Creating and updating contracts

Creating master contracts

A master contract is an overarching contract with a company for which you have additional related contracts. The related contracts can include software licenses, support contracts, and any other type of contract. Only a user with the Contract Admin permission can create contracts. A user with the Contract User permission can modify contracts.

In the Mid Tier  interface, a user with the Contract Admin permission can use the Financials tab to manage costs and payments that are directly tied to the master contract. If a user with the Contract User permission belongs to a support group that manages the contract, this user can also manage costs and payments from the Financials tab.

To create a master contract

1. In Mid Tier, in Contract Management Console, from the Create list, select Master Contract.
   The Master Contract form has two main areas. In one area, you specify the standard contract information. In the other area, you specify the general information, related contracts, payment information, and so on.

2. Specify the following information:

   Important

   The time stamps on the Contract Audit trail and the notification time that you set in the Expiration Date and Notification Date fields might differ. This issue occurs because the time that you set is the local time, while the notifications are sent according to the escalations that are configured on the AR System server.

   Important

   The time stamps on the Contract Audit trail and the notification time that you set in the Expiration Date and Notification Date fields might differ. This issue occurs because the time that you set is the local time, while the notifications are sent according to the escalations that are configured on the AR System server.

    

3. To add related contracts, perform the following steps in the Master Contract form:
   1. Save the master contract.
   2. Click the Related Contracts tab.
   3. In the Create New Contracts area, select the contract type, and click Create.
   4. Complete the contract form, as described in Creating-non-software-license-contracts or in Creating-a-software-license-contract.
      When you save the related contract, it is automatically related to the master contract.

Software contract reviews

In the Mid Tier interface, the Software Contract form displays the following information:

• Contract details, including the status, and the terms and conditions
• A list of all license certificates for the contract
• The cost rollup from the license certificates 

From the Software Contract form, you can perform the following actions:

• Update the status of the contract. For more information; see Contract-lifecycle.
• Record payment for the contract. For more information; see Adding-a-payment-for-a-contract.
• Add license certificates, as described in Working-with-a-software-license-certificate.
• Add additional details like rights granted and contract terms and conditions as described in Adding additional contract details.

You can perform high-level reviews of all software contracts from the Software Asset Management console (SAM Console)  and Contract Management Console.

Creating a software license contract

You can track compliance and usage of software license contracts. Unlike most other contracts, however, you do not relate the software CI directly to the contract. For software contracts, you add software license certificates to the contract, and relate the software CIs to the certificates.

For software contracts, you maintain the cost information in the attached certificates. You can view the total cost on the contract. 

To create a software license contract

1. In Mid Tier, in Contract Management Console, click Create, and select Software License.

2. On the Software Contract form, complete all the required fields.

   Information needs to be verified
3. Save the contract.
4. Add license certificates, as described in Working with a software license contract.
5. (Optional) Add details of the Terms and Conditions and Rights Granted for the contract.
   For more information, see To record additional details for a contract.

To record additional details for a contract

In the Mid Tier interface, when you create a contract, you can include the additional information like the rights granted, or terms and conditions agreed upon. 

By using the Rights granted feature you, can record, in detail, the specific rights provided by the contract. Examples of these rights might include copyrights, rights to publish and sell, and other rights you are granting, receiving, or warranting.

Use the terms and conditions of the contract to record specific obligations and limitations that apply to your organization under the terms of the contract.

1. In Mid Tier, from Contract Management Console, open the contract.
2.  From the left pane, choose one of the following options:
   • Select Functions > Terms and Conditions.
   • Select Functions > Rights Granted.

3. On the Rights Granted or Terms and Conditions page, click New and then enter the following values:

   Field	Description
   Status	Enter the status of the details. The following options are available: Draft - Details of the contract are in a draft state and need to be finalized. Executed - Details have been finalized and are included in the contract. Historical - Details were included in the contract, but are no longer applicable. Delete - Details are no longer applicable and can be removed from the contract.
   Effective Date	Click the calendar icon to select the date from when the selected detail is effective. This date must be the same or later than current date and time.
   Expiration Date	Click the calendar icon to select the date the selected detail expires. This date must be later than the effective date and current date and time.
   Summary	Enter a short summary of the details of the rights granted or terms and conditions.
   Notes	Include any additional notes related to the detail.

4. (Optional) To add an attachment, in the attachments table, click Add.
5. In the Add Attachment dialog box, click Browse to locate the details files, select the file to upload, and then click Open.
6. Click OK to add the attachment. You can add up to three files.
7. Click Save.

The details you included within the Rights Granted dialog box or the Terms and Conditions dialog box, are added as a part of the contract record.

Creating non-software license contracts

You can create a stand-alone contract or a contract that is related to a CI. For example, you can create a maintenance contract for a printer.

To create and track your software license contracts, follow the procedures in Managing-software-licenses.

All contract forms are identical and track the same type of information, except the Lease and Software License contract forms. 

This procedure uses a Lease contract as an example, but the procedure is similar for other contract types. You can create a Lease contract from the following locations:

• From the Contracts tab on the CI form. 
• From Contract Management Console, by clicking Create.

Before you begin

In the Mid Tier interface, to create new supplier information or update existing supplier information, see Adding People by using a template.

