Glossary
A cross-module reference of terms used throughout the system documentation. Each entry notes the primary module(s) where the term is defined or most relevant. Terms marked with KC are formally defined in that module’s Key Concepts section.
ACH / ACH File Modules: AP, Payroll Automated Clearing House — an electronic funds transfer method. The system generates an ACH file containing direct deposit or payment instructions for bank submission. ACH configuration (Bank ID, Company ID, Origin Prefix) is set on the Bank Account record.
Accrual KC Module: Payroll A running balance of earned time off (Vacation, Sick, PTO). When an employee uses PTO, the accrual balance is reduced on their payroll statement.
Actual vs. Estimate (AvE) Module: Job Costing A side-by-side comparison of actual posted costs against estimated costs on a job, broken down by cost category and cost type. The AvE tab on the View Job screen and the AvE by Job Type chart on the dashboard provide real-time budget tracking.
Aging / Aging Buckets Modules: AP, AR, Reports The categorization of outstanding invoices by how long they have been past due: Current, 1–30 Days, 31–60 Days, 61–90 Days, 90+ Days, and Prepayments. Used in the AP Aging and AR Aging dashboards and aging reports. (The AP/AR aging reports use a configurable bucket interval, default 30 days, so the exact day ranges can vary with that setting.)
AIA-Style Pay Application Module: Job Costing The AIA invoice format for progress applications: a G702-equivalent certificate cover sheet (contract sum, retainage split, certification blocks) plus a G703-equivalent continuation sheet (columns A–I per schedule-of-values line). It is a format equivalent, not the copyrighted AIA document — contracts that require the official G702/G703 forms need those purchased from AIA. Selected per contract or per application as the Invoice Format; subcontract contracts render the G702S flavor (To Contractor / From Subcontractor).
Allocation (Reserve vs. Allocate) KC Module: Inventory Inventory can be reserved (soft-allocated, preventing use elsewhere) or allocated (physically staged for use). Sales orders, work orders, jobs, and purchase orders all create demand that drives allocation. Reserving first, then allocating, provides a two-step fulfillment workflow.
API Token Module: Administration A credential your organization mints so outside systems can read your ServiSuite data through the public REST API. A token grants read-only access, limited to exactly the data areas (scopes) you pick, and is tied to your organization.
Appointment KC Module: Service A scheduled time block on a specific technician’s calendar. Each work order has one or more appointments. Appointments drive the dispatch board layout and technician scheduling. An appointment has a configurable status and a duration. Statuses are tenant-specific and managed in Settings (each with a name, color, and a closed flag); system statuses include values such as En Route, At Location, Needs Rescheduled, and On Break.
Appointment Confirmation Module: Service An automated SMS, phone call, or email reminder sent to customers before their service appointment. Confirmations track status (Pending, Confirmed, Rejected) and can be managed in batch from the Appointment Confirmations screen. Configured in Service Settings under Appointment Confirmation Settings.
Assistant (AI Assistant) Module: Working in SS2 The AI helper built into ServiSuite. It answers questions about your organization’s data, builds and saves data grids, looks things up in this documentation, collects details through small forms, remembers preferences across conversations, and can prepare certain postings (such as cash receipts and vendor invoices) as approval cards that you review and approve yourself — it never posts on its own. Opened from the app bar (or Ctrl+Shift+A) and full screen from the Assistant sidebar entry; it only reads data your role is allowed to read. Assistant access and each posting capability are granted per role. See Working in SS2.
Attachment Access Class Module: Administration A security classification assigned to uploaded documents that restricts visibility to specific roles. An attachment with no access class assigned has no matching roles, so it is not broadly visible; visibility requires an overlap between the class’s roles and the viewer’s roles. Used for sensitive documents like HR files.
Backorder Modules: Inventory, Sales Orders The unfulfilled portion of a purchase order or sales order when the full quantity is not available. When “Create Backorders” is enabled during PO receiving, unfulfilled quantities remain as open lines. On sales orders, partial shipments create backorder quantities unless “Cancel Backorders” is checked.
Bank Reconciliation KC Module: AP The process of matching GL bank account transactions against the bank statement to identify discrepancies. Cleared transactions are confirmed as matching; uncleared items are investigated. The reconciliation ensures the GL balance and the actual bank balance agree.
Billings in Excess Module: AR / Job Costing A liability GL account (configured in AR Settings) that holds progress-billing value billed but not yet earned — primarily materials billed as stored on site before installation. When you bill for materials stored on site but not yet installed, that value is not yet earned revenue, so ServiSuite defers it to the Billings in Excess Account (Job Invoicing). As the material is later installed, the deferred amount reclassifies out of billings in excess into contract revenue. See Job Costing → Stored materials.
Booking Request Module: Service A customer’s online request for an appointment, submitted from the public booking link or the customer portal. Requests arrive Pending in the Service → Booking Requests queue and are never scheduled automatically; a dispatcher accepts a request (creating a work order or estimate lead with an appointment) or rejects it. Each request carries the requested service, date and flexibility, contact and address details, and a customer-match confidence.
Budget Module: GL A set of target amounts by ledger account and period for comparison against actual results. Used for “Budget vs. Actual” analysis. Budgets can be entered manually per month or spread evenly via the Equal Distribution Amount feature.
Building Module: Inventory A warehouse or facility that contains inventory locations. Buildings are the top level of the location hierarchy (Building → Location). Products are received into a building’s locations. The Default Ship From Building is set in Inventory Settings.
Built-In Report KC Module: Reports A pre-configured report that ships with the system, organized by module (AP, AR, Inventory, Payroll, etc.). Built-in reports have fixed column layouts and grouping structures but accept flexible parameters to narrow results. They cannot be modified but can be exported to Excel or PDF.
Business Overview Modules: GL, Dashboards A built-in dashboard of company-wide figures — receivables and payables, cash in the bank (a balance for each bank account), service, job and sales activity, inventory, and payroll — composed by the system from the widget catalog with a per-viewer Filters control. Its widget set is fixed, but each viewer may arrange and resize it for themselves. It is the first item under General Ledger in the sidebar. See General Ledger and Dashboards.
