In the Contract Management area, you can map quantity- and value-based outline agreements and integrate them into Catalog Management.

Onventis monitors the workload for you and automatically warns you in good time before the agreed framework conditions are reached.

Furthermore, contract documents and their attributes can be managed and their terms and deadlines can be tracked.

Framework contracts

With the help of framework agreements, it is possible to pursue quantity contracts. Catalogue items can be added to a framework agreement and it is possible to track how many items have been called off from the agreed quantity. Furthermore, articles that are in an outline agreement can be transferred directly into an inquiry.

Create an outline agreement

In the area Operative Purchasing → Contracts → Master Agre ements the created master agreements are displayed and via the New button a new master agreement can be created.

The following fields are available for creating outline agreements:

Contract:

• Title: Enter an individual title of the master agreement here. This title appears in the second step when you assign items to an outline agreement.
• Status: A status can be assigned to the outline agreement. The following options are available: Active, Inactive, Canceled, Archived…
• Term: Here you have the option of specifying the term of the outline agreement.
• Contract partner: In this area you have the option to enter the corresponding contract partner.

Assignment:

• Responsible user group: Enter the user group that is responsible for this framework agreement. This user group receives the notifications by e-mail, provided that this Notification area is activated.
• Material group: Assign the corresponding material group to the outline agreement here.
• Notification: In this area there is the possibility to activate a notification. Notifications are sent to the assigned user group via email.

Other:

Comments on the framework agreement and/or files can be entered here.

Assignment of articles to an outline agreement

In a second step, the corresponding articles can be assigned to the created outline agreement. To do this, go to the Catalog Management area under Administration, open the desired catalog, and open the article that is to be assigned to the master agreement. Then switch to the Conditions tab.

Select a condition and activate the checkbox Outline agreement here. It is then possible to select the outline agreement in the outline agreement area and enter the agreed quantity.

The assigned article is listed in the corresponding outline agreement in the catalog article area. Furthermore, the called quantity and the load are displayed here.

New inquiries for a framework agreement

With the help of the function Request new outline agreement it is possible to transfer the articles from the outline agreement into an inquiry. You can choose whether the agreed quantity or the consumed quantity is to be requested.

Quantity contracts

With SAP integration, you have the option of importing quantity contracts via an interface.

Under Operative Purchasing → Contracts → Quantity Contracts you can see a list of all imported quantity contracts.

Hinweis This function is only available in conjunction with an SAP connection and requires an SAP interface to be set up for importing the quantity contracts.

Contract management

Onventis Contract Management enables the management of contract data including their files and documents using freely definable form templates.

Access to contracts and contract templates

User rights

Access to contract management is basically controlled by two sets of authorizations:

Contracts

These authorizations are access to the actual contracts. They must be made available to users who are allowed to create, edit or view contracts.

• Read contract
• create a contract
• Edit contract
• Delete contract

Contract templates

These permissions are administrative permissions to create and maintain contract templates.S hey must be made available to users who are allowed to create, edit, or delete contract templates for the entire organization.

• Read contract templates
• Create contract templates
• Edit contract templates
• Delete contract templates

To create a contract from a contract template, you do not need the Read Contract Templates privilege. When creating contracts, the presentation templates that have been released to the corresponding users or user groups are always automatically available (cf. read and write access to specific contract templates).

Read and write access to specific contracts

Users initially only have read and write access to contracts that they have created themselves.

In addition, there are several ways to grant users read and write access to other contracts.

To gain read or write access to certain contracts, the corresponding users always need the Read Contract or Edit Contract right beforehand, as described in the User Rights section.

Read and write access to specific contracts for individual users

A contract can specifically grant one or more users read or write access to that contract.

To do this, click More > User Shares, enable the Search Users option, and select the user under Read Access or Write Access.

Note that granting write access to contracts automatically includes read access.

Read and write access to specific contracts for user groups

In a contract, one or more user groups can be granted read or write access for this contract.

All members of this user group automatically get access to the contract.

To do this, click More > User shares, activate the Search user group option and select the user group under Read access or Write access.

Note that granting write access to contracts automatically includes read access.

Read and write access to all contracts for specific users

Certain users can be given read and write access to all contracts in the organization, regardless of the settings made directly in the individual contracts.

This option is particularly suitable for administrators and key users who support other users in the creation of contracts.

