In our glossary, you will find explanations and calculation formulas for Severas most common terms and key figures. You can use the quick links below to navigate directly to the topic area you want. 

Customers

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Customers topic area.

Market segmentation

• Market segmentation is a way to categorize customers for marketing and reporting purposes. Segments are managed in Settings > Market segments.

Organization

• An organization is your company in Severa.

Annual revenue

• Customer's annual revenue represents the company size. Annual revenue is not updated automatically. Annual revenue can be added to the customer's Contacts & addresses tab.

Calendar & Activities

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Calendar & Activities topic area.

Activities

• An activity can be a calendar entry, to-do or event that requires attention. For example, a call, deadline, meeting or holiday. Absences in Severa are classified as activities.

Users

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Users topic area.

Cost per hour

• Cost per hour is the unit cost of an employee's hourly work. The unit cost is specified in the employee's work contract in Settings > User management section.

User

• People that are using Severa are considered as users. Users can be active or not in use. User accounts are managed through Settings > User management.

User license

• User license tells the number of available user licenses. The main user can view the user license through User management. The number of user licenses can be updated with main user rights through the Subscription page. The subscription may have free and unused user licenses, which form the billing according to the agreement. Free user licenses can be used to add new users or reactivate old user credentials.

Permissions

• Permissions define what information people see in Severa. There are four default permission profiles, and every user is assigned a profile. Through Settings > User management, a user's page can be opened and in the Permissions section, profile can be changed or the rights of that user can be customized from the basic profile.

Daily flextime limit

• Daily flextime limit is the number of work hours per day that are considered when calculating the total flextime for a user. Daily limit can be managed in Settings > User management section by opening the Work contract section in the user's details and specifying the desired number of hours in the Maximum flextime per day field.

Daily hours

• Daily hours are the number of hours an employee is expected to work on a normal work day. When using flextime calculation, daily hours are used as the basis for flextime calculation. Daily hours can be capped when flextime calculation is in use by setting a daily limit on the work contract (the number of work hours per day that are considered when calculating the total flextime for a user). Daily hours can be managed in Settings > User management section by opening the Work contract section in the user's details.

Email notifications

• Email notifications are automatic messages sent from Severa to employees. Notifications are sent in the following situations: when a user is added to a new activity, when an activity created by the user is confirmed by other participants, Today's agenda message about the day's tasks, highlights of the previous week. Email notifications are managed in My profile > Personal settings or Settings > User management sections.

Billing

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Billing topic area.

BIC

• BIC (Bank Identifier Code) is the unique identification code used to represent a bank.

Due date

• The term due date refers to the date by which an invoice payment should be received. The due date is calculated for the invoice based on the invoice date and the payment terms set for the invoice. For example, if the payment term is 14 days, the due date of the invoice is two weeks from the invoice date.

Finvoice

• Finvoice refers to a standardized XML format for electronic invoicing.

Price list

• A price list (Settings > Price lists) is a pricing method added to a project or customer, where default prices can be defined for specific people or work types, and how overtime, travel expenses and fees are billed. Default prices can also be used in pricing for overtime, travel expenses and fees, which are defined in their own settings.

IBAN

• An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is used to identify bank accounts in different countries in a standardized manner.

Reverse charge

• Reverse charge means that the seller is not responsible for the taxation of goods or services sold abroad. Instead, the buyer is responsible for calculating, reporting and paying taxes related to the transaction. In Severa, reverse charge can be selected for a customer through customer settings or from detailed information of an invoice. Using reverse charge removes taxes from the invoice, and the description should include information about the reverse charge. NOTE: When transferring invoices to an accounting or billing system, the tax percentage of invoice rows must be manually corrected because reverse charge does not remove taxes from invoice rows.

Billing details

• In the billing details section, found in project settings, you can manage invoice details such as billing address and your reference and our reference information. If a billing address is not specified, the invoice will use the address from the customer's details.

Payment terms

• Payment terms refer to the agreement that determines the timing of payment. The default payment term is 14 days. For example, if the payment term is set to 30 days, the invoice must be paid within 30 days of the invoice date.

Overdue interest

• Overdue interest is a percentage of the amount due on an invoice that is added to the invoice total when it's past due. In Severa, overdue interest is specified through Settings > Organization > Business units, through Settings > Invoicing or through Customer > Customer settings > Billing details.

Sales

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Sales topic area.

Lost sales case

• We use the term lost sales case to describe a sales case which doesn't result in an order. The sales status of a lost sales case can be changed to “Rejected proposal,” and its probability will automatically become null, or the sales case can be closed.