Business Settings Module: Administration The organization’s company identity — name, address, contact details, and logo — configured in Administration → Business Settings and printed on customer-facing documents such as invoices, pay applications, statements, and reports.
Cash Anticipation Module: AR A projection of when open AR is expected to be collected, grouped by due-date bucket. Mirrors the aging chart structure but shows anticipated cash inflows rather than past-due categorization. Used for cash flow forecasting.
Cash Position Module: Job Costing Net cash flow on a job: total collected minus total cost incurred. A positive cash position means more has been collected than spent; negative means the job is cash-negative. Shown in the Risk section of the per-job dashboard.
Cash Receipt KC Module: AR A payment received from a customer. Posting a cash receipt debits the configured Cash account and credits the AR Control account, reducing the customer’s outstanding balance. Receipts are grouped into deposits for bank posting.
Change Order Register Module: Job Costing The itemized list of a Progress contract’s change orders on its schedule — number, description, where each sits (its own line, or for change orders added before they were always their own line, an adjustment to a named line), and amount, with additions/deductions totals reconciling to the contract’s net change. Printed on both progress-invoice formats; the contract screen’s Change Orders tab shows each change order’s status.
Chart of Accounts KC Module: GL The complete list of ledger accounts (e.g., Cash, Materials Expense) that categorize every financial transaction. Each account has a type (Income or Balance Sheet), a natural balance (Debit or Credit), and belongs to a hierarchical category.
Check / Check Number Module: AP A physical or electronic payment instrument. In AP, checks are generated by payment runs or individually via Issue Check. Each check has a sequential number assigned from the bank account’s check sequence. Checks can be printed, emailed, or voided.
Checkup KC Module: Service A scheduled maintenance visit generated from a service contract. Each checkup creates a work order that can be assigned, dispatched, and completed like any other WO. Contract revenue is posted to the GL by the Service Contract Billings processor (not by completing a checkup); see Revenue Recognition.
Click-to-Dial and Screen Pop Module: CRM RingCentral phone features in CRM: when RingCentral is connected, phone numbers shown on records become click-to-dial links that ring your own RingCentral desktop app or desk phone first and then connect the customer, and an incoming call raises a screen pop — an Incoming Call card in the lower-left corner showing the caller’s details and quick actions.
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) Modules: AR, Sales Orders, Inventory, Service The expense recognized when inventory is sold or consumed. When a sales invoice or work order is posted, COGS is debited (e.g., the configured COGS or Service COGS account) and Inventory is credited. Represents the cost basis of revenue.
Communication Log KC Module: CRM A record of every interaction with a customer: phone calls, emails, texts, and meetings. Communications are logged with type, status, sentiment, direction (inbound/outbound), and follow-up tracking. They appear on leads, work orders, customers, jobs, service contracts, and vendors. An appointment can be referenced on a communication, but communications are not shown on the appointment screen itself.
Container / Container Size Module: Inventory Inventory can be tracked in containers of a defined size (units per container). Container Size × Container Quantity = total quantity. Used during receiving, counting, moving, and adjusting inventory. Enabled per product with the “Use Containers” flag.
Contract Billing Type Module: Job Costing How a job contract is billed, chosen when it is created: Progress (a schedule of values billed by pay application), Time & Material (the job’s recorded costs, labor at a picked labor rate and other costs at cost plus markup), or Simple Invoice (a free-form invoice). Bill Job opens the screen that matches the type. Contracts created before the type existed read as Progress if they have a schedule of values and Simple Invoice if they don’t.
Contract Sale Module: Service A work order line item type representing charges billed under a service contract. When used, the line selects a Contract Type and one or more Contract Options that determine the amount billed.
Control Account (AP Control / AR Control) Modules: AP, AR, GL A GL account that aggregates all activity for a subledger module. The AP Control account holds the total of all unpaid vendor invoices. The AR Control account holds the total of all outstanding customer receivables. Control accounts are typically flagged Prevent Direct Posting, which hides them from the Document Templates account list and the posting UI. However, this flag does not currently block a manual journal entry from adjusting a control account — neither backend rejects such a posting, so this is a known gap rather than a hard guarantee.
Conversion KC Module: CRM The process of turning a proposal into an actionable record. Depending on the Conversion Type, the proposal becomes a Work Order (Service module), carrying over the customer, site, and line item details. (A Job conversion type exists in the data model but is not yet available to users — only Work Order conversion is implemented.)
Conversion Type Module: CRM A setting on a proposal template that determines what record type a proposal converts into. In the current release only Work Order (Service) conversion is available to users; a Job (Job Costing) type exists in the data model but is not yet enabled. Proposals inherit the Conversion Type from their template (read-only on the proposal).
Cost Center KC Module: GL An organizational unit (department, division, branch) assigned to ledger accounts. Cost centers enable departmental reporting — because ledger accounts are assigned to cost centers (root accounts excepted), reports can be broken down by department or division. Managed in General Ledger → Manage Cost Centers. Not to be confused with a Service Cost Center, which is a separate record that decides which accounts work order lines post to.
Cost Estimate KC Module: Job Costing A budget for a job broken down by cost category (Electrical, Mechanical, etc.) and cost type (Material, Labor, Subs, Other). Estimates are set per contract/change order and provide the baseline for Actual vs. Estimate comparisons.
Cost Method KC Module: Inventory Determines how product unit cost is calculated: Average (weighted average of all purchases), Last (most recent purchase cost), or Stated (manually entered). The cost method affects inventory valuation and COGS calculations across the system.
CPI (Cost Performance Index) KC Module: Job Costing BCWP / Actual Cost, where BCWP (Budgeted Cost of Work Performed) = Percent Complete x Estimated Cost. A CPI of 1.0 means the job is exactly on budget. Above 1.0 = under budget (good). Below 1.0 = over budget (investigate). Displayed on the per-job metrics dashboard with color coding: green (≥ 1.0), yellow (0.9–1.0), red (< 0.9).
Credit Limit Modules: AR, Sales Orders The maximum amount of credit extended to a customer, entered in the Credit Line field on the customer record (defaults to 0.00). It is stored and shown on the customer record and as a Max Credit Line stat; the system does not currently enforce it with automatic holds or warnings.
