Create a Contract

Create a contract, complete with pricing terms, attachments, and comments and share with collaborators.

See Documentation Topics:

Contract Use Cases

Video: BuyetQuest Contracts

Contracts Grid - View, Search, and Manage Contracts

Contract Pricing Types and Priority

Contracts in the Procurement Workflow

Contracts Import

Contracts Export

Contract Spend and Analytics

BuyerQuest Document Status and Workflows

Troubleshooting Contracts and Pricing Terms

Create a Contract 

Create a Contract from the CONTRACTS menu option on the home page. The Contracts grid provides a Create Contract button for any user with permission to create a contract to access a template to create a Contract.

Use the Contracts Template to Create a Contract

The BuyerQuest platform offers a template to use to create a Contract that allows all contract details to be specified, including contract type, pricing terms, collaborators, and notifications. Attachments and Comments may also be provided. 

1. A CMS block named create_contract may be created to include information or instructions to be displayed at the top of the Create Contract page.
2. Owner will default to the user's first and last names.
3. Provide a Title that is sufficiently descriptive to differentiate the Contract from other similar Contracts. 
4. Description is optional, but recommended.
5. Provide the optional Minimum Amount for the Contract. 
6. Specify the required Maximum Amount for the Contract. Purchase Orders and Invoices will be tracked against this amount. This amount is also used for Notifications configured to be sent when a specified percentage of Purchase Order spend has been reached. 
7. Specify the Effective Date.
8. Specify the Expiration Date. This date is used for Notifications configured to be sent a specified number of days before expiration. 
9. Search/Select a Supplier from the drop down list.
10. Specify the Currency for the items associated with the Contract.
11. Enter the optional Supplier contact information.
12. Select a Contract Level -- Supplier or SKU.
    Supplier Level includes all products from a Supplier.
    SKU level included specified SKUs uploaded with Pricing Terms. 
13. Select a Discount Type -- Spend Amount or Quantity of item. 
14. Upload Pricing Terms.
    A blank template is included for download and use.
    See the Pricing Terms section below for specific instructions on use of the Pricing Terms template. 
15. Add optional Collaborators using the Search/Select box.
    Collaborators may view the Contract and will receive Alerts and Notifications. 
16. Choose and configure to optionally notify user and collaborators X days before the Contract expires.
    Use an integer from 1 to 365.
17. Choose and configure to optionally notify user and collaborators when X % of Purchase Order spend has been reached.
    Use an integer from 1 and 100. 
18. Add optional Attachments to use for reference with the Contract.
19. Add optional Comments to provide further explanation or clarification.
20. Cancel, Save as Draft, or Publish.
    Once a Contract has been Published, its terms will go into effect for products associated with the Contract. 

Contract Types and Explanations

Supplier Level - Amount:
The discount received is based on the total amount spent against that supplier by all the buyers in the system.
The Pricing terms format is amount ranges and the discount received when total amount spent falls in that range.

SKU Level - Amount:
The discount received is based on the total amount spent against that SKU in the Contract by all the buyers in the system
Pricing terms format is amount ranges and the discount received when total amount spent on a SKU falls in that range.

SKU Level - Quantity:
The discount received is based on the total quantity purchased of that SKU by all the buyers in the system
Pricing terms format is quantity ranges and the discount received when total qty purchased of the SKU falls in that range.

Pricing Terms Upload File Details and Validation

For a detailed explanation of pricing in the BuyerQuest platform with respect to Contracts, see the topic Contract Pricing Types and Priority. 

A blank template is available for download and use. This template can be used for any combination of Discount Type and Contract Level. 

All file uploads are full. When a new file is updated, the old data is replaced by new data. 

The Pricing Terms file is in csv. Here are the details and validation information for each column. 

When a Pricing Terms file is uploaded and  any of the required columns are missing or null/empty/invalid, the file will fail to process and an error report is generated

Please note that validation errors are displayed until the user uploads a new file or manually closes the error message. 

Sample Pricing Terms Template

PricingTerms2021Dec.csv

Sample Pricing Terms File - Supplier 

Note that when contract level is supplier, quantity is not available as a Discount Type.

SKU is left blank in the upload file for supplier level contracts.

Sample Pricing Terms File - SKU Level

Sample Pricing Terms File - Quantity Level

Attachments 

Attachments providing additional information may be uploaded in the Attachments section.

The file types permitted are as configured in the Admin Control Panel and described in the documentation topic Attachment Management - File Settings. 

Status 

Contracts can be saved in Draft mode or Published.

Draft Status 

When a Contract is saved in Draft mode, the following occurs:

1.  A new contract is created and numbered C-XXXXXXXXX (9 chars long)
2. All the information on the page is saved and associated to the new contract id.
3. Comments are saved in the comments box and not saved as submitted.
4. History is added to the Contract page. 
5. The user is returned to the Contracts grid page. 

Contracts in Draft status will always open in Edit mode. 

Publish Status

When a contract is published, the following occurs:

1. A new contract is created and numbered C-XXXXXXXXX (9 chars long)
2. Validation of all fields is completed, including Notifications fields.
3. Comments are saved as submitted. 
4. The History is added to the Contract details page. 
5. The Status is set according to these conditions:
   1. The status of the Contract is  Pending if the Effective Date is later than the Current Date.
   2. The status of the Contract is Closed if the Expiration Date is the same as or before the Current Date.
   3. The status of the Contract is updated to Open if the Effective Date is the same as or before the Current Date.
6. The user is returned to the Contracts grid page.