The Add/modify option in Contract Pricing enables you to set up and amend contracts. It displays the Contract Pricing form for this purpose.
What do you want to do?
A contract is uniquely identified by four things: POS company, customer number or discount code, vehicle, and product. These four items together form the key of the contract record.
The customer number is the customer's Sales Ledger (SL) account number.
There are several types of contract, depending on whether the product is a menu, a Repair Time Schedule (RTS) code, a part (to fix a contract price), or a product group or part discount code (to fix an enhanced discount).
It is often convenient to create a contract by cloning an existing one - that is, by copying it and making whatever minor alterations are needed to the copy to create the new one. This is especially convenient if you need to create many similar contracts.
You can if necessary divide a contract into two periods, with different date ranges (with or without a time gap between them) and different prices or discounts. These are shown on the Contract Pricing form as Contract 1 and Contract 2. If you only need one period, leave Contract 2 blank.
A contract is effective if it is current (that is, today's date is within the contract's date range) and has a reference number.
When an operator enters the product and account number that are in the contract onto a WIP in Point-of-Sale, then if the contract is current an Ellipsis button ![[...]](Ellipsis.gif){kind=small}
is displayed next to the Order quantity field on the Part Details Form. The contract reference is also appended to the Free text field in the WIP line group box of the Part Details form if the Customer part ref box is ticked on the contract. When you click the Ellipsis button, the break points for the contract are displayed and, if a contract price is selected, the contract reference is appended to the Description on the Part details form.
Note: The contract reference is printed on the invoice, together with the description. However, due to field length restrictions, the contract reference may be truncated. In order to print the reference in full, a format stationery may be required which should be set up under guidance from an Autoline consultant.
When you set up a Parts Fixed Price or Enhanced (also called Additional) Discount Parts contract, you must also go to the customer's Sales Ledger account record and enter the method of contract pricing in the Pricing category field on the Other Details tab. The value that you enter there can be one of:
If this field is empty, contracts of type Parts Fixed Price or Enhanced Discount Parts for this customer have no effect at Point-of-Sale.
Note: If the Sales Ledger record is set to B, making both types of contract available for the part number/account number combination entered in Point-of-Sale, the part number specific price takes precedence.
To create a parts fixed price contract, select a contract type of P (Parts supplied directly) or S (Parts supplied indirectly).
In the Price and Volume fields, enter the selling prices for the quantity breaks (volume) required. For example, £3.00 for 10 followed by £2.00 for 20 followed by £1.00 for 30 or more. The correct order is important for display purposes in Point-of-Sale. If volume terms are not part of the contract, enter a single price in the first slot with a quantity break of zero, or minimum quantity to obtain the special price.
To create an enhanced (additional) discount parts contract, select a contract type of C (Part discount code). In the field for the discount code, enter the parts discount code held on the part record in the stock file.
In the Perc. and Volume fields, enter the enhanced (additional) discount percentages to be given for the quantity breaks (volume) required. For example, 10.00(%) for 10 followed by 20.00(%) for 20 followed by 30(%) for 30. The correct order is important for display purposes in Point-of-Sale. If volume terms are not part of the contract, enter a single discount in the first slot with a quantity break (volume) of zero or minimum quantity to obtain the special discount.
The Contract Pricing form is displayed when you click Add/modify contracts on the CONTRACT PRICING MENU. It enables you to display, add, modify or delete a contract.
Menu Bar and Toolbar:
| Menu bar | Toolbar | Action |
|---|---|---|
| File > Exit |  |
Returns you to the CONTRACT PRICING MENU. |
| File > Reset |  |
Clears all the fields on the form. |
| File > Find |  |
Searches for a contract |
| File > Create |  |
Saves the details in the form into the contract record specified by the details in the Key group. Present, replacing the Update function, if the record does not already exist. |
| File > Update | |
Saves the details in the form into the contract record specified by the details in the Key group. Present, replacing the Create function, if the record already exists. |
| File > Delete |  |
Deletes a contract. |
| Help |  |
Displays this help topic in a web browser. |
Key Group:
This group contains the key, split into its four parts. Each part is represented by a row of between one and three fields. Mostly, you enter data in these fields by looking it up in the system, using the dropdown button 
or the ellipsis button that appears by the field.
Clicking the button at the left-hand end of a row clears that row. When a row is filled in correctly, so that that part of the key is complete, the button turns green. Clicking the Reset toolbar button clears all four rows. When you first enter the form, all four rows are blank.
Company: Point-of-Sale (POS) company number to which the contract applies.
Customer: A row of two fields, showing the customer or discount code that the contract applies to. The meaning of the second field depends on the value in the first:
First field Second field Content Meaning D Discount code Discount code from the Sales Ledger account. A Account code Account number from the Sales Ledger account. Vehicle: A row of three fields, showing the vehicle or vehicle model group to which the contract applies. The meaning of the second and third fields depends on the value in the first:
First field Second field Third field Content Meaning N Not vehicle-dependent Not used Not used V Specific vehicle Not used CRM vehicle record number. Click the ellipsis button G Vehicle model group MS company Name of the vehicle model group. Enabled when you select a company in the second field.
