Sales and Contract Management on Product Documentation

Sales Quotes and Orders

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

Sales Quotes and Orders are the operational entry point into contract-related sales processes in Professional Services. When a quote is created, a new sales contract can already be created in parallel or an existing contract can be extended, so sales activities and recurring services are prepared together from the beginning.

Prerequisites

customer, project, and the intended sales type are defined
standard pre- and post-texts plus the relevant contract and billing parameters are configured
it is clear whether a new sales contract should be created or an existing one should be extended

Functional focus

New sales quote with sales contract

When you create a sales quote with the Professional Services sales type, a new sales contract can be generated at the same time. Customer, project, duration, and further document data are therefore prepared not only for the quote, but also for later contract and billing logic.

Sales

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

The sales functions of Professional Services connect quotes, orders, sales contracts, and recurring billing in one continuous flow. This allows recurring services to be sold, structured, calculated, activated, and billed on an ongoing basis.

Business value

recurring services can be embedded directly in quotes and orders
sales contracts provide the binding framework for support, maintenance, subscriptions, and similar service models
recurring billing enables batch invoicing across multiple contracts

Functional focus

Quotes and orders

When you create sales quotes, you can generate a new sales contract in parallel or extend an existing contract. This means sales activities and later billing are prepared together from the beginning.

Billing Types

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

Billing Types define how recurring services are represented commercially and operationally within a sales contract in Professional Services. They provide the frame for calculation, duration, billing rhythm, and the detailed billing-type assignments from which recurring services are later invoiced.

Prerequisites

a suitable sales contract exists or is prepared from a business perspective
number series and, if needed, billing-type templates are configured
the type, calculation logic, billing rhythm, and project reference are aligned

Functional focus

Billing types and templates

Billing types can be created manually or derived from templates. Templates help prepare recurring contract models such as financing, service, rental, or maintenance consistently and assign them to multiple contracts under the same rules.

Sales Contract

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

The sales contract is the central object for recurring services in Professional Services. It combines project, customer, contract duration, billing logic, and concrete contract lines in one document and forms the basis for recurring billing, contingents, and service-related add-ons.

Prerequisites

The core Professional Services setup is maintained.
Number series, contract types, billing types, SLA templates, and contingent templates exist.
The related project and customer are already available.

Functional focus

Contract structure

A sales contract is structured in three layers:

Service Level Agreements

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

Service Level Agreements define the service-related framework of a contract in Professional Services. They describe the committed response, arrival, and restoration times, the time window in which service is delivered, and how these commitments relate to the sales contract, project, and connected contingents.

Prerequisites

number series and, if needed, SLA templates are configured
a suitable sales contract and project reference are available
business commitments for priority, response time, and on-site service are aligned

Functional focus

SLA templates and contract linkage

SLAs can be created directly or derived from SLA templates. In practice they are closely linked to sales contracts and billing types so that recurring services are governed not only commercially, but also by explicit service commitments.

Recurring Billing

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

Recurring Billing consolidates due contract invoices from multiple sales contracts into one shared processing run. It is the central mechanism for invoicing recurring services efficiently and with control.

Prerequisites

activated sales contracts with a correctly maintained next billing date exist
year, month, and posting date for the planned billing run are defined
if required, filter criteria are prepared to limit the run to a specific contract population

Functional focus

Billing period and contract selection

The recurring invoice list works on a calendar basis using year and month. In addition, the contract view can be used to restrict which sales contracts are included in a specific run. This supports both broad batch runs and targeted subsets.

Contingents

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Purpose

Contingents control which quantities or amounts are available to a customer within a contract period in Professional Services. They therefore connect the promised service scope with recurring provisioning and actual consumption in ticket, work-order, and billing processes.

Prerequisites

a suitable sales contract exists and is prepared for recurring services
the contingent type, method, and reference period are defined
if the contingent is linked through SLA or billing types, the related templates and assignments exist

Functional focus

Contingent type and billing logic

Contingents can be quantity-based or amount-based. They can also be capped or uncapped. This determines whether excess consumption is billed separately once the limit is reached or whether the service scope remains fully covered by the agreed service price.