The 26-column master schema
Every Shovel Radar deliverable uses the same 26-column schema, regardless of product or city. Columns are always in the same order and have the same header names, so your CRM import mapping works every week without remapping.
Not every column will be populated for every row — some fields are only available from certain source datasets. Unpopulated cells show a dash (—) or a descriptive sentinel value rather than blank.
| Column | What it contains | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Business Name | Registered business name or permit applicant company name | Municipal open data |
| Address | Civic address of the permit or business location | Municipal open data |
| City | City/municipality | Municipal open data |
| Postal Code | Canadian postal code | Municipal open data |
| Quadrant | City quadrant (NW/NE/SW/SE) — Calgary-specific; blank for other cities | Derived from address |
| Community | Neighbourhood or community name | Municipal open data |
| Permit Number | Official permit/licence ID from the issuing authority | Municipal open data |
| Permit Class | High-level category (e.g. Commercial, Industrial, Residential) | Municipal open data |
| Work Class | Type of work (New, Addition, Renovation, Interior Alteration, etc.) | Municipal open data |
| Status | Current permit status (Issued, In Progress, Completed, Cancelled) | Municipal open data |
| Issue Date | Date the permit or licence was issued | Municipal open data |
| Construction Value | Applicant-reported project value in CAD. May be understated; ±20% typical variance | Municipal open data |
| Contractor Name | Name of the general contractor on the permit (where filed) | Municipal open data |
| Applicant Name | Individual or company who filed the permit | Municipal open data |
| Phone | Business phone from Google Places. Sentinel values: "Research Required / Site Visit" means no listed number found | Google Places API |
| Website | Business website URL from Google Places | Google Places API |
| Google Rating | Google Places star rating (1–5) | Google Places API |
| Description / Scope | Plain-language description of the project scope from the permit application | Municipal open data |
| Trade Phase | Recommended construction phase for outreach (e.g. "Pre-tender", "Frame stage", "Fit-out") | Shovel Radar model |
| Service Fit Score | 0–100 score indicating how well this lead matches the product's target buyer persona | Shovel Radar model |
| Lead Score | Composite 0–100 score weighting project value, phase timing, and service fit | Shovel Radar model |
| When to Call | Human-readable guidance on the best timing window for your first contact | Shovel Radar model |
| Decision Maker | Name and/or title of the most likely decision-maker, from Apollo enrichment (where available) | Apollo.io |
| LinkedIn / Social | LinkedIn URL or social profile discovered via web lookup (where available) | DuckDuckGo / web |
| BIA / Zone | Business Improvement Area or zoning district (Calgary-specific) | City of Calgary |
| Data As Of | The source pull date for this specific row | Pipeline metadata |
Understanding the scoring columns
Service Fit Score (0–100)
Measures how well this lead matches the target buyer persona for the product you subscribed to. A score of 90+ means the lead has multiple strong signals (e.g. right permit class, right value range, right work type, right phase). A score of 50–70 is a moderate match that may still be worth contacting. Below 50 indicates the row was included because it met a minimum threshold but is a weaker fit — review manually before calling.
Lead Score (0–100)
A composite score that also factors in project value and construction phase timing. A large project in the wrong phase may have a lower lead score than a smaller project at exactly the right phase. Use Lead Score for prioritising your call list — sort descending and work from the top.
When to Call
A plain-language column telling you the optimal contact window. Common values:
- Call now — permit just issued, project is mobilising, decision-making is live.
- Frame stage (est. 4–6 weeks) — permit is recent but the project hasn't reached the sub-trade procurement window yet. Set a follow-up reminder.
- Follow up in 90 days — project is early-stage or the permit is recent; contact now risks calling before the GC has engaged sub-trades.
- Aged — contact immediately — permit has been open for 90+ days; the project is active and sub-trade decisions may already be in progress. This is the urgency flag on products like the Aged-Permit HVAC Slice.
Sorting and filtering tips
Best starting sort: Lead Score descending. Work your way down the sorted list. Stop when the scores drop below 60 (or whatever threshold fits your capacity).
Filter by quadrant (Calgary) to focus on your service territory. If you only service SE Calgary, filter the Quadrant column to "SE" and ignore the rest.
Filter by Construction Value if your minimum project size matters. Use a custom filter in Excel: Data → Filter → Number Filters → Greater Than. Set your floor (e.g. $100,000) and only rows above that threshold remain visible.
Filter out "Research Required" phone rows if you only want to call confirmed numbers: Data → Filter → does not contain "Research".
Sort by Issue Date descending to see the freshest permits first — useful for products where time-to-contact is critical.
Sentinel values explained
— — field not available for this row from any source. Normal for some columns on permit-source rows.
Research Required / Site Visit — phone number was not found via Google Places. The business exists and the address is confirmed; the number requires a 30-second Google search or a site visit to obtain.
Brand New Location — Google Places has the address indexed but no phone number yet (common for businesses licensed in the last 30–60 days).
Not Specified — the source data had a blank in this field at the time of pull. May populate in a later delivery as the source is updated.
The README tab
The rightmost tab in every workbook. Contains: full column dictionary, source attribution links, CASL guidance, and the "data as of" date range for the file. Read it first on every new product.