Setting Service Contract Options

From the Tools menu, select Options to open the Options window.

In the left pane, click Contracts to display the Contracts region in the right pane.

Enter the appropriate information:

Time to allow for contract billing compilation: If you have a large contract list, entering a time will keep SQL from timing out and causing an error when the billing list is created.

Next Contract Number: Enter the next contract number for auto-generated contract numbers. Users can always override a contract number but the system is capable of auto-numbering your contracts using the number entered in the Next Contract Number field. If you precede the number with letters, e-automate will increment the numbers for the contract number. If you only enter letters, e-automate will add two zeros and begins numbering contracts.

Allow items on contracts and service calls: When checked, e-automate allows you to add non-equipment (item) line items to a contract or service call. When checked, e-automate modifies the Service options for who is invoiced on service calls. See Setting Service Call Options.
Note: You can only add items that have been flagged as serviceable on the item record.

Do not allow deposit based contracts to go negative: When checked, e-automate does not allow contracts that are deposit based to go negative as a result of a service call.

Warn if deposit based contract balance is less than the following on service calls: When an amount is identified, e-automate displays a warning for calls associated with equipment on deposit based contracts that have a balance less than the identified amount.

Require accrual cycle if base billing cycle is greater than the following number of months and default accrual cycle to XXXXX: When checked and defined, you can configure your contract setup so contracts that have a base billing cycle greater than the months specified, are automatically configured to be deferred revenue contracts. You can also specify the default cycle for revenue recognition, typically months. This option is designed to assure that you identify contract accrual cycles and appropriately define contracts. If you choose to defer all contracts, be sure to enter zero in months and ensure the cycle is monthly.

Default accrual start day to the first day of the month: When checked, e-automate calculates an average monthly revenue recognition amount and stores this amount in your database in association with the contract. This amount is calculated based on your billing cycle and the accrual cycle. For example, if your base billing cycle is annual and your accrual cycle is monthly, e-automate calculates the revenue recognition amount in twelfths. During contract revenue accruals, e-automate then recognizes a prorated revenue amount from the contract start date to the end of the first month as well as an appropriate prorated amount for the last month. For the remaining month, e-automate recognizes the calculated average monthly revenue.

Allow the user to change these defaults: When checked, e-automate allows your system users with appropriate rights to change the contract accrual settings on contracts.

Accrue revenue on the last day of the cycle: When checked, e-automate allows you to query your contract revenue recognition list based on the last day of the accrual cycle instead of the first day of the following cycle. For example, assume your system had this option unchecked and you had a contract configured to recognize revenue monthly from the first of the month to the end of the month. To query this contract you would use the first day of the following month as a date to include this contract. With this checkbox checked, you can use the last day of the month to query this contract into your monthly contract accrual batch.

Use base cycle consolidation: When checked, e-automate consolidates the base cycles that you have missed and creates a single invoice catching up the billing on the service contract to the current time for contracts that are allowed to base consolidate.

Use overage cycle consolidation: When checked, e-automate consolidates the overage cycles that you have missed and creates a single invoice catching up the billing on the service contract to the current time for contracts that are allowed to base consolidate.

Use accrual cycle consolidation: When checked, e-automate consolidates the accrual cycles that you have missed and creates a single accrual catching up the accrual on the service contract to the current time.

Always round up on contract rate schedules: When checked, e-automate rounds regular contract rate hours to the next highest increment.

Default base rate to prorate on equipment: When checked, e-automate uses the default base rate when prorating the equipment amount on a contract.

Click [Meters/Overage] to open the Meters and Overage Options window.

Enter the appropriate information:

Before Collection Date: Number of days before the overage billing cycle for an acceptable meter reading for billing for contract billing. For example, if your Billing Meter Tolerance before setting is 10 days and you are processing a contract billing with a billing cycle of 8/15 to 9/14, the system will allow a beginning meter reading dated any day from 8/5 to 8/25.

After Collection Date: Number of days after the Overage Next Billing date for an acceptable meter reading for billing. For example, if your Billing Meter Tolerance after setting is 10 days and you are processing a contract billing with a billing cycle of 8/15 to 9/14, the system will allow an ending meter reading dated any day from 9/4 to 9/24.

Before actual meter date: E-automate requires a meter reading within the Billing Meter Tolerance for overage billing. There are times when meters are entered in the system but they are outside of the billing meter tolerance for contract billing but could be used if the meter was dated within the billing meter tolerance. You use this field to identify the number of days before the actual meter date that a user is allowed to identify in the Override billing date field on a meter reading. When using the Override billing date field you can get a meter outside the billing meter tolerance, date it with the actual date you acquired the meter reading and specify an Override billing date within billing meter tolerance to get the contract overage to bill. E-automate allows the sum of the Before actual meter date and the After actual meter date fields to be a maximum of 27 days.

