Overview
This article covers how to create a contract type. A contract type is a subscription-based billing object in Emersion that:
- can be attached to a package plan
- has configurable business rules and applies charges based on those rules.
- has configurable discounts within it.
- is used in the generation of a contract when the customer subscribes to the package plan.
Read more about contracts.
The contract type, with the relevant package plans weighted in the package pool, enables the system to generate a contract for a customer's package subscription.
Create a Contract Type
To create a contract type:
Packages and Plans > Management > Contracts
The user will be shown a list of existing contract types. Users can see how many package plans are in the pool in the Contract Pool Count.
Click the Create New button.
First, complete all fields as required in the following sections. This will establish a contract's business rules and charges you wish to apply.
Details
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Internal name | A name for the contract as seen in Cumulus |
| External name | A name for the contract as seen by the customer via any external means. E.g. the sign up portal, on an invoice, etc. |
| Description | Enter a longer description |
| Length | The duration corresponding to the length unit. |
| Length Unit | Choose from the list of available length options. |
| Tax | This will default to your service provider's tax type and shows what tax is applied. |
| Contract End Method | Set a rule that tells the system what to do at the end of the contract period. See below for the options. |
Contract End Methods
| Contract End Method | Description |
|---|---|
| No Contract | Default option. The contract period ends and the subscription continues without a contract. |
| Cancel Service | At the end of the contract period, the system will create a provisioning request to cancel the package subscription and all underlying service subscriptions. |
| Renew Contract | Alters the end date of a contract. The system uses the length and length unit to calculate the new end date. |
| Forced Migrate | At the end of the contract period, the system will create a provisioning request to migrate the customer's package subscription to a new plan. Requires the package pool to contain the destination package plan. |
Breakout
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Break Out Method | Set a rule that tells the system what to do when the customer breaks a contract. |
| Break Out Fee | If the break out method = Fee, enter the fee amount. |
| Maximum Method | Define the $ maximum amount that the system can charge for a break of contract. This can be used as a safe guard to stop the system generating excessive fees for plan migrations or for breaking a contract. Choose Do No Charge for no maximum threshold. Choose Fee and enter a value to in the Maximum Fee field set the maximum amount the break out fee can be |
Break Out Method
| Break Out Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Fee | charge a flat fee. |
| Prorata Fee | A fee is based on the total initial value of the contract. This fee is then prorated across the length of the contract. E.g. A 1 year contract with a pro-rated cancellation fee of $100. This contract is cancelled 6 months into the term of the contract. The system will generate a $50 fee will be. |
| Tiered | In Cumulus it is possible to configure a tiered fee structure for more complex scenarios. This enables the configuration of fees when an event occurs at a certain stage of the contract's life cycle. It is possible to have separate groups of tiers for a given contract. |
| Remaining Value (current) | A fee is generated based on the value of the access fees of the current package subscription. |
Remaining Value (initial) | A fee is generated based on the value of the access fee of the package subscription when the contract was first created. |
Plan Change
In the event of a migration to another plan, define what the system should do when a customer migrates to a plan with a different weighting.
Users can define what happens when a customer
- Upgrades: the customer migrates to a plan of a higher weight
- Cross grades: the customer migrates to a plan of an identical weight
- Downgrades: the customer migrates to a plan of a lower weight
| Methods | Description |
|---|---|
| Fee | Apply a flat fee. If this is chosen, enter the fee that will be charged. |
| Break Contract | Consider this a break of contract and apply the break out rules accordingly. |
| Do Not Charge | Do not charge anything. There is no cost to migrate. |
Early Upgrade
Optionally give the customer the ability to upgrade to another plan without incurring default break out charge behaviour.
Learn more about Early Upgrades.
Ongoing Per Period Discounts
Optionally give the customer a credit back when they subscribe to the plan. The discount will be applied for every subscription period while the customer is under contract.
Fixed Length Contract Discounts
Like the ongoing variant, Optionally give the customer a credit back when they subscribe to the plan for a given number of subscription periods.
The Credit Amount can be a fixed fee or a percentage of the access fee.
The Credit Text is presented on the cardline of the credit.
Define the appropriate Ledger Code for the credit.
Package Pool
Configure the package pool with the relevant package plans in accordance to your own business rules.
The instructions to configure a package pool are here.
When you are done, press the Submit button to save the contract type.