To do this, activate the option Read access to contracts of all users or Write access to contracts of all users in the user administration on the tab Advanced under External documents: Contracts.

Please note that granting write access to all contracts in the organization automatically includes read access to those contracts.

Read and write access to specific contract templates

Users initially only have read and write access to contract templates that they have created themselves.

In addition, there are several ways to grant users read and write access to additional contract templates.

Read and write access to specific contract templates for individual users

In a contract template, one or more users can be granted read or write access to that contract template.

If a user has read access to a contract template, that user can create contracts based on that template.

To do this, click More > User Shares, enable the Search Users option, and select the user under Read Access or Write Access.

Note that granting write access to contract templates automatically includes read access.

Read and write access to specific contract templates for user groups

In a contract template, one or more user groups can be granted read or write access to that contract template.

All members of this user group automatically get access to the contract template.

If a user group has read access to a contract template, all members of that user group can create contracts based on that template.

To do this, click More > User shares, activate the Search user group option and select the user group under Read access or Write access.

Note that granting write access to contract templates automatically includes read access.

Contract templates

Contracts are always created in Onventis on the basis of contract templates.

Contract templates define exactly how a contract is structured in terms of content, that is, which fields or attributes are to be filled in when a contract is created.

Create and edit contract templates

The steps described below require the appropriate user rights.

To create a new contract template or edit existing contract templates, first open the menu item Contracts & Documents > Contract Management > Contract Templates.

Create new contract templates

Click New Contract Template in the toolbar to begin creating a new contract template.

In the dialog that appears, enter the name of the contract template and confirm with OK to create the template.

The new contract template is created immediately with a default set of fields (name, status).

The chapter Creating Fields and Ranges explains the types of fields available in contracts and how to create them.

Editing contract templates

Click an entry in the list of contract templates to open the corresponding contract template.

The list of contract templates displays only those contract templates that were either created by you or for which you have explicit read or write access (see Access to Contract Templates and Contracts).

The contract template can now be edited, provided you are the creator of the contract template or have been explicitly given write access to it.

Changes to existing contract templates only ever affect new contracts to be created. Existing contracts that were created on the basis of an older variant of the contract template are not changed by this.

Copying contract templates

Contract templates can be copied to quickly create and then customize similar templates.

To copy a contract template, click the Copy button in the contract template toolbar.

To copy contract templates, you need the permissions to create contract templates (see Accessing Contract Templates and Contracts).

Deleting Contract Templates

To delete a contract template, first go to the menu item Contracts & Documents > Contract Management > Contract Templates.

Open the contract template you want to delete by clicking the corresponding entry in the list.

Click on the Delete action in the toolbar and confirm the following dialog again with Delete.

Deleting contract templates requires appropriate user authorization and write access to the contract template to be deleted (see Access to Contract Templates and Contracts).

Deleting a contract template does not delete the contracts that were created based on the contract template. However, the link between the corresponding contracts and the deleted contract template is lost. If a contract template, on the basis of which many contracts have been created, is no longer to be used in the future, it is recommended to remove the read accesses for this contract template instead of deleting them.

Create and edit areas

Within contract templates, areas and fields can be created individually in order to structure contracts later in terms of content and to be able to provide them with the required attributes.

Ranges are used to group and structure multiple fields within the contract template.

The name of an area can be assigned individually. Examples are contact persons, dates and deadlines or business partners.

Adding areas

To add a new area to a contract template, click Add Area in the toolbar, enter an area name in the following dialog and confirm with OK.

The new area is automatically added at the lowest position.

The General section is automatically created when a new contract template is created and cannot be removed. However, it is possible to rename or move the area.

Moving areas

The position of areas in a contract template can be moved individually.

To move a range, click and hold the arrow icon at the top right of the range tile and drag the range to the desired position.

During the moving process, other areas are automatically collapsed to simplify positioning.

Fields that are already contained in the area to be moved are also moved together with the area.

Editing areas

To change the name of an area, click the pencil icon at the top right of the area tile.

In the following dialog the area name can be changed.

Deleting areas

To delete an area, click the pencil icon in the upper right corner of the area tile.

In the following dialog click Delete and confirm the following dialog again with Delete to delete the area.

If a range is deleted, all fields contained in the range are automatically deleted irrevocably.

Create and edit fields

Fields can be created individually in a contract template. They represent the attributes that will later distinguish a contract based on the template.

