Successware allows you to create membership agreements to meet any style of agreement that your company chooses to use. Keep in mind that agreements must be activated before you can make use of the agreement to perform service or scheduled maintenance.
Successware allows you to employ two types of agreement coverage:
- Maintenance - these consist of covering scheduled maintenance visits.
- Service - these include coverage of unexpected service calls.
Agreements can be set up to cover maintenance, service or both.
Maintenance Agreements - Can have their revenue deferred so that a portion of the revenue is realized as each visit is performed, as opposed to realizing all of the revenue at the time the agreement is activated. This allows you to more realistically account for incoming revenue over the life span of the agreement. If the agreement is terminated, any deferred amount is automatically released as current revenue. If an agreement expires and all of the required visits have not been performed, the amount left in the deferred revenue account is not realized as current revenue until the remaining visits are marked complete or cancelled.
Service Agreements - Can be set up so that a reserve account is established to cover the expense of work performed under the agreement. Any deposits or periodic payment is immediately realized as revenue, however a separate expense transaction places funds into a service reserve account. This account will then be charged against as service visits are performed. If more than the value of the reserve account is required to meet the agreement, an expense excess account will be charged. If the agreement is terminated, any amount in the service reserve account related to the agreement is removed and returned to the expense account from which it was originally charged. If an agreement expires and there is still a balance in the reserve account, the reserve amount must be manually returned to the expense account from which it was originally charged.
Agreements can be set up to run as either perpetual or fixed length.
- Perpetual Agreements - Are indefinite and are in effect from the starting date until the customer cancels the agreement, therefore perpetual agreements do not have an end date.
- Fixed-Term Agreements - Are in effect from a set start date through a set end date, at which time the agreement will expire or can be renewed.
When determining how your company will sell agreements, you will have to make four main decisions:
- Will your agreements cover maintenance, service or both?
- Will you make use of deferred revenue or service reserve?
- Will your agreements have a fixed-term, or will they be perpetual (no end date)?
- Will your agreements be billed periodically, at the time of service, or will pre-payment be required?
Agreements and the General Ledger
Whenever you activate an agreement, invoice an agreement, or perform a visit or service related to the agreement, entries are posted to the General Ledger.
There are five default General Ledger accounts that are associated with agreements.
- Agreement Revenue- contains recognized agreement revenue.
- Agreement Deferred Revenue- contains revenue that is to be recognized in the future, when a maintenance visit is performed. This is a liability account.
- Agreement Reserve- liability that is set aside to cover future service calls that are charged against the agreement.
- Agreement Expense- expense entries that are made in association with agreement reserve.
- Agreement Expense Excess- expense entries that are made in excess of the original reserve amount.
Creating Templates and Agreements
The agreement process starts with a template. Creating the Agreement Template takes place in the Agreement Manager. New agreements are then added by selecting from the list of Agreement Templates. Agreements can be added by a technician using Mobile, or from the office.
All of the essential information, such as duration, department, billing frequency, and payment amounts can be predetermined and saved as a template. When the template is later chosen, the fields are populated automatically.
Creating an Agreement Template
- From the Customer Service module, select the Agreement Manager.
- In the top right corner of the page, select the ellipsis, "..." next to the filter, and click on Create New Agreement Template.
- Select New Agreement Template.
- Fill in all of the elements of the agreement that will remain the same from customer to customer. This would include coverage, department, discount, visits per year, billing method and frequency, and the bill amount.
- Add in the billing options on the next page.
- Click Create Template.
Create an Agreement Using a Template
Once the templates have been created, you can create new agreements with customers through the Mobile app, or directly through Successware Platform.
For more information on creating an agreement through our Mobile app, check out our article on Mobile for Platform - Invoicing.
In Successware Platform, agreements can be created in three areas, through the Agreement Manager, Invoice Manager, or Call Handling.
Add an Agreement from Call Handling
1. From the Customer Service module, select Call Handling.
2. Find the customer by searching for them.
3. In the Profile subtab for the customer, select the +Add Agreement button.
Add an Agreement from the Agreement Manager
1. From the Customer Service module, select Invoice Manager.
2. Select the ellipsis in the top right corner and click on Add Agreement.
Add an Agreement from the Invoice Manager
1. From the Customer Service module, select Agreement Manager.
2. Open an invoice and select the Invoice Details subtab.
3. Click the drop-down menu in the top right corner, and select, "New Agreements".
Adding the Agreement to a Customer Account
Once you've selected the Add Agreement option from one of the three areas noted above, you can add the agreement to the customer's account. If you add the agreement from Call Handling, the customer's information will automatically populate in the Add Agreement screen. If not, you will need to select the customer before accessing the Add Agreement screen.
