ACH (Pre-Authorized Debit in Canada)
An electronic bank-to-bank transfer. In Canada, the equivalent is Pre-Authorized Debit (PAD). Cheaper than card processing — usually 0.5–1% vs 2.5–3% — but takes 1–3 business days to clear.
GlossaryPlain-English definitions
Plain-English definitions
for the words on your invoices.
FSM, AR aging, dispatch, GST/HST, ACH, NPS, two-way sync — every term a small trade contractor runs into, defined the way a tradesperson would actually say it.
Approval queue
The list of AI-drafted actions waiting for the contractor to review and approve before they send. In Fixtor, every outbound action — invoices, follow-ups, quotes — passes through the queue. Financial actions cannot bypass it.
AR aging
Accounts Receivable aging — the report that breaks down how long invoices have been unpaid: current, 30 days, 60 days, 90+ days. The longer an invoice ages, the lower the odds you collect it.
Churn
The percentage of customers who cancel in a given period. For SaaS, monthly churn under 3% is healthy. For contractors, customer churn is the percentage of past clients who don't call you back next year.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
Software that stores customer details, job history, and communication. Most FSM tools include a basic CRM. The point isn't the database — it's recalling that Mrs. Patel's furnace is 14 years old when she calls about it again.
Dispatch
Assigning the right tech to the right job at the right time, in the right order. Manual dispatch is mental math; automated dispatch optimizes for travel time, skills, and customer windows. Fixtor's Dispatcher does this continuously.
FSM (Field Service Management)
Software for businesses where the work happens at the customer's location — plumbing, HVAC, electrical, garage door, appliance repair. Core features are scheduling, dispatch, invoicing, and customer records. Examples: Jobber, Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan, Fixtor.
GBP (Google Business Profile)
Your free business listing on Google Search and Maps. The single most important free marketing channel for local trade contractors — claim it, verify it, fill it out, and ask every happy customer for a review.
GST / HST (Canada)
Goods and Services Tax (5%) and Harmonized Sales Tax (5–15% depending on province). Combined federal+provincial in HST provinces (ON, NB, NS, NL, PE). Charged separately in non-HST provinces. Required if you bill more than $30K/year.
Job
A scheduled work order — one visit, one customer, one piece of work. Distinct from a quote (estimate before work) and an invoice (bill after work). The job is the operational unit FSM software is built around.
Lead
A potential customer who hasn't booked yet. Inbound leads come from referrals, website, GBP, and ads. The conversion rate from lead to booked job is the single most important number in your funnel.
Lifetime value (LTV)
Total revenue a customer brings over the years they use you. A repeat HVAC customer might be $300/year × 10 years = $3,000 LTV. Helps decide how much you can spend to acquire one.
Margin
Revenue minus direct costs (parts, labour, fuel) for a job, divided by revenue. A $1,000 job with $400 of parts and $200 of labour has a 40% margin. Trades with healthy margins clear 35–50% on most work.
NPS (Net Promoter Score)
A 0–10 customer satisfaction score: %promoters (9–10) minus %detractors (0–6). Above 50 is excellent. For trades, a high NPS predicts referrals — which still beat every paid acquisition channel.
PAD (Pre-Authorized Debit)
Canada's bank-to-bank pull-payment system, equivalent to ACH in the US. Cheaper than card processing, slower to clear, requires the customer's signed authorization. Useful for recurring service contracts and large invoices.
PIPEDA
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act — Canada's federal privacy law for commercial activity. Requires consent for collection, limits on use, security safeguards, and breach notification. Fixtor is PIPEDA-compliant by design.
PowerSync
An offline-first sync engine that lets a mobile app keep working when there's no signal — every action queues locally and syncs the moment connectivity returns. Fixtor uses PowerSync so techs can quote and invoice from a basement.
Quote (Estimate)
A written price you give a customer before the work starts. A signed quote becomes a binding agreement in most provinces. Fixtor's Sales Assistant drafts quotes from job notes; you approve before sending.
Receptionist (AI)
An AI role that answers inbound calls when you can't, collects job details, and books into your calendar. In Fixtor, the Receptionist works 24/7, transcribes the conversation, and surfaces every booking for your approval.
Recurring service contract
A repeating maintenance agreement — annual furnace tune-up, quarterly garage-door inspection. Predictable revenue, lower customer acquisition cost, and the foundation of a stable trade business. Often called a service plan or maintenance plan.
Route optimization
Calculating the most efficient order to drive a day's stops, accounting for traffic, customer time windows, and tech skills. Saves an average of 30–60 minutes per day per tech. Fixtor's Dispatcher does this every morning.
SLA (Service Level Agreement)
A written promise about response time — for example, '2-hour emergency response, 24-hour quote turnaround.' Common in commercial work. Tracking SLA compliance is what separates well-run trade businesses from chaos.
Top-up (credits)
A one-time credit purchase to cover a busy month above your plan's included credits. Fixtor offers $5 / $9 / $20 top-ups (50 / 100 / 250 credits). Top-up credits never expire.
Two-way sync
An integration where data flows in both directions — invoices created in your FSM appear in QuickBooks, and payments recorded in QuickBooks update the FSM. One-way sync (FSM → accounting only) is far less useful in practice.
WIP (Work In Progress)
Jobs that are scheduled, started, or completed but not yet invoiced. High WIP = revenue you've earned but haven't billed for. Watching WIP weekly is how contractors stop leaving money on the table.
Zero-rated supply (Canada tax)
Goods or services taxable at 0% GST/HST — the contractor charges no tax but can still claim Input Tax Credits on related purchases. Most trade services are standard-rated, not zero-rated. Check with your accountant for edge cases.
Missing a term? Tell us and we'll add it.
Stop translating your software.
Start running your business.
Fixtor speaks contractor — not enterprise. Plain words, real actions, every output reviewed before it sends.