Fields are always defined within an area (see Creating and Editing Areas).

The Name and Status fields are automatically created when a new contract template is created and cannot be removed or renamed.

Adding fields

To add a field, click the Add Field button within the area where you want to create the field.

In the menu that opens, select the desired field type from the options described below. In the dialog that opens, a field name must first be entered.

In addition, the field can be defined as a mandatory field and optionally a default value for the subsequent contract creation.

Depending on the selected field type, further setting options may be available.

Field type	Description
Text field	Single-line text field that can be filled with any characters.
Number field	Number field that can only be filled with numbers, decimal separators and thousands separators. The content of the field is automatically formatted according to the user’s “Number and date format” setting in the user administration.
Date field	Date field, which can only contain dates. The date can be entered manually or selected via a selection dialog. The content of the field is automatically formatted according to the user’s “Number and date format” setting in the user administration.
Selection field (simple)	The selection field (simple) can display individually definable options in the form of a drop-down field. When creating a contract, exactly one value can always be selected from the drop-down field. The choices are to be entered in the corresponding field in the creation dialog. Use a new line for each selection option.
Selection field (multiple)	The selection field (multiple) can display individually definable options in the form of a drop-down field. When creating a contract, multiple values can be selected from the drop-down box at the same time. The choices are to be entered in the corresponding field in the creation dialog. Use a new line for each selection option.
Selection field (Lookup)	The lookup field accesses other database tables in Onventis Buyer and displays them in the form of a dropdown field with a search option. When creating a contract, exactly one value can always be selected from the drop-down field. The desired database table from Onventis Buyer must be selected in the creation dialog. The following options are available: User User groups Organizational units Business divisions Suppliers Material groups Account assignment objects of the type “Cost center Account assignment objects of the type “Project Account assignment objects of the category “WBS element Account assignment objects of the category “Order
Dynamic date	A dynamic date field can be used to automatically calculate dates.

After confirming the dialog with the OK button, the field is created at the lowest position in the corresponding area.

Moving fields

The position of fields can be moved individually within a range.

To move a field, click and hold the arrow icon to the right of the field and drag the field to the desired position.

It is not possible to move a field to another area.

Editing fields

To edit the name or settings of a field later, click the pencil icon to the right of the field.

In the following dialog, field name and settings can be edited.

Deleting fields

To delete a field from the contract template, click the pencil icon to the right of the field, then click Delete.

Define file attachment categories

Categories for file attachments can be defined in a contract template, which can later be assigned to files that are attached to a contract based on the template.

To create file attachment categories for a contract template, click More in the contract template toolbar and click File Attachment Categories.

In the following dialog the file attachment categories can be entered. Use a new line per category.

Create rules and reminders in contract templates

Rules and reminders can be defined in contract templates, which are automatically applied to all contracts that are later created from this contract template.

To create rules and reminders, click More in the corresponding contract template in the toolbar and click Rules and Reminders.

Rules and reminders that have been created in a contract template can be changed or removed in the contracts that are based on it.

Please refer to the chapter Creating Rules and Reminders in Contracts to familiarize yourself with this feature in detail.

Contracts

Under the menu item Contracts & Documents > Contract Management > Contracts, existing contracts can be viewed and new contracts can be created.

Create and edit contracts

To create new contracts, you first need contract templates. The creation of contract templates is explained in more detail in this chapter.

Creation of a new contract

Click on New Contract in the contract list (menu item Contracts & Documents > Contract Management > Contracts) to start entering a contract.

First, you need to select a contract template and enter a contract title in the Name field.

After confirming the contract creation with the OK button, you can start filling in the contract data.

Completing and editing a contract

When a new contract is created, it is automatically opened in edit mode and can be filled immediately.

An existing contract can be edited using the Edit button in the contract’s toolbar.

As soon as a field content is changed, the Save button in the toolbar is activated. To save changes, click this button.

To discard changes, click the back arrow in the toolbar or click Cancel and confirm the following dialog.

Adding and deleting file attachments

Files can be added to or deleted from a contract when it is in edit mode.

To add one or more files, drag them into the Drop File to Upload Here… area, or click the area to open the Browse dialog.

An uploaded file can be removed by clicking the recycle bin icon to the right of the file.

By clicking on the pencil icon, the title of the file can be changed and the file attachment categories defined in the contract template can be selected.

