building a strong business foundation with contracts
DESCRIPTION
This is the second session in the Autotask Essentials track. One of the most important steps in onboarding a new customer in Autotask is accurately representing their billing relationship in the Contracts module. When set up correctly, your Contracts help streamline and automate workflows from labor & services billing to configuration item reporting. The session will show you the building blocks of the most commonly used Contract types in Autotask and help you master this fundamental skill. Autotask features: Recurring Service Contracts - Block Hour Contracts - Contract Exclusions [Presenter: Bernd Muller, Autotask & Moderator: Melissa Hockenberry, Autotask]TRANSCRIPT
Building a Strong Business Foundation with Contracts
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Bernd MüllerSr. Implementation Manager
Autotask GmbH
German, married, 3 kids Lived and worked in Australia for over 6 years With Autotask for over 1 year, based in Germany Over 20 years of IT Industry Experience, mostly as IT Manager Certified ITIL v3 Expert Certified Prince2 Practitioner Certified Solution Consultant SAP Netweaver 2004s BI/BW Certified XAL Programmer (Damgaard Axapta now MS Dynamix AX) Former KHK Programmer (now Sage)
Bernd Müller
Sr. Implementation Manager
Autotask GmbH
Agenda
Brief overview of the different contracts available in Autotask Overview Recurring Service Contract Walk through the creation of a Recurring Service Contract Overview Block Hour Contract Walk through the creation of a Block Hour Contract Overview and Set up of Exclusions Run through scenario how this set up works
What is a contract and why use them?
A billing arrangement that modifies the standard role rates, the billing method, or both.
Help streamline and automate workflows from labour & services billing.
Accurately represent your billing relationship in the Contracts module.
Recurring Service Block HourTime and
Materials Fixed Price Retainer Per Ticket
Services Labour Milestones Blocks Purchases Tickets
Technician = €90/hour
Initial Payment
2 Hours per
month
€1000 per month
10 Tickets per year
What types of Contracts are there?
Desktop Monitoring
Scenario: You want to charge your customer for monthly services like remote
desktop monitoring and software updates. As part of your arrangement with your customer you include 2 hours
of Remote work per month for free to maintain their network. Only Maintenance work on provided services should be covered
and booked on Recurring Service contract, all other work should be covered with a Block Hour contract
Any additional Onsite or Emergency work should NOT be covered in your agreement.
You need to send a field technician to the customer site for Onsite work, which should NOT be covered under your contract agreement.
Scenario:
You want to charge your customer for monthly services like remote desktop monitoring and software updates. Autotask: Create Recurring Service contract with these services
When should you use a Recurring Service Contract?
Billing fixed amount for services and service bundles at a regular frequency
Need to adjust billed units of supported assets (CIs) on a customer site based on fluctuating number of assets (CIs)
Recurring Service Contracts are ideal for Managed Services arrangements
Example: Billing for third-party monitoring and maintaining of computers,
networks and software
Goto Autotask
Scenario:
You want to charge your customer for monthly services like remote desktop monitoring and software updates. Autotask: Create Recurring Service contract with these services
As part of your arrangement with your customer you include 2 hours of Remote work per month for free to maintain their network. Autotask: Create a Block Hour contract with a monthly 2 hours
block at a zero rate
When should you use a Block Hour Contract?
Customer wants to pre-pay for specific hours per month Reduce pre-paid hours for billable work that is performed Override standard rates to apply a discounted rate to the client Apply rate factors to accommodate for increased or decreased
reduction of hours Bill your customers for work performed beyond prepaid hours
Goto Autotask
Scenario: You want to charge your customer for monthly services like remote desktop monitoring and
software updates. Autotask: Create Recurring Service contract with these services
As part of your arrangement with your customer you include 2 hours of Remote work per month for free to maintain their network. Autotask: Create a Block Hour contract with a monthly 2 hours block at a zero rate
Only maintenance work on provided services should be covered and booked on Recurring Service contract, all other work should be covered with a Block Hour contract Autotask: Set Recurring Service contract as the default service desk contract.
Exclude all Work Types except Maintenance from Recurring Service contract and point to Block Hour contract for those.
Any additional Onsite or Emergency work should not be covered in your agreement. Autotask: Exclude all Work Types except Remote from Block Hour contract
You need to send a field technician to the customer site for Onsite work, which should NOT be covered under your contract agreement. Autotask: Handled automatically based on defined contract exclusions Goto Autotask
Recap Contract Exclusions
What is the function of a Contract Exclusion?
Contract exclusions allow you to exclude one or more roles or work types from the contract for non-covered work.
For roles and/or work types that are excluded you can point to another contract.
Scenario Recap You want to charge your customer for monthly services like remote desktop monitoring and software
updates. Autotask: Create Recurring Service contract with these services
As part of your arrangement with your customer you include 2 hours of Remote work per month for free to maintain their network. Autotask: Create a Block Hour contract with a monthly 2 hours block at a zero rate
Only maintenance work on provided services should be covered and booked on Recurring Service contract, all other work should be covered with a Block Hour contract Autotask: Set Recurring Service contract as the default service desk contract. Exclude all Work Types
except Maintenance from Recurring Service contract and point to Block Hour contract for those. Any additional Onsite or Emergency work should not be covered in your agreement.
Autotask: Exclude all Work Types except Remote from Block Hour contract You need to send a field technician to the customer site for Onsite work, which should NOT be
covered under your contract agreement. Autotask: Handled automatically based on defined contract exclusions
Scenario Flow
Time entry: Onsite work
Onsite work
included ?
Default contract = Recurring Service
Contract
Block Hour Contract
Charge work per Standard Role
Rate
Onsite work
included ?
No
No
Only Maintenance included
Only remote included
Reports
Profitability reports for Recurring Service Contract Profit and Loss Detail by Contract (Contracts Module) Managed Service Client Profitability Detail (New LiveReports Designer) Managed Service Client Profitability Summary Report (New LiveReports Designer) Managed Service Client Profitability Summary Report (Month to Date) (New
LiveReports Designer)
Block Contract reports Blocks report (Reports Module and Client Access Portal) Contract Opening/Ending Balance (Reports Module) Block Contract Balance (New LiveReports Designer)
Resources
If you have questions or issues, you can get more information:
Online HelpCommunityTraining videos / WebinarsClient Portal / Contact Support
Click icon to add pictureBernd MuellerSr. Implementation Manager