First field Second field Third field Content Meaning M Menu MS company Menu code R RTS MS company RTS code P Parts supplied directly (See Parts Fixed Price Contract) Not used Part number from stock records. Enabled when you select a company in the second field. S Parts supplied indirectly (See Parts Fixed Price Contract) Not used Part number from stock records. Enabled when you select a company in the second field. D Parts discount supplied directly Discount group (pos) of the Product Groups from the SM module Discount code. Enabled when you select a discount group in the second field. Type a value up to 3 characters long. The ellipsis button is inactive. d Parts discount supplied indirectly Discount group (pos) of the Product Groups from the SM module Discount code. Enabled when you select a discount group in the second field. Type a value up to 3 characters long. The ellipsis button is inactive. C Parts discount code (See Enhanced Discount Parts Contract) Not used Discount code from the part record in the stock file. Type a value up to 3 characters long. The ellipsis button is inactive. H Product group and discount code Product group from the SM module Discount code. Enabled when you select a product group in the second field. Type a value up to 3 characters long. The ellipsis button is inactive.
Contract 1 Group:
This group contains the details for the first or only contract period.
Reference number: Reference such as the initials of the person who agreed the contract or an order number. This field must be completed for the contract to be effective.
Start date: Date on which the contract terms start.
End date: Date on which the contract terms end. Cannot be left blank.
Price or Perc. and Volume [1-3]: Selling prices or enhanced discount percentages to be given for the quantity breaks (volume) required. The left column of fields is labelled Price or Perc., depending on the contract type. See Parts Fixed Price and Enhanced Discount Contracts for details.
Labour rate: The labour rate code for the selected POS company. Only used if the contract is for an RTS code.
Contract 2 Group:
This group contains the details for the second contract period, if any. You do not need to fill it in if there is only one contract period.
The fields in this group are the same as in the Contract 1 Group.
Other Details Group:
This group contains miscellaneous fields.Currency code: Enter the Nominal Ledger currency code in order for the system to convert contract prices at the correct exchange rate.
Customer part ref: Tick this box if you want to append the contract reference number to the Free text field in the WIP line group box of the Part Details form in Point-of-Sale.
Dead record: Is this a dead record? Yes or No. This field is normally set by the Mark Dead Contracts report.
Audit Group:
This group contains brief details of the history of the contract.Created:: Date on which the contract was created. The field below it shows the ID of the user who created it.
Amended: Date on which the contract was last amended. The field below it shows the ID of the user who amended it.
Do this to find out whether a contract already exists and, if it does exist, to populate the Contract Pricing form with details from its record. You do this as the first step in most of the procedures in this help file.
To search for a contract:
On the Contract Pricing form, enter the four parts of the key of the contract into the four rows in the Key group. If there is any part you do not know, leave that row unset. You can leave them all unset if you want.
Tip: You can click the Reset toolbar button to clear the form. This is sometimes a convenient way to clear all the key fields, but remember it clears the whole form, not just the Key group. A safer way to clear the key is to click all four buttons in the Key group.
As you complete each row with valid entries, its button turns green.
As long as you have entered fewer than four, the Find toolbar button remains enabled. If you enter all four, it becomes unavailable.
If you have entered all four, go to Step 6.
Click the Find toolbar button .
The Find Contract form is displayed. It contains a grid showing all existing contracts that match the partial key you have entered.
If the grid is empty, no matching contract exists. Click the Exit toolbar button . You have finished this procedure.
Double-click or right-click the row for the contract you want.
You are returned to the Contract Pricing form.
One of two things happens:
If a matching contract exists, the message Contract exists is displayed on a green background across the middle of the form, the fields on the form are populated from the contract record, and the Update and Delete toolbar buttons are enabled.
If no matching contract exists, the message Contract does not exist is displayed on a red background across the middle of the form, the fields on the form remain empty, and the Create toolbar button becomes enabled.
Do this when you need to create a new contract, and there is no existing similar contract that you could base it on. If a similar contract does exist, consider Cloning a contract instead. If you want to create many similar contracts, consider Creating Multiple Contracts.
To create a contract:
On the Contract Pricing form, search for the contract to confirm it does not already exist.
The message Contract does not exist is displayed on a red background.
Enter the details of the new contract on the form.
Click the Create toolbar button .
The contract record is created, and the message Contract exists is displayed on a green background.
Do this when you need to create a new contract, and you know there is an existing one that you can base it on because they differ in only a few details.
To clone a contract:
On the Contract Pricing form, search for the contract.
The message Contract exists is displayed on a green background. The fields on the form are populated from the contract record.
Change the details on the form, including parts of the key, to those for the new contract.
Warning: If you do not change the key at all, you update the existing contract instead of creating a new one.
Click the Create toolbar button .
The new contract record is created, and the message Contract exists is displayed on a green background.
Do this when you need to create many contracts with details that differ from one another in only a few details.
To create multiple contracts:
Create one of the contracts, as described in Creating a contract.
The message Contract exists is displayed on a green background.
Change the details on the form, including parts of the key, to those for the next contract you want to create.
Warning: If you do not change the key at all, you update the contract you just created instead of creating another new one.
Click the Create toolbar button .
The new contract record is created, and the message Contract exists is displayed on a green background.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each contract you want to create.
Do this when you need to update the details of an existing contract.
To update a contract:
On the Contract Pricing form, search for the contract.
The message Contract exists is displayed on a green background. The fields on the form are populated from the contract record.
Update the details on the form as necessary, but do not change any part of the key.
Click the Create toolbar button .
The existing contract record is updated, and the message Updated OK is displayed on a blue background.
Do this when you need to delete an existing contract.
To delete a contract:
On the Contract Pricing form, search for the contract.
The message Contract exists is displayed on a green background. The fields on the form are populated from the contract record.
Click the Delete toolbar button .
The contract record is deleted, and the message Contract does not exist is displayed on a red background.