Files are uploaded and saved immediately. The Save button in the toolbar is not enabled if only files have been uploaded or deleted, but other fields of the contract have not been changed. To put the contract into read mode after uploading or deleting the files, click the Cancel button in the toolbar.

Characteristics of different field types

Mandatory fields

Fields defined as mandatory fields are marked in color and with the note “Mandatory field must not be empty” if they are not filled.

However, when saving a contract, there is no automatic mandatory field validation to allow users to pause the creation of a contract and save it temporarily.

Text field

Any text can be entered in fields of type “Text”.

Number field

Any number can be entered in fields of type “Number”.

It is also possible to enter decimal separators and thousands separators.

The number entered is always automatically formatted according to the selected number and date format setting of the user viewing the contract.

Selection field (simple)

In the simple selection field, you can choose from one of the options defined in the underlying contract template.

To empty a previously filled selection field, the “Empty selection” can be selected at the bottom of the dropdown field.

Selection field (multiple)

In the multiple choice field, one or more options defined in the underlying contract template can be selected.

After clicking on the selection field, the desired options can be clicked in the drop-down field that opens.

Selection field (Lookup)

In selection fields of the type “Lookup”, you can select from the corresponding results after entering a search term.

Date

A valid date can be entered manually in a date field or selected via the displayed calendar.

The options on the right side of the calendar can be used to quickly jump to an appropriate date (e.g. “End of the year”).

Dynamic date

A dynamic date is automatically calculated according to its configuration in the contract

To define a dynamic date, click the pencil icon to the right of the field.

The following options are available in the dialog that opens:

• by the end of the year

Starting from the current date, the next year end is determined. The date is automatically recalculated at the turn of the year.

Example:

If the contract is considered on 15.06.2020, the dynamic date will be 31.12.2020.

On 01.01.2021 the date is automatically set to 31.12.2021.

• End of the month

Based on the current date, the next month end is determined. The date is automatically recalculated at the turn of the month.

Example:

If the contract is viewed on 06/15/2020, the dynamic date will be 06/30/2020.

On 07/01/2020, the date will automatically be set to 07/31/2020.

• end of a given month

Starting from the current date, the next end of the selected month is determined. After reaching this date, it is automatically recalculated.

Example:

The month of November was chosen.

If the contract is considered on 06/15/2020, the dynamic date will be 11/30/2020.

On 12/01/2020, the date will automatically be set to 11/30/2021.

• End of the quarter

Based on the current date, the next quarter end is determined. The date is automatically recalculated at the change of quarter.

Example:

If the contract is viewed on 06/15/2020, the dynamic date will be 06/30/2020.

On 07/01/2020, the date will automatically be set to 09/30/2020.

• Reference date

The date is pulled from another non-dynamic date field in the same contract.

This option is particularly useful in combination with the setting “n days/weeks/months” below (cf. Explanation of calculation option below).

• Specified day

The date is always set to the specific day of a month following the current date.

Example:

The day 31 January was chosen.

If the contract is considered on 15.06.2020, the dynamic date will be 31.01.2021.

On 01.02.2021 the date is automatically set to 31.01.2022.

Calculation option

Based on the previously selected setting, a calculation can be made in the form of n days/weeks/months.

This calculates a period before the dynamic date determined.

This setting is used in particular to determine a date from a period of notice.

Example 1

A contract expires on 31.12.2020 and must be terminated with three months’ notice.

A date field was created in the contract called Contract End and 12/31/2020 was stored as the date.

In addition, a dynamic date field called Latest Cancellation Date has been created. In this field, the option Reference date: End of contract and the calculation option 3 months have been selected.

The dynamic date is determined to be 30.09.2020.

Example 2

A contract always expires at the end of the year and must be terminated with one month’s notice. The contract is otherwise extended by one year.

A dynamic date field called Next Contract End was created in the contract and the End of Year option was selected.

In addition, a dynamic date field called Latest Cancellation Date has been created. In this field, the option Reference date: Next contract end and the calculation option 1 month have been selected.

If the contract is considered on 15.06.2020, the dynamic date for the latest termination date will be 30.11.2020.

On 12/01/2020, the date will automatically be set to 11/30/2021.

mass modification of contracts

With the help of the mass modification of contracts, many contracts can be processed at once.

To use the mass change function, you need authorization to process contracts.

All changes made using the mass change are logged in the change history of the affected contracts.