Project value

• The project value is the anticipated revenue to be gained when a sales case has been won. Value is entered in the Sales section of a sales case or project and is reportable. Project value is manually filled in.

Sales status

• Sales status indicates the progress of a customer sales case through the sales pipeline to either an order or rejection. As a sales case moves through the process, it's important to update the sales status to ensure reports and the sales pipeline accurately reflect the current state. Won sales cases are projects. The won status is "Order" and the lost status is "Rejected." Lost sales cases have a zero percent probability. Statuses are managed in Settings > Sales statuses view.

Sales probability

• Sales probability is a value used to estimate the likelihood of a proposal becoming an order. Probability % comes automatically from the sales status, but can also be manually edited. Probabilities and sales statuses are managed in Settings > Sales statuses view. Probability can be used in reporting.

Sales case

• A sales case is any case that has a sales status that is considered in progress. Therefore sales cases aren't yet won or lost, and the sale should still be pursued actively.

Probability

• Sales probability is a value used to estimate the likelihood of a proposal becoming an order. Probability % comes automatically from the sales status, but can also be manually edited. Probabilities and sales statuses are managed in Settings > Sales statuses view. Probability can be used in reporting.

Won case

• A won case refers to a sales case which results in an order. The sales status of a won case is changed to Order and its probability is 100%.

Projects

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Projects topic area.

Deadline

• A deadline is the date by which a project or phase must be completed. The deadline for an invoice in Severa is called "due date."

Progress

• Progress is shown in Open projects report. For closed projects progress is 100%. For open projects (both customer and internal) progress is calculated using project start date and deadline. If deadline is not given we use current day + 30 days as a deadline.
• Formula: (current date and time in hours) - (start date and time in hours) / possible hours * 100.

Joining allowed

• Employees are able to join a project from work hour entry and travel reimbursement pages when they aren't currently a member. The ability to join projects is controlled through permission profiles and on the project settings view.

Project

• All work hour entries, travel expenses and fees are associated with projects. In Severa, projects are divided into internal and customer projects. Internal projects differ structurally from customer projects and cannot be invoiced. Projects have deadlines and can be associated with keywords and descriptions.

Join a project

• Employees are able to join a project from work hour entry and travel reimbursement pages when they aren't currently a member. The ability to join projects is controlled through permission profiles and on the project settings view.

Project status

• Project status allows you to define and track different phases of a project. Project status is visible at the top of the project page and statuses are selected from a drop-down menu.

Project completion

• Project completion % is calculated using the following formula: (total hours worked / estimated work hours) * 100. The percentage increases as hours are entered. By clicking the percentage, you can manually define the completion rate, overriding automatic calculation.

Project templates

• You can use project templates to copy project plans. When copying the project plan, you can choose if you import phases, activities, resourcing, pricing and/or fees.

Phases

• Phases are stages which represent different periods in project development, and can encompass activities. Phases belong to a project, or another phase, and have a start date and deadline. Phases can be given a default work type, and work hours can be entered directly to a project phase on the work hour entry form. If phases are used in a project, it is important to enter project hours from the beginning to the phases from which the project's total hours are composed and progress is calculated together.

Reporting

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Reporting topic area.

Estimated margin

• The estimated margin is the difference between the billing forecast and the expense forecast.
• Formula: Billing forecast - Expense forecast.

Estimated margin %

• The estimated margin is the difference between the billing forecast and the expense forecast, formed as a percentage.
• Formula: (Billing forecast - Expense forecast / Billing forecast) * 100.

Key performance indicator

• A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measure that reflects the performance of a company. In Severa there are ready-made KPI values can be found under overviews. You can also create your own KPIs if you have Premium or Enterprise version of Severa. Company's own KPI values can be reported through different reports by selecting them from the Values menu as own columns for the report.

Non-billable hours

• In Severa, hours that belong to a work type marked as non-billable in the project's price list (Bill selection not selected) or that receive a value of 0.00 from the price list are interpreted as non-billable.

Price of hours approved

• Price of hours approved field on reports shows the sum of approved work hour entries billed to the customer. Visible only when work hour approval is enabled (Premium and Enterprise editions).

Remaining billing

• Remaining billing field on the report shows the difference between billing forecast and billing using the following formula: billing forecast - billing.

Remaining expenses

• Remaining expenses is the difference between the expense forecast and total expenses (how much the project has cost to date).
• Formula: Expense forecast - Total expenses.

Margin

• Margin is the difference between billing and all expenses (including labor expenses, product expenses and travel expenses). The formula to calculate margin is: Billing - All expenses. When using the Revenue recognition add-on, you may also choose to display the In-house margin, the difference between billing for in-house revenue, in-house costs, outsourced margin and the difference between billing for outsourced revenue and outsourced costs.

