Business Glossary

Purpose

This glossary defines the core business concepts that drive Rockbot's operations, revenue, and customer relationships. It serves as the authoritative reference for consistent terminology across all teams—from board presentations to daily operations.

Use this document to

• Ensure accurate reporting and metrics
• Prevent costly data misunderstandings
• Onboard new team members quickly
• Align cross-functional communication

Critical Distinctions

These Are Different	Why It Matters
Account vs. Billing Entity	One customer can have many invoicing arrangements
Location vs. Zone	One address can have multiple hardware units
Contract vs. Subscription	What we agreed vs. what we're actually delivering
Contracted vs. Consumed ARR	Promise vs. reality—especially in franchise deals
Brand vs. Operator vs. Owner	Three different companies can be involved in one location
Contracting Customer vs. Consuming Customer	Who signs vs. who uses—critical for franchise reporting

Account

The business we do business with.

An Account represents a single legal business entity—the company behind the relationship, regardless of how many locations they operate, contracts they sign, or ways they pay. One company = one Account, always.

System of Record: Salesforce (primary), synced to NetSuite and Admin Platform

Why It Matters

Account is the foundation of all customer metrics. When we count "customers," we count Accounts. When we measure customer health, retention, or lifetime value, we measure at the Account level. Getting this wrong inflates customer counts and distorts strategic decisions.

Key Attributes

Attribute	Description
Name	Legal business entity (e.g., "Planet Fitness Holdings LLC")
Record Type	Customer, Partner, or Franchisor
Contracted ARR	Total value committed across all contracts
Consumed ARR	Actual revenue being generated
Location Count	Physical sites associated with this account
Contract Count	Number of active contracts
Customer Status	Active, Inactive, or Former (derived)

Business Rules

1. One Account per legal entity—never duplicate for payment or contract changes
2. Record type determines available fields and processes
3. Parent-child relationships only between same record type
4. Contracted ARR and Consumed ARR tracked separately (differ in franchise scenarios)

Location

A physical place where Rockbot delivers service.

A Location is a real-world address—a gym, restaurant, retail store, or any brick-and-mortar site with Rockbot hardware installed. Locations exist independently of who owns, operates, or brands them.

System of Record: Salesforce (Physical_Location__c custom object)

Why It Matters

Location count is a key operational metric. It answers "How many places do we serve?" and drives hardware deployment, support coverage, and market penetration analysis. Locations also reveal the complex relationships in franchise businesses.

Key Attributes

Attribute	Description
Physical Address	Street, city, state, postal code (required)
Location Type	Single-Tenant, Multi-Tenant, Shared-Facility, or Mobile
Brand	The brand customers see (e.g., Planet Fitness)
Operator	Who manages daily operations (e.g., Blackduck Partners)
Owner	Property owner, if tracked
Primary Account	Formula field: returns Brand if populated, else Operator, else Owner
Guidelines	Brand standards applied to this location
Zone Count	Hardware units installed at this address
Total ARR	Revenue generated from this location
Status	Active, Inactive, Pending, or Closed

The Three Location Relationships

Relationship	Question It Answers	Required	Example
Brand	"What brand do customers see?"	Yes	Planet Fitness
Operator	"Who runs this location?"	No	Blackduck Partners
Owner	"Who owns the property?"	No	Main Street Properties LLC

Business Rules

1. Location defined by physical address, not Account ownership
2. At least one of Brand, Operator, or Owner should be populated
3. Brand typically populated for franchise locations; Operator for franchisee management
4. Every Zone must have a parent Location
5. One Location can have Zones from multiple Subscriptions (split billing)

Zone

Individual hardware delivering Rockbot services.

A Zone is a single hardware unit—a screen or media player—installed at a specific area within a Location. It's where service actually happens: the TV in the cardio area, the display behind the front desk. Zone also functions as a junction object connecting physical Locations with billing Subscriptions.

System of Record: Salesforce (Zone__c, master), synced to NetSuite (billing) and Admin Platform

Note: "Venue" is deprecated legacy terminology for Zone. All new documentation should use "Zone" exclusively.

Why It Matters

Zones are the atomic unit of service delivery and billing. ARR flows up from Zones. When we ask "What are we charging for?", the answer is Zones. Each Zone connects a physical Location to one or more billing Subscriptions.