After actual meter date: E-automate requires a meter reading within the Billing Meter Tolerance for overage billing. There are times when meters are entered in the system but they are outside of the billing meter tolerance for contract billing but could be billed if the meter was dated within the billing meter tolerance. You use this field to identify the number of days after the actual meter date that a user is allowed to identify in the Override billing date field on a meter reading. When using the Override billing date field you can get a meter outside the billing meter tolerance, date it with the actual date you acquired the meter reading and specify an Override billing date within billing meter tolerance to get the contract overage to bill. E-automate allows the sum of the Before actual meter date and the After actual meter date to be a maximum of 27 days.

Warn if the meter usage exceeds the billed monthly average by more than XX% and the billed monthly average is greater than: When checked and defined, e-automate compares meters entered with historical average for the equipment. If the meter exceeds the monthly calculated average by the percentage identified, e-automate displays a warning to the end user that the meter could not be realistic. This also includes a warning if the meter entered is greater than the amount identified. For additional information, see Addl. Info – Excessing Meter Warning in the Setting Contract Options topic.

Bill copies at multiple overage ranges: When selected, e-automate will bill the copies made in the appropriate range in the overage table. For example, assume your overage table says that copies 1-1,000 should be billed at .015 cents, and copies 1,001-2,000 should be billed at .013 cents. If you are billing the customer for copies 950 through 1,100, e-automate would bill .015 cents for copies 950 to 1,000 and .013 cents for copies 1,001 to 1,100.

Bill all copies at single maximum overage range: When selected, e-automate will bill the copies made at whatever is the highest overage range reached. For example, assume your overage table says copies 1-1,000 will be charged .015 cents, and copies 1,001-2,000 will be charged .013 cents.  If you are billing your customer for copies 950-1,100, you would bill them .013 cents for all of the copies because they crossed the 1,000 copy mark and, therefore, must be billed at the maximum range.

Warn on service calls and sales transactions when expiration copies on contracts have accumulated more than: When checked, e-automate displays a warning if a contract is within the specified percentage expired. The warning will display when you enter a new service call and a sales invoice, if the invoice is linked to the contract using equipment supply order entry.

Enabled overage methods: Check any or all overage methods you wish to enable.

Click [OK] to save the meters and overage options.

Click [Meters Estimate] to open the Estimate Meter Readings Options window.

Enter the appropriate information:

Enable bulk estimation of meter readings: When checked, e-automate will allow estimation of several meter readings at one time.

Number of days allowed between last reading and estimated reading: The number of days between the last entered valid meter reading in e-automate and the date of the estimate.

Minimum days: The minimum number of days e-automate must go back from the last valid reading to find a valid historical meter reading for estimate calculation.
Note: The Minimum days value must be less than or equal to the Preferred days value, and the Preferred days value must be less than or equal to the Maximum days value. While you can adjust these values as necessary, best practice suggests using a Minimum days value of 30, a Preferred days value of 90, and a Maximum days value of 180.

Preferred days: The preferred number of days e-automate goes back from the last valid reading to find a valid historical meter reading for estimate calculation.
Note: The Minimum days value must be less than or equal to the Preferred days value, and the Preferred days value must be less than or equal to the Maximum days value. While you can adjust these values as necessary, best practice suggests using a Minimum days value of 30, a Preferred days value of 90, and a Maximum days value of 180.

Maximum days: The maximum number of days you allow e-automate to look prior to the last valid meter for a historical meter reading for estimate calculations.
Note: The Minimum days value must be less than or equal to the Preferred days value, and the Preferred days value must be less than or equal to the Maximum days value. While you can adjust these values as necessary, best practice suggests using a Minimum days value of 30, a Preferred days value of 90, and a Maximum days value of 180.

Number of estimates allowed in a row: The maximum number of meter reading estimates allowed at one time.

Under Contract Proposals enter the appropriate information:

Next proposal number: Enter the next contract proposal number for auto-generated proposal numbers.

Report display name: Contract: When generating contract proposals, e-automate places the word “Contract” and the value you enter in this field. You can enter proposal, invoice, or any value appropriate to your business need.

Use proposal number as invoice number: When checked, and customers accept the terms of a proposed contract and you create the contract invoice, e-automate uses the contract proposal number as the contract invoice number used in accounts receivable.