Margin %

• Margin is the difference between billing and all expenses.
• Formula: (Billing - All expenses including labor expenses, product expenses and travel expenses) / Billing * 100%.

Total price billed

• Total price billed field on reports shows the price billed to the customer from work hour entries. If the Multi-currency add-on is in use, the price is shown in both environment currency and billed currency.

KPI

• A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measure that reflects the performance of a company. There are a few ready-made KPI values that can be found under Overviews. You can also create your own KPIs with Platinum and Enterprise version.

Billable hours %

• Billable hours are work hours entered for customer projects and that have a price from the price list.
• Formula: Billable hours / All hours * 100.

Total hours billed

• Total hours billed is the monetary value of total work hours billed. Total hours billed field can be limited using the "Finances over time" search criterion.

Total hours billed (multi-currency)

• Total hours billed is the monetary value of total work hours billed. If the Multi-currency add-on is in use, the price of hours billed is displayed in project currency.

Share of billing

• Share of billing means the invoicing that is divided for each team member based on their contribution to the project. Share of billing is calculated for all company employees using the same formula and is based on values selected in Settings - Team productivity section. Share of billing can also be manually edited on project level, in team productivity section on a project. It is usually done when project ends, and there is a need to adjust the share of billing for employees.
• Formula: (User's quantity of hours OR User's value of hours OR User's cost of hours) / (Project's total hours OR Project's total value of hours OR Project's total hourly costs) * (Project's total billing based on values selected in team productivity settings (Work hours, Travels, Products, Own work, Subcontracting)).

Share of billing per hour

• Formula: Share of billing / User's quantity of hours.

Share of billing, by value of hours

• The most popular method is based on value of hours. When share of billing is based on value of hours, billing is divided among employees based on the value of hours entered for the project.
• Formula: User's value of hours / Project's total value of hours * Project's billing based on values selected in team productivity settings.

Share of billing, by cost of hours

• When share of billing is based on cost of hours, billing is divided among employees based on the internal cost per hour.
• Formula: (User's cost of hours) / (Project's total cost of hours) * (Project's billing based on values selected in team productivity settings).

Share of billing, by quantity of hours

• When share of billing is based on quantity of hours, billing is divided among employees based on the number of hours they have entered for the project.
• Formula: User's quantity of hours / Project's total quantity of hours * Project's billing based on values selected in team productivity settings.

Billing per hour

• Formula: Project billing / Work hours entered for the project.

Billing per hour, based on invoicing of own work

• Project billing including work hour entries and products with product type: Own work.

Revenue

• Revenue refers to sales based on billing. In Severa, revenue is the forecasted or actual revenue entered through the project financials section or the Revenue recognition add-on. Revenue is recorded for the month defined by the invoice date. Revenue is added when the invoice status is changed from draft to a status where "Sent" is selected in the invoice settings. Revenue is recognized according to the invoice date (specified in the invoice settings tab) when the invoice status is marked as Sent.

Sales margin

• Sales margin is the difference between billing and other expenses.
• Formula: Billing - Other expenses.

Sales margin %

• Formula: (Billing - Other expenses / Billing) * 100

Share in %

• Share in % is user's share of billing / invoicing of the project based on what is included in the billing in team productivity settings * 100. Share in % can also be manually edited on project level, in team productivity section on a project. It is usually done when project ends, and there is a need to adjust the share of billing for employees.

Project success rate

• Formula: Project's total billing / Project's value of hours * 100%.

Finances over time

• Finances over time is a filter on specific reports that produces a drop-down menu of time frames. Select a time frame to see financial data for projects during that time frame.

Price of hours not reviewed

• Price of hours not reviewed field on reports shows the sum of hours that haven't been reviewed yet. Visible only when work hour approval is enabled (Premium and Enterprise editions).

Export

• Report data can be exported as a CSV (comma-separated values) file or Microsoft Excel file. Data export can be initiated from the icon visible at the top of the report.

Value of hours

• Value of hours is quantity of hours * price of hours. Value of hours is calculated for each employee, based on their entered work hours, and also for each project based on the work hours entered for that particular project. The value of hours is needed specially with projects that are invoiced with fixed fees, to see how much the entered work hours are worth.

Value per hour

• Formula: (Value of hours) / (Quantity of all employees hours).