Business Rules

1. Every Zone must belong to exactly one Location
2. One Zone can have multiple Subscriptions (e.g., music subscription + digital signage subscription)
3. One Location can have multiple Zones under different Subscriptions
4. Zone ARR = sum of Product Line Item monthly values across all its Subscriptions

Contract

The formal agreement defining what we'll deliver and at what price.

A Contract is the legal agreement between Rockbot and a customer Account. It defines the rates, terms, duration, and scope of services we've committed to provide. Contracts establish the financial relationship; Subscriptions fulfill it.

System of Record: Salesforce (source of truth), PandaDoc (document creation)

Why It Matters

Contracts are the source of Contracted ARR—the revenue we've promised. They determine pricing for all downstream billing. When rates need to change, we modify Contracts. When we want to know "what did we agree to?", we look at Contracts.

Key Attributes

Attribute	Description
Account	The customer this contract belongs to
Start Date / End Date	Contract term
Status	Draft, Active, Expired, Terminated
Contract Line Items	Specific products and rates included
Contracted ARR	Total annual value committed

Contract Line Item

A specific product or service with its contracted rate.

Contract Line Items are the individual lines within a Contract that specify which products the customer has purchased and at what price. They're the pricing source for Product Line Items on Subscriptions.

System of Record: Salesforce, synced to NetSuite

Key Attributes

Attribute	Description
Contract	Parent contract
Product	The service being provided
Monthly Rate	Price per month
Quantity	Number of units contracted

Subscription

The billing arrangement that collects revenue for delivered services.

A Subscription is the billing mechanism that connects a Contract to actual service delivery. It groups Zones together for invoicing purposes and tracks what's actually being consumed versus what was contracted.

System of Record: NetSuite (NetSuite_Subscription__c, primary), synced to Salesforce

Zone-Subscription Relationship

Zones and Subscriptions have a many-to-many relationship. One Zone can have multiple Subscriptions (e.g., a single screen receiving both music service and digital signage). One Subscription can cover multiple Zones (e.g., a single billing arrangement for all zones at a location).

Why It Matters

Subscriptions are where revenue actually happens. They track Consumed ARR—what we're billing for right now. The gap between Contracted ARR (from Contracts) and Consumed ARR (from Subscriptions) reveals ramp-up progress or utilization issues.

Key Attributes

Attribute	Description
Contract	Parent contract defining rates
Billing Entity	Who receives invoices
Zones	Hardware units covered by this subscription
Product Line Items	Actual services being delivered and billed
Status	Active, Suspended, Cancelled
Consumed ARR	Annual revenue from active Product Line Items

Product Line Item

A specific service being delivered and billed on a Subscription.

Product Line Items represent the actual services being delivered to a specific Zone under a Subscription. They inherit rates from Contract Line Items and generate the charges that appear on invoices.

System of Record: NetSuite, synced to Salesforce

Business Rules

1. Rates must reference Contract Line Items—never enter manually
2. Product Line Item ARR rolls up to Subscription and Account Consumed ARR
3. Each Product Line Item connects to one Zone

Billing Entity Profile

Who receives invoices and makes payments.

A Billing Entity represents an invoicing arrangement—a specific entity that receives bills and makes payments. One Account can have multiple Billing Entities (different divisions, franchisees, or payment arrangements), but each Billing Entity belongs to one Account.

System of Record: NetSuite (primary), synced to Salesforce

Why It Matters

Billing Entity separates "who is our customer" (Account) from "who pays the bills" (Billing Entity). This distinction is critical: our customer count (Accounts) is far smaller than our billing arrangement count (Billing Entities).

Business Rules

1. Billing Entity is about who, not how—payment method changes don't create new Billing Entities
2. One Account can have multiple Billing Entities
3. Each Billing Entity has one or more Payment Methods

Payment Method

How a Billing Entity pays their invoices.

Payment Method tracks the specific instrument used to pay—credit card, ACH, check, etc. Payment Methods belong to Billing Entities and can change without affecting the billing relationship.

System of Record: NetSuite + Paystand

Key Point

When a credit card expires or a customer switches banks, we update the Payment Method—not the Billing Entity or Account. This preserves invoice history and reporting continuity.

ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue)

The annual value of recurring revenue, measured two ways.

Contracted ARR

The total annual value committed in signed Contracts. Use for forecasting, investor reporting, and capacity planning. Source: Contract Line Items.