Performing the mass change

First, create or select a filter in the contract list (menu item Contracts & Documents > Contract Management > Contracts) that contains the contracts to which the mass change is to be applied.

Then click More and Mass Change in the contract list toolbar.

The mass change wizard then guides you through the necessary steps.

By clicking on Delete at the bottom right, the mass change can be cancelled at any time. The selected contracts then remain unchanged. Contracts are not deleted at any time by the mass change.

Step 1 – Selection of contracts to be modified

Select whether all contracts of the current filter should be adjusted or further limit the selection at this point.

Step 2 – Selecting the changes to be made

The following contract data can be changed with the mass change:

User shares

The read and/or write accesses for all selected contracts can be overwritten.

This is especially helpful when responsibilities for contracts have changed within the organization.

Field contents

Changes the contents of fields in the selected contracts.

Step 3.1 – Changing User Shares

Select which users and/or user groups should have read/write access to the previously selected contracts.

Write access to contracts automatically includes read access.

If read or write authorizations are already stored in the selected contracts, these are overwritten by the mass change.

The Remove all user permissions option can be used to remove read or write permissions already stored in the contracts.

Contract creators and users who have write access to contracts of all users or read access to contracts of all users in the user administration setting are not affected by this.

Step 3.2 – Change field contents

Select the fields to be changed in the previously selected contracts. Then enter the new value on the right-hand side that is to apply to all contracts.

If a field is to be cleared in all contracts, select it but do not select a new value on the right-hand side.

If contracts based on different contract templates have been selected, the fields available in the contracts may differ. The fields displayed in step 3 are grouped accordingly into fields that are available in all selected contracts and fields that are only partially available in the selected contracts. Fields that are only available in some of the selected contracts are only changed in these contracts by the mass change.

Step 4 – Summary

In step 4, you receive a summary of the previously selected settings for the mass change.

Check them carefully and confirm them using the Start mass change button.

After confirming the Start mass change button, the mass change can no longer be cancelled. The changes made cannot be revoked.

Step 5 – Confirmation

The successful execution of the mass change is confirmed.

Exit the wizard by clicking the Close button.

Copying contracts

To create similar contracts very quickly, an existing contract can be copied.

To copy contracts, you must have the authorization to create contracts.

In a contract, click the Copy button in the toolbar to create a copy of the contract.

In order to copy the file attachments of the source contract into the new contract as well, confirm the following dialog “Copy file attachments” with Yes.

The contract copy is then created and automatically opened in edit mode.

The name of the new contract shall be preceded by the text ‘Copy of’.

Deletion of contracts

To delete a contract, you need both the authorizations for editing contracts and for deleting contracts.

In a contract, first click on Edit in the toolbar and then on Delete and confirm the subsequent dialog again with Delete.

The contract, including its file attachments and amendment history, will be irrevocably deleted.

Release of contracts

Users initially only have read and write access to contracts that they have created themselves.

In addition, there are several ways to grant users read and write access to other contracts.

In order to gain read or write access to certain contracts, the corresponding users always need the Read Contracts or Edit Contracts right beforehand, as described under User Rights.

Read and write access to specific contracts for individual users

A contract can specifically grant one or more users read or write access to that contract.

To do this, click More > User Shares, enable the Search Users option, and select the user under Read Access or Write Access.

Please note that granting write access to contracts automatically includes read access.

Read and write access to specific contracts for user groups

In a contract, specific read access can be granted to one or more user groups for this contract.

All members of this user group automatically get access to the contract.

To do this, click More > User shares, activate the Search user group option and select the user group under Read access or Write access.

Please note that granting write access to contracts automatically includes read access.

Read and write access to all contracts

Certain users can be given read and write access to all contracts in the organization, regardless of the settings made directly in the individual contracts.

To do this, activate the option Read access to contracts of all users or Write access to contracts of all users in the user administration on the tab Advanced under External documents: Contracts.

Please note that granting write access to all contracts in the organization automatically includes read access to those contracts.

Creating filter views

With the help of filter views, the contract list can be limited according to certain criteria and the type of display (sorting, columns to be displayed) can be defined.

Both the filtering and the display are saved combined in a filter view and can thus be recalled at any time.

Creating a new filter view

To create a new filter view, click More in the Contract List toolbar and click New Filter View.

The dialog for defining the filter criteria opens.

