When a contract is created in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the system assigns a default status of Draft to the contract. Only contracts in Draft status can be edited; once a contract has been processed to Invoiced or Active status, the fields in the contract are locked. At this point, service cases can be logged against the contract and a running tally of used cases or time is tracked against the total allotment specified in the contract line.
Given the need for a business to lock down the terms of a contract while still allowing for flexibility as the company’s needs change, the life cycle of a contract can become complicated. Consider the following scenarios for why a service contract might change:
A company’s internal team takes over support for a software application, so it cancels its support agreement with a consulting firm.
A customer service manager receives notification from her company’s accounting department that a customer has several past due invoices for support services, so the manager places the customer’s service contract on hold to prevent any new cases from being created until the balance is paid.
Upon the expiration of a year-long service agreement, a customer decides to renew the contract for another year of service.
Not every contract will follow a fixed life cycle from start to finish, so it’s important to understand how contract statuses are managed in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and what actions are allowed for each status. The following table provides an overview of contract statuses and actions.
Status | Description | Actions |
|---|---|---|
Draft | Default status when a contract is created. | Can be edited or deleted. No cases can be assigned. Cannot be placed on hold, canceled, or renewed. |
Invoiced | Indicates that the contract has been accepted by the customer and has a pending start date. A contract cannot be moved to this status until it has at least one contract line. | Cannot be edited or deleted. No cases can be assigned. Can be placed on hold or canceled. Cannot be renewed. |
Active | Indicates that the contract is within the specified start and end dates and eligible for support cases. Each contract is automatically moved to this status on the specified start date. | Cannot be edited or deleted. Cases can be assigned. Can be placed on hold or canceled. Can be renewed. |
Indicates that the contract is on hold from Active status, typically for further review or negotiation with the customer. | No actions can be taken against the contract until the hold is released. No cases can be assigned. | |
Canceled | Indicates that the contract was canceled prior to the end date by the organization or the customer. | Cannot be edited or deleted. No cases can be assigned. Can be renewed. |
Expired | Indicates that the contract has passed the specified end date without being renewed. | Cannot be edited or deleted. No cases can be assigned. Can be canceled. Can be renewed. |
In this exercise, you will move the contract created in the previous section to Invoiced status, log a case against it, and then renew it.
Note
USE your own Microsoft Dynamics CRM installation in place of the Adventure Works Cycle site shown in this exercise, and use the contract created in the previous exercise. Also, use a user account that has the CSR Manager security role or another role with privileges to create and edit contracts, contract lines, and cases.
BE SURE TO use the Internet Explorer Web browser to navigate to your Microsoft Dynamics CRM Web site, if necessary, before beginning this exercise.
In the Service area, click Contracts, and then double-click the contract created in the previous exercise.
On the form toolbar, click the Actions button, and then select Invoice Contract.
In the left navigation area of the contract, click Cases to view the case manager for the contract.
On the grid toolbar, click the New Case button to open a new case against the contract.
In the New Case form, enter the following values:
Replace water line for company coffee machine
Customer
Sonoma Partners
Default
Case Type
Problem
Case Origin
Phone
Contract
Annual Service Agreement (created in the previous exercise)
Contract Line
FY2008-2009 Agreement (created in the previous exercise)
Click Save to create the case.
On the form toolbar, click Actions, and then click Resolve Case to mark the case as resolved.
Tip
Only resolved cases are counted against the total allotment specified on the contract line. For each resolved case, the remaining allotment is recalculated. For example, if a contract line has five cases specified in the Total Cases/Minutes field, it’s possible to log six or more cases against it, as long as no more than five of those cases are in Resolved status.
In the Resolve Case dialog box, in the Resolution field, enter Water line replaced.
Click the Close button to close the case window.
In the Contract form, in the left navigation area, click Contract Lines. Then click the Refresh button, if needed, to verify that the Allotments Remaining value is updated to 19.
On the form toolbar, click Actions, and then click Renew Contract to renew the contract for another term.
In the Renew Contract dialog box, leave the Include canceled contract lines check box selected, and then click OK.
Close the active contract.
In the Service area, in the Contracts view, note that a new contract in Draft status has been created with the same number as the active contract.
Double-click the renewed contract in Draft status, and verify that the start and end dates are automatically calculated as an extension of the original contract.
