Core Concepts
The building blocks of the platform — references, branches, work fields, services, properties, release levels, channels, and roles.
This page explains the vocabulary used throughout the platform and this documentation. German UI terms are shown in parentheses where they differ.
References
A reference (Referenz, also reference project) is the central entity of the platform: a project your company has delivered, described in a structured way — title, client, time frame, location, media, services provided, and industry-specific properties. References are maintained per language (German/English) and go through an approval and publication workflow.
Industries (Branches)
The platform organizes all content in a hierarchical industry tree (Branchenbaum). Each node is a branch (Branche) — for example Architecture & Construction → Civil Engineering. A reference is assigned to one or more branches; your company also declares its main branch and any additional branches.
Branches matter because they define which structured fields a reference has and where it is found:
- Every branch brings its own set of work fields, services, and project properties (see below).
- Public industry pages list the references and companies of each branch.
Branches themselves are curated by the platform team — if your industry is missing, use Suggest a new industry, available in registration, in the reference form, and on the industry pages.
Work fields, services & properties
Within a branch, the structured description of a project is organized in three layers:
| Concept | German | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Work field | Aufgabenfeld | A thematic area of work within a branch (e.g. BIM Management & Consulting). Work fields group services and properties into sections of the reference form. |
| Service (method) | Leistung | A concrete service or method your company applied in a project (e.g. Clash Detection). Selected per reference; also drives the services shown on your company profile and the search filters. |
| Project property | (Projektspezifische) Eigenschaft / Zusatzfeld | A structured field describing the project (text, number, date, single/multi select, checkbox, …). Properties appear on the public reference page and act as search filters. |
Companies can customize which work fields, services, and properties their reference forms show, and can add their own custom fields — including company-internal fields that are never published.
Reference groups
Reference groups (Referenzgruppen) are your company's own hierarchical folder structure for organizing references — independent of the platform-wide industry tree. Use them for business units, regions, or campaign collections. Groups can be used as search filters and can carry cover images for exports. See Reference Groups.
Clients & confirmations
A client (Auftraggeber/Kunde) is the customer a project was delivered for. Clients are managed centrally and linked to references; each client can have multiple contact persons, and each reference can name the specific contact person it was delivered with. How a client is displayed publicly (full name, anonymized, or hidden) is configured per client. See Clients & Contact Persons.
A client confirmation (Gegenzeichnung, countersign) is a verification workflow: you invite the client contact to review the reference online; they can confirm it, return it for revision, or decline — and optionally contribute a quote. Confirmed references carry a Verified badge. See Client Confirmations.
Statuses, release levels & channels
Three independent controls determine visibility:
Approval status (per language)
Each language version of a reference has an approval status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| In Progress | Draft — being worked on. |
| Suggested | Proposed for approval; publishers are notified. |
| Confirmed | Content confirmed. |
| Approved and publicly visible | Approved for publication in this language. |
| Declined | Rejected by a reviewer. |
| Cancelled | Withdrawn (with or without the option to delete). |
Users without publishing permission can take a reference up to Suggested; setting Approved requires the Publish reference profile permission.
Release levels (per field)
Many individual pieces of content — contact details, contract value, media files, partner roles — carry their own release level deciding who may see them:
| Level | Visible to |
|---|---|
| My company only | Only members of your own company. |
| Contacted companies | Companies you have been in contact with. |
| All members | All logged-in platform members. |
| Public | Everyone, including anonymous visitors and search engines. |
Publication channels
A published reference is released to one or more channels:
- Website — the public platform (search, industry pages, your profile)
- Customer Showcase — your branded catalog for embedding on your own site
- API — the REST API used by your website or intranet
- Digital Signage — office and showroom screens
Your company can define additional custom channels.
Watchlists
Watchlists (Merklisten) are personal or shared collections of references and companies — for research, comparison, and sharing. A watchlist can be private, company-wide, or shared with an invited group, and can be published as a read-only link. See Watchlists.
Roles & permissions
Access inside a company account is permission-based. Typical roles:
- Company Admin — manages profile, team, settings, and billing.
- Reference Manager — creates and edits references.
- Reference Controller — reviews content (reference review permission).
- Reference Publisher — approves public publication (publish reference profile permission).
Roles are combinations of fine-grained permissions (create/edit/delete references, manage clients, manage users, edit company settings, …) and are assigned per user in Team & Permissions. Read-only users are free of charge on all plans.
Plans & contingents
Your subscription plan defines contingents — most importantly the number of references (all references count, including unpublished drafts) and the number of writing users. Usage bars in Plan, Billing & Vouchers show where you stand; the platform warns you before you hit a limit.