First enter a name for the new filter view at the top of the dialog.

Editing an existing filter view

In the toolbar, select a filter from the drop-down list and click Edit Filter.

The dialog for defining the filter criteria opens.

Deleting a filter view

To delete a filter view, select the filter from the drop-down list in the toolbar and click Edit Filter.

The dialog for defining the filter criteria opens. Click Delete View in the lower left corner.

Definition of the filter criteria

In the dialog for the definition of the filter criteria, the contracts can be filtered according to various criteria.

Criteria can be combined by means of AND or OR links. To do this, first select the AND or ORoption on the left-hand side.

Then click the plus icon on the right to add a criterion. In the dialog that opens, you can choose from all the fields that are available in all the organization’s contract templates.

The Search field in the dialog allows you to quickly find the desired criterion.

The contract template criterion can be used to filter all contracts that were generated from a specific contract template.

The Group option can be used to add another criteria level.

The following examples show possible configurations of filters.

Example 1

This filter shows all leases for the location CIRRUS Marketing Ltd.

The Location field has been defined in the contract template as a lookup field of type Organizational Unit.

Example 2

This filter shows all vehicle contracts that are managed by the responsible buyers “Jonathan Bruckner” OR “Alina Hamann”.

The Responsible Purchaser field has been defined in the contract template as a lookup field of type User.

Example 3

This filter shows all vehicle contracts that expire by the end of the year.

The Contract End field has been defined as a date field in the contract template.

The filter updates itself automatically, so that the contracts whose end date is in the current year are always displayed.

Defining the columns to be displayed

The columns to be displayed in the contract list can be defined as part of the filter view. All fields that are available in all contract templates of the organization can be defined as columns.

In the contract list in the toolbar, first select the filter view from the drop-down list whose columns you want to define.

Then click Edit More > Columns in the toolbar.

In the dialog that appears, you can select the columns to be displayed in the filter view.

The Search field in the dialog allows you to quickly find the desired column.

Confirm the selection with Save to add the selected columns to the filter view.

If you call up the selected filter view again at a later time, the column configuration is automatically applied again.

Defining the column sequence

The column order in the contract list can also be defined as part of the filter view.

In the contract list in the toolbar, first select the filter view from the drop-down list whose column order you want to define

Then click and hold a column heading and drag the column to the desired position. The new column order is automatically saved.

If you call up the selected filter view again at a later time, the column order is automatically applied again.

Defining the sorting

Sorting in the contract list can also be defined as part of the filter view.

In the contract list in the toolbar, first select the filter view from the drop-down list whose sorting you want to define

To change the sort order of the list, move the mouse over the column headers and click the arrow icon that appears in the column you want to sort.

By clicking on the arrow symbol again, the sorting order can be reversed. The new sorting is automatically saved in the filter view.

If you call up the selected filter view again at a later time, the sorting is automatically applied again.

Create rules and reminders

Rules and reminders can be used to automatically send email reminders or adjust the status of a contract.

It is possible to create several rules and reminders for one contract.

Create automatic reminders

To create an automatic reminder for a contract, click More in the contract’s toolbar and click Rules and Reminders.

The dialog that appears displays existing rules and reminders. These may have been taken from the contract template from which the contract was created.

To create a new reminder, click the New button.

In the following dialog, enter a name for the reminder and select the type E-mail reminder. Then click New.

In the list of rules and reminders, click the pencil icon next to the newly created reminder to start editing. The dialog for the configuration of the reminder opens.

Memory configuration

In order to generate an automatic reminder, the following settings must be made in the dialog for the configuration of the reminder

Conditions

Conditions are the trigger for memory. A condition is always a date on which the reminder is to be sent.

In the Execute Reminder On field, select a date field from the contract. These can be static date fields as well as dynamic date fields.

Then select whether the reminder should be sent exactly when the date entered in the date field is reached, or whether the reminder should be sent n days/weeks/months before or after the date is reached.

Notification to

This setting controls which users should receive the notification by email.

In the Notification to field, select a user or user group field from the contract.

When a user field is selected, the notification is sent to the email address of the user selected in the contract field. When a user group field is selected, the notification is sent to the email addresses of all users who are in the user group at the time of sending.

Configure notification

In this section, the content of the e-mail notification can be defined.

Enter the subject of the e-mail in the Title field and the content of the e-mail in the Content field.

