For technicians

Glossary of IT field service terms

By the Techwhere editorial team Last updated 6 min read

In short

IT field service runs on a vocabulary that nobody explains to you on your first ticket. This glossary defines the terms that appear on work orders, in onboarding packs and in rate sheets, in plain English, so you can read a dispatch offer and know exactly what you are agreeing to.

Terms, A to Z

Smart hands
On-site hands at a data centre or comms room acting on instructions from a remote engineer — reseating a card, swapping a cable, reading a display, power-cycling a device. You are the eyes and hands, not the decision-maker.
Break/fix
Reactive work: something has failed and you attend to repair or replace it. Contrasts with project or rollout work, which is planned.
Rollout
A planned programme of identical visits across many sites — a hardware refresh, a point-of-sale upgrade, a cabling programme. Usually scheduled weeks ahead and priced per site.
Dispatch company
A field service provider holding contracts with national end clients and farming individual tickets out to local technicians. Sometimes called an FSP or a service aggregator.
Work order
The document authorising a specific visit. It should carry the scope, the site address, the arrival window, the site contact, the rate and the deliverables. Often abbreviated to WO.
Ticket
Used interchangeably with work order in most field service contexts, though strictly a ticket is the underlying incident and the work order is the authorisation to attend.
SOW
Statement of work. The document defining what is in scope for a job or programme, what the deliverables are, and what is explicitly excluded.
Deliverables
The evidence you must supply for a ticket to be considered complete — typically photos, serial numbers, a signed sign-off and closing notes. Missing deliverables are the most common reason an invoice is held.
NTE
Not to exceed. A cap on what will be paid for a ticket without further authorisation. If the work will exceed the NTE, stop and get written approval before continuing.
Net 30
Payment is due thirty days after a correct invoice is received — not thirty days after the work. Net 15, net 45 and net 60 follow the same pattern.
COI
Certificate of insurance. A one-page summary from your broker evidencing your policy, naming the company receiving it as certificate holder.
Additional insured
A company added to your insurance policy by endorsement so it can be covered for claims arising from your work. Different from, and more involved than, being named as certificate holder.
W-9
The IRS form giving a payer your legal name and taxpayer identification number. Required before a company can pay you as a contractor or issue a 1099.
1099
The information return a company files reporting what it paid you as a contractor during the year. You receive a copy and should reconcile it against your own records.
MSP
Managed service provider. A company providing ongoing outsourced IT support to businesses. MSPs both hire field technicians and act as end clients.
End client
The business where the work actually happens — the retailer, bank or restaurant group. You are usually engaged by a dispatch company acting for them, not by them directly.
Check-in / check-out
Recording your arrival and departure in the company's app or portal. This is how a coordinator evidences service levels to the end client, so skipping it can make good work invisible.
SLA
Service level agreement. The response or resolution time the dispatch company has promised its end client. It is why arrival windows are enforced so firmly.
No-access
Arriving to find the site closed, the contact absent or the equipment unavailable. Whether you are paid depends on the no-access or trip-fee policy, which is worth confirming before you accept.
Trip fee
A payment for attending site, separate from labour. Usually what protects you on a no-access visit.
Patch panel
The termination point in a comms rack where horizontal cabling from wall outlets lands, allowing short patch leads to connect ports to switches.
Low voltage
Cabling and systems operating below mains voltage — structured cabling, access control, CCTV, audio-visual. Several states require a licence for this work.
Punch down
Terminating a cable conductor into an insulation-displacement connector on a patch panel or keystone jack, using a punch-down tool.
Smart hands window
The agreed period during which a remote engineer will be available to direct your on-site work. Arriving outside it usually means waiting.
Rate sheet
The agreed schedule of what a company pays you — hourly rates, flat rates, minimums, travel and after-hours premiums. Signed during onboarding.
Preferred technician
An informal ranking of the technicians a coordinator calls first in a region. Earned through response speed, reliability and clean close-out paperwork rather than any formal process.

Checklist

  • You can read a work order and identify the scope, the NTE and the deliverables
  • You know what your payment terms mean and when the clock starts
  • You know the difference between certificate holder and additional insured
  • You know what has to be captured before a ticket can be closed
  • You ask about no-access and trip fees before accepting

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