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Contract fees and online renewals

A contract's fee is invoiced by itself each month, quarter, half-year or year until the contract ends. Before it ends, the account manager is reminded and proposes the next term in one click. The customer's admin accepts or declines it on the portal, or signs a renewal quote for the whole term.

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Why it matters

An AMC business lives on renewals, yet most contractors find out a contract has lapsed when the customer's next breakdown comes in. Quarterly fee invoices are raised by hand from a register, and a missed quarter is found at year end. SmartMy Desk raises each fee invoice on its date and stops at the contract's end. Thirty days before the end, by default, the account manager gets a to-do and the customer's admins are told. One click on Propose Renewal makes the next term with the same cover, rates and fee, and the maintenance plans moved forward. The customer's admin accepts it on the portal or signs a quote for the whole term. A decline comes back to the account manager with the customer's reason.

The problem it solves

Quarterly AMC invoices are raised from a register, and one quarter is always missed.
A contract ends and nobody notices until the customer refuses to pay for a call-out.
Renewal is a round of emails and phone calls, and the new term starts weeks late.
Preventive visits stop after the renewal because the schedule was not carried forward.
When a customer declines, the reason is lost in someone's inbox.

How it works

In the contract's Fees tab, fill in the Fee per Period and how it is Billed: Monthly, Quarterly, Half-yearly or Yearly. The Next Fee Invoice date starts as the contract's start date.
Each day, every contract whose next fee date has come gets its fee invoice, dated the first day of the period. The date then moves on, and stops at the contract's end.
Set Renewal Reminder (days before), 30 to start with. Then set how the customer agrees: Customer Accepts in the Portal, or Renewal Quote (the term paid upfront).
On the reminder day, the account manager gets the to-do Renew the contract, due on the end date. The customer's admins are told the contract is ending.
The account manager clicks Propose Renewal. A draft contract for the next term is made with the same cover, rates and fee, and its maintenance plans moved to the new term.
The customer's admin answers on the portal: Accept the renewal or Decline with a reason. With a renewal quote, they opens the quote, accepts and signs it within their approval limit.
Accepting activates the new contract and its fees carry on. Declining cancels the proposed contract and gives the account manager a to-do with the reason.

Everything it does

Fees

Fee per Period, Billed: Monthly, Quarterly (the default), Half-yearly or Yearly
Fee Product: Service Contract Fee to start with; any service product
Next Fee Invoice: the start of the next period to bill; it starts as the contract's start date
One invoice per period, dated the first day of the period, with the contract number, title and dates on the line
Missed periods are caught up on the next daily run
The last period ends on the contract's end date; it is billed at the full fee
Invoice the Next Period Now does it at once
Post contract fee invoices: on to start with; off leaves them as drafts for the accounts team
Invoices are listed in the Fees tab, behind the Invoices button, and on the customer's Invoices page on the portal

Renewal reminder

Renewal Reminder (days before): 30 to start with; 0 for none
Sent once per contract. It makes a note on the contract, a to-do for the account manager, and Contract Expiring to the customer's admins and the account manager
The account manager is the contract's, else the customer's
List filter Ending in 30 Days

Proposing the renewal

Propose Renewal: for an active or expired contract
The new contract starts the day after the end, for the same length, with the same cover, rates, fee and service level
Preventive maintenance plans move forward into the new term
Renew (Draft Only) makes the draft for the next term without asking the customer
Only one renewal waits for an answer at a time

The customer's answer

Customer Accepts in the Portal (the default): a box Renewal proposed on the Contracts page with Accept the renewal and Decline. A reason can be given
Only the organisation's admins answer; members see Your admin answers the renewal
Renewal Quote: the whole term as one quotation, the fee times the number of periods, with a signature required. An admin accepts within their Quote Approval Limit
A renewal quote needs a fee on the contract and at least one admin, or it is refused
With a renewal quote, the fees are on the order, so no fee invoices are made per period for that term
Accepted: the new contract is activated and its fee invoices start on its first day. Declined: it is cancelled

Who uses it

Account managerGets the reminder, proposes the renewal and follows up a decline.

Service ManagerSets the fee, the billing period and how renewals are agreed.

Accounts teamChecks draft fee invoices when posting is off, and follows up payment.

Customer adminSees the fee and next invoice date on the portal, and accepts or declines the renewal.

Where you use it

Web: the Fees tab of the contract, Propose Renewal and Renew (Draft Only) at the top; Settings, Helpdesk, Billing for posting
Customer portal: Contracts (fee, next invoice, renewal box), Quotes and orders for a renewal quote, Invoices
Not in the phone app: renewals and invoices are on the web and the portal

What you control

Settings

Billed: Quarterly to start with
Renewal Reminder: 30 days before the end
Renewal: Customer Accepts in the Portal to start with
Post contract fee invoices: on (Settings, Helpdesk, Billing)
Fee Product: Service Contract Fee

Approvals

The customer's acceptance of a renewal is not an approval chain: the customer's admin decides within their Quote Approval Limit

Notifications

Contract Expiring: to the customer's admins and the account manager on the reminder day. It goes in the app's inbox and on WhatsApp where set up (from message credits). The account manager also gets a to-do
Contract Renewal Proposed: to the customer's admins, by email, in the app's inbox and on WhatsApp where set up. With a renewal quote, the quote email
Contract Renewal Answered: to the account manager, in the app's inbox; a decline also makes a to-do
App push is built for these events and not switched on yet

Questions

Is the fee invoiced in advance?

Yes. Each invoice is dated the first day of the period it covers. Set the Next Fee Invoice date to bill from another day.

Can the accounts team check fee invoices before they go out?

Yes. Switch off Post contract fee invoices in the Helpdesk settings, and they stay as drafts.

Can the customer pay the renewal online?

The customer's admin accepts and signs the renewal quote on the portal. Online payment of a quote has not been tested yet; tell us if you need it.

Do the maintenance plans continue after a renewal?

Yes. The proposed contract carries the plans, with their next dates moved into the new term.

What if the contract ends in the middle of a quarter?

The last invoice covers the days up to the end date and is billed at the full fee. Change it on the draft invoice if you agreed otherwise.

Related features

CONTRACTS AND MAINTENANCEAMC contracts and what they coverEach annual maintenance contract says which kinds of issue, sites and units it covers. It also says whether labour, parts, call-outs and after-hours work are free or billable. Every ticket is checked against it and marked Covered, Partly Covered or Billable. A team lead can override that with a reason.CONTRACTS AND MAINTENANCEPreventive maintenance raised ahead of the due datePlans on a contract raise maintenance tickets by themselves, a set number of days before each due date. A plan covers a type of equipment or listed units, every so many days, weeks or months. You choose one ticket per unit or one per site, and the plans stop at the contract's end.CONTRACTS AND MAINTENANCEPrepaid hours and hour packsA contract can hold a bank of prepaid service hours. Each approved time line draws its billable hours from the bank, and hours beyond it are billed on their own line. The customer's admins are told when the balance runs low. Your office sells top-up packs as a sales order.CUSTOMER PORTALSites, equipment and contracts on the portalYour customers see their sites with the equipment installed there, each unit's service history, and their contracts. A contract shows what is covered, the response times per priority, preventive maintenance, fees and prepaid hours left. Admins answer contract renewals online.QUOTES, BILLING AND PURCHASEQuotes the customer accepts or declines onlineFor work the contract does not cover, the technician prepares an estimate on the ticket and a team lead sends it as a quote. The ticket waits and its clock pauses until someone of the customer with a high enough approval limit signs it or declines it online.

See one of your own jobs run through it.

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