Glossary
One word per concept, on every screen, email, script and demo. This page mirrors SaaS Sustentus Terminology (Linear, 16 Oct 2026, Paul’s updates) and records the decisions taken on top of it. The Linear document is where words are decided — propose a word by commenting there; Paul approves. This page changes when the document does.
It sits beside the copy guidelines, which say how the product speaks; this page says which words it uses.
How to use this
Check new wording against the approved terms and banned words before it ships. If a term is not listed, write it the way a customer would say it out loud.
Demo vs the terminology document (Linear, read-only) lists every screen string that does not match the document yet, with the file and line in the code. Decide words in the terminology document, not there.
- Project, not engagement, lead, request or stock. Use opportunity only for priced items in the forecast that have not been approved yet.
- Approved, not accepted. Invoiced, not billed. Customer sign-off, not final acceptance.
- Label every number. No figure appears without words saying what it is.
- Plain English, no tech speak. “Customer IT to provide policy data”, not “IT to deliver the policy system export”.
- Same headers everywhere. Project ID, Project, Customer, Project owner use the same names on every table.
- Don’t colour a number red without the cause. A drop can be good news (projects completed). Only use red RAG when the reason is shown.
- “As of today”, not “Last 30 days” or “as at now”, for anything that is a current snapshot.
- Sentence case for every label — see capitalisation.
Approved terms
The words we use, and exactly what each one means.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Project | A customer service tracked from initial request through delivery and closure. |
| Opportunity | A quoted service project awaiting customer approval. |
| Active project | A customer-approved service project with delivery still outstanding. |
| Project value | The approved customer price for the services, including approved changes and excluding tax. |
| Date approved | The date the customer approved the service BRD and quote. |
| Days since approval | Calendar days elapsed since customer approval. |
| Delivery due date | The agreed date for completing the services. |
| Remaining delivery value | The approved service value still awaiting delivery. |
| Past delivery due date | An unfinished project whose agreed delivery date has passed. |
| Not yet invoiced | Approved service value for which we have not issued an invoice. |
| Invoiced | Service value invoiced to the customer, whether paid or unpaid. |
| Overdue invoice | An invoice with an unpaid balance after its payment due date. |
| Revenue at risk | Service value at risk of loss, supported by a recorded reason and assessment. |
| Forecast service revenue | Service revenue expected within a stated period, with the forecasting basis shown. |
| Service pipeline value | The estimated value of open service opportunities before customer approval. |
| Customer sign-off | The customer’s recorded acceptance of the agreed deliverables. |
| Delivery complete | All agreed services delivered. Sign-off and CSAT tracked separately. |
| CSAT | Customer satisfaction with the service delivered, using a stated scoring scale. |
| Project owner | The named vendor person (the Customer Success Manager) accountable for progressing the project. |
| As of today | The current position at the latest stated data refresh. |
Where one of these is also a product name — Revenue at Risk, Forecast Service Revenue, Service Pipeline Value — the name keeps its capitals and the definition above is what it measures.
Banned words
If one of these appears, swap it for the replacement or cut it.
Internal jargon
| Don’t write | Write instead |
|---|---|
| Engagement | Project (a service project) |
| Lead (when priced) | Service opportunity |
| Accepted | Customer approved |
| Billed | Invoiced |
| Committed (money) | Approved service value |
| Settled | Paid — decided 21 Oct 2026 |
| Stock, as at now | As of today, current |
| In flight | Active projects |
| Register | Active projects on the active-project screen; Forecast projects on the forecast screen |
| Cohort | Remove, or “opportunities added in the last 30 days” |
| Sourced | Added |
| Foots to | Total |
| The range before | Previous 30 days |
| Worked out | Calculated |
| Blockers | Delivery blockers |
| Action items | Next actions |
| Escalation contact | Escalation contact (keep) |
| System export | Export data |
| Wrapping up | Awaiting customer sign-off or Delivery complete, according to the project’s stage |
| Ref | Project ID, Opportunity ID or Invoice number |
| Age | Days since approval for projects; Days open for opportunities |
The decisions below add to this list: chase (outside internal CSM screens), nudge, outreach, My work, Go live workbench, tenant, workspace, account, and proposal or bid for the expert’s priced response.
