Work with Contracts

Contracts in Cost Management are essential for tracking and managing agreements with suppliers.

With the Contract tab, you can streamline your contract management processes and keep your project on track. The tab contains the same information as the Budget tab but presents it in the form of contract codes and contract names as opposed to budget codes and budget names. This allows for contracts to be made of multiple budget codes and viewed in two different ways. See Budget and Contract Tables to learn more.

You can create contracts, monitor expenses against the agreed-upon terms, and generate reports to gain valuable insights into your contract's impact on the overall project budget. You can also use contracts to stay on top of compliance requirements, and other key dates to avoid costly penalties or legal disputes.

In this article:

Contract Tab Overview

  1. Click the icon to add a contract or delete one.

  2. See the charts for budget and cost trends.

  3. Click the contract name to open the flyout panel. In the flyout panel, you can edit contract details, add scope of work, manage billing periods, attach documents, and more.

  4. Click the icon to open the contract's full page to see the detailed overview with schedule of value and change orders items listed.

  5. Learn more about the five main sections of the Budget and Contract tables.

  6. Hover over the column's name to understand the logic behind them. Some of the values are also described in the Budget and Contract Tables article.

  7. Export a PDF or Excel report of your contracts.

    Tip: The Filter and Group tool may be helpful to create a more formatted report.

  8. The Filter and Group tool helps to arrange efficient views of your data and create clear and legible reports.

  9. See your saved views or create ones for quick access to budget data.

  10. Control column order and visibility with the icon.

Contract Edit Mode

Members with the Full Control permission for the contracts can perform some of the functionalities only with the Contract tab in edit mode:

  1. Select Add to manually enter new contract items.
  2. Click Import to download a contract import template with helpful tips. Once downloaded and filled up, you can click this button again to import a finished contract Excel file.
  3. Within individual contract items, select the pencil icon to edit the contract name.
  4. Click within the Type, Budget Code, and other editable columns to add or change information. Project administrators create the list of contract types within the Cost settings in the Settings tool.
  5. Select the checkbox next to a contract or the More menu to delete it.

Create or Generate a Contract

There are a few ways to create your contracts. In this section, you can learn how to generate a contract from the Contract tab:

  1. Select the Cost tool.
  2. Switch to the Contract tab.
  3. Click the pencil icon to enter the edit mode.
  4. Click +Add.
  5. Provide the contract’s code and name.
  6. Click anywhere outside the table or the Enter key on your keyboard.

The draft contract is ready. Close the edit mode by clicking again the pencil button.

Other ways to create a contract:

Add a Contract Document

After you created a contract in the Contract tab, you may need to add a contract in a document form, which can be send to suppliers. To do so:

  1. In the Contract tab, click the name of the contract. The flyout panel opens.

  2. If desired, add a scope of work for the contract.

  3. In the Supplier Details section, select a member from the recipient drop-down list. You may add individual recipients or companies to the recipient field.

    Note: The recipient field is populated automatically when a contract has been awarded already.

  4. Scroll down to the Documents section and click Add document.

  5. Click Generate from document template to locate the contract document template or click Recently generated to choose from recently used documents.

    Note: Before you can generate a contract document, a project administrator must create the contract document template in the Project Admin module. See Create and Manage Document Templates to learn more.

The document is added to Document Package. Click the More menu to rename the document, open it, download, move, or delete.

Send a Contract to a Supplier or Request Supplier Input

Now, you can send a contract to supplier's review:

  1. In the flyout panel, click Send or Request Supplier Input. If there is an approval workflow set, there may be more than one approval needed.

  2. Prepare a message for a supplier. Supplier contact must be specified on the contract and you can set that in the contract's flyout panel, in the Supplier Details section.

  3. Click Send once ready.

A supplier will be notified of the contract for review by email when they have a collaborative permission for contracts.

Tip: Administrators can send a reminder to the supplier or owner to inform them that a response is awaited. To do that, click the Remind button.

As a supplier:

  1. Open the email and select Open in Cost Management. When Cost Management opens, only the information pertaining to a supplier will be visible.

  2. Select the contract name to open the flyout panel.

  3. Scroll to review details, then select Respond in the workflow bar.

  4. In the Schedule of Values (SOV) section, manually add or import the SOV items from Excel. If importing from Excel, select Download template to download an Excel template.

  5. Select the More menu to add, import, or delete subitems.

  6. Once the SOV information is complete, add comments for further context and select Submit.

Once submitted, the system will notify a general contractor by email. They can review and request revisions with comments.

If a revision is required, the process will continue as outlined earlier once it is submitted back to a supplier. Once approved, a general contractor can compile the contract document package.

Edit Contract in the Flyout Panel

To edit additional information pertaining to a specific contract, select the contract name to open the details flyout panel. Key items:

View Full Contract Page

When the contract SOV root nodes exceed hundreds of items, having the full-screen view makes it easier to visualize the data.

Expand Supplier SOV to Full Page

There are two ways to expand the SOV section of a specific contract to full screen:

Once in full page view, select the filter icon to group by budget code segment. Also, custom views can be saved for later for quick referencing within this view. See Filter and Group for more information.

View SOV Evolution

Within the contract full page view:

  1. Click the More menu and choose to view change orders as a column.

  2. Using the gear icon on the right, turn on the designed columns under Revised Values. This view auto aligns Original Budget, Scheduled Value (SOV), Change Orders, and Revised Values.

Alignment between original and changes is defined by having identical item code and name. This will be done automatically when a change in the order cost item hierarchy has been generated from the contract SOV. It can also be done with manual entry.

Imagine a scenario in which you purchase material in bulk and need to reflect this pricing accordingly in the contract purchase order SOV. You can turn on new columns: Qty Per Bulk, Bulk, and Bulk Unit Cost using the gear icon on the right:

The sample contract template also includes an option to use the bulk columns and use the bulk unit cost instead of per fitting. See Create and Manage Document Templates to learn how to download and edit contract templates.