Consumed ARR

The actual annual revenue being generated by active Subscriptions. Use for cash flow analysis and utilization tracking. Source: Product Line Items (via NetSuite_Subscription__c.ARR__c).

ARR Date Semantics

ARR calculations depend on understanding three distinct dates that often differ—especially in enterprise and franchise deals:

Date Type	Source Field	Definition	Use For
Contract Date	Contract__c.StartDate	Date the agreement was legally executed	Forecasting, "deals closed" reporting, Contracted ARR start
Service Billing Start	NetSuite_Subscription__c.Start_Date__c	Date billing charges begin (first invoice date)	Cash flow, MRR/ARR recognition, Consumed ARR start
Activation Date	Zone__c.Activation_Date__c	Date hardware went live and service began	Utilization tracking, consumption metrics

Guidelines

Formerly known as Logo__c in Salesforce

Brand-specific content rules applied to Locations.

Guidelines define what content can play at a Location—the music genres, video types, and messaging approved by the Brand. They ensure consistency across all locations operating under a brand's standards.

System of Record: Salesforce, synced to Admin Platform

Domain

A web identity used for lead routing and account deduplication.

A Domain represents website ownership tied to an Account. Domains serve two critical operational functions: routing inbound leads to the correct Account, and preventing duplicate account creation when prospects use secondary or redirect URLs.

System of Record: Salesforce (Domain__c)

Key Fields

Field	Purpose	Example
Domain_URL__c	Raw input as entered	https://www.planetfitness.com/locations
Clean_Domain__c	Normalized, unique External ID for matching	planetfitness.com

Business Rules

1. One Account can have many Domains (redirects, regional sites, etc.)
2. One Domain can only exist on one Account
3. When a lead comes in via any Domain, it routes to the associated Account

Why It Matters

Without proper Domain mapping, inbound leads from secondary websites would create duplicate accounts. For example, if a prospect fills out a form on a regional redirect URL, the Domain object ensures they're matched to the existing parent Account rather than creating a new record.

Brand / Operator / Owner

The three ways an Account can relate to a Location.

Every Location can have up to three Account relationships, each answering a different question about who's involved with that physical site.

Role	Question	Typical Use
Brand	"What name is on the door?"	Franchise parent (e.g., Planet Fitness)
Operator	"Who manages day-to-day?"	Franchisee running the location (e.g., Blackduck Partners)
Owner	"Who owns the property?"	Real estate owner, if relevant

Contracting Account vs. Consuming Account

Who signs the deal vs. who uses the service.

Contracting Account

The Account that signs the Contract and commits to the ARR. This is where Contracted ARR is tracked.

Consuming Account

The Account(s) that actually use the service at Locations. Consumed ARR rolls up here.

Contract Inheritance and Termination

When a master contract is terminated, consuming entities must transition their service. Typical outcomes include:

1. Independent contract activation: The consuming entity signs their own contract at their locations, becoming both contracting and consuming party
2. Service discontinuation: Locations under the terminated contract are deactivated
3. Contract transfer: A new contracting party assumes the master agreement (requires legal renegotiation)

The transition path depends on whether the consuming entity has an existing Account relationship and their willingness to contract directly.

Customer

An Account with Record Type = Customer.

Customers are the businesses that contract for Rockbot services. They can be the contracting party, the consuming party, or both. Customer count = Account count where Record Type = Customer.

Contracting Customer

A Customer Account that has signed a contract with Rockbot.

Contracting Customers are the entities with purchasing authority—they sign contracts, commit to ARR, and control upgrades, downgrades, and renewals. Use this count when reporting on contractual relationships or forecasting.

Use For

Sales pipeline reporting, ARR forecasting, customer acquisition metrics, renewal tracking.

Key Distinction

A Contracting Customer may have no active Zones if they're in ramp-up or have churned operationally while maintaining a contract.

Consuming Customer

A Customer Account that is actively using Rockbot services at one or more Locations.

Consuming Customers have active Zones delivering service. They may or may not be the same entity as the Contracting Customer. Use this count when reporting on service delivery or utilization.

Use For

Utilization reporting, support coverage planning, operational metrics, consumption analysis.

Key Distinction

A Consuming Customer may not have a direct contract if service is delivered under a master agreement held by a different entity (common in franchise scenarios).

Active Customer

A Customer Account that has both an active contract AND active service consumption.