Custom Field KC Module: Administration An organization-specific data field added to a standard record type (Customer, Work Order, Job, Employee, etc.) without code changes. Custom fields support these selectable types: String, Boolean, Date, Model (an entity lookup), Decimal, and Enum. They appear on create/edit/view screens and can be required.
Custom Report KC Module: Reports A user-created report built with the Custom Report Builder. Custom reports select from available datasets, define their own columns, filters, grouping, and parameters. They are private to the creator until shared with specific roles or users.
Customer KC Module: AR A business or individual that buys goods or services from the company. Each customer record holds billing address, payment terms, credit limit, tax jurisdiction, and salesman assignments. Customers are the foundation of all AR transactions.
Customer Portal Modules: Administration, AR A self-service website where a customer’s contacts sign in to view invoices and balances, pay online, and see service records. Staff enable and brand it in Administration → Customer Portal and manage each contact’s access from the Portal Access tab on the customer record.
Customer Statement Module: AR A document generated for a customer showing their account activity and outstanding balance as of a selected statement date. Can be generated and optionally emailed from the customer view screen.
Dashboard Module: Dashboards A canvas of widgets — numbers, charts, data grids, links — laid out on a 24-column grid and updated live from the organization’s data. Every user has a Home dashboard and may create named dashboards, drive them with dashboard parameters, and share them with people or roles. See Dashboards.
Dashboard Parameter
Module: Dashboards
A typed variable that belongs to a dashboard — a Period (date range), a date, a customer, a technician, a yes/no, a choice. Widgets are bound to parameters; a Parameter control on the dashboard lets any viewer change the value, and every bound widget follows. Values are per viewer, carried in the page address (?p.key=…), and never saved into the dashboard. See Dashboards.
Data Import Module: GL A bulk-loading feature on the Journal Entries and Budget Amounts screens that allows importing entry lines from an Excel file (download the template, fill it in, and upload), replacing the current grid contents with the imported data.
Dataset KC Module: Reports The underlying data source that a custom report queries. Each dataset represents a logical collection of records (e.g., “Sales Invoices”, “Work Orders”, “Job Expenses”). The dataset determines which field paths are available for columns and filters.
Deduction Type KC Module: Payroll A classification for payroll withholdings (e.g., Federal Tax, Health Insurance, 401k, Garnishment). Each deduction type has a code, a GL account, and settings for pre-tax treatment, FICA exemption, and employer vs. employee responsibility.
Deposit KC Module: AR A batch of cash receipts posted to the bank. Deposits group the day’s receipts by deposit group (e.g., Checks, Credit Cards) and create a single bank entry in the GL, simplifying bank reconciliation.
Deposit Group Module: AR A grouping category for batching cash receipts into bank deposits (e.g., “Checks,” “Credit Cards,” “ACH”). When posting a cash receipt, the deposit group determines which batch the receipt belongs to for the daily deposit.
Direct Deposit Split KC Module: Payroll Employees can split their net pay across multiple bank accounts by percentage or flat amount. The ACH file generated after a payroll run includes all split instructions for the bank.
Disbursement Group KC Module: AP A configuration that links a payment method to a specific bank account. When you select a disbursement group on a payment run or check, the system automatically knows which bank to draw from. Examples: “Weekly Checks” (linked to operating account), “ACH Payments” (linked to ACH-enabled account).
Dispatch Board KC Module: Service A drag-and-drop scheduling interface showing technicians as columns and time slots as rows. Dispatchers assign unscheduled work orders by dragging them onto a technician’s timeline. The board provides a real-time view of the day’s workload.
Document Queue Modules: Service, AP A holding area for documents — uploaded by hand or sent in from a scanner or copier — that are waiting to be attached to a record. The Service queue files documents to work orders; the Accounts Payable queue files them to vendor invoices and can read an invoice to pre-fill Post Invoice. Each item is Waiting, Filed, or Discarded, and multi-page batch scans can be split into one item per document. See Service and Accounts Payable.
Document Template Module: GL A pre-built journal entry pattern with saved line items (debit/credit accounts and amounts). When a user types the template reference on the Journal Entries screen, line items auto-populate. Templates must be balanced before saving.
Double-Entry Accounting KC Module: GL Every journal entry must have equal debits and credits. The system enforces this: attempting to post an unbalanced entry displays an error message. This ensures the accounting equation (Assets = Liabilities + Equity) always holds.
Drop Ship KC Module: Sales Orders An order that ships directly to a custom address not stored in the customer’s site addresses. When Drop Ship is enabled, the standard Ship To field is replaced with manual address fields. Used for one-off delivery locations.
Dynamic Charge Module: Service A miscellaneous fee added to a work order or proposal that does not fit standard Material, Labor, or Flat Rate categories (e.g., crane rental, disposal fee, permit cost). Configured in Service Settings as reference data.
Early-Payment Discount KC Module: AP A percentage reduction offered by vendors for prompt payment. When the company pays an invoice, the discount amount stored on the invoice record is credited to the configured Earned Discounts account in the GL, reducing the net cash outlay. The server applies the stored discount amount directly and does not compare the payment date against the discount-days window.
Earned Revenue Module: Job Costing Revenue recognized based on percent completion of a job. Calculated as a proportion of the total contract value. Used for over/under billing analysis (Invoiced to Date minus Earned Revenue) and for actual gross margin to date. It is not an input to CPI, which is computed from Estimated Cost rather than Earned Revenue.
Earning Type KC Module: Payroll A classification for compensation (e.g., Regular, Overtime, Holiday, Commission, PTO). Each earning type has a code, a GL account, a rate multiple (e.g., 1.5× for overtime), and tax treatment settings.
Email Blast Module: Administration A bulk internal email sent to all users in one or more roles. Used for staff communication (not customer-facing). Targets users by role assignment.
Employee Module: Payroll A person employed by the company, with a record containing personal information, tax info, pay rates, deduction types, earning types, accrual balances, direct deposit splits, and employment history. Distinct from User (login account), though the two can be linked.
