Creating purchase contracts

Similar to Continia Expense Management and most other Continia solutions and modules, the Purchase Contracts module integrates directly with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Access it by using the Search () icon when you want to create purchase contracts.

You can create purchase contracts in two ways:

• Create a new purchase contract from scratch, via the Purchase Contracts page
• Create a purchase contract based on an expense

The method you use depends on your requirements and the page you're navigating from.

Create a new purchase contract

You can create a completely new purchase contract, without basing it on an existing expense.

To create a new purchase contract:

1. Search () for and select Purchase Contracts.

2. On the action bar, click New to open the Purchase Contract page.

3. Under General, fill in the fields as needed. Refer to the following table to understand the different fields.

   Field	Description
   Purchaser Code	Enter or select the code of the person you want to review the contract that you're setting up.
   Price Type	Specify if the amounts of the contract lines must exactly match the amounts of related expenses for the expenses to be approved automatically (Fixed Amount), or if a certain amount of variance is acceptable (Variable Amount). Selecting Variable Amount instructs Expense Management to use the values entered under Max. Allowed Line Variance % for the relevant lines (under Lines) to determine if the related expense amount is within the allowed variance. Selecting Fixed Amount instructs Expense Management to disregard any values entered under Max. Allowed Line Variance %.
   Invoicing Period Code	Specify how often you expect expenses relating to this contract to be sent by the employees. Your selection is used for calculating the Yearly Amount for each line under Lines, together with the Quantity and Unit Cost fields. To create your own period codes, click the dropdown menu > New. Then, fill in the fields as required. Under Period Date Formula, your entry must be an integer followed by D (days), W (weeks), M (months), Q (quarters), or Y (years) – for example, 2W (two weeks). You can also specify how often the contract must be reviewed, by editing the Approval Frequency field. If you select Date Formula, enter the formula under Review Date Formula. The information you enter in these two fields is auto filled in the corresponding fields under Review.
   Auto Approve Within Variance	If you want Expense Management to automatically approve expenses, where the amount matches the corresponding contract line amount within the variance defined under Max. Allowed Line Variance % under Lines, select Yes. Depending on whether you select Yes or No, the following rules apply: Yes: If you selected Fixed Amount under Price Type and/or entered no value under Max. Allowed Line Variance %, the expense amount must match the contract line amount exactly for the expense to be automatically approved. No: If you selected Variable Amount under Price Type and/or entered a value under Max. Allowed Line Variance %, these settings will be disregarded.

4. Under Approvals, fill in the fields as needed. Refer to the following table to understand the different fields.

   Field	Description
   Approval Frequency	Specify how often the contract is reviewed, monthly or yearly (default). Any changes you make to the Approval Frequency and Approval Frequency Date Formula fields under Invoicing Period Code are auto filled in this field. Choosing Date Formula from the dropdown menu makes the Approval Frequency Date Formula field visible. Enter a formula in the form of an integer followed by D (days), W (weeks), M (months), Q (quarters), or Y (years) – for example, 2W (two weeks). For more advanced formulas, you can also use + and –, or you can enter the letter C (current) as a prefix to any of the previously mentioned time units, for example, CM+10D (current month plus ten days)
   Next Approval Date	Specify when to next review the contract next. The default value depends on what you selected under Approval Frequency. For example, if you selected yearly, the default value is 11 months from the contract start date.

5. Under Lines, create a line for each employee that you expect to receive an expense, by filling in all fields as needed. Refer to the following table to understand the different fields.

   Field	Description
   Expense user	Select the expense user that you want to be associated with this line.
   Unit Cost	The Amount Excl. VAT and Yearly Amount fields (which are both not editable) are auto filled based on the information you enter in the Unit Cost field. The same two fields are also auto filled if you edit the Quantity field. The value of the Yearly Amount field is based on your selection in the Invoicing Period Code field under General.
   Max. Allowed Line Variance %	The expense amount is automatically approved if it matches the contract line amount within the percentage variance that you enter in this field. Important This only applies if under General, you have set Price Type to Variable Amount, and Auto Approve Within Variance to Yes.

Create a purchase contract from an expense

Another way to create a purchase contract is to create one from an expense.

To create a purchase contract from an expense:

1. Search () for and select Expenses.

2. In the list of expenses, select the expense that you want to use as a basis for your purchase contract.

3. Click Edit.

4. On the action bar, click Actions > Purchase Contracts > Create Purchase Contract.

   Note

   The following fields auto fill with data from the header of the selected expense:

   • Description auto fills with the Description value from the expense.
   • Purchaser Code (Reviewer) auto fills with the Salesperson/Purchaser value from Expense Approver ID on the Continia User Setup page.
   • Approval Frequency auto fills with the default option Yearly.
   • Vendor No. auto fills with the Vendor No. from the expense.

5. Check the auto filled fields and edit if necessary, then fill in the remaining fields as required.

6. Click OK to close the page and create the contract.

This opens the contract on the Purchase Contract page, where you can make any necessary changes and fill in additional fields.

Add an expense to an existing contract

Adding an expense to an existing purchase contract is also an option.

To add an expense:

1. Search () for and select Expenses.

2. In the Expense list, select the expense that you want to use as a basis for your purchase contract.

3. Click Edit.

4. Under Purchase Contracts, in the Purchase Contract No. field, choose the contract that you want to add the expense to.

5. Under Purchase Contracts, in the Purchase Contract Line No. field, click the three dot menu (...) to see a dialogue asking if you want to create a new contract line based on this expense or not. Click Yes to create a contract line.

   Note

   If the contract already has a line for this employee, you can choose from a list that shows contract lines filtered by this employee number.

Related information

Purchase contract reviews
Approving expenses based on a contract
Viewing the purchase contract archive