Yes, the bellows length indicates approximately the maximum or minimum focal length lens that you can use.
Recessed lensboards are perfectly normal accessories for wide lenses, and you might want one even for a lens that doesn't strictly require one, because it will give you a little more flexibility for movements with the bellows at a short extension.
At the long end, you generally want about 25% more bellows than your longest lens. Telephoto designs will let you get away with less bellows, but because the node of the lens is physically out in front of the lens, they also make swings and tilts a little more complicated,
Some manufacturers may tell you the max/min focal length usable on the camera, rather than max/min bellows length. For instance, on a Linhof Tech IV/V/Master, the shortest usable lens is 55mm, but that requires a wideangle focusing accessory, and lenses 90mm and shorter are usually used with a recessed lensboard, and the longest conventional lens is around 360mm, but without much room for close focusing, and the longest usable tele is 500mm, I believe. In practice, most people would use a 360mm or 400mm tele rather than a conventional 360mm lens on a Technika. While tele lenses tend to be less sharp optically than non-tele lenses of the same focal length, by requiring less bellows extension, the camera is also more stable with a tele focused at the same distance, so they produce a sharpness advantage from the vibration/wind perspective.
Long bellows extension gives you built in macro capability, but adds weight and reduces your wideangle capability typically. With a short (say 300mm) bellows, you lose the macro capability (at least with longer lenses), but you also usually lose a focusing rail, which saves more weight than from the shorter bellows alone and gives you more flexibility with wide lenses. A camera with less bellows extension can also be built a little more lightly, since there's less leverage to counter.
