Novala uses a specific set of terms to describe how your account is structured and how the system behaves. Understanding these concepts will make the rest of the documentation — and the product itself — much easier to navigate. Each concept below maps directly to something you’ll interact with in the product.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.novala.ai/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Tenant
Tenant
A tenant is your company’s isolated environment in Novala. It lives at a unique subdomain:Everything in your account — contacts, inspections, invoices, users, workflows — belongs to your tenant and is invisible to other Novala customers. Your tenant has its own settings, its own enabled modules, and its own subscription.You’ll hear “tenant” used in support conversations and documentation when referring to your account as a whole.
Module
Module
A module is a self-contained capability in Novala — for example, Contacts, Invoicing, Scheduling, or Calso inspections. Each module adds its own navigation links, data records, and functionality.Modules are enabled and disabled in Settings → Modules. Core Platform modules are always on; Package modules can be toggled on or off depending on your team’s needs.Examples of modules:
- Contacts & Companies — your customer directory
- Calso — inspections, checklists, and compliance reports
- Invoicing — invoices, payments, and overdue tracking
- Workflows — automation engine
Platform
Platform
The Platform is the mandatory foundation every Novala account includes. You can’t remove Platform modules — they underpin everything else.Platform modules:
- Contacts & Companies — companies, sites, and people
- Pipeline — deals and sales stages
- AI Copilot — the built-in AI assistant
- Workflows — event-driven automation
- Customer Portal — external-facing portal for your customers
Packages
Packages
Packages are bundles of related modules you add to the Platform based on your business type.Field Service Package — for teams that go on-site:
Calso inspections, equipment, quoting, services, rack inspections, scheduling, contracts, and messaging.Finance Ops Package — for billing and back-office teams:
Invoicing, expenses, purchasing, financials, inventory, and warranties.You can subscribe to one Package, both, or neither (Platform-only). Package access is shown in Settings → Modules under “Subscription Packages.”
If a module appears locked in your account, it belongs to a Package you haven’t subscribed to. Contact your account administrator or reach out to Novala to upgrade.
Role
Role
A role is a named permission set that controls what a user can see and do in Novala. Every user is assigned exactly one role when they’re invited.
Roles are assigned at invite time and can be changed later by a System Admin in Settings → Users.
| Role | Typical access |
|---|---|
| System Admin | Full access to all settings, users, modules, and data |
| Field Coordinator | Dispatching, scheduling, inspection review |
| Technician | Field work — running inspections, logging time, uploading photos |
| Sales Rep | Pipeline, contacts, quoting |
| Office Manager | Invoicing, purchasing, financials |
| Warehouse Manager | Inventory, receiving, purchasing |
Workflow
Workflow
A workflow is an event-driven automation you configure in Novala. The basic structure is: when X happens, do Y.For example:
- When an inspection is completed → send an email to the site contact
- When an invoice goes overdue → create a task for the office manager
- When a new company is created → assign it to a sales rep
Event
Event
An event is something that happened in the system — a record was created, a status changed, a payment was received. Events are what trigger workflows.Each module emits its own events. A few examples:
When you build a workflow, you pick the event you want to react to, then define what should happen in response. You don’t need to understand the underlying event names — the workflow builder presents them as plain-language options.
| Module | Example events |
|---|---|
| Contacts | contacts.company.created, contacts.contact.merged |
| Calso | Inspection completed, finding added |
| Invoicing | Invoice paid, invoice overdue |
| Workflows | Workflow execution completed or failed |
Customer Portal
Customer Portal
The Customer Portal is a separate login experience for your customers at:It’s distinct from your main Novala account at
{your-slug}.novala.ai. Your customers never log in to your Novala dashboard — they only see what you explicitly share with them through the portal.Through the portal, customers can typically view:- Inspection reports and compliance documents
- Invoices and payment history
- Shared files and service records
AI Copilot
AI Copilot
The AI Copilot is Novala’s built-in AI assistant, available on every page of your account. It understands the context of what you’re currently viewing and has access to your account data.You can use the Copilot to:
- Query your data in plain language (“Show me open invoices over $5,000”)
- Draft messages, emails, and reports
- Get step-by-step guidance on how to use any part of Novala
- Navigate quickly (“Take me to the scheduling calendar”)