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Contracts

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Table of contents

What are Contracts?

Contracts in Replypad help you document, enforce, track, and manage the terms agreed upon with the customer for the provided service.

You can use contracts to govern one-time projects, single-term services (e.g., yearly remote help desk service), recurring arrangements such as monthly managed services (MSP) contracts, and more.

Using contracts is optional. If you don’t have special terms with your customers and bill based on time and materials according to standard prices and rates, you can skip contracts and simply log charges against customer accounts.

Each contract in Replypad is associated with a customer account and has a defined duration, status, and billing-related settings, including its price, custom pricing for ongoing services, and more.

You can create and manage multiple contracts for each customer account and use them concurrently. For example, one contract could cover phone support, another a one-time network installation project, another managed services, and yet another flat-rate product warranties.

The contract lifecycle, as represented by the contract status, progresses from Draft to Activated, and then to either Completed or Canceled. See Contracts Lifecycle for more information.

Adding a new Contract

  1. Click the Three-lined (‘Hamburger’) icon on the top-right corner and choose Contracts.
  2. Click New Contract from the top-left corner.
  3. Set the Contract name.
  4. Select the customer Account.
  5. Click Save.

Contract duration

The contract start date marks the beginning of the terms and conditions of a service agreement.

The contract end date signifies the final day on which these terms and conditions remain valid.

Duration types

Single term
Single term contracts are used for one-time agreements, such as a project or any non-recurring, defined, and limited-scope service. These contracts are set with specific start and end dates.

Recurring
Recurring contracts are used for recurring agreements, e.g., managed services, hosting services, and software subscriptions.

Recurring contracts automatically renew based on their settings, and the customer is also automatically charged for the new period price if this feature is enabled.

Configuring the Contract Duration

To set contract duration, while viewing the contract details page:

  1. Under the duration section click Configure link.
  2. Set Start date.
  3. Choose between the options:
    • Single term
      Set the End date.
    • Recurring
      Select the recurrence interval (e.g., monthly/yearly) and the number of recurring periods for which the contract will run.
  4. Click Save.

The contract duration can be edited as long as the contract status is Draft (i.e., not yet activated).

Contract Price

This section defines the contract price, which is the total amount the customer pays for the products and services included in the contract. It consists of “price lines,” where each line represents the cost of a specific product or service.

For example, a contract price might look like this:

Contract price characteristics

  • Configuring a price for a contract is optional.
  • The contract price represents the amount the customer agrees to pay for the services provided under the contract, such as remote help desk services.
  • The total price is composed of price lines, with each line representing a product or fixed-price service.
  • With a contract price defined, you can bill customers accordingly and track contract performance.
  • Automatic Charging: Price lines may convert into actual charges when the contract is activated or renewed. See Automatically Charge for the Contract Price.

To add a price lines:

  1. Click Add product to add a product price line.
    Or, click Add service to add a service price line.
  2. Select the product/service.
  3. Set the Quantity.
  4. Optionally, change the default Price.
  5. Optionally, edit the default Description.
  6. Click Save.

To edit a price line:
Click the line you want to modify, then make the necessary changes in the window that appears.

To delete a price line:
Click the three dots on the right side of the line and select Delete.

The price of single-term contracts can be edited as long as the contract hasn’t started.

The price of recurring contracts can always be edited. Changes will take effect with the next renewal if automatic charging is enabled.

Automatically charge for the contract price

Automatically charging the customer for the contract price is optional.

You can choose whether you want the price charges to be converted into billable charges at the relevant time or not.

Disabling automatic charging

If you do not want automatic charging, select the second option:

“No, the contract price is for reference only. Do not add any charges from price line(s).”

Enabling automatic charging

To enable automatic charging, select the first option:

“Yes, automatically add billable charges according to the price line(s) above”

Once selected, billable charges will automatically be added from price lines as follows:

Single-term contracts

Charges will be automatically added from price lines once the contract is activated and has begun.

If the contract is activated but hasn’t started yet, charges will be automatically added only once it starts. You can edit price lines until the contract has started.

Recurring contracts

Charges will be added from price lines automatically with each periodic renewal.

Upon contract activation, if a recurring period has already started, charges for this period will be added immediately.

Note that charges are not added for past periods that have already ended.

Contract price lines for recurring contracts can always be edited, allowing you to adapt to real-life changes over time.

For example:
A customer signs up for a remote monitoring managed service to monitor 2 servers and 50 PCs for a 12-month period, billed monthly.