Email subject and content can also include field content from the contract. To do this, click the displayed fields to add them as variables to the subject or content text.

The variable is always inserted at the position of the cursor. Note that the variables are inserted in the form \{field name\} and this notation must not be changed.

Example of a reminder

A contract ends on 31.12.2020 and must be terminated with a notice period of 3 months to the end of the contract.
An e-mail reminder is to be sent 2 weeks before the end of the cancellation period to the members of the
responsible purchasing group
defined in the contract.

In one contract, the date field Contract end was defined and filled with the date 12/31/2020.

In the contract, the dynamic date field Latest Notice Date was also defined, which determines the period 3 months before the end of the contract. The field shows 30.09.2020 in the contract accordingly.

The following configuration is to be made in the reminder:

• Execute reminder on: “Latest date of termination” and “2 weeks prior to”
• Notification to: “Responsible purchasing group”.

Please note that contract reminders are not viewable in the email queue in Onventis.

Automatic setting of the contract status

To create an automatic status change for a contract, click More in the contract’s toolbar and click Rules and Reminders.

The dialog that appears displays existing rules and reminders. These may have been taken from the contract template from which the contract was created.

To create a new rule for the status change, click the New button.

In the following dialog, enter a name for the rule and select the type Status change (active/inactive). Then click New.

In the list of rules and reminders, click the pencil icon next to the newly created rule to start editing it. The dialog for configuring the rule opens.

Rule configuration

In order to automatically change the status of a contract from “Active” to “Inactive” (or vice versa), the settings described below must be made in the rule configuration dialog.

Conditions

Conditions are the trigger for the rule. A condition is always a date on which the rule, i.e. the status change, is to be executed.

In the Execute Reminder On field, select a date field from the contract. These can be static date fields as well as dynamic date fields.

Then select whether the rule should be executed exactly when the date entered in the date field is reached, or whether the rule should be executed n days/weeks/months before or after the date is reached.

When the date is reached, the status is always automatically changed to the other status, i.e. a contract that currently has the status “Active” is changed to the status “Inactive”. A contract with the status “Inactive” is changed to the status “Active”.

Example of a rule

An active contract ends on 31.12.2020 and should automatically be set to the status “Inactive” on this date.

In one contract, the date field Contract end was defined and filled with the date 12/31/2020.

The following configuration is to be made in the reminder:

• Execute reminder on: “end of contract” and “on reaching the date”.

Deleting rules and reminders

To delete an existing rule or reminder, click More in the contract toolbar and click Rules and Reminders.

Click the pencil icon next to the rule or reminder you want to delete, and in the dialog that opens, click Delete in the lower left corner.

Importing contracts

Using the contract import feature, a large number of contracts, including their file attachments, can be imported into Onventis at once.

In order to be able to import contracts, ready-made contract templates are first required. It also requires permissions to create contracts.

In the contract list (menu item Contracts & Documents > Contract Management > Contracts) click on More and on Import Contracts.

The contract import wizard opens and guides you through the necessary steps.

Step 1

First, select the contract template for which you want to import contracts. Then click the Download button.

A zip file will be downloaded containing all the necessary files to prepare the import.

The zip file contains the following files and directories:

• File data.csv
  The contract data must be entered in this file.
• File system-do-not-delete.ini
  This file is of a purely technical nature and may not be modified.
• Folder attachmentsAll file attachments that are to be attached to the contracts to be imported are to be stored in this folder.

Editing the data.csv file

The data.csv file contains semicolon-separated columns.
In row 1 of the CSV file, each column represents exactly one field defined in the contract template. This line must not be changed.

The columns are displayed as follows: Area name|Field name

Enter the contracts to be imported into the CSV file, use a new line per contract.

When populating the CSV file, note the field types defined in the contract template.
For example, if a field was defined as a number field, only numbers may be entered in the CSV file for this field. Otherwise the import will fail.