Active Customers represent the healthiest customer relationships—they've committed contractually AND are actively using the service. This is typically the most meaningful customer count for retention and health metrics.

Formula: Active Customer = Contracting Customer ∩ Consuming Customer (has both)

Use For

Customer health dashboards, retention analysis, executive reporting, board presentations.

Partner

An Account with Record Type = Partner.

Partners are businesses that resell or distribute Rockbot services. They bring us customers but aren't the end users. Partners earn commissions or referral fees tracked through Partner attribution.

Partner Attribution

When a Partner sources a deal, the Contract or Subscription tracks the Partner Account for commission and reporting purposes.

Franchisor

An Account with Record Type = Franchisor.

Franchisors are operating entities that manage multiple locations under one or more brand licenses. In Rockbot's simplified model, the Franchisor is typically the contracting party for locations they operate—they sign contracts and commit ARR on behalf of their location portfolio.

System of Record: Salesforce (Account object with Record Type = Franchisor)

Alternative Terminology

Some franchise systems use different terms for this role. In Subway's franchise model, this entity is called a "Development Agent"—the company that holds development rights for a territory and manages franchisees within it. Regardless of the industry term used, Rockbot tracks these entities as Franchisor accounts.

Why It Matters

Franchisors are often the primary business relationship in franchise scenarios. A single franchisor may operate hundreds of locations across multiple brands, making them significant contracting partners.

Business Rules

1. Franchisors typically contract ARR for their locations
2. One Franchisor can operate locations across multiple Brands
3. Franchisor appears on Location records as the Operator
4. Use Franchisor record type to differentiate from standard Customer accounts

Franchisee (Location Characteristic)

A Location operated by a franchisor on behalf of a brand.

Franchisee is not a separate object or Account type—it's a characteristic of a Location. Any Location where Brand and Operator are different Accounts is a franchised location. The Operator in this scenario is typically a Franchisor account.

Formula: Brand + different Operator = Franchised Location

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Wrong	Right	Why
Creating new Account when payment method changes	Add new Payment Method to existing Billing Entity	Preserves relationship history
"We have X billing entities as customers"	"We have Y customers with X billing arrangements"	Billing Entity is not Customer
Contract = Subscription	Contract defines rates; Subscription = consumption	Different concepts, different purposes
Manually entering rates on Product Line Items	Reference Contract Line Item	Ensures billing matches contract
Using "Venue" in new documentation	Use "Zone"	Venue is deprecated terminology
Assuming franchisors don't contract	Franchisors typically DO contract ARR	They're often the primary contracting party
Using "franchisor" and "franchisee" interchangeably	Franchisor = Account type; Franchisee = Location characteristic	Different objects in the data model
Using Contract Date for revenue recognition	Use Service Billing Start Date	Contract Date ≠ when billing begins
Counting Contracted ARR as revenue	Only Consumed ARR is recognized revenue	Contracted is commitment; Consumed is actuals

System of Record vs. Source of Truth

These terms are often conflated but serve different purposes in Rockbot's architecture.

Definitions

System of Record: Where content is created. The system where data originates and is initially captured.

Source of Truth: Where systems go to access authoritative data. The reference point all other systems use for that information.

Entity Reference

Entity	Primary System	Salesforce Object	Syncs To
Account	Salesforce	Account	NetSuite, Admin Platform
Location	Salesforce	Physical_Location__c	Admin Platform
Zone	Salesforce	Zone__c	NetSuite, Admin Platform
Contract	Salesforce	Contract__c	NetSuite
Contract Line Item	Salesforce	Contract_Line_Item__c	NetSuite
Subscription	NetSuite	NetSuite_Subscription__c	Salesforce
Product Line Item	NetSuite	—	Salesforce
Billing Entity	NetSuite	NetSuite_Billing_Account__c	Salesforce
Payment Method	NetSuite + Paystand	—	—
Guidelines	Salesforce	Guidelines__c	Admin Platform
Domain	Salesforce	Domain__c	—

The Four Data Paths

Understanding how data flows helps interpret reports correctly:

Deprecated Terminology

Legacy Term	Current Term	Notes
Venue	Zone	"Venue" too easily confused with "Location"
Ultimate_Parent	Top_Level_Parent__c	Use Top_Level_Parent__c for hierarchy calculations

Key Architectural Principles