Glossary
Definitions of terms used in Lumos and in Quebec building inspection practice. Short definitions point to the chapter where the concept is covered in detail.
A
Archive (archived project) State of a project removed from the active view but kept in Lumos. Archived projects do not appear in the calendar by default. See Project management.
Audit trail (project history) Log of changes, shares and actions performed on a project. Visible in the project file, useful in case of dispute or review.
B
BNQ (Bureau de normalisation du Québec) Organization that publishes the BNQ 3009 standard governing pre-purchase inspection of residential buildings. Lumos provides a compliant report template by default. See BNQ Compliance.
C
Client portal Single page where the client finds their whole file: what to sign, what is requested of them, their documents, their report, and a form to write to the inspector. See The client portal.
Client (requérant) Person who hires the inspector to perform the inspection — typically the buyer in a pre-purchase. Term retained by Lumos (consistent with the BNQ standard), preferred over “buyer” or generic “customer”. The French source term is requérant.
Co-client / co-signature Second client of a project (buying couple, indivision), set in the project form with their email. When the agreement is sent for signature, they receive their own email and their own portal; both clients sign in any order and Lumos seals a single copy carrying both signatures. Only the agreement is signed by two. See Signing the agreement.
Completed Status of a project whose inspection is finished and report is ready, but not yet delivered.
D
Document Center A project’s tab gathering every document of the file: generated by Lumos (quote, agreement, prerequisites, invoice), the shared report, the documents provided by the client and those uploaded by the inspector, with their status and the activity feed. The By inspection view shows each mandate’s journey: ① Generate, ② Send and signatures, ③ Invoice. See The Document Center.
Document request Sending the client a list of documents to provide (seller’s declaration, certificate of location…) with a deadline and an automatic reminder. Each expected document shows as “Waiting for the client” until uploaded. See Request documents from the client.
Document statuses (Document Center) Draft (created, not sent), Sent, Viewed (opened by the client), Signed, In the portal then Paid (invoice), Available (inspector’s file), Requested (expected from the client), Received (uploaded, to accept), Accepted, Refused (the client does not have it, with a reason), Removed. See The Document Center.
Daily route Calendar function that calculates the full route of a day (home base → stops → return) and exports it to Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze. See Daily route.
Draft Status of a project created but not yet started in inspection. The project has not yet consumed a credit from the inspection bank.
E
Estimate (soumission) Quote sent to the client before the service agreement is signed. In Lumos, integrated into the project file. See Mandate preparation.
I
Inspection Professional act of visiting and assessing a building. In Lumos, an inspection is attached to a project and consumes a credit from the inspection bank (or is free on an Unlimited account).
Inspection bank Reserve of available inspections on a Starter account. Each inspection consumes a credit upon creation. Refilled by per-unit purchases (1, 5 or 10) or by switching to the Unlimited plan. See Plans and pricing.
Inspector Main user of Lumos. Professional who performs inspections and produces reports. On a team account, the primary inspector (account owner) can invite other inspectors on additional seats.
In progress Status of a project whose inspection has been started and is being entered or being produced.
L
Lumos Capture Native mobile app (iOS / Android) dedicated to field capture: photos, voice dictation, quick annotations synchronized with the web editor. See Field capture.
M
Make available (in the portal) The step ③ gesture that sends the client the “Your invoice is available” email and publishes the invoice in their portal. The invoice is never signed. See Manage an issued invoice.
Mandate Scope of the work entrusted by the client to the inspector. Formalized by the service agreement and the estimate. See Mandate preparation.
N
Narrative (constat) Observation documented by the inspector on a building element: defect description, severity, recommendation, photos. Central element of the report. See Inspection editor.
Narrative Bank Library of reusable narratives — system (provided by Lumos) or personal. Allows inserting a documented narrative in seconds rather than writing it from scratch. See Narrative Bank.
P
Pills (inspection card) On an inspection card, one small label per mandate document — Quote · signed, Agreement · sent, Invoice · to create — whose colour tells the state. A click opens the Document Center on that inspection. See Quote tracking.
Prerequisites, inspection (AIBQ, APCHQ) The pre-inspection prerequisites form (access, power interruption, appliance activation, syndicate and tenants informed), generated with the agreement: the association’s own form for AIBQ (BNQ standard), Lumos’s generic “Preparing the property for the inspection” form for APCHQ (BNQ or non-REIBH edition). Signed online by the client after the “Your preparations” step. See Signing the agreement.
Pre-delivery (pré-réception) Inspection performed before the delivery of a new building, to identify items to be corrected by the builder before final handover.
Pre-purchase Most common type of inspection: before purchasing a property, at the buyer’s request. Governed by the BNQ 3009 standard.
Project Main container in Lumos. A project groups: the service agreement, the estimate, the inspection, the report, the project files, history. Not called “Folder” or “Case” in the interface. See Project management.
Project file (fiche projet)
Central page of a project in Lumos. Brings together the service agreement, estimate, project files (Document Center), history, the inspection itself. URL: /projects/<uuid>.
R
Report (inspection report) Final document delivered to the client. Produced from the narratives entered in the editor, formatted according to the chosen template. Available as PDF and as an interactive web version. See Delivery.
Report Template Customizable report skeleton: building sections, sub-sections, default severities. Lumos provides the default BNQ template, cloneable and editable. See Report Template.
S
Send and signatures (step ②) Step of an inspection’s journey in the Document Center: tick the mandate documents to send, one email goes out with no attachment, and the client signs in their portal what needs signing. A sent document is never re-sent: it is reminded. See The Document Center.
Secure link (client’s) Personal, unguessable address that opens a client’s portal, without an account. One live link per email and project; expires 90 days after the last send, revocable and regenerable. See The client’s secure link.
Section / sub-section (of the building) Hierarchical breakdown of the report (e.g. Roofing > Covering > Asphalt shingles). Lumos uses “building sections and sub-sections” — the BNQ standard does not impose a specific nomenclature.
Service agreement (convention de service) Contract between inspector and client that formalizes the mandate. Lumos provides a standard, editable version. Must be signed before the inspection starts. See Service agreement.
Severity Level of attention a narrative calls for. The default BNQ template has 7 levels. Customizable in the template editor. See Severities.
Shared Status of a project whose report has been delivered to the client.
Starter plan Default plan when an account is created. 3 free inspections, then per-unit purchase. No commitment.
Stripe Payment provider used by Lumos. All fine-grained billing management (cards, invoices, payment methods) goes through the Stripe portal. See Manage your subscription.
Student plan Free Pro access for students enrolled in an AEC building inspection program. Self-service signup; free for up to 2 months after graduation. See Student plan.
Surface (display surface) How a feature renders depending on context: Web (desktop), Web Mobile (browser on phone), Lumos Capture (native iOS/Android app). All help pages indicate the surfaces where the feature exists.
T
Team seat Slot assigned to an inspector on a team-mode Unlimited account. The owner uses an included seat; each additional seat is billed. See Team.
U
Unlimited plan Monthly or annual subscription plan that grants access to an unlimited number of inspections. See Plans and pricing.