AI filler
| Don’t write | Write instead |
|---|---|
| Leverage, utilise | Use |
| Seamless, robust, cutting-edge, best-in-class | Cut it, or state the fact that proves it |
| Unlock, empower, enable | Let, help |
| Insights | What the numbers show, findings |
| Actionable | Name the action |
| Streamline, optimise | Simplify, speed up, cut (say by how much) |
| Holistic, end-to-end, 360° | Cut it, or list what is covered |
| Synergy, ecosystem | Say which teams or tools |
| Drive (value, outcomes) | Increase, deliver |
| Delve into, dive into, navigate | Look at, handle |
| Game-changer, transformative | Cut it |
| Journey (vague) | Process, steps, from request to delivery |
| Stakeholders | Name them: customer, director, IT |
Project stages
One name per stage, used the same way on every screen, email and script.
| # | Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awaiting qualification | A customer request we have not yet qualified. Counts towards Service Pipeline Value. |
| 2 | Opportunity | Qualified and priced, not yet approved. Counts towards Forecast Service Revenue. |
| 3 | Approved, not started | The customer has approved; work has not begun. |
| 4 | In delivery | Work under way. |
| 5 | Awaiting customer sign-off | We have delivered; the customer has not confirmed. |
| 6 | Delivery complete | Signed off, awaiting feedback and CSAT. |
| 7 | Completed project | Closed, feedback received. |
Roles
Use the full name the first time in anything a customer reads. Abbreviations are fine internally.
| Role | Who they are | Write |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | The business buying the service | Customer, never client or account holder |
| Vendor | The software company whose product the service is for | Vendor |
| Expert | The specialist who delivers the project | Expert, never resource or consultant |
| CSM | Customer Success Manager | Customer Success Manager on first use |
| SDM | Service Delivery Manager | Service Delivery Manager on first use |
| Admin | Sustentus staff who manage the platform | Admin |
Names we keep
Proper names. Keep them exactly as written and don’t paraphrase them.
| Name | Use | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Build the Bridge, Refine the Bridge, Scale the Bridge | Internal plans and OKRs | Explain in one line if a customer will see them |
| Live Service Command Centre | Screen name | The document’s “Live Service Command” |
| Sustentus | Company and platform | Never “the Sustentus platform solution” |
Technical words on screen
Everything a customer, vendor, expert or director reads follows this glossary in full. Technical docs for developers can keep build terms (monorepo, workspace, Turborepo, CI/CD); those terms never appear on screen or in a demo.
| Technical word | On screen, write |
|---|---|
| Tenant | Organisation |
| Workspace | The team’s name — never “account” |
| Export | Data, file, report |
| Lead lifecycle | From request to delivery |
| Perspectives (of a role) | What each role sees |
| Strategic initiatives | Plans, or the initiative’s name |
| Feature role matrix | What each role can do |
Tenant and Workspace differ from the document’s “Organisation or account” and “Account (or name the team)”: “account” is not used (decision 3 below).
Decisions
Recorded on top of the document. Each gives the one word on screen, who sees it, and the words it replaces.
1. Follow up is the CSM’s action — 21 Oct 2026
Paul, on the Follow-up issue.
| Concept | On screen | Personas | Replaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| The action on a customer | Follow up (button); Send follow-up while sending | CSM, SDM, expert, vendor, customer | Chase, nudge, outreach |
| An outstanding action | Follow-up required | CSM, SDM, expert, vendor, customer | Chase, nudge |
| The history of contact | Last contacted; Not yet contacted where none was sent | CSM, SDM, expert, vendor, customer | Contacted |
| The action done | Follow-up completed | CSM, SDM, expert, vendor, customer | Chase, nudge |
“Chase” is allowed only on internal CSM screens and never on anything a customer reads. “Nudge” appears nowhere.
