Glossary: the words FirmLinks uses

The words, in the order they come up

Short definitions, in the order they'll come up.

Engagement — one piece of client work you want help with, or one you've been invited onto. It holds the client's details, the services that make it up, and the conversations about it. FirmLinks helps you staff an engagement; it doesn't track the work after that.

Service — one distinct piece of work inside an engagement: an audit, a tax return, a cost segregation study. Each service has its own value, its own location, its own invitations and its own status. Most of the app works at this level, not at the engagement level.

Service line — the top level of the services catalogue: Accounting Services, Legal Services. Your firm holds one or more, and they decide which part of the catalogue you can offer from and be matched in. It's the first thing setup asks for, because everything else hangs off it.

Invitation — an ask from one firm to another, to take on one service on an engagement. Several firms can be invited to the same service and compete for it; each invitation moves through its own states (Invited → In Review → Accepted → Awarded, or Declined, Passed, Canceled).

Lead firm — the firm that created the engagement and is placing the work. It sees every service and every invitation on it. An invited firm sees only what it was invited to, until it's awarded something.

Awarded — the lead firm chose you for that service; the work is yours. Passed — they chose someone else. Awarding one firm passes the others automatically.

Assignment type — how a service is being covered: Partnership (a firm works alongside you), Referral (you hand it over), Consultation (a one-off opinion), Internal Assignment (your own employee does it), Firm Vendor (a supplier you already use).

Primary contact — the one person at each firm who is the point of contact on an engagement. A firm has exactly one, and only they can remove another contact from their own firm.

Connection — a direct link between two firms that makes them matchable to each other. Nothing more: it's not a group, and nobody else can see it.

Group — several firms in one place, so work can go to all of them at once. Member-to-member means every firm can collaborate with every other; member-to-host means members collaborate with the host firm only. Groups are private (invitation only, listed nowhere) or public (listed in Browse, where any firm can apply).

Alliance — a group with a host organisation that brings member firms together, often paying for their FirmLinks membership. It behaves like any other group.

Managed subscription — when one firm pays for another firm's membership. It buys a line on an invoice and no access whatsoever: the paying firm can't read your engagements or change your settings. Offers to pay for a membership are accepted or declined under Managed Subscriptions.

Open networking — a switch that makes your firm matchable with any other firm that also has it on, with no group and no connection between you. It's a matchability channel, not a relationship: firms reached this way don't appear in your connected firms list.

Referral incentive — what your firm offers for work another firm refers to you: a one-line description shown beside your firm on a match, plus the detail and conditions. You have a firm-wide default, and each group membership can carry its own terms instead.

AI scan — the optional step that reads your website and any documents you upload and fills in your firm profile, services and industries. It stages everything for you to review, and writes nothing until you press Continue. It can be run again later from Settings › Services to look for services you've missed.

Active user — anybody at your firm whose status is active or invited. It's what Pro Membership is priced on; deactivated people aren't counted and aren't charged for.

Setup checklist — the list of things that make your firm findable and matchable. A step is complete when somebody marks it complete, and un-marking is always available.

Coverage — on an engagement, the split of its services into secured, awaiting reply and unassigned. On your dashboard, how much of what your firm offers is actually being asked for.