New contracts can be created from the contracts tab of a customer. When you select this button is will present you with a list of contract profiles to choose from. Selecting one of these profiles will take you through to the New Contract form.

Contract Profiles are configured in the Admin Settings and provide a predefined template for setting up a contract. The Contract Profile sets a number of default values in the new contract form, speeding up the data entry process and reducing errors.

Additionally, Contract Profiles can have charges defined that are specific to that profile.

Charge Profiles can be configured in Admin Settings either within a particular Contract Profile (and thus only available to that profile), or separately from the Contract Profiles (whereby it is available to be used on any contract).

Charge Profiles define a particular combination of rates and charge settings. For example, the rate might be for a particular service agent, related to a specific type of meter, or configure a predefined finance and service rate.

Once you have created the contract and its charges, you can allocate assets to the contract, and associate those assets with a particular charge.

Activating the contract will generate a number of Pending Billings, matching the contract length and billing terms.

Each contract is assigned a Contract Type that classifies the nature of the agreement. BMS supports the following contract types: Print Management, Service Rental, Asset Minimum, Managed Services, and Master Services Rental Agreement. Contract types are used for filtering and reporting, and are set when creating or editing a contract.

Contracts move through a defined set of statuses across their lifecycle. Draft is the initial state when a contract has been created but not yet activated — charges and assets can be configured at this stage. Active means the contract has been activated and is generating billings on its billing cycle. Ongoing indicates the contract has passed its contracted expiry date but remains in force, with billings continuing until terminated. Varied means the contract has been updated with new terms, creating a revised version while retaining the original for reference. Terminating means a termination has been initiated and a termination date has been set. Terminated and Cancelled are the final states, indicating the contract has ended either through termination or cancellation before or during its term.

Each contract has two expiry dates. The Contracted Expiry is the date specified in the original agreement. The Expected Expiry is a calculated date reflecting when the contract is actually expected to end. These dates are displayed in the contracts index and are colour-coded: orange indicates the contract is expected to expire earlier than its contracted term, while green indicates it is on track to run its full term.

When a contract is varied, the system links the original and new contracts through the Related Contracts section on the contract detail page. This section records the contract the current one was Varied to (a link to the replacement), the date it was Varied at, and the Original Contract (a link back to the first contract in the variation chain), allowing you to trace the full history of a contract relationship across multiple variations.