Copy Supplier SOV Subitems to Main Contract

Some owners require that their payment applications reflect the exact schedule of value breakdown a general contractor gets from their subcontractors. However, the general contractor may not have some of their subcontractor SOVs established until later. Follow these steps to learn how to copy supplier contract SOV subitems to the main contract so the owner’s payment applications include the required information:

  1. Open a supplier's contract within the Contract tab in the Cost tool.
  2. Scroll to the Schedule of Values section in the flyout panel and select the More menu . There you can manually add subitems or import an Excel list. Note, subitem amounts must equal the existing SOV amount.

Then:

  1. Go to the Main Contract tab within the Budget tool and expand all.
  2. Navigate to the contract and open its flyout panel.
  3. Select the More menu to copy subitems to main contract.

The new SOV subitems will now be displayed on the next owner payment application.

Note: Once you turn on the "Allocate a Budget to More than One Contract" feature, copying subitems to the main contract will be unavailable.

Import and Export Contract SOV

You can import and export contract SOVs using an Excel spreadsheet. This process can decrease the manual effort required to break down or update large numbers of Contract SOVs.

To import and export Contract SOVs:

  1. Navigate to the Define Hierarchy menu.

  2. To export, select Export Contract SOVs.

  3. Open the exported file in Excel to update the SOVs, entering the desired values.

  4. Save your changes to the Excel file.

  5. In the Cost Management system, select Import Contract SOVs and choose the file you've just edited.

  6. Click on Import. The system will maintain the sequence of the SOV items as they appear in your spreadsheet.

Note: The import function does not support the deletion of existing SOVs. However, you can modify the SOV number, name, quantity, unit cost, amount, etc.

If new sub-items were added to the spreadsheet, they will be included in the import as well. After the import, you can manually create a Contract SOV with a tree structure, add or delete subitems, and move SOV items up or down.

After creating cost payment applications, you can revert Full Locked SOVs to an Unlocked status. This allows you to export all tree structures, update the Schedule of Rate (SOR), and import them again.

Note: For spreadsheet import, Contract SOV items or sub-items cannot be added or deleted if a payment application exists. However, the SOV number, name, quantity, unit cost, amount, etc. can still be modified. For manual operation on the web page, users can delete the SOV sub-items, if there is no Work Completed Amount or Material Stored Amount in the Cost Pay Application.

Assign a Budget to a Contract

Assigning a budget to a contract allows you to track and control costs associated with the contract throughout its duration. By setting a budget, you can monitor expenses and make sure that they stay within the allocated funds. Also, having a budget in place can help with forecasting and decision-making regarding future projects and contracts.

To assign a budget to a contract:

  1. Select the Cost tool.

  2. Switch to the Contract tab.

  3. Click the contract’s name. The details panel opens.

  4. Use the budget drop-down list to select all the applicable budgets in the Details section of the flyout panel.

Add Zero-Amount Budget into an Executed Contract

Adding a zero-amount budget to an executed contract can help with cost tracking and historical reporting. It allows you to accurately reflect the actual costs incurred during the contract period, even if no additional funds were allocated.

To add a zero-amount budget into an executed contract:

  1. Click the executed contract's name. The flyout panel opens.

  2. Click Add Budgets in the Details section.

  3. Choose one (or more) of the available zero-amount budgets.

  4. Click Add.

Award the Contract in Foreign Currency

Once the foreign currency is set up, you'll see changes in the contract's flyout panel. The currency drop-down and exchange rate field are visible in the Details section.

To award the contract in foreign currency, choose it from the drop-down list:

Toggle between currencies in the Schedule of Values section to see the exchanged values in the Unit Cost, Amount, and Bulk Unit Cost columns. When a foreign currency is selected on a contract, the value can only be edited in the foreign currency. The currency name is shown as an indicator when editing:

A default exchange rate will be used based on when the Currency field is modified. You can change the exchange rate in the Settings tool and the flyout panel of the contracts, except for:

Tip: You can toggle between currencies in the contract's full and approval workflow review pages. The Schedule of Values is entered in the foreign currency. The system automatically converts it to the base currency. By default, all values will be displayed in base currency.

Delete a Contract

To delete an existing contract:

  1. Go to the Contract tab within the Cost tool in Cost Management.
  2. Click Edit Mode and then check the contract (or contracts) you want to delete.
  3. Click Delete.
  4. Confirm that you want to delete chosen contracts.

Contract Statuses

Typical contract status workflow:

Contract Status Workflow

Contracts have the following statuses:

Tip: See the Main Contract article to learn more about the main contract's statuses.

Export a Contract Report

You can create a formatted report of contract tables. First, you can filter and group contracts to get the information you need. Then, follow these steps:

  1. Select the Cost tool from the left navigation.

  2. Switch to the Contract tab.

  3. Click .

  4. Enter the report title and choose between PDF Report and Excel Report.

  5. Decide whether you need a title page and choose the report template:

    • Current View - includes all currently visible columns. Use this one to create a report for filtered contract table views or previously saved current views.

      Tip: When exporting a PDF or Excel budget report in edit mode, the system will only export currently visible columns.

  6. Click Run report.

Note: The generated report shows four levels of hierarchy regardless of several groups. Use the Collapse to Level button to decide how many details you want to include in your report. When the budget level is collapsed, backup line items are hidden.

You'll receive an email notification when your report is ready to download. You can also download it from the Report tool. To learn more about reports and available actions, see the About Reports article.

More Resources

Check the Learn ACC video course about the Cost tool.

Note: Register to access the course content.
Parent page: Budgets and Contracts