| DR | Disbursement Request — a request to release funds from the escrow account to a recipient |
| IP | Intended Parent — the client funding the escrow account |
| GC | Gestational Carrier — the surrogate receiving compensation and reimbursements |
| Journey | The full surrogacy process from contract signing through birth |
| Milestone | A contractual event (e.g., “Confirmed Pregnant”) that triggers eligibility for specific allowances or payments |
| Allowance | A budget category defined in the surrogacy contract (e.g., “Maternity Clothing: $500 max”) |
| Case | One surrogacy journey, connecting an IP, GC, and Agency. Named as IP1LastName_IP2LastName_SurrogateLastName with a 6-digit numeric ID |
| Triage | The process of routing incoming communications to the right team and person before anyone responds |
| 1st Responder | The primary staff member assigned to handle a conversation |
| 2nd Responder | A secondary staff member collaborating on a conversation |
| Queue Flow | The continuous workflow of moving through conversations: read → reply → complete → auto-advance |
| Team Health | Dashboard view showing each team member’s open count, overdue count, average response time, and daily completions |
| Claim | When a team member self-assigns an unassigned conversation from the team queue |
| Rush Flag | A marker indicating a disbursement request needs urgent processing |
| ACH | Automated Clearing House — the electronic payment network used for disbursements |