2. Work queue and Active projects are the expert’s two names — 21 Oct 2026
Paul, on the expert-queue issue.
| Concept | On screen | Personas | Replaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| The expert’s waiting work | Work queue | Expert | My work, Work ready for me |
| The expert’s approved work in progress | Active projects | Expert | Go live workbench |
3. Organisation, login and customer — “account” is not used — 21 Oct 2026
Paul, on the Account issue.
| Concept | On screen | Personas | Replaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| The vendor’s business on Sustentus | Organisation | All | Tenant, workspace, account |
| A person’s sign-in | Login | All | Account (as a sign-in) |
| The business receiving services | Customer | All | Account, client, account holder |
The Accounts at Risk panel on the Live Service Command Centre becomes Service delivery risks,
and its Account column becomes Customer — the work is command-centre-figures-2026-10.
4. Quote is the expert’s priced response; Bid pool stays — 21 Oct 2026
Paul, on the Quote issue.
| Concept | On screen | Personas | Replaces |
|---|---|---|---|
| The expert’s priced response | Quote | All | Proposal, bid (where they name the response) |
| The process that selects an expert’s quote | Bid pool | All | — (kept; “bid” survives only in this name) |
5. Open question 7 of 7 — what “project” means — 21 Oct 2026
Paul’s answer:
- A project runs from initial request through delivery and closure.
- An opportunity is a quoted project awaiting approval.
- Forecast Service Revenue keeps both catalogue-estimated and expert-priced opportunities, each
with a pricing status of Estimated, Expert priced or Approved. The figure work is
command-centre-figures-2026-10.
The customer’s Projects list used “project” more narrowly (“Your engagements with the delivery team”). It is widened to the whole journey: its intro now reads “Every project from your initial request through delivery and closure — open one to see progress, invoices and what needs you.”
6. Settled, stage 4 and the role names — 21 Oct 2026
Jamie, on the document’s open cells: “settled” is written Paid; stage 4 is In delivery; CSM and SDM expand to Customer Success Manager and Service Delivery Manager.
Screen wording
The document’s per-screen changes, current → new, in sentence case (product names keep their capitals). These are targets: the October work items apply them screen by screen.
Live Service Command Centre
Subtitle under the page title: Service pipeline, delivery and Revenue at Risk.
Tiles, left to right
| Current wording | New wording | Note |
|---|---|---|
| (tile 1 title) | Active Project Value | |
| Revenue at Risk | Revenue at Risk | Keep |
| (tile 3 title) | Forecast Service Revenue | Line beneath: Revenue expected to convert |
| -37% (shown red) | -37% with a cause, neutral colour | A fall may mean projects completed. Explain before using red RAG |
| Last 30 days | As of today |
Accounts at Risk panel
| Current wording | New wording |
|---|---|
| Account warning signs | Remove |
| (panel header) | Service delivery risks (decision 3; the document: Accounts at Risk) |
| (columns) | Customer · Why · Project value · Risk level · Owner |
| Stock · current active service value (under £37,250) | Current active service value |
Active project stats
| Current wording | New wording |
|---|---|
| In flight: 6 | Active projects: 6 |
| Oldest: 105 days in flight | Oldest active project: 105 days |
| Delivered: £0 not yet settled | Delivered: £0 not yet paid (decision 6) |
| Remaining: £37,250 still to deliver | Remaining delivery value: £37,250 |
| Overdue: 1 · £4,600 | Past delivery due date: 1 project · £4,600 |
| How this is worked out | How this is calculated |
| Register | Active projects |
| Accepted, not started | Approved, not started |
| Awaiting final acceptance | Awaiting customer sign-off |
Active projects screen
The header changes from Register to Active projects. Above the 0–30 / 31–60 / 61–90 / Over 90 days filters, add Days since project approval in bold so it is clear what the days measure.
| Current wording | New wording |
|---|---|
| Register | Active projects |
| Search engagement or customer | Search project or customer |
| 6 of 6 shown | Showing all 6 projects |
| Ref | Project ID |
| Engagement | Project |
| Owner | Project owner |
| Accepted | Date approved |
| Age | Days since approval |
| Due | Delivery due date |
| 6 engagements · £37,250 · £0 · £37,250 | 6 projects, with a label on each amount |
| Foots to £37,250 | Total project value: £37,250 |
The footer’s three figures are named: Total project value £37,250 · Delivered £0 · Remaining delivery value £37,250.
