Contract Templates
Form ID: (CT202000)
You can use this form to create and maintain contract templates. A contract template determines many settings for all contracts that are based on the template. Settings you can specify for the template include renewal and refund policy, duration, currency, billing format, case billing settings, and invoice and line description. Each contract with a customer must be based on a contract template. When you create a new contract by using the Customer Contracts (CT301000) form, you select the appropriate template, and the system fills in the settings of the template. For details, see Implementing the Contract Functionality: Discount Application to a Contract.
Form Toolbar
The form toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Form Toolbar and More Menu.
Summary Area
By using the elements in this area, you can create a new contract template or select an existing template for editing.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Contract Template | The unique identifier of the contract template, which is specified in accordance with the TMCONTRACT segmented key. |
| Description | A description of the contract template. This description will be used as the default description of a contract based on this template. |
| Active | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the template is available for selection. |
Summary Tab
This tab provides general settings for contracts that are based on this template.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Contract Type | The type of contract to be based on this template, which can be
one of the following options:
|
| Duration | The duration of the contract, in the specified units. Select the number of units, and select one of the following units in the adjacent box: Year, Quarter, Month, or Custom (days). |
| Refundable | A check box that indicates (if selected) that recurring charges are to be refunded in proportion to unused services, but the setup and renewal fee is to be refunded based on the settings defined for each involved contract item on the Contract Items (CT201000) form. |
| Refund Period |
The number of days after the contract setup date the customer may claim a refund. You can specify a value that is greater than 365 but does not exceed the contract duration specified in the Duration box. |
| Mass Renewal | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the contract is available for mass processing and is to be displayed on the Renew Contracts form starting on the date that is the number of days before expiration specified in the Renewal Point box. A contract based on the template inherits the state of this check box, which can be overridden for the contract. |
| Renewal Point | The number of days before the contract expiration date when the system starts to display the contract on the Renew Contracts form if the Mass Renewal check box is selected for the contract. The box provides a default value for the contracts to be based on the template. |
| Grace Period | The period of time (in days) after the contract expiration date when services under a contract are provided and the contract can be renewed according to its type. After the end of the grace period, you cannot renew the contract. If you invoke the Renew Contract action on the Customer Contracts form after the grace period, the system creates a copy of the contract with the Draft status. The box provides a default value for the contracts to be based on the template. |
| Currency | The currency to be used for billing the customer. |
| Enable Template Item Override | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the list of contract items included in the template can be changed for each contract based on this template. |
| Automatically Release AR Documents | A check box that indicates (if specified) that the accounts receivable documents generated in the process of contract billing will be released automatically; otherwise, they will have the Balanced status. |
| Effective From | The date when the template starts to be available for new contracts that you want to base on it. |
| Discontinue After | The date after which the template becomes unavailable for selection when you create a new contract. |
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Billing Period |
The billing period for the contracts based on the template. The following options are available: Week, Month, Quarter, Half a Year, Year, Statement-Based and On Demand. The On Demand option means that billing is not scheduled and you can bill a contract on any date; this option cannot be used with contract items that have recurring pricing configured, except for items that are tied up with a deposit item or have a default quantity of zero. For details on deposit contract items, see Implementing the Contract Functionality: Deposit Contracts. |
| Bill To | The customer account to be billed for a contract. The following options are available: Parent Account, Customer Account, and Specific Account. |
| Billing Schedule Starts On | The starting point of the billing schedule: Setup Date or Activation Date. The contract expiration date is calculated based on this setting. |
| Billing Format | The format of an invoice that is issued as a result of contract
billing. The following options are available:
|
| Invoice Description |
The formula to be used to generate the description for each
invoice that is created during billing of a contract based on
this template. These invoices are created when a user viewing
the contract on the Customer Contracts (CT301000)
form invokes the appropriate commands from the
Actions menu on the form toolbar. By
default, this box contains the following formula: The description specified in this box is inserted into the Description box of the Summary area of the Invoices and Memos (AR301000) form. To change the formula, click the magnifier icon to open the Formula Editor window. In the window that opens, you can use any of the following entities and values to define the specific formula for the selected template:
The system generates the description in the language associated with the customer locale, which is specified in the Locale box on the General Info tab of the Customers (AR303000) form. (This box is displayed on the form if there are multiple active locales in the system.) If the settings of the specific customer do not provide a locale, the system generates the description in the language associated with the locale of the user who runs contract billing on the Customer Contracts form to generate the invoice. The locale of a particular user is specified in the Format box on the Custom Locale Format tab of the User Profile (SM203010) form. |
| Line Description |
The formula to be used to generate the description for each line
of each invoice that is created during the billing of a contract
based on this template. These invoices are generated when a user
viewing the contract on the Customer Contracts form
invokes the appropriate commands from the
Actions menu on the form toolbar. By
default, this box contains the following formula: The line description of a contract is inserted into each row of the Details tab of the Invoices and Memos form (in the Transaction Descr. column). To change the formula, click the magnifier icon to open the Formula Editor window. In the window that opens, you can use any of the following entities and values to define the specific formula for the selected template:
The system generates the description in the language associated with the customer locale, which is specified in the Locale box on the General Info tab of the Customers form. (This box is displayed on the form if there are multiple active locales in the system.) If the settings of the specific customer do not provide a locale, the system generates the description in the language associated with the locale of the user who runs contract billing on the Customer Contracts form to generate the invoice. The locale of a particular user is specified in the Format box on the Custom Locale Format tab of the User Profile form. |
| Enable Overriding Formulas in Contracts | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the formulas that are defined in the Invoice Description and Line Description boxes of the current form can be overridden on the Customer Contracts form for a particular contract based on this template. |
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Case Count Item | The non-stock item used by default for counting cases associated with the contract based on this template. For details, see Contract Billing: To Bill a Support Contract by Case Usage. |
Details
This tab lists the contract items that will be provided for contracts based on the template. Contract items are defined on the Contract Items (CT201000) form. You can use this tab to include new contract items or to modify the quantity of each contract item to be included by default for a contract based on the contract template.