1. In the Agreement Details tab, fill out the required information:
a. Type Name: This drop-down shows a list of templates that have been previously created. Selecting a template will automatically populate many of the other required fields. You can still edit the fields as needed.
b. Term: This can be either Fixed or Perpetual.
c. Years: If the agreement is Fixed, how many years will it last?
d. Department
e. Visit / Year: How many visits will be scheduled each year?
f. Covers: This can be Maintenance, Service, or both.
g. Start Date
h. Sale Date
i. End Date
2. Fill out the Commissions and Sales section as needed.
3. Enter the Visit Schedule months, unless this is a service agreement only. The Visit Schedule can be updated even after the agreement is created, in case the customer has an issue and needs to reschedule the visit.
4. Click the Create Agreement button in the bottom right corner.
5. A pop-up window will ask if you would like to make a payment to the invoice now. Agreements are activated once a payment is made.
6. If you choose to make a payment immediately, the Payment window will open. Select a payment method and click the Pay button in the bottom right corner.
7. This will activate the agreement. To confirm the agreement activation, copy the Agreement number, and filter the list of agreements to show only the agreements with that number. Check the Activated column to ensure the agreement has been activated.
Entering Pre-existing Agreements
You will need to “convert” agreements that were in effect before you activated Successware. Converting agreements will allow you to enter the agreement information without affecting the General Ledger. This will also allow you to mark any visits and periodic billings as completed without affecting the General Ledger.
There is certain information that you will need to have available in order to enter existing agreements in Successware.
- The customer’s location and billing information.
- The following original agreement information:
- Agreement type.
- Agreements coverage (maintenance, service, or both).
- Agreement terms - does the agreement expire after a fixed number of years, or is it perpetual?
- How the agreement is billed.
- What equipment is covered.
- Visit types.
- Visit schedule.
- The agreement’s status.
- What billings have been completed.
- What visits have been completed.
Create a New Converted Agreement
- From the Agreement Manager, select the ellipsis on the right side of the screen, and click on Create New Converted Agreement.
- In the slideout screen, search for the existing customer.
- Click Search to look for the customer and click on the name of the customer when it appears.
- Click the Next button after confirming the Customer information, Service Location, and Billing Location.
- Select the Agreement Type from the drop-down at the top.
- Modify the Start Date and Sale Date as needed.
- Fill out the required fields, including Term, Department, whether this covers the homeowner as a service or maintenance agreement, and how many visits per year are included.
- Fill in the Visit Type, and the Visit Months.
- Navigate to the Billing Information subtab at the top of the page. Select the Billing Method and review the pricing calculations.
- A confirmation message will note that the New Agreement was created.
- Click No to mark the visit complete before Committing the Agreement.
- From the Agreement Manager, use the filter options to find the agreement. Find the Converted, Not Committed Agreement and click Edit Agreement. Select Visits to open the Visit Screen.
- Use the ellipsis on the Visit page to mark the Visit complete. This will be noted by a completed checkmark.
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Use the ellipsis to Commit Converted Agreement. You will see a pop-up titled, "Confirm". To activate the converted agreement, verify the completed number of visits and next scheduled visit.
- The agreement has now been activated. You will see an Active note in the top right corner of the screen.
The Agreement Manager
The Agreement Manager is used to view agreements, perform periodic billings and maintain renewals.
To get to the Agreement Manager, go to the Customer Service module, and select Agreement Manager.
Finding Agreements
The Agreement Manager has a search bar with selection indicators that allow you to control the search type. The Agreement Manager also has a large array of available filters that allow you to limit the agreements that are displayed to only those agreements that meet specific criteria.
1. Select a View- This drop-down will allow you to select agreements based on criteria such as Start Date, Sale Date, Visits Due, and more. When using this drop-down, be sure to add in a Start and End Date in those fields.
2. Filter- Clicking the Filter icon will bring up a new screen with several options.
You can choose to view agreements that are Pending, Billed Monthly, Covers Maintenance, and is currently active. The filter options include different agreement types, visits left, the agreement number, and customer last name.
3. Show/Hide Columns- This drop-down gives you a list of all the columns available in the Agreement Manager.
You can uncheck any of the boxes to remove those columns from view.
If you click Save Customization, it will keep this view on your subsequent visits to the Agreement Manager. Note that it will not affect other users, just your view of the page.
If you want to revert back to the default view, you can click the Restore Default Columns button.
