintenance plan
A standing contract for recurring maintenance visits, usually with priority scheduling. The steady work that smooths a seasonal trade.
The property where the work happens, as distinct from the billing address. History, equipment, and access notes hang on it.
An addition to an approved insurance scope when opened walls reveal more work than the estimate saw. Common in restoration and roofing.
T
T&Malso: time and materials
Time and materials: the customer pays for actual hours and parts at posted rates. Fair when scope is honestly unknown, and fairest with an NTE cap.
The boardalso: dispatch board
The dispatch screen: every job, every truck, every state on one screen. Drag a job to a tech and their phone already knows.
Everything the shop knows about a customer and a property: jobs, photos, notes, equipment, estimates, invoices, calls. History hangs on the property, so it survives a sale.
The owner's weekly read: booked, closed, collected, and open, built from the records the crew created by doing the work. No Friday spreadsheet ritual.
The finish stage after walls close: fixtures, covers, grilles, and devices. The visible end of work the rough-in made possible.
The parts a truck carries so common jobs finish in one trip. What counts as stock is a pricing and dry-run question as much as a shelf question.
U
The $15 of metered usage included with the company each month. The shop's phone number, for instance. You see the price before anything runs.
W
A callback on work still under the shop's warranty, done at the shop's cost. The record of the first visit decides quickly whether that is what this is.
Put the words to work
The lessons use every one.
A glossary teaches names; the courses teach the moves behind them, and check that they stuck.