The table toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Item Code | The unique alphanumeric identifier of the contract item. |
| Description | A read-only box that shows the description of the contract item. |
| Quantity | The quantity of the contract item that is included by default in a contract based on this template. You can modify this quantity within the allowed limits set for the contract item on the Contract Items form. If you plan to use the template for creating retainer contracts or contracts that are billed on demand and add to the template some recurring contract items, we recommend that you specify a quantity of zero. |
| Setup Price | A read-only box that shows the fee of the item to be billed on contract setup. |
| Recurring Price | A read-only box that shows the fee for the included quantity of the item to be billed recurrently. |
| Extra Usage Price | A read-only box that shows the fee of the item to be billed as extra usage of the item. |
| Renewal Price | A read-only box that shows the fee of the item to be billed on contract renewal. |
Contracts Tab
The Contracts tab lists contracts that have been created on the Customer Contracts (CT301000) form based on the selected template. The system adds a row to this table each time you save a newly defined contract based on the template.
- The Restrict Visibility To box is empty for the customer—that is, the customer’s visibility is not restricted.
- A branch or company is specified in the Restrict Visibility To box for the customer, and your user account is assigned to the role specified in the Access Role box of the Configuration Settings section of one of the following: the Branch Details tab of the Branches (CS102000) form for the branch, or the Company Details tab of the Companies (CS101500) form for the company.
The table toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Contract ID | The unique alphanumeric identifier of the contract based on this template. |
| Customer | The customer associated with the contract. |
| Status | The contract status, which can be Draft, Pending Activation, Active, Expired, Canceled, or Pending Upgrade. |
| Setup Date | The date of the contract setup. |
| Expiration Date | The date when the contract expires. |
| Description | The description provided for the contract. |
SLA Terms Tab
By using this tab, you can define the terms of service level agreement (SLA).
This tab is available only if the Case Management feature is enabled on the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Severity | The severity level of the case. The predefined options are High, Low, and Medium. |
| Terms | The time required to service a case of this level of severity. The input mask is the following: ___ d __ h __ m. Specify the appropriate numbers of days, hours, and minutes. |
Attributes Tab
By using this tab, you can define a list of attributes for the classification of contracts. The attributes you define here are displayed for each contract based on the template on the Attributes tab of the Customer Contracts form. A user could not save a new contract if a value for the required attribute (if any) is not specified.
The table toolbar includes only standard buttons. For the list of standard buttons, see Table Toolbar.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the attribute is available for all contracts based on the template. You can deactivate an obsolete attribute by clearing the check box—in this case, the deactivated attribute will no longer be displayed for contracts based on the template, but all attribute values that have already been specified for existing records still will be stored in the database, so if you re-activate the attribute, its values will become visible in the system again. |
| Attribute ID | The attribute name serving as the label for the control. An alphanumeric string of up to 10 characters may be used. |
| Description | The description of the attribute. You can use an alphanumeric string of up to 30 characters. |
| Sort Order | A number representing the position of the attribute in the resulting list of attributes. |
| Required | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the user must provide a value for the attribute. |
| Internal | A check box that indicates (if selected) that the attribute is not available on the Self-Service Portal. |
| Control Type | The type of control (element) to be used for the attribute. The following options are available: Text, Checkbox, Combo, or Datetime. For details, see Attributes (CS205000). |
| Default Value | The default value for the attribute. |