Contracts

Contracts hold the articles and services a supplier has agreed to deliver at agreed conditions - typically a framework agreement for a defined period. While a catalog answers the question "what can be ordered", a contract answers "what did we agree with this supplier, at which price, and for how long".

Contracts are organized in a hierarchy. A main contract can contain sub-contracts, and a sub-contract can again contain further levels, so a large agreement can be broken down into sections and equipment groups exactly as it is structured in the supplier's price list. Contract items (the priced lines) can be attached to any level of that hierarchy, but usually belong to the deepest one.

The Contracts section is part of the Stock Control module and works in the same way as Catalogs: a tree on the left, the details of the selected entry on the right.

The Contracts window

Select the Contracts tab in the Stock Control ribbon. The window is split into two parts:

• The contract tree on the left shows the contract hierarchy. Sub-entries are loaded when you expand a node, so even large contract structures open quickly.
• The detail area on the right has two tabs:
  • Overview shows the contract details and its items in a readable form.
  • Data shows the items of the selected contract in a table you can sort and filter.

The Overview tab

The Overview always describes the selected entry in the context of its main contract:

• The main contract is shown with its name, contract number, title, vendor, duration and description - even when you have selected a sub-contract further down the tree.
• If you selected a sub-contract, a Section line lists the path below the main contract, so you always see where you are.
• If sub-contracts carry their own descriptions, these are appended to the description of the main contract.
• Below the contract details the items of the selected entry are listed, sorted by item number.