You can add the following contract price:

Then, after 4 months have passed, the client’s requirements change, and you need to monitor 10 additional PCs.

You can update the contract price line representing managed computers to include the additional 10 PCs:

The contract will now continue to renew with automatic charging reflecting the new state of covering additional managed computers.

Ongoing Charging Activity

Users regularly log charges for the products and services they provide.

Ongoing charges should not be confused with charges automatically added for the contract price. Ongoing charges are manually logged by users for products sold and services provided.

Under this section, you can specify which charges can be logged under this contract: product charges, service charges, or both.

For charges that can be logged under the contract, you can also determine whether they are covered by the contract price or require additional billing.

Charges that can be logged under the contract but are not covered by it are automatically set as Billable. You will be able to invoice the customer for these charges. See Invoicing.

Charges that are covered by the contract are automatically marked as Not-billable. These charges are used for reference purposes only, helping you analyze contract profitability retrospectively and track user activity, even though they will not be billed.

When service charges can be logged under the contract, you can set different coverage options for fixed-price and time-based services.

Usage example:

You offer a monthly recurring contract for help desk services. The contract covers all services provided, including both time-based and fixed-price services, but does not cover the products or parts that may be required to deliver those services.

You then configure the contract with these settings:

  1. Disallow logging of Product Charges.
  2. Allow logging of Service Charges.
  3. Set the contract to cover both time-based and fixed-price services.

By default, with newly added contracts, users can log all charges under the contract, but these charges are not covered by it.

Use the left-side toggle to enable or disable logging of product and service charges.

For the charges that are allowed, use the Change option to determine whether the contract covers those charges.

Custom Pricing

For ongoing charging activity [link], this custom pricing section allows you to define any special pricing terms agreed upon with the customer for this contract. Once defined, any terms that apply to a product or service being charged under this contract will be applied, and the custom price will be used instead of the default price or hourly rate.

Custom pricing can be set at the individual product or service level or globally, affecting all products and/or services covered by the global rule.

When should I define Custom Pricing?
Using custom pricing is optional. By default, standard hourly rates for users and prices for products and services are applied. You should use the custom pricing feature only if you need different prices or hourly rates for a specific contract.

For example, you might use custom pricing to automatically apply a 10% discount to all product charges logged under a particular contract.

Global custom pricing settings

Global custom pricing options allow you to easily apply a custom pricing setting that affects all products, services, or users simultaneously. This differs from the more granular custom pricing options discussed below, which let you define price and rate exceptions at the specific product, service, or user levels.

Global custom pricing settings include options to:

  • Discount all product prices by a defined percentage.
  • Discount all fixed-price service fees by a defined percentage.
  • Adjust time-based service hourly rates by either a defined percentage or by setting a fixed hourly rate, regardless of the user providing the service.

For example, under a specific contract, a customer might receive a 10% discount on all products and be charged a fixed hourly rate of $100, regardless of which user provides the service.

To define custom pricing global settings:

  1. Visit the Custom Pricing section of the contract.
  2. Click Configure.
  3. Optionally set a global discount for products.
  4. Optionally set a global discount for fixed-price services.
  5. Optionally enable the Adjust time-based services hourly rates option and choose either to set a global discount percentage or specify a fixed hourly rate.
  6. Click Save.
User rates exception rules

User rates are used for time-based services where the hourly rate depends on the user. Each user has a default rate configured. See User Rates.

The user rates exception rules let you define a custom hourly rate for specific users. Such rates will override the user’s default hourly rate as well as any global custom pricing settings.

For example, Natalie’s hourly rate may be set at $80 using a user rate exception rule. This rate will override both her standard hourly rate and any global hourly rate adjustments defined for this contract.

To define exception rule for user rates:

  1. Visit the User rates exception rules section of the contract.
  2. Click New rule.
  3. Select the User from the dropdown menu.
  4. Set the Custom rate for this user.
  5. Click Save.

Products & Services exception rules

Use product and service exception rules to define a custom price for products or services charged under this contract.

The exception rules you define here will override any global custom pricing settings or user rate exception rules applicable to this contract. In other words, the matching rules here set the final custom price or hourly rate for specific products or services.

These rules apply to ongoing charging activities, unlike charges added automatically based on the contract price.