Revenue at Risk screen
| Current wording | New wording |
|---|---|
| Stalled over 30 days in stage (under £7,300) | Project stalled for over 30 days |
| Policy system export not delivered | Waiting for customer’s policy data |
| See the breakdown | View projects at risk |
| Account warning signs | Remove |
| (panel columns) | Customer · Why · Project value · Risk level · Owner |
| Stock · as at now | Current service revenue at risk |
| Flagged: 1 engagement | Projects at risk: 1 |
| Share of active service revenue | Percentage of active service revenue at risk |
| Committed: £4,850 not yet billed | Not yet invoiced: £4,850 |
| Billed: £2,450 | Invoiced: £2,450 |
| Overdue: 0 · £0 | Overdue invoices: 0 · £0 |
| Blockers | What’s blocking delivery |
| Owner: Customer | Action required from: Customer |
| Action Items | Next actions |
| IT to deliver the policy system export | Customer IT to provide policy data |
| Confirm the escalation contact per team | Confirm who to contact in each team if issues arise |
The blocker description stays as written: Renewal dates are missing, so we cannot set up reminders. Milestone 2 is on hold.
Forecast Service Revenue screen
This screen uses the same headers as Active projects. Remove the At risk label and all the boxes under it, and remove Cohort everywhere.
| Current wording | New wording |
|---|---|
| Revenue Entering Service | Forecast Service Revenue |
| 12 of 12 leads priced (under £40,000) | All 12 opportunities priced |
| See the breakdown | View forecast opportunities |
| Open the Live Service Pipeline | View service pipeline |
| Cohort · sourced in last 30 days | Opportunities added in the last 30 days |
| In the cohort: 12 | Projects: 12 (or Projects priced: 12) |
| No list price: 0 | Projects not yet priced: 0 |
| The range before: £41,000 | Previous 30 days: £41,000 |
| How this is worked out | How this is calculated |
| Register | Forecast projects |
| No list price (column) | Not yet priced |
| Age since sourced | Days since project added |
| Search lead, requirement or customer | Search project or customer |
| Lead | Project ID |
| Lead source | Project source |
| Service request | Project description |
| Service | Service type |
| Owner | Project owner |
Service pipeline screen
The intro line replaces “Every lead in the book…”: Track every project from initial request through delivery. Select a project to view its details.
| Current wording | New wording |
|---|---|
| Title, request id or customer | Search project, project ID or customer |
| Open (column header) | Active projects |
| Pending through delivery | From initial request through delivery |
| (pipeline column) | Service Pipeline Value, with Potential value of projects awaiting qualification beneath |
| Wrapping up | Delivery complete |
| Delivered or in survey | Awaiting feedback and CSAT |
| Completed | Completed projects |
| Completed services (sub-line) | Remove |
Project card titles name a real piece of work, not a category. Example: Reporting & Dashboards becomes Set up reporting and dashboards for directors. Apply the same rule to every card.
Capitalisation
Sentence case everywhere — headings, labels, buttons, badges, placeholders, table headers, navigation. Acronyms (SLA, NRR, CSAT, BRD) stay fully uppercased.
The one exception is nine product names, capitalised wherever they appear because they are names, not descriptions:
- Live Service Command Centre
- Live Service Pipeline
- Customer Service Journey
- Active Service Revenue
- Revenue at Risk
- Forecast Service Revenue
- Service Pipeline Value
- Committed Service Revenue
- Active Project Value
Everything around them stays sentence case. The code rule that enforces this lives in
CONVENTIONS.md → Copy and text.