1.12 Contracts

(Contracts menu option is available when Enable Contracts is set to Yes in Admin>Setup>Billing>Setup.)

Contracts within the system allow service and support organizations to manage their Customer support subscriptions relative to the type of service they provide.

For Customer requests to be addressed, all requests must be associated with a valid contract. A Contract consists of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) and a Service Delivery Period (start and end date). A Service Delivery Period is the duration of the contract, such as a month or a year. In the case of individual request Contracts, the Service Delivery Period terminates when the request is closed.

Contracts can be used as a stand-alone function or with the Invoices facility. Service Desks that charge Customers for the service and support they provide, can enable the Contracts and Invoices functionality. Invoice creation within the system is on a per Contract basis.

1.12.1 Contract Types

The Contract Types available within the system include:

Per Request - covers the period of time for which the request is open and worked undertaken
Per Item, Customer or Org. Unit - covers the Item, Customer or Org.Unit regardless of the number of requests logged against the Item or by the Customer or Org. Unit but can be created on the following basis:
- Subscription - a contract that covers a specified period of time
- Time Limited Subscription - a contract that covers either a specified period of time or number of support hours, whichever limit is reached first
- Support Hours - a contract that defines the number of support hours covered
- Support Hours by Month - a contract that covers a total number of support hours purchased for a defined timeframe and allocated on a per month basis.

1.12.2 Contracts Option

Users must also be assigned the Service Level Management Process within their User account, in order to view the Service Level tab. The Contracts option within the Service tab is visible when Billing>Contracts is enabled by the Administrator. A list of all Contracts generated in the system is listed here and can be viewed through a selection of Filter options.

The following filter list views are provided:

Contracts Filter Views	Description
Active Customer Contracts	Displays a list of all valid contracts for Customers.
Active Item Contracts	Lists all valid Item Contracts.
Active Organization Unit Contracts	Displays all valid Organizational Unit Contracts.
All Agreements	Lists all Contracts in the system regardless of status.
All Customer Contracts	Lists all Customer Contracts in the system regardless of status.
All Item Contracts	Displays all Item Contracts in the system regardless of status.
All Organizational Units	Lists all Organizational Unit Contracts in the system regardless of status.
All Pending Contracts	Displays all Contracts with a Pending Status that are waiting to be processed.
Request Contracts	Lists all Contracts created on a Per Request basis.

1.12.3 Contract Creation

The Contracts option within the Service tab only provides the list view of Contracts generated in the system. Contracts are created in any of the following screens:

Item >Costs >Contracts tab (See: Costs Tab and Create a Contract.)
Customer>Contacts tab (See:Create a Contract.)
Organizational Unit >Contracts tab (See:Create a Contract.)
Finance>Invoices tab (See: Contracts and Invoices)
Request >Contract tab for requests with a Pending - No Contract status. (See: Create a Contract.)

1.12.4 Contract Fields

A Contract in the system includes the following fields in the Contract Information screen:

Contract Details	Description
Contract Type	Subscription or a contract that just covers the current request.
Item, Customer or Org. Unit	For Subscription contracts, this is the Item, Customer or Org. Unit covered by the Contract. For Per Incident contracts this is replaced by a request ID number.
Start and End Date	Subscription Contracts default to a one year contract but can be amended.
Expires	The number of days until the Contract expires.
Hours Purchased	The number of hours purchased for a Time Limited Subscription or Support Hours Contract.
Time Remaining	The amount of time remaining for the Time Limited Subscription or Support Hours Contract.
SLA	The SLA applied to the Contract.
Invoice #	The Invoice number used to create the Contract. (This is displayed when Invoices are enabled in the system.)
Ownership
Customer	The Customer covered by the Contract.

1.12.5 Attachment Tab

The Attachment tab allows the User to upload documentation related to the Contract. This facility provides a centralized repository for storing information and obligation details related to the Contract.

1.12.6 Audit Tab

The list of requests with the time recorded against the Contract is displayed within the Audit tab. The Summary view displays the list of requests with total number of Notes and Time allocated to the Contract, while the Detail view includes a breakdown of all Notes and the associated time related to each request.

1.12.7 Contract Validation Process

When a request is created and Contracts are enabled, the system validates the contract status for the Customer, Organizational Unit or Item. As part of the contract validation process, the system selects the first element found on this list:

Customer (with a valid contract)
Org Unit (with a valid contract)
Item (with a valid contract)
No contract found, then either a Per Request or Per Item Contract can be created by selecting the Pending - No Contract hyperlink and adding a Per Request or Per Item Contract.