Equipment KC Module: Service A trackable piece of customer equipment (e.g., a Carrier RTU on a customer’s roof). Equipment records store model, serial number, warranty dates, and maintenance history, linking to the customer site and service contracts.
Favorites Module: Working in SS2 A personal list of one-click shortcuts to the screens, reports, saved views, and saved grids you use most. Favorites appear in the Favorites section of the sidebar and in the Favorites widget on your Home dashboard.
Financial Calculator Module: Utilities A standalone planning tool for loan and financing analysis. Computes payment, principal, term, or interest rate and generates a full amortization schedule with cumulative totals. Does not create records in the system.
Fiscal Period & Close Date KC Module: GL Posting locks are enforced per subledger: each subledger has an open-date window (Start/End Close Date) that controls which posting dates it accepts. Advancing a subledger’s window (Subledgers, Advance Close Date) closes those dates. GL Settings also has a Master Close Date field, but it is not consumed by the posting/close-date enforcement code. Closing the General Ledger requires every subledger to be closed through the chosen date and records a ledger-closing entry.
Flat Rate KC Module: Service A predefined service package with fixed pricing. Flat rates bundle labor and materials into a single price (e.g., “AC Diagnostic — $89.00”). They support six pricing tiers (Primary, Additional, Preferred, Preferred Additional, After Hours, After Hours Additional) and can auto-include materials when added to a work order.
FLSA Overtime Module: Payroll Fair Labor Standards Act overtime calculation. When enabled in Payroll Settings, the system automatically computes overtime based on FLSA rules, using configured earning type settings to determine which hours count toward the overtime threshold.
Forecast Final Cost Module: Job Costing The projected total cost at job completion based on the current burn rate. Calculated from actual costs incurred to date extrapolated against the percent complete. Displayed on the per-job metrics dashboard.
GL Distribution / GL Distribution Defaults Modules: AP, AR, Job Costing The allocation of an invoice or transaction amount across one or more GL expense accounts. In AP, each vendor can have default GL distribution accounts so that posting an invoice automatically splits the expense across pre-configured accounts.
Hold Invoice / Hold Reason Modules: AP, Sales Orders, Utilities A flag that marks an invoice or sales order as held. It is a UI-level indicator for manual review only — it does not block processing. A held vendor invoice is still picked up by the Pay Invoices auto-select (which filters only on due date and unpaid status, not hold status), and a held sales order does not block creating shipments or invoices. Hold Reasons are configured in Utilities and are scoped by Applies To flags to sales orders, shipments, or vendor invoices.
Home Dashboard Modules: Working in SS2, Dashboards Your personal landing page, made of resizable widgets on a grid canvas. It opens whenever you click Home or sign in. Every user has exactly one; it is never shared or deleted. See Dashboards.
ID Format Module: Administration A pattern that designs the human-readable identifiers ServiSuite prints on records — sales order numbers, invoice numbers, purchase order numbers, and more — from reusable building blocks, so a new record is numbered to match your business’s conventions.
Integration KC Module: Administration A connection to a third-party service (Stripe, Ring Central, Podium, Ask The Seal). Integrations are configured in Administration and extend the application’s capabilities — for example, Stripe enables online payment collection on work orders.
Inventory Adjustment KC Module: Inventory An ad hoc correction to quantity or cost, posted with a reason code. Adjustments handle shrinkage, damage, found stock, and cost corrections. Each adjustment creates a GL entry to the configured Inventory Variance account.
Inventory Count / Count Session Module: Inventory A structured physical inventory count. A Count Session defines the scope (which products, categories, or locations). Count Tags are individual count records within the session. After counting, the system compares counted vs. on-hand quantities and posts variances.
Inventory Suspense Modules: Inventory, GL A GL clearing account used during receiving. When goods are received against a PO, the Inventory account is debited and the Suspense account is credited. The suspense balance clears when the corresponding vendor invoice is posted in AP.
Inventory Variance Module: Inventory A GL expense account that captures the financial impact of inventory adjustments, count discrepancies, and cost corrections. Any difference between the system quantity/cost and the actual quantity/cost flows to this account.
Job KC Module: Job Costing A project tracked from contract through completion. Each job is linked to a customer and site, has a type that controls available cost entry types, and accumulates costs against estimates. Jobs can be open (active) or closed (finalized).
Job Contract & Change Orders KC Module: Job Costing The original contract establishes the agreed revenue for a job and how it is billed (see Contract Billing Type); change orders add or subtract from the contract they change as scope changes occur. Total Contract Amount = Original Contract + All Approved Change Orders. A change order is added from its contract with Add Change Order and carries an approval status; on a Progress contract an approved change order goes onto the schedule of values as its own line (a deduct is a negative line), never as an adjustment to an existing line. A record’s contract/change-order type can be changed later through the gated Convert action on the contract screen.
Job Cost Category Module: Job Costing A segment within a job for granular cost reporting (e.g., Ductwork, Equipment, Controls, Piping). Each category has overhead factors (Material Factor, Labor Factor, Subs Factor) that automatically compute overhead on posted expenses.
Job Cost Entry KC Module: Job Costing An individual expense posted to a job. Each entry has a cost type (Labor, Material, Subs, or Other), an amount, and optional overhead. Labor entries include hours; material entries include quantity. These accumulate as the job’s actual cost.
Job Type Module: Job Costing A classification for jobs that controls which cost entry types are available and which GL accounts are used. Each Job Type has a Contract Credit GL and Contract Closing Credit GL. Created in Job Costing Settings.
Journal Entry (Document Posting) KC Module: GL A balanced set of debit and credit lines recorded against ledger accounts on a specific date. Every financial event in the system — whether entered manually or generated by another module — becomes a journal entry in the GL.
Key Off Modules: AP, AR The process of closing out a set of open invoices whose combined net balance equals exactly $0.00, without issuing payment or collecting cash — typically a credit memo offsetting an invoice. Key Off marks the selected invoices as paid and creates invoice-posting subledger records labeled “Key-Off”; no GL entries are posted.
Lead KC Module: CRM A sales opportunity tracked through a pipeline. Each lead is tied to a customer and site, has a potential dollar value, a quality grade (A, B, C, D, or F), and a current pipeline stage. Leads are assigned to salesmen and accumulate communication history.
