Naming Conventions
Consistent language matters — customers, teammates, and even engineers get confused when the same thing has three different names. Use this page as the source of truth for what to call things.
Necessary Components (never "adders")
Say Necessary Components. Don't say "adders," even informally in internal conversation — the habit leaks into customer-facing conversations and proposals, and "adders" sounds like a nickel-and-dime upsell rather than what it actually is: components required to properly complete the installation.
Tip: If you catch yourself typing "adder" in a note or message template, replace it with Necessary Component before sending.
SAD = Site Assessment Deposit
SAD stands for Site Assessment Deposit. Spell it out on first use in any given conversation, document, or screen, then you can use "SAD" afterward. Paying the SAD is what marks a deal sold in the pipeline — it is not the same as a "signed proposal" or a "project deposit," which come later.
Warning: Don't use "SAD" in a customer-facing message without spelling it out first — it reads as an odd abbreviation out of context.
Pipeline stage labels vs. internal keys
The stages shown in the UI on /opportunities are:
New Lead → consultation booked → estimate → proposal sent → sold (SAD paid) → site assessment → scope validation → project deposit → manufacturing release → installed
These are the labels you should use when talking to customers, in training, and in team conversation. Engineers and the database sometimes refer to the same stages using different internal key names. If you're troubleshooting a stage issue with engineering and the terminology doesn't quite line up, don't assume you're talking about different things — confirm you're both pointing at the same stage before digging further. See /help/rollout/open-decisions (item 6) for the plan to reconcile this.
Payment option names and order
Always present payment options in this order:
- Financing (12 months, 0% interest)
- Full Project (50/50)
- Discounted (100% down)
The button that approves the 100%-down option should read Approve 100% down with discount — don't shorten or rephrase it in training materials or scripts, since it should match what's on screen exactly.
Dates
Dates are written numerically as MM/DD/YYYY (e.g., 03/14/2025). Avoid spelling out month names in internal notes to keep things consistent and sortable at a glance.
Financing and pricing hold terms
- Financing is always 12 months, 0% interest — don't describe it differently in customer conversations.
- The pricing hold is 3 days — after that, quoted pricing isn't guaranteed to still apply.
Proposals: "immutable," not "locked" or "final"
Use the word immutable (or "can't be edited directly") when explaining why a proposal can't just be changed. The correction process is to reverse ("unsell") the proposal and re-issue a new one — say it that way rather than "cancel" or "delete," since nothing is actually deleted.
Recording / coaching terms
- Appointment Note Taker is the feature name for the call recording + transcription + AI summary tool.
- ADD = Align, Discover, Design, Decide — the coaching framework shown as a red/yellow/green status in the recording dock.
- The 4-box CSR intake flow uses a related-but-different framework: Align, Diagnose, Design, Decide. Note the second word differs (Diagnose vs. Discover) — don't conflate the CSR intake framework with the ADD sales-coaching framework; they serve different purposes and are used at different points in the pipeline.
Why this page exists
Loose terminology creates real problems: customers get confused by "adders," support conversations stall because "SAD" wasn't explained, and engineering/ops miscommunicate when stage names don't match. When in doubt, copy the exact wording from this page rather than paraphrasing.
Related
/help/rollout/open-decisions/help/troubleshooting/common-issues