4. Reorder Columns- You can click and drag the columns to put them in an order that works for you.
The Agreements Form
Agreement Details tab
Billing Information tab
Additional Agreement Information
The Additional Agreement Information form displays summary data for Maintenance and Service portions of an Agreement. This information includes visit and deferred revenue information for Maintenance Agreements and service and reserve charges for Service Agreements.
The grids in each section display a history of transactions against the portions of the Agreement.
Access the Additional Agreement Information form by clicking on the Additional Agreement Information subtab from the Agreement form.
Adjusting Agreement Reserve
You can adjust the agreement reserve in the Agreement Manager. You may choose to increase the reserve amount of an agreement or to release the amount still help in reserve on the expiration of an agreement.
To Adjust Agreement Reserve
- In the Agreement Manager, select the ellipsis, "..." available under the Actions column, and select Adjust Reserve.
- Select Increase Reserve or Decrease Reserve.
- Enter the amount of the adjustment in the Reserve Amount. To reverse the entire balance on expiration of the agreement, be sure that the amount of the adjustment is equal to the Balance listed at the top of the form.
- The Expense Account, Sub Account, and Department fields are disabled (they will default from the Agreement).
- Use the Comment field to enter any notes.
- Select Post to post the reserve to the general ledger.
Agreement Profitability
The Agreement Profitability form displays summary data for Maintenance portion, Service portion and overall Profitability of the current agreement.
In the Agreement Manager, select the ellipsis, "..." under the Actions column, and select Agreement Profitability.
Agreement Status
You can check on the status of an agreement from its origination to its completion using the Agreement Status form. Status information includes whether the Agreement is active, is a renewal, and whether all visits have been fulfilled. Additionally, the Agreement Status form identifies information regarding billing.
In the Agreement Manager, select the ellipsis, "..." under the Actions column, and select Agreement Status.
The information presented (with the exception of commissions) is view-only and cannot be edited in this form.
Visit Load
The Visit Load form shows the current month and the following 12 months of scheduled visits. The form serves as an assistant in properly distributing agreement visits throughout the year.
To access the Visit Load form, open an agreement from the Agreement Manager, and click on the Visit Load button.
The form shows the count (or total number of visits) and the total number of hours of visits (based upon the Visit Type setup) scheduled for each month.
By default, the chart lists the visits scheduled for the Visit Type you have selected.
Open Visits Form
The Open Visits form provides you with information about the visits associated with the currently selected Agreement.
From this form, you can Create a Job or Cancel a Visit (these options are enabled only after the Agreement invoice has been created and posted).
To access the Visit Load form, open an agreement from the Agreement Manager, and click on the Visits button.
To Create a Job:
To create a job, open an agreement from the Agreement Manager, and click on the Visits button. From here, select the ellipsis "..." under the Action column, and select Create Job.
This opens the Job Form for the current customer, with most fields completed based on the Visit Type selected. Accept the information or make changes as necessary. You may also schedule the call at this time.
To Cancel a Visit:
To create a call, open an agreement from the Agreement Manager, and click on the Visits button. From here, select the ellipsis, "..." under the Action column, and select Cancel Visit.
Visits Value Form
The Visit Value displays information related to the value of individual visits that will be performed in relation to a Maintenance agreement.
Each type of visit that you have indicated you will perform under the Agreement will be listed in the form. For each the total amount to collect, if any, will be listed.
To open the Visit Value form, open an Agreement, and click on the Visits/Values button at the bottom of the screen.
When Agreements are created, all visits are given an equal value based upon the total of the Agreement and the number of visits. Before the agreement has been activated, the Visit Value form can be used to modify the value of individual visits or to add additional visits.
- To modify the visit value, click on the ellipsis, "..." under the Actions column and select Edit Item.
- To add an additional visit, click the + Add Item button.
- To return to the values listed in the Agreement form, click on the ellipsis, "..." under the Actions column and select Revert to Agreement Values.
Editing an Agreements Payment Method
Once an Agreement with periodic billings is in effect, you may need to change the payment method due to an expired credit card or request from the user.
To Edit the Agreement Payment Method
- Open the Agreement.
- Click into the Payment Details subtab and select a Payment method from the drop-down. The current payment information will be displayed.
- Make any necessary changes to the payment information.
- Click Save.
Activating an Agreement
In order for you to record agreement visits or charge against a service agreement, the agreement must be activated. Posting an invoice for the agreement activates agreements in Successware.
When you create an agreement from the Invoice form, the agreement is automatically added as a line item on the invoice. When the invoice is posted, the agreement is activated.