Lead Source Module: CRM How a lead was acquired (e.g., Website, Referral, Trade Show, Cold Call). Configured in CRM Settings. Tracked on the dashboard’s “Leads by Campaign” chart to evaluate marketing channel effectiveness.
Line Item Types KC Module: Service Work order billing is broken into 10 typed line items: Material (parts from inventory), Labor Cost (technician time as cost), Labor Sell (labor billed to customer), Flat Rate (predefined service packages), Flat Rate Material Sell (material portion of a flat rate billed separately), Flat Rate Labor Sell (labor portion of a flat rate billed separately), Contract Sale (billed under a service contract), Dynamic Charge (miscellaneous fees), Subs (subcontractor costs), and Quote (quoted line items).
Location KC Module: Inventory A specific bin, shelf, rack, or area in a warehouse where inventory is stored. Every unit of inventory is tracked at a specific location, enabling precise physical counts and efficient picking. Locations belong to buildings.
Master Close Date Module: GL A date field in GL Settings. Despite its name, this field is not consumed by the posting/close-date enforcement code — posting locks are enforced per subledger via each subledger’s own open-date window (Start/End Close Date). Advancing a subledger’s window is what actually prevents retroactive postings into a closed period. See also: Fiscal Period & Close Date.
Merge (Customer Duplicates) Module: Utilities The process of consolidating two duplicate customer records into a single master record. All related records (invoices, orders, work orders, payments) are reassigned to the master. The merge is permanent and cannot be undone. Always preview impact before merging.
Named Dashboard Module: Dashboards A dashboard you create from the Dashboards list, with a name, an owner, its own widgets and parameters. Owners may share it (view or edit) and delete it. Compare Home Dashboard. See Dashboards.
Net Income / Retained Earnings Module: GL Net income is revenue minus expenses, computed from the Income-type ledger accounts. Closing the General Ledger recomputes retained earnings from that net income and stores it in a separate retained-earnings record — it is a balance update, not a journal entry, and nothing is posted to the YTD Income or Retained Earnings accounts chosen in GL Settings.
Online Booking Modules: Service, Administration The feature that lets customers request appointments from a public web link (or the customer portal) instead of calling. Administrators turn it on and define the bookable services, hours, and booking window on Administration → Online Booking; submissions become booking requests that dispatchers review on Service → Booking Requests.
Order Acknowledgement Module: Sales Orders A document confirming a sales order back to the customer. Can be previewed as PDF and emailed from the Sales Order Actions menu.
Over/Under Billing Module: Job Costing The difference between revenue earned (based on completion) and the amount invoiced. Positive = overbilled (invoiced more than earned); negative = underbilled (invoiced less than earned). A key WIP metric in construction accounting.
Overhead / Burden KC Module: Job Costing Indirect costs applied as a percentage of direct costs. Each Job Cost Category has overhead factors (Material Factor, Labor Factor, Subs Factor). When a $1,000 labor expense is posted to a category with a 15% Labor Factor, the system automatically generates $150 in overhead.
Pallet Module: Inventory A logical grouping of inventory containers that can be moved or tracked as a single unit. Pallets have a location, contain one or more product containers, and can be printed with labels and moved en masse.
Parameter Control Module: Dashboards A widget that shows the inputs for one or more dashboard parameters — a period picker, a record search, a toggle — so viewers can change them on the dashboard itself. See Dashboards.
Pay Application Module: Job Costing One progress invoice posted against a job contract’s schedule of values. Applications are numbered sequentially per contract (counting non-voided applications), bill the change in cumulative position per line, and each generates a customer AR invoice. An application prints as a Standard progress invoice or an AIA-style pay application.
Pay Rate / Pay Rate History Module: Payroll An employee’s compensation rate (hourly or salary) with an effective date. Multiple pay rates are stored chronologically; the most recent effective date determines the current rate. Old entries are preserved for historical accuracy.
Payment Run KC Module: AP A batch process that selects multiple open vendor invoices and generates payments (checks or ACH transfers) for all of them in a single operation. Payment runs are processed through the Pay Invoices screen.
Payroll Period KC Module: Payroll A defined time window (e.g., bi-weekly, semi-monthly) for which employees are paid. Each payroll period has a start date, end date, and check date. Payroll statements are grouped by period.
Payroll Run Module: Payroll The process of finalizing payroll computation for a period. Running payroll validates all statements, posts GL entries (wages expense, tax liabilities, cash), and generates check/ACH records.
Payroll Statement KC Module: Payroll A single employee’s pay calculation for a payroll period. Contains earnings (regular, overtime, holiday, etc.), deductions (taxes, insurance, 401k), and accrual usage. Each statement must be approved before the payroll run.
Payroll Type Module: Payroll A payroll template that pre-configures which earning types are included, which deductions are excluded, and which employees are assigned. Useful for running different payroll cycles (e.g., salaried vs. hourly, regular vs. supplemental).
Permission Override KC Module: Administration A fine-grained access control rule that enables or disables read or update access to a specific model field beyond what the role allows. Override sets apply to field-level controls only (not entire screens) and are attached to roles rather than to individual users — a user is affected only through a role assigned to them. Override sets are for edge cases — for example, granting a role access to salary fields that it normally hides.
Pick Ticket Modules: Job Costing, Sales Orders A warehouse document listing the products and quantities to be picked from inventory for a job or sales order. Can be previewed as PDF and emailed from the job or sales order Actions menu.
Pipeline Stage KC Module: CRM A step in the sales process that every lead moves through. Stages are configured in CRM Settings and displayed as a visual progress bar on the lead form. Typical stages: Prospect → Contacted → Qualified → Proposal Sent → Negotiation → Won.
Posting Modules: GL, AP, AR, Job Costing, Service, Payroll The act of committing a financial transaction to the General Ledger. Almost every module uses the term “posting” to describe the moment a journal entry, invoice, payment, or expense becomes a permanent record. Distinct from merely saving a record.
Posting Configuration Module: GL A mapping screen that defines how transaction types from other modules are routed to specific subledgers. Determines which subledger receives a posting and which date-window rules apply.
