Glossary
Every ContractShield-specific term, explained. If you've ever wondered whether a "work order" and a "project" are the same thing — start here.
Marketplace + bidding
Work Order (WO)
A single job up for bids in the marketplace.
Created by a client via /post-work-order, or imported from an external source (SAM.gov, Grants.gov, Cook County, Boston Buying Plan). Lives in the work_orders table. A work order can receive many quotes from many contractors before one is accepted.
Project
An accepted, in-flight job between one client and one contractor.
When a client accepts a quote, ContractShield creates a project linking that client + contractor + the original work order. The project is where milestones, time tracking, materials, photos, invoices, and payouts all live. Lives in the projects table.
Quote
A contractor's bid on a work order.
A line-item-level estimate of labor + materials + markup, submitted by a contractor in response to a work order. The client reviews competing quotes side-by-side in /quote-review. Accepting a quote creates the project.
Bid
Synonym for quote in marketplace context.
We use 'bid' when emphasizing the competitive marketplace context (multiple contractors bidding on the same WO) and 'quote' when emphasizing the document itself (line items, totals, terms).
Source
Where a work order originated.
One of: user (client posted directly), sam_gov, grants_gov, cook_county_il, boston_buying_plan, manual_import. Determines bidding mechanics and whether the bid happens on ContractShield or on the source's own portal.
Service radius
How far you'll travel for jobs.
Configured in Account → Profile (default 50 miles). The Local tab in /job-board only shows work orders within this radius of your business address.
Project execution
Milestone
A discrete deliverable inside a project that triggers payment release.
When a milestone is marked complete (by client approval or 7-day auto-approval), the matching escrowed funds release to the contractor's Stripe Connect balance.
Line item
A single row on a quote or invoice.
Captures description, quantity, unit cost, and total. Quotes and invoices both use line items. Reusable bundles can be saved as Pricing Templates.
Pricing template
Saved line-item bundle for recurring trades or materials.
Build once, drop into any new quote. Especially valuable for contractors who bid similar jobs repeatedly.
Change order
A formal scope/price modification to an in-flight project.
Either side can propose; both must approve before it's binding. Approved change orders update the project total and trigger re-issuing affected milestones/invoices.
Money + payments
Escrow
Funds held by ContractShield between client payment and milestone release.
When a client pays an invoice, the contractor portion sits in escrow on the platform Stripe account until the linked milestone is marked complete. See /docs/payouts-timeline for the full flow.
Stripe Connect
Stripe's platform for routing money to contractors.
Every contractor on ContractShield has a Stripe Connect account that holds their balance and pays out to their linked bank. Set up via Account → Payouts.
Platform fee
ContractShield's 1% per side fee, totaling 2% of every transaction.
Client pays 1% (added on top of the invoice subtotal at checkout). Contractor pays 1% (deducted from payout). See /docs/payouts-timeline.
Dispute rate
30-day rolling chargeback rate for a contractor.
Calculated as disputes / completed transactions. If it exceeds 0.75% (3 disputes per 400 transactions), payouts auto-pause until reviewed.
Chargeback fee
$15 fee assessed when a contractor loses a dispute.
Passed through from Stripe. Added to the clawback when a dispute is decided in the client's favor.
Subscriptions + verification
Trial
15-day free-access period at signup.
Card collected up front but not charged until Day 15. Reminder emails fire at T-7, T-3, T-1. See /docs/trial-cliff for the full timeline.
Plan tier
Starter / Pro / Business — your monthly subscription level.
Determines feature access caps (project count, AI usage, team-seat count). Changeable any time from /account/billing.
AI add-on
Optional Boost ($19/mo) or Pro ($49/mo) AI usage pool on top of plan tier.
Boost: 250 extra AI assists/month. Pro: 1,000. Both reset on the first of each month.
Verification tier
Trust badge level for contractors.
Five tiers: unverified → basic → licensed → insured → verified_pro. Auto-calculated by a database trigger based on the documents you upload at /contractor/verifications.
NAICS code
Federal industry classification.
Six-digit code that categorizes contractor work types. Required for SAM.gov / Grants.gov bidding. Set on your contractor profile so the marketplace surfaces relevant jobs.
Notifications + automation
Cron
A scheduled background job.
ContractShield runs daily crons for SAM.gov import, bid-portal import, payout sweeping, dispute monitoring, and trial enforcement. Most fire between 7am and 11am UTC (~2am to 6am Central).
Lead magnet
Downloadable resource like a quote template or change-order checklist.
Used for email-list growth from the public marketing site. Listed at /resources.
Still unsure about a term?
Email support@contractshield.io with any term you'd like clarified or added.