Software contracts and related applications

Software Contracts and the Item Master Application

In the Item Master application, you can select the View Contracts action to view contracts associated with an item. When you select this action, a View Contracts window opens. If software contracts exist, they are displayed in the window.

Software Contracts and the Master Contracts Application

A master contract defines the relationship with a vendor and contains terms and conditions that apply to contracts that are associated with this vendor. The Master Contracts application lets you select the Create Associated Contract action to create a software contract associated with a master contract. When you select this action, the Master Contracts application displays software contracts as an option in the list of values available for the Type field on the window, and you can create a software contract for the master contract.

In addition, when a software contract is displayed on the Associated Contracts tab in the Master Contracts application, you can use the Detail Menu next to the Contract field to navigate to the Software Contracts application.

Software Contracts and the Organizations Application

The Organizations application lets you select the actions Purchasing Options > Contract Options to define contract options for an organization. When you select the Contract Options action, a Contract Options window opens, where you can perform the following tasks for software contracts:

• Add or modify contract types
• Associate terms with a contract type
• Associate properties with a contract type

Software Contracts and the Purchase Orders Application

When you create a purchase order in the Purchase Orders application, you can select the Create Contract action to create a contract associated with the purchase order. When you select this action, a Create Contract window opens, where you can create a software contract by selecting one of the software contract types in the Contract Type field.

If you want to see whether a purchase order is associated with a contract, you can click Contract Items on the PO Lines tab of the Purchase Orders application to view a list of contracts for the line item. If you have not specified a vendor on the record, the View Contracts window lists all vendors with whom you have a contract for the line item. If there is a vendor specified on the record, the window lists only contracts that contain that item/vendor combination.

Software Contracts and the Invoices Application

You use the Contract Line Items tab in the Software Contracts application to create a schedule of payments for software contract line items. You create a schedule at the line item level and typically create schedules for high value items only. Payment schedules can be created until the contract is approved. Before you can create a payment schedule, you must select the Payment Schedule check box on the Properties tab of the Software Contracts application.

When you set up a payment schedule for a contract and purchases are made against the contract, an invoice is automatically generated with a status of scheduled (SCHED) for each payment period listed on the contract. An escalation is created to change the status of the invoice to waiting for approval (WAPPR) when the invoice reaches its due date.

Software Contracts and the Service Level Agreements (SLA) Application

In the Service Level Agreements application, you can select the Associate Contracts action to associate contracts with a service level agreement. When you select this action, an Associate Contracts window opens, and you can click Select Contracts to choose a contract to associate with a service level agreement. You can also go to the Software Contracts application from the Contract field on the Associate Contracts window.