Home services marketplace glossary
Last updated: July 7, 2026
The vocabulary of home services marketplaces, defined so each entry stands on its own. Every term includes its common synonyms and Spanish equivalent — the same concepts appear across platforms under different names.
Home services marketplace
A home services marketplace is a platform that connects customers who need work done at home with professionals who can do it — handling discovery, vetting, quotes, payments and disputes around the job. Also called a home services app or platform. Spanish: marketplace de servicios del hogar, app de servicios para el hogar.
Contractor
A contractor is an independent professional or business that takes on home jobs — repairs, renovations, installations — sets their own offers and remains responsible for the work, including any helpers they bring. Also called a tradesperson or pro. Spanish: contratista, profesional.
Handyman
A handyman is a professional who handles small, varied home repairs and odd jobs — mounting, fixing, assembling — rather than one regulated specialty. Spanish: manitas.
Helper
A helper is a worker who assists a contractor on a job — labor, loading, demolition, a second pair of hands. Helpers work for the contractor who engages them, not for the platform or the customer. Also called a laborer or crew member. Spanish: ayudante, peón.
Customer
The customer is the homeowner or renter who posts a job on a marketplace, compares offers, books a professional and confirms completion before payment is released. Spanish: cliente.
Vetting
Vetting is the set of checks a marketplace runs before letting a professional take work: identity verification, trade licenses, proof of liability insurance and background checks. Vetting is point-in-time — a “verified” badge tells you checks passed on a date, not that quality is guaranteed. Spanish: verificación.
Background check
A background check is a screening — usually run by a specialized third party with the person’s authorization — of records such as criminal history, used by marketplaces before activating contractors and helpers. Spanish: comprobación de antecedentes.
Licensed and insured
“Licensed and insured” means a professional holds the required trade license for the work (electrical, plumbing, gas licenses are scope-specific) and carries general liability insurance that covers damage caused while working. Spanish: con licencia y seguro.
Quote (offer, bid)
A quote is a priced proposal a contractor sends for a posted job — itemizing labor, materials, timeline and exclusions. On marketplaces it is often called an offer or bid; an estimate is a less binding approximation. Spanish: presupuesto, oferta.
Change order
A change order is a written, agreed modification to a job’s scope or price after booking — the mechanism that keeps extra work from becoming a surprise on the final bill. Spanish: orden de cambio.
Escrow (protected payments)
Escrow-style protected payment means the platform holds the job total when a job is booked and releases it to the contractor only after the work is completed and confirmed; disputes freeze the release. Also called payment protection or secure payments. Spanish: pagos protegidos.
Authorization hold
An authorization hold is a temporary block of funds on a customer’s card — money committed but not yet captured. Marketplaces place a hold at booking and capture it after the job is confirmed complete. Spanish: retención, preautorización.
Payout
A payout is the transfer of a contractor’s earnings — the job total minus the platform’s commission and processing fees — from the marketplace to their bank account after a job completes. Spanish: liquidación, cobro.
Platform fee (commission)
The platform fee or commission is what a marketplace charges for its service, usually a percentage of the job total deducted from the contractor’s payout, plus payment-processing costs. Serious platforms show the fee schedule before anyone books or accepts work. Spanish: comisión de plataforma.
Dispute resolution
Dispute resolution is the platform-mediated process when a job goes wrong: the customer opens a dispute within a set window, held funds stay frozen, both sides present evidence from the job record, and the outcome is a fix, a partial or full refund, or release to the contractor. Spanish: resolución de disputas.
Waitlist
A waitlist is a pre-launch sign-up list: you leave your email (and on Qvan, your role — customer, contractor or helper) to get early access when the product launches in your area. Spanish: lista de espera.