Depending on the different field types, the columns of the CSV file are to be filled as follows:

• Status: Text Active or Inactive (English spelling)
• Text field: Text
• Number field: number; decimal separators are to be entered as comma; leading zeros are removed during import
• Selection field (simple): selected option is to be entered as text
• Selection field (multiple): selected options are to be entered as text and separated by the | symbol (“Pipe”)
• Lookup field: The internal number of the corresponding object in Onventis (e.g. supplier number, user number, etc.), including leading zeros if applicable.
• Date field: Date in the form dd.mm.yyyy, e.g. 15.02.2020
• Dynamic date:
  The different options of the dynamic date are to be entered as follows:

Option	Enter	Note
by the end of the year	0|1|1|1|0|0
End of the month	1|1|1|1|0|0
end of a given month	2|1|5|1|0|0	The bold digit defines the month (from 0 – January to 11 – December). In the example on the left, the month June is selected.
End of the quarter	3|1|1|1|0|0
Reference date	4|1|1|Area name:Field name|0|0	The range and field name of the reference date must be entered separated by :.
Specified day	5|9|4|1|0|0	The numbers in bold define the day (from 1 to 31) and the month (from 0 – January to 11 – December). In the example on the left, day 9 and month May are selected.
Calculation “n days/weeks/months” before	0|1|1|1|3|2	The two digits in bold define the number and unit of the calculation. The unit is defined as 0 = days, 1 = weeks and 2 = months. In the example on the left, the date is moved forward by 3 months. The shift can be applied to any of the options listed earlier in this table.

Unsupported or partially supported characters

The following characters cannot be imported or can only be partially imported in a contract field:

Characters	Used for	Support
|	Separators for selection fields, dynamic date fields, and file attachments	character can be used in all fields except select fields and dynamic date fields
;	CSV separator	Character cannot be used in any field
:	Separator for reference date in dynamic date fields	character can be used in all fields except dynamic date fields
“		Character cannot be used in any field
‘		Character cannot be used in any field

Adding file attachments

File attachments must be stored in the attachments directory.

If several files with the same name are to be uploaded, additional subdirectories can be created in the attachments directory.

In the data.csv file, the file attachments belonging to a contract must be specified in the attachments column in the following form:

Example 1

contract.pdf

Example 2

subdirectory/contract.pdf

If several files are to be attached to a single contract, they must be separated by the | symbol (“pipe”) in the following form:

Example 1

contract-file-1.pdf|contract-file-2.pdf

Example 2

subdirectory/contract-file-1.pdf|subdirectory/contract-file-2.pdf

Schritt 2

The edited CSV file and all file attachments must be added back to the zip file.

The zip file can then be dragged to the File to upload here… field. can be dragged. By clicking on this field you can alternatively open the browse dialog.

After selecting the file, it is immediately uploaded and processed.

Schritt 3

If all information has been processed successfully, this is confirmed by a corresponding status message.

If errors occurred during processing, they are displayed in the Error Details area.

If the contract data was entered correctly in the data.csv file, but problems occurred when assigning the file attachments, the contracts will still be created.

Restrictions

The import of contracts is currently subject to the following restrictions:

• Importing rules and reminders for contracts is not possible.
• It is not possible to update existing contracts via the import. A contract contained in the import is always created anew.

Exporting contracts

The saved contract data can be exported as a CSV file at any time.

Two options are available for exporting contracts:

Complete export of all contracts and all field contents
To export all contracts, including all field contents, click More in the Contract List toolbar and click Full Export.

Export based on the selected filter view
To export contracts based on the currently selected filter view, click More in the Contract List toolbar and click Export Current View (Including Filtering).
The export contains the contracts of the currently selected filter and also takes into account the columns defined in it.

Please note that file attachments of contracts are currently not included in the export. File attachments can be downloaded directly from the respective contract in the user interface.

Search for contracts

Contracts can be searched via the central search in the header area of the application.

To do this, select the Search for Contracts search area. When you call up contract management, the search area is automatically preselected.

Searchable content

The following contract contents can be searched:

• Contract title
• Fields of type “Text
• Fields of type “Vendor” (vendor number and vendor name)
• Fields of type “User” (Name)
• Filenames of attached files
• File contents of attached files (depending on the file format)

The following contract content is not currently searchable:

• Lookup fields which are not of the type “Supplier” or “User
• Number and date fields
• Title of attached files

Search behaviour

Individual words can be found from one character word length (e.g. search term “IT”).

Parts of words (e.g. search term “Miet” in the term “Mietvertrag”) can be found but a word length of at least three characters.

Only the beginning of the word can be searched for. Word endings cannot be searched for (e.g. search term “contract” in the term “rental agreement”).

Special characters such as “-” are interpreted by the search engine as separators between two words (e.g. “IT contract” – here you can search for both “IT” and “contract”).