To create a contract

1. In Mid Tier, in Contract Management Console, click Create and select the type of contract that you are creating, such as Lease.
   The contract form has two main areas. In one area, you specify the standard contract information. In the other area, you specify the ownership information, relate child contracts, add payment information, and so on.

   Important

   When you create a contract, only the Functions menu in the left navigation section is active and expandable. Create Other Requests is activated only after you save the contract.

2. Specify the following information:

   Field name	Description
   ID	Enter a unique alphanumeric value.
   Summary	Enter a brief description of the contract.
   Term	Select the duration of contract in months.
   Status	Select the appropriate status of the contract. For more information about contract status, select Contract-lifecycle.
   Status Reason	Optionally, select a status reason. The status reason provides additional explanation for the status. For more information; see Contract-lifecycle.
   Company	The company associated with this contract.
   View Access	Select who can view or modify this contract: Public — Anyone who can access contracts can view or modify the contract. Internal — Only people in the support group managing this contract can view or modify the contract.
   Customer ID	Optionally, enter the customer ID by which the supplier identifies the company.
   Supplier Name	Enter the supplier associated with this contract. On the top half of the contract form, you can select the supplier. BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management adds the supplier to the supplier contacts table in the Contacts form, which you can access from the Contract Information form. Use the Contacts dialog box to specify information about the contact people, how to contact them, and who is authorized to call them.
   Cost Center	Select the cost center that owns this contract. This field and the following fields are located on the General tab.
   Contract Managed By Company	Enter the support company associated with this contract.
   Organization	Enter the support organization associated with this contract.
   Group	Select the notification group associated with this contract.
   Expiration Date	Enter the date that the contract expires. When a contract expires, individuals are notified first, then groups.
   Notification Date	Enter the date the notifications should be sent when the contract is due to expire.

3. Click Save.

To add cost information to a contract

In the Mid Tier interface, you can add cost information to non-software contracts.

On software contracts, you can view cost information. But you can add and remove cost information only from the attached license certificates, as described in Reviewing-upgrading-and-updating-software-license-certificates.

1. In Mid Tier, open the contract and click the Financials tab.
   The Cost Entries table lists currently recorded costs.
2. Click Add.

3. In the Costs dialog box, specify the following information:

   Field	Description
   Company	After you save the cost, the company is set to the company for the contract.
   Cost Center Code	Select the appropriate cost center.
   Cost Category	Select the cost category. This field is set to Contract. Costing reports list costs from multiple sources.
   Cost Type	To keep a record of the type of cost, select from the following choices: Purchase Cost Renewal Cost
   Description	Optionally, type a note describing the cost.
   Related Cost	Type the cost and select the currency.
   Related Units	If this charge is time-based, enter the number of hours or minutes.
   Unit Type	If this charge is time-based, select either Hours or Minutes. Otherwise, select Flat Rate.
   Date Incurred	Select the date that the cost is incurred.

4. Click Save.

To record terms and conditions for a contract

1. In Mid Tier, if it is not already open, open the contract.
2. In the navigation pane, select Functions > Terms and Conditions.

3. In the Terms and Conditions dialog box, specify the following information:

   Field name	Description
   Status	Terms and conditions can be draft, executed, or historical.
   Effective Date	Set the effective date to the same date as the contract.
   Terms and Conditions ID	When you save the terms and conditions, the application sets the ID.
   Summary	Enter a summary of the terms and conditions. You can enter additional information in the Notes field and by adding up to three attachments.
   Submitter	If you leave this field blank, when you save the terms and conditions, you are set as the submitter.
   Submit Date	When you save the terms and conditions, the applications sets the Submit Date.

4. Click Save.

To relate a contract to another contract

1. In Mid Tier, open the contract.
2. Click the Related Contracts tab.
3. Specify the contract to which you are relating the current contract.
   • To relate the contract to a new contract, click Create and complete the new contract form.
   • To relate the contract to a contract already in the system:
     • Select the contract type, click Search, and search for the contract.
     • Select the contract.
     • Select the relationship type, and then click Relate.

To add end-of-lease terms

On a lease contract, end-of-lease terms specify what happens when the lease term is up. For example, you might want to generate a change request after the lease ends. Use the End of Lease tab on the Lease Contract form to provide this information. End-of-lease options usually include opportunities to renew the item, and to return, upgrade, purchase, or buy out the remaining lease.

1. In Mid Tier, open the lease contract.

2. On the End of Lease tab, and complete the following fields:

   Field name	Description
   Planned End of Term Action	Select an end-of-lease term action from the list.
   Residual Value	Specify the residual value of this lease. The residual value is the value you can purchase the item for after the lease expires.
   Lease Rate Factor	Specify the expected percentage increase for this lease contract payment.

3. In the Change types area, from the End of Lease list, select the required value.
   Depending on the value that you select in the Planned End of Term Action list, the fields displayed in the Change Types area dynamically change. 

   Important

   If BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management is installed,  you can access the fields in Change Types area.

4. Click Save.
   The end-of-lease terms are added to the contract.

Adding a payment for a contract

Use the Financials tab on the Contract Information form to specify information about payments. You can specify the due dates, date sent, and information about the check. You can also add, remove, and view payments.

To add a payment for the current contract

1. In Mid Tier, open the contract.
2. If you made changes to the contract, save the contract.
3. Click the Financials tab.
4. In the Payments area, click Add.
5. In the Payment Information dialog box, complete the fields, and click Save.
6. On the Contract form, click Save.