Accessing and navigating the Contracts console

You can access the Contracts console if you have any of the following permissions:

  • Asset admin
  • Asset viewer
  • Asset user

Use the Contracts console in BMC Helix ITSM to manage your contracts from a single console. For example, filter contracts, view contracts, edit contracts, and view related contracts and CIs of a contract.

The Contracts console provides rich filtering and sorting capabilities that help you filter and search contracts quickly.

Related topics

Enabling or disabling the Contracts Console

To access the Contracts console, on the BMC Helix ITSM navigation bar, select Console > Contract console.

The following image shows the functionalities available in the Contracts console:

Contract_Console_With_Callouts.png

Where to go from here?

Managing contracts through the Contracts console

Instructions for Mid Tier

Contract Management Console

In the Mid Tier interface, Contract Management Console is the primary console for contract managers. Anyone who manages contracts with vendors, enters contracts in the system, and has any of the following permissions, can use this console:

  • Contract Viewer
  • Contract User
  • Contract Admin

Functional areas of Contract Management Console

The following figure shows the functional areas of Contract Management Console:

contract-console.gif

The following table describes what you can do in each of the functional areas:

Functional areaDescription
Breadcrumb barContains links to related records that you opened from the console.
Breadcrumb navigation controls
  • Back button
  • Forward button — Takes you forward one link in the breadcrumb trail. The Forward button is visible only if you have returned to a record on the breadcrumb trail that you previously viewed.
  • Menu — Contains links to all the records that you have viewed from the current view, including records that might not be currently visible in the breadcrumb trail.
  • Home icon — Takes you to the IT Home Page.
RefreshRefreshes the data in the tables.
Search

Searches across multiple forms for records that match a key term. However, this search does not include Asset CIs.

For more information about using this search, see Searching for tickets, assets, resources, and people in BMC Helix ITSM.

Company and SupplierFilters the contracts listed in the contracts table by company, by supplier, or by both.
Filter By

Searches using predefined searches and manages your searches. You can edit, save, and delete custom searches. Saved custom searches appear in the My Searches node of the Defined Searches list.

The following figure shows the Manage My Searches dialog box that you use to customize your searches:

contract search.png

Use the Filter By field to search for contracts by the following criteria:

  • Contract type, such as leases or software contracts
  • Expiration date, such as contracts that expired in the past 48 hours or that are due to expire in 30 days
  • Predefined searches
  • Criteria that you define

Important: Contract types created by your organization are not displayed in the Defined Search list. To see these contract types, select All, or create a custom search.

View Inbox

Displays events generated when the License Engine runs, and other messages about contract and software compliance information.

The inbox displays messages for the following areas:

  • Contracts that have expired or are about to expire
  • Software license certificates that are not compliant
  • Software license certificates that have expired or are about to expire
  • Summary results of the engine run
  • List of new CIs that are linked to software license certificates

Important: You might see different types of messages displayed, depending on how the application administrator has configured inbox preferences.

You can show whether you have taken any action on a message in the inbox. To view the applicable contract or certificate, select the message and click View.

Counts

Shows how many of the listed contracts are in each status. Contract status can be Draft, Executed, Historical, or Delete.
 

Counts are filtered by the value that you select in the Company and Supplier fields. By using search definitions, you cannot change the contract counts.

Functions

Provides access to additional functions that are not related to contract management. For example, you can access other consoles from this console.

You can use the following secondary functional areas from Contract Management Console:

  • Reminders - Create reminders, as described in Creating-reminders.
  • My Profile - View your profile.
  • Reports - Create reports. For more information see, Using-reports-and-flashboards.
  • Manage CI - Manage CIs. For more information, see Asset-types-and-subtypes.
  • KPIs - Select and view KPIs for all suppliers or for a specific supplier. The KPIs that appear in Contract Management Console are represented in graphical format. The following types of KPIs are displayed:
    • Contract by status
    • Contract by type
Create and ViewCreates a new contract or provides details of the selected contract. For viewing more information, see Creating-non-software-license-contracts and Creating-a-software-license-contract.
PrintPrints the selected contract.
  • Show Work Info
  • Hide Work Info

Shows or hides work information.

show work info.png

Contract tableLists contracts from the results of your search. When the console first opens, it displays all contracts for all companies to which you have access.
Show Work InfoDisplays work information records for the selected contract or CI. Use the Create and View buttons to create new work information records and to view details of the selected work information record.
Related items

Displays related contracts or related CIs.

Related items.png

Related Contracts table or Related CIs tableDisplays related contracts or related CIs depending on your selection.

 

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*