To define an exception rule for product and services:

  1. Visit the Products & Services exception rules section of the contract.
  2. Click New product rule or New service rule to add an exception rule.
  3. Select the Product or Service from the dropdown menu.
  4. Set the Custom price or Custom rate.
  5. Click Save.

Contract Status Lifecycle

Draft Contracts

When a new contract is created, it enters the Draft status.

Draft contract characteristics:

  • All settings and options are fully editable.
  • They have no effect on any billing aspects.
  • They cannot be used for charges or assets.
  • They can be entirely discarded or deleted.
Active Contracts

To activate the draft contract, click the Activate button at the top of the contract details page.

You can only activate a contract after completing all mandatory sections, such as duration. If you attempt to activate a draft contract that cannot yet be activated, you will receive a relevant message.

After activating a draft contract, the contract becomes Active.

Depending on the configured start date, active contracts may or may not have begun.

Active contract characteristics:

  • They affect billing.
  • They may be used for charges or assets.
  • Their duration settings are fixed.
  • For single-term contracts that have already begun, their price cannot be changed.
  • The contract can be marked as completed or canceled.

Active contracts are automatically completed when they expire, however, they can also be marked as completed manually.

To complete the active contract manually click the dropdown next to the Active label on top and select Mark completed.

Active contracts can also be canceled. To cancel the contract, click the dropdown next to the Active label on top and select Cancel.

Completed Contracts

Active contracts are automatically completed when they expire, meaning their end date has passed or their last recurring period has ended.

An active contract can also be manually marked as completed at any time.

Completed contract characteristics:

  • No longer affects new billing activity.
  • All existing billing activity associated with it remains intact.
  • Can no longer be used for charges or assets.
  • For recurring contracts: Auto-renewal and auto-charging for the contract price will be stopped.

Completed contracts can be reactivated.

Canceled Contracts

An active contract can get manually canceled.

Canceled contract characteristics:

  • No longer affects new billing activity.
  • All existing billing activity associated with it remains intact.
  • Can no longer be used for charges or assets.
  • For recurring contracts: Auto-renewal and auto-charging for the contract price will be stopped.

Canceled contracts can be reactivated.

Canceled contracts that have not been associated with any charges or assets can be deleted.

To delete the canceled contract, click the dropdown next to the Canceled label on top and select Delete.

Reactivation of Completed or Canceled Contracts

Completed or Canceled contracts can be set as active again. To activate a completed or canceled contract, click the dropdown next to the Completed or Canceled label on top and select Mark active.

When reactivated, the contract becomes Active again and gains all characteristics of an active contract, e.g., available for charges and assets, affects billing, and auto-renews.

Note: If a recurring contract is reactivated before it has expired (i.e., before the end date has passed), recurrence will resume, including automatic charging of the contract price per period, if enabled. Automatic charging will not apply to any recurring periods during which the contract was marked as completed.

Search for contracts

  1. Click the Three-lined (‘Hamburger’) icon on the top-right corner and choose Contracts.
  2. This will display the list of Contracts.
  3. Press / or click the Search contracts search box at the top.
  4. Enter the text you want to search by or choose from the recent searches popup list.
  5. Press Enter or click the magnifying glass to perform the search.
  6. You should now see only contracts that match your search.
  7. To further refine the search, use the search options in the Search Box (see below).

Search options help you refine your search results:

  1. Click the Search options icon in the search box, or press s then o.
  2. In the window that opens, enter the search criteria you wish to use:
    • Name
    • Account
    • Status
  3. Click Search to perform the search.

Selecting a Contract While Adding Charges.

When selecting a contract for a charge, that contract governs the charge. For example, if custom pricing is defined in the contract, it will affect the price of the charged product or service, or the hourly rate. Additionally, if the contract covers certain charges, those charges will automatically be set as not billable.

Here are some guiding principles to keep in mind:

  • Setting a contract for a charge is optional.

  • You can add charges without associating them with a contract, in which case global defaults apply (e.g., the price defined for the product being charged).

    • Only contracts that are active and permit ongoing charging activity can be selected for new charges.

  • When charges are added, Replypad attempts to automatically select a contract for them.

    For example, when adding a charge to a conversation, if applicable (i.e., if the contract is still active), the contract used for the most recent charge added to this conversation will be selected automatically.

    If no conversation is involved, or if the conversation has no other charges to base the contract selection on, then if a customer account has only one active contract that allows ongoing charging activity and is current (i.e., today falls between the contract’s Start and End dates), that contract will be automatically selected for the charge.

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