Productive

• Projects are identified as productive or non-productive based on what is defined in Settings. A work hour entry that is entered to a non-productive work type but has a price from the project is also considered productive.
• Formula:
  - Productive work hours = Hours entered to work types which are defined as productive on settings
  - Non-productive work hours = Hours entered to work types which are defined as non-productive on settings and where price per hour is 0
  - All work hours = All entered work hours

Productive %

• Formula: (Productive work hours / All work hours) * 100

Employee margin

• Calculated as follows: Project margin * User's share in %.

Employee sales margin

• Calculated as follows: Project sales margin * User's share in %.

Advanced Resourcing

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Advanced Resourcing topic area.

Weigh resourcing by sales probability

• The option Weigh resourcing by sales probability appears in the resourcing section and on sales cases and reports. The default selection "Yes" affects the resource allocations using the sales case's probability % as a multiplier. For example, if the sales case's probability % is 50 and "Weigh resourcing by sales probability" is "Yes," the allocation appears as 25% in the graph (0.5 * 0.5 = 0.25). If the sales case has been won and the probability % is 100, the resourcing appears as 50% (0.5 * 1 = 0.5). "Weigh resourcing by sales probability" only affects graphical views, not actual resource allocations.

Time & Expenses

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the Time & Expenses topic area.

Not approved hours

• The amount of work hours that have been reviewed but not approved. Only available if the Advanced time tracking add-on is in use.

Approved hours

• Work hours that have been approved through work hour approval (Advanced time tracking add-on required).

Expenses

• Expenses are the sum of labor expenses, travel expenses and product expenses for a project.

Expenses (billable)

• Expenses are the sum of labor expenses, travel expenses and product expenses for a project. Expenses can be billed to the customer.

Billable work hours

• Billable work hours are work hours entered for customer projects that have a price from the price list. Work hours entered to customer projects with a price of 0.00 or for internal projects are considered as non-billable. Billable hours are not just work hours that are invoiced, but those that contribute to the project's value. Especially when invoicing with fixed fees, work hours are often considered billable even though they are not invoiced.

Total flextime

• Total flextime can be reported on the user's report:
• Value "Flextime" tells the user's current flextime including the current day.
• Value "Total flextime, until the end of last month" tells the flextime situation at the end of the last month.
• Value "Flextime during the period" retrieves the flextime for the period you have selected in the report filter "Finances over time".
• Formula: difference between work hour entries and daily work hours specified in the employee's work contract.

Other expenses

• Other expenses are the sum of expenses related to fees and travel entries associated with a project.

Per diem

• Per diem refers to a daily fixed fee organization gives an employee to cover work expenses when travelling. Per diems can be managed from the company's settings in the Working time, travel expense and product registries > Travel expense types section.

Not reviewed hours

• The amount of work hours that haven't been reviewed yet. Only available if the Advanced time tracking add-on is in use.

Labor expenses

• Labor expenses are the amount of money paid for work hours entered for a project. Labor expenses are based on the cost per hour specified in the user's work contract.

Work hours

• Work hours are hours which employees or users assign to either a customer or an internal project. Work hours are entered in relation to specific projects and phases, and work hours can be billable or non-billable.

Overtime

• Overtime refers to work hours entered which are beyond normal work hours. Overtime rates are managed through Settings > Overtime rates, and can be adjusted on Price lists. Overtime is available for employees on the work hour entry form only if overtime rates have been created by an administrator.

General Settings

In this section, you will find the most common terms and explanations of formulas related to the General Settings topic area.

API

• API (application programming interface) enables interaction between different software applications. Data can be exported and imported through the interface.

Keywords

• Keywords are words attached to sales cases, projects, customer contacts, files & links or users. Keywords can be used in searches and reports to delimit the results. For example, an architecture firm that works with public, industrial, commercial and private projects may want to mark their project accordingly with keywords. Then by typing one of the keywords into the Search in the top menu they could quickly view all relevant projects.

Cost center

• Cost centers are distinct units or departments within a company which recognize costs and budgets separately. In Severa, cost centers are used in conjunction with financial integrations.

OAuth

• OAuth (Open Authorization) is an open standard for access delegation, commonly used as a way for applications to grant access to their information without giving them passwords.

Work types

• A list of different roles or jobs people have within a company. Work types can be customized through Settings > Work types. When entering work hours, work type is added automatically after project and phase are selected. User can always change the default provided by the system.
• When entering work hours, the default selected work type comes according to the following hierarchy:
1. Default work type of a phase
2. Default work type of a project
3. Work type of a user

Business unit

• Business units are segments of a company that represent specific functions, such as accounting, marketing, sales. Business units can also be referred to as departments or divisions. Business units can also be used to differentiate departments in different countries. Managed in Settings > Organization > Business units.

Did you find it helpful? Yes No