Service Contracts: To Renew a Service Contract

The following activity will walk you through the process of renewing a service contract.

Attention: This activity is based on the U100 dataset. If you are using another dataset, or if any system settings have been changed in U100, these changes can affect the workflow of the activity and the results of the processing. To avoid any issues, restore the U100 dataset to its initial state.

Story

Suppose that SweetLife Fruits & Jams company has signed in a service contract with GoodFood One Restaurant customer. The customer wants to be able to prolong the contract for one year after the contract expiration date. Acting as the service manager of Service and Equipment Sales Center (Maia Davis), you need to create a renewable service contract, then renew the contract, and then manually update the status of the service contract to Expired.

Configuration Overview

In the U100 dataset, the following configuration tasks have been performed to prepare the system for this activity to be performed:

  • On the Enable/Disable Features (CS100000) form, the Service Management and Equipment Management features have been enabled.
  • On the Branch Locations (FS202500) form, the WEST BRIGHTON branch location has been configured.
  • On the Billing Cycles (FS206000) form, the following settings have been specified for the AP AP billing cycle:
    • Run Billing For: Appointments
    • Group Billing Documents By: Appointments

    Based on these billing cycle settings, a separate billing document is generated for each appointment; this document presents the details of each service of the appointment.

  • On the Customers (AR303000) form, the GOODFOOD (GoodFood One Restaurant) customer has been configured. The AP AP billing cycle has been specified for a customer on the Billing tab.
  • On the Service Order Types (FS202300) form, the MRO service order type has been configured to generate sales orders to bill customers for provided services. That is, the Sales Orders option has been selected under Generated Billing Documents in the Billing Settings section. Also in this section, the IN sales order type has been selected as the Order Type for Invoice so that the processing of sales orders does not require shipments.
  • On the Employees (EP203000) form, EP00000040 (Maia Davis) has been configured, and the Staff Member in Service Management check box has been selected on the General Info tab.
  • On the User Profile (SM203010) form, the SWEETEQUIP default branch, and WEST BRIGHTON default branch location has been specified for Maia Davis.

Process Overview

On the Service Contracts (FS305700) form, you will create a renewable service contract. Then, on the same form, you will renew the service contract so that its expiration date will be moved forward by the duration specified in the Duration box, and its start date will be modified. Once it is done, you will update the service contract status by using the Process Service Contracts (FS501200) form.

System Preparation

Do the following:

  1. Launch the MYOB Advanced website, and sign in to a company with the U100 dataset preloaded. You should sign in as a service manager by using the davis username and the 123 password.
  2. In the info area, in the upper-right corner of the top pane of the MYOB Advanced screen, make sure that the business date in your system is set to 1/30/2023. If a different date is displayed, click the Business Date menu button, and select 1/30/2023 on the calendar. For simplicity, in this activity, you will create and process all documents in the system on this business date.

Step 1: Creating a Renewable Service Contract

To create a renewable service contract, do the following:

  1. Open the Service Contracts (FS305700) form.
  2. Click Add New Record on the form toolbar, and specify the following settings in the Summary area:
    • Customer: GOODFOOD (GoodFood One Restaurant)
    • Description: Maintenance Contract
  3. On the Summary tab, in the Contract Settings section, specify the following settings for the contract:
    • Start Date: 1/30/2023
    • Expiration Type: Renewable
    • Duration: 1 Year
    • Schedule Generation Type: Appointments
  4. In the Billing Settings section, in the Billing Type box, make sure At Time of Service is selected. This setting means the service contract will be billed after each appointment has taken place, based on what was done during the appointment.
  5. In the Billing Type Settings section, leave the Regular Price in the Take Prices From box. It means that the system will use the price of a service or an inventory item specified in the Default Price box on the Non-Stock Items (IN202000) or Stock Items (IN202500) form, or in the price list on the Sales Prices (AR202000) form.
  6. On the form toolbar, click Save.
  7. On the More menu, click Activate. The system has inserted 1/30/2023 in the Effective From Date box of the Summary area.

Step 2: Renewing the Service Contract

Assume that one year passed, the contract expiration date has come, and you, acting as a service manager, is renewing a service contract.

  1. While you are still viewing the service contract, on the More menu, click Renew.

    The system has updated the dates in the Renewal Date and Expiration Date boxes. The system has inserted 1/30/2024 in the Renewal Date—this is the day after the previous expiration date, and 1/29/2024 in the Expiration Date box—this is the date calculated based on the new renewal date and the period specified in the Duration box.

  2. On the History tab, review the list of actions that have been performed with the service contract (see the following screenshot).
    Figure 1. The History tab on the Service Contracts form


Step 3: Updating the Status of the Service Contract to Expired

Once two years passed, the customer does not want to prolong the service contract so that you need to mark the contract status as Expired in the system. In the Summary area of the Service Contracts (FS305700) form, review that the upcoming status of the contract is Expired. To update the status of the contract manually, do the following:

  1. In the info area, in the upper-right corner of the top pane of the MYOB Advanced screen, set the business date to 1/29/2024—this is the contract expiration date.
  2. Open the Process Service Contracts (FS501200) form.
  3. In the Action box of the Selection area, select Update to Incoming Status.
  4. In the table select the unlabeled check box next to the contract to be updated, and click Process on the form toolbar.
  5. Open the Service Contracts (FS305700) form, and in the Service Contract ID box, select the contract that you have updated.

    In the Summary are, review the status of the contract has changed to Expired.

  6. Go to the History tab, and review that the Expire action has been performed to the service contract on 1/29/2024. In the info area, in the upper-right corner of the top pane of the MYOB Advanced screen, review the business date that you have changed to be able to update the status of the service contract (see the following screenshot).
    Figure 2. The history of actions performed to the service contract