Prepayment KC Module: AR An advance payment received from a customer before goods or services are delivered. Prepayments are posted to the configured Customer Prepayments account and can later be applied against specific invoices through the Apply Prepayments screen.
Pricing Matrix / Product Markup Matrix Module: Inventory A matrix of markup rates used to calculate sale pricing from cost. Configured in Inventory Settings. Determines the sell price when a product is added to a sales order or work order.
Product KC Module: Inventory A catalog item that can be purchased, stocked, sold, or consumed. Each product has a unique Product ID, belongs to a category, has units of measure for stock/purchase/sale, and is linked to GL accounts (the Stock Ledger, Suspense Ledger, and Variance Ledger accounts — all configured per product).
Product Category Module: Inventory A hierarchical classification tree for products, used for reporting, filtering, and grouping on dashboards (e.g., Received Products by Category).
Progress Billing Module: Job Costing Invoicing a job contract incrementally against its schedule of values. Each application bills the change in work completed and stored materials per line, withholds retention, and posts under percentage-of-completion accounting: installed work earns revenue, while stored value defers to Billings in Excess until installed.
Proposal KC Module: CRM A formal quote or scope of work presented to a customer. Proposals contain one or more selectable options, each with detailed line items for labor, materials, flat rates, and other charges. Status lifecycle: Draft → Submitted → Pending → Approved/Rejected/Withdrawn.
Proposal Revision KC Module: CRM When a proposal’s template has revision-on-edit enabled, editing a pricing-related field (template, approved option, discount code, sales-tax jurisdiction, or total) creates a new revision rather than overwriting the original; non-financial edits update the existing revision in place. This preserves a complete history of what was offered and when. The “Latest Revisions Only” toggle filters out older versions for day-to-day work.
Purchase Order (PO) KC Module: Inventory A formal request to a vendor for products. POs specify quantities, unit costs, delivery dates, and terms. When goods arrive, the PO drives the receiving process — the system compares what was ordered against what was received.
Quality Grade Module: CRM A letter grade (A, B, C, D, or F) assigned to a lead indicating the quality or likelihood of conversion. Used for pipeline prioritization and shown on the lead form (e.g., “Grade: A”); it can also be used as a report filter.
Rebate Module: Service / AR A discount that a third party pays on the customer’s behalf, set up by flagging a discount code Is Rebate and naming a Rebate Payer. When a work order carrying the code is billed, the customer is invoiced the discounted (net) amount and the rebate portion is billed to the Rebate Payer as a separate AR invoice — so the rebated amount becomes a receivable from the payer rather than a recorded discount. Rebate codes default to Tax on Gross, so the customer is taxed on the full pre-discount price. Billed rebates are listed on the work order’s and the payer’s Rebates tabs.
Rebate Payer Module: Service / AR The third-party customer billed for a rebate discount. A discount code flagged as a rebate must name a Rebate Payer; when a work order using that code is billed, a separate AR invoice for the rebate amount is raised against the payer, and the payer clears it like any other receivable.
Receiving KC Module: Inventory The process of accepting delivered goods into inventory. Receiving can be done against a PO (most common) or as a standalone receipt. When receiving against a PO, the system creates inventory at the specified location and posts to the GL: debit the product’s Stock Ledger account, credit the product’s Suspense Ledger account. For standalone receiving (without a PO), the credit posts to the product’s Variance Ledger account instead.
Recurring Entry Module: GL A journal entry configured on a posting schedule (Monthly or Weekly, with a frequency interval) for recurring accruals like monthly rent, insurance, and depreciation. Note: recurring-entry auto-posting is not currently operational, so the entries must be posted manually.
Replenishment Rule Module: Inventory A per-product, per-location stocking rule specifying a minimum on-hand quantity, a maximum on-hand quantity, and a minimum pack quantity. When a location’s available quantity falls below the rule’s minimum, the Replenishment screen flags it (Below Min) so stock can be pulled from other locations to bring it back up to the maximum. (Product-level reorder point and max-on-hand fields separately drive Suggested Order purchase orders.)
Report Parameters KC Module: Reports Input fields that filter what data a report returns. Parameters include date ranges, entity lookups (customer, vendor, employee), status/type filters, and ID ranges. Required parameters must be filled before the report can run.
Report Sharing KC Module: Reports Custom reports are private by default. The owner can share a report with specific roles and/or individual users. Shared users can run and export the report but cannot edit or delete it.
Retention (Retainage) KC Module: AR / Job Costing A portion of an invoice amount the customer holds back until work is complete, common in construction billing. ServiSuite handles it two ways. On legacy (memo) invoices, retention is tracked only as a recorded figure and does not reduce the invoice’s AR balance — the full invoice amount posts to AR and remains the receivable (a $50,000 invoice with a $5,000 retention memo still shows a $50,000 balance). On job-invoicing (holdback) contracts, retention is a real receivable: only the net (after-retention) amount posts to the customer’s AR balance, and the held portion posts to a separate Retention Receivable Account (Job Invoicing). Both are managed on the Retention Adjustment screen — legacy retention by editing the recorded figure (no GL), and holdback retention by releasing it, which generates a retention release invoice and posts GL (debit Accounts Receivable, credit Retention Receivable).
Retention Adjustment Module: AR The screen (header Retention; navigation Accounts Receivable → Adjust Retention) for releasing or adjusting the retention (retainage) a customer holds, common in construction billing. It has two sections depending on the retention held: Job Retention (Holdback), where releasing generates a retention release invoice and posts GL (debit Accounts Receivable, credit Retention Receivable); and Legacy Retention (Memo), where editing overwrites the recorded retention figure only and posts no GL entries.
Retention Release Invoice Module: AR / Job Costing The AR document generated when held progress-billing retention is released from the Retention Adjustment screen — one per contract per release. It bills no new work (gross total $0.00, negative retention), carries the released amount as its balance, ages from its own date, and posts a debit to Accounts Receivable and a credit to Retention Receivable (Job Invoicing). Correct a release by voiding the release invoice, which preserves the release history.
