Glossary
Construction terms, explained plainly
The paperwork and processes that actually run a construction job — what each term means, why it's harder than it looks, and what real software support requires.
AIA Progress Billing (G702/G703)
AIA progress billing (G702/G703) bills a job as work completes, not all at once. Here's how the forms actually work, and how PoPs Suite handles them natively instead of as a separate export.
Certified Payroll / Davis-Bacon
Certified payroll on a Davis-Bacon job means real WH-347 compliance, not a manual cross-reference against a wage determination sheet. Here's what it actually requires, and how PoPs Ledger handles it.
Change Order
A construction change order modifies the contract itself — scope, cost, or schedule. Here's what actually has to happen for one to be real, and how PoPs Project Tracker keeps it connected to the budget instead of a signature on a form.
Critical Path
The critical path is the sequence of tasks that actually determines a job's finish date. Here's what makes a critical path real instead of decorative, and how Scope & Schedule builds one from the job's actual scope.
General Ledger for Contractors
A real general ledger for a construction company needs a construction-specific chart of accounts and real double-entry bookkeeping — not a job-costing tracker wearing a ledger's name. Here's what that actually means.
Retainage
Retainage holds back a percentage of every payment until the job closes out. Here's why it has to be tracked as its own lifecycle, not a note on an invoice, and how PoPs Suite handles it.
RFI vs. Submittal
RFI and submittal both move through the engineer of record, but they answer different questions. Here's the real difference, and how PoPs Project Tracker keeps both from turning into paperwork chaos.