Revenue Recognition Module: Service The process of recognizing earned revenue from service contracts. Each contract checkup carries a “Revenue Recognized” flag shown as a read-only column on the contract’s Checkups tab (there is no manual checkbox in the checkup form). In the current code the flag is stored on the checkup but is not set by any automatic invoice-time process, so it generally remains its default. Contract revenue itself is posted to the GL through the Service Contract Billings processor, not from this checkup flag.
Reversing Entry Module: GL When a Reverse Date is specified on a journal entry, the system automatically creates a reversing (opposite) entry on that date. Used for month-end accruals that need to be reversed in the following period.
Role KC Module: Administration A named collection of permissions that controls what a user can see and do. Roles are designed around job functions (e.g., “AP Clerk”, “Service Manager”, “Administrator”). A user can have multiple roles, and their effective permissions are the union of all assigned roles.
Sales Invoice KC Modules: AR, Sales Orders A formal bill sent to a customer, creating an accounts receivable balance. When posted, the invoice debits the AR Control account and credits the configured Sales Revenue account (and the COGS / Inventory accounts for product sales). Invoices can be linked to sales orders or created standalone.
Sales Order KC Modules: AR, Sales Orders A commitment to sell products or services to a customer. Orders track what was promised (products, quantities, prices), drive inventory allocation and shipment, and serve as the source for invoicing. A sales order has no separate status list; it is simply flagged open or closed.
Sales Posting (View Sales Posting) Module: AR A posting created by Post Sale, the screen for billing a customer directly without a work order or job. Post Sale builds a free-form invoice from typed lines (Charge, Text, Discount, and Subtotal). The View Sales Posting screen shows one such posting — its header and its lines in printed order — and links to the customer invoice it created; it is reached from View Customer Invoice. Both the screen and the ability to view it are gated by the View Sales Posting permission. See Accounts Receivable.
Sales Tax Jurisdiction Modules: AR, Sales Orders, Service A configured taxing authority with an associated tax rate percentage. When assigned to an order, invoice, or work order, sales tax is automatically calculated and posted to the Tax GL account.
Salesman Commission KC Module: Sales Orders Sales representatives assigned to orders and invoices with commission percentages. Multiple salesmen can share a single order. Commission tracking feeds sales performance reports and compensation calculations.
Saved View Module: Working in SS2 A named snapshot of how you set up a search grid — which columns it shows, its filters, its sorting, and its column widths and order. Every grid has a Default view; you can also create your own named views.
Scan Device Module: Administration A copier or scanner registered in ServiSuite so it can send scanned documents straight into a Document Queue over a secure connection. Managed on Administration → Scan Devices, where each device has a name and a default queue; administrators can add, edit, retire, or issue a new password for a device. See Administration & Utilities.
Schedulable Employee Modules: Service, Administration An employee configured to appear as a resource on dispatch and scheduling boards. Managed on the Schedulable Employees screen in the Service menu, and assigned to boards under Scheduling Boards in Administration.
Schedule of Values (SOV) Module: Job Costing The line-item breakdown of a job contract for progress billing: each line carries a base amount, a retainage %, a billing method (Percent Complete or Milestone), and an optional revenue account, plus server-maintained cumulative positions (billed, stored, retention held/released). The base (non-change-order) lines must always total the contract amount exactly; approved change orders enter as their own lines. A new Progress contract starts with one line for the whole amount. How to break a contract into lines: Job Costing → Setting up a schedule of values.
Scheduling Board Modules: Service, Administration A named board definition that controls which schedulable employees appear as resource columns (and which users can view the board) on the Service dispatch/scheduling interface. Board membership is configured by administrators under Administration -> Scheduling Boards; each user can personalize their default board and employee column order under User Settings. When a user belongs to more than one board, a Selected Scheduling Board picker in the board header switches which board’s employees are displayed.
Serialized Product KC Module: Inventory An individual unit tracked by a unique serial number. Serialized products enable lifecycle tracking — you can see where a specific unit was received (vendor/PO), who it was sold to (customer), and its current location.
Service Contract KC Module: Service An agreement for ongoing maintenance over a period (typically annual). Contracts define billing schedules, checkup visits, covered equipment, and optional add-on services.
Service Contract Billing / Billings Processor Module: Service The batch process for generating AR invoices from service contract billing schedules. The Billings Processor screen searches for unprocessed billings within a date range and contract type, then posts them to the GL.
Service Cost Center Module: Service A set of revenue and cost ledger accounts (labor, material, quote, subcontractor, dynamic charge, tax, and discount) plus a default labor rate, managed in Service → Settings → Cost Centers. Every work order line carries one (new lines default to the service type’s default cost center), as do proposal lines, and it decides which accounts that line posts to when the work order is invoiced. It is a different record from the General Ledger Cost Center used for departmental reporting.
Service Type Module: Service A categorization for work orders (e.g., HVAC Repair, Plumbing, Maintenance, Install) that determines default status and cost behavior. Configured in Service Settings. Used for filtering, reporting, and profitability analysis.
Session / Kill Session Module: Administration An active login session for a user. The Manage Sessions screen shows all active sessions with user and expiration. Kill Session immediately terminates a session, forcing the user out. Used for security incident response.
Shipment KC Module: Sales Orders A record of physical goods leaving the warehouse to fulfill sales order lines. Each shipment draws from allocated inventory, records the carrier and tracking number, and can generate an invoice. A single order can have multiple shipments (partial fulfillment).
Simple Invoice Modules: Job Costing, AR A contract billing type for contracts billed with free-form invoices. Bill Job opens Post Sale with the customer, job and contract filled in, and you type the lines. Stored internally as “Generic”.
Special Pricing Modules: AR, Sales Orders, Inventory Pricing agreements on file for specific customers and products, including tiered pricing by quantity. When a product is added to an order for that customer, the special price automatically populates.
Spiff / Incentive Module: Payroll Extra pay — spiffs and commissions — owed to an employee for a specific sale. Each incentive is created from an incentive rule that decides what qualifies, who is paid, how the amount is computed, and which payroll earning type pays it out.
Starter Dashboard Module: Dashboards A named set of catalog widgets that New from starter turns into a complete dashboard in one step, parameters included — Owner’s overview, A/R collections, Dispatch today, Payroll week, Job cost control, and others. See Dashboards.
Stored Materials Module: Job Costing Materials delivered to a job site and billed on a progress application before being incorporated into the work (AIA column F). Billed stored value defers to Billings in Excess; when installed, you move the value from the Stored column into Completed on a later application, recognizing the revenue without billing anything new. Retention on stored value is withheld immediately or at installation depending on the line’s Retain on Stored setting. When to bill stored materials and what it does to the books and the job dashboard: Job Costing → Stored materials.
Subledger KC Module: GL A subsidiary ledger that groups related postings and controls its own open-date window. For example, the “Accounts Payable” subledger receives all AP-generated postings, and its date window can be closed independently of other subledgers.
Sync Timesheets Module: Payroll The action that pulls approved timesheet entries into payroll statements. Performed on the Compute Payroll screen before running payroll. Only approved timesheets sync; unapproved ones are skipped.
Tag KC Module: Administration A color-coded label applied to records for categorization and filtering. Tags are cross-module — a single tag definition can apply to customers, work orders, leads, and equipment. Unlike custom fields (which store structured values), tags are lightweight grouping mechanisms.
Tax on Gross Module: Service A discount-code flag that keeps the discount inside the taxable base on the lines that use the code, so the customer is taxed on the full pre-discount (gross) price rather than the discounted amount. It applies only to lines carrying the flagged code; other discounts still reduce their own taxable base. It is turned on automatically for rebate codes but can be set on any discount code.
Time & Material (T&M) Modules: Job Costing, AR A contract billing type that bills the costs recorded on the job. On Post Sale, Add Unbilled Costs brings in the job’s unbilled costs: labor at hours × a labor rate picked per line, material, subs and other costs at cost × (1 + markup). The markup is the contract’s Markup %, or the job type’s T&M Markup % when the contract leaves it blank.
Timesheet KC Module: Payroll A record of an employee’s hours worked during a payroll period, broken down by day and entry type. Timesheets can be allocated to jobs and work orders for cross-module cost tracking. They must be approved before syncing to payroll.
Transfer Expense Module: Job Costing Moving an existing expense from one job to another. On the Post Job Expense screen, the Transfer Expense toggle switches to transfer mode, revealing a “Transfer To Job” field. Used to correct mis-posted expenses.
Trial Balance / Income Statement / Balance Sheet Modules: GL, Reports Standard financial reports generated from GL balances. Trial Balance lists all accounts with their debit/credit balances. Income Statement shows revenue minus expenses for a period. Balance Sheet shows assets, liabilities, and equity at a point in time.
Truck Stock Modules: Inventory, Service A warehouse location representing a technician’s vehicle inventory. Materials are moved from warehouse bins to truck stock locations for field service use. Referenced in service work orders as the “Truck Stock” flag on material line items.
1099 / Type 1099 Module: AP A tax form classification for vendors. When “Requires 1099” is checked on a vendor, the vendor is flagged for 1099 reporting and the “1099 Type” field specifies which form its payments would be reported on (1099-MISC or 1099-NEC). A 1099 Processing screen exists under Accounts Payable but is currently a placeholder (not yet implemented), so these fields presently store the vendor’s 1099 classification rather than driving an automated year-end report.
Unapproved Postings Modules: GL, AP, AR When a subledger’s Close Type is set to “Approval,” any posting whose date falls into a closed period for that subledger (outside its open Start/End Close Date window) is held rather than posted directly. These held postings, routed from any module, appear in the Unapproved Postings queue until an authorized user approves or denies them. Postings dated within the subledger’s open window post immediately and never enter the queue.
Unbilled Costs Modules: Job Costing, AR A job’s cost entries (labor, material, subs, other) that no invoice has billed yet. Post Sale’s Add Unbilled Costs turns them into invoice lines; posting marks each one billed so it isn’t offered again (already-billed costs can be shown to re-bill after a correction).
User KC Module: Administration A login account that can access the application. Each user has an email (login), display name, optional employee link, and one or more assigned roles. Users are created by administrators and receive an invitation email to set their password.
Vendor Modules: AP, Inventory, Job Costing A business or individual that supplies goods or services to the company. Vendor records hold addresses, contacts, payment terms, 1099 settings, and GL distribution defaults. The vendor master in AP is referenced by Inventory (POs), Job Costing (subcontractor costs), and other modules.
Vendor Terms KC Module: AP Payment conditions that calculate when an invoice is due and whether an early-payment discount is available. For example, “2/10 Net 30” means a 2% discount if paid within 10 days, otherwise the full amount is due in 30 days.
Vendor Invoice KC Module: AP A bill received from a vendor for goods or services. Recording an invoice in AP creates a liability (credit to the AP Control account) and an expense (debit to the appropriate expense account). The invoice tracks the amount owed, due date, and payment status.
Void Modules: AP, AR The reversal of a previously posted check or invoice. Voiding a check creates reversing GL journal entries, removes the payment from invoices, and returns invoices to unpaid status. Voiding an invoice reverses the AR posting.
Wallet Module: Administration Your organization’s prepaid credit balance for metered features — AI assistant usage, text messaging, and call-recording summaries all draw on it. Administrators manage the balance, payment method, top-ups, and budget limits in Administration under the Wallet & Billing permission. See Administration & Utilities.
Widget Catalog Module: Dashboards The library of prebuilt chart and number widgets ServiSuite ships, grouped by module. Each is a complete, tested definition — the data it reads, how it is drawn, which dashboard parameters it uses — and is offered only to users whose role can read the records behind it. Added from Add Widget → From catalog…, by a starter dashboard, or by the AI assistant. See Dashboards.
WIP (Work in Progress) KC Module: Job Costing Jobs flagged as “WIP Reportable” are included in work-in-progress financial reporting. WIP compares earned revenue against costs incurred to determine over/under billing positions — critical for construction accounting.
Work Order (WO) KC Module: Service The central record for a service job. A WO links a customer and site to the work being performed, contains appointments for scheduling, line items for billing, and drives invoicing.