Once an agreement has been activated and there has been activity on the agreement there are elements of it that cannot be modified. These include:
- Prices.
- Number of visits.
- Whether it uses deferred revenue or service reserve.
- Start and end date.
If any of these elements of the agreement need to be changed, the agreement must be terminated and a new agreement created.
If the agreement has not had any activity and the activating invoice can still be adjusted, adjust the invoice and editing changes can be made to the agreement. However, do not forget to repost the invoice in order to reactivate the agreement.
Agreement Commissions
If you pay your salespeople/technicians a commission for selling new agreements, or upon renewal or anniversaries of agreements, you can enter that information as well.
- To enter commission amounts, click the pen icon under the Actions tab to open the agreement.
- Start typing the name of the salesperson who should earn the commission and select them from the list. Enter the amounts you wish to pay in the appropriate fields.
- New - This is the commission amount earned when the agreement is first sold.
- Renew - This is the commission earned if the agreement is renewed.
- Anniversary - This is the commission earned on each anniversary date of the agreement.
- Click the Save button.
Periodic Invoices
Agreements that have been set up for periodic billing will need to have invoices created for each of the agreement payments.
The three main steps to performing your periodic billings are:
- Generate a list of billings that are due.
- Create invoices for the billings.
- Post the invoices.
In Platform, you can either perform each step in this process manually, or you can use the Recurring Payment Setting to automatically perform these steps.
Automatically Invoice, Pay, and Post Periodic Agreements
For any agreement that has been set up with a payment method of credit card or ACH, Successware Platform can create the invoice, charge the customer, and post the payment automatically. In case there are any issues with the process, such as an issue with the customer's method of payment, you can receive an email to alert you.
Note- If there is an issue, such as with the customer's method of payment, you will need to perform the process manually for that customer. See our information below on manually creating an invoice, processing payments, and posting the invoice.
To setup the Automatic Periodic Agreement process:
- From the Main Menu, select Setup and click Recurring Payment Setting.
- Click the slider button to enable the recurring payment setting.
- Make sure to enter at least one email address so that Platform can send you an alert in case there is an issue with customer payment. You can enter multiple email addresses if you would like to alert multiple people.
- Click the Save button in the bottom right corner.
To check on the Automatic Periodic Payments process:
- Select the "Payment Scheduler" tab.
- Enter a Start and/or End Date.
- Click the Search button.
- To check into any of the issues, click on a line item.
- If there are any issues with customer payment, use the manual process outlined below to reprocess the customer payment.
Method #1 of Manually Creating a Single Periodic Invoice:
This option allows you to create a periodic invoice for multiple customers at a time.
- In the Agreement Manager, choose Billings Due from the Select a View drop-down.
- Select the ellipsis in the top right corner of the page.
- Select Create Periodic Invoice. The system will create and open the invoice.
- Make any corrections and apply payments, then post the invoice.
Method #2 of Manually Creating a Single Periodic Invoice:
This option is used to create a single periodic invoice for a single customer.
- In the Agreement Manager, select the pen icon to edit the agreement.
- Select the ellipsis at the bottom of the page.
- Select Create Periodic Invoice. The system will create and open the invoice.
- Make any corrections and apply payments, then post the invoice.
Manually Processing Periodic Payments
After the periodic invoices have been created, they are now ready to be paid and posted.
To access the list of periodic invoices that are ready to be paid and posted:
1. Select Periodic Invoices from the drop-down at the top of the Agreement Manager.
2. Use the Agreement Manager ellipsis to mark the invoice as paid or process the payment within Successware. This can be done individually or by using the Mark All option.
3. Once the invoices have been marked as being paid, go back to the Agreement Manager ellipsis and select Post All Invoices. You can use the Filter to select a single invoice to post, or a range of invoices.
Printing the Visits Due by Month Report
To print the Visits Due by Month report:
- From the Reporting module, select the Report Gallery.
- Open the Agreements from the list.
- Select the report Agreement Visits Due by Month.
You will get a report similar to the following example.
Days for Agreement Periodic Billing
The Days for Agreement Periodic billing option allows you to preset the day of the month you want to make available for Agreement periodic billings.
When creating an agreement that uses periodic billing, the first "billing due" will default to the next selected day you have defined.
For example, if you set the 1st and 16th as your days for periodic billing, and the day you create the agreement is the 7th of the month, the Bill Start Date field will default to the 16th. The Bill Start Date drop-down will allow you to choose the 1st or 16th of the month or the 1st or 16th of some other month. You will only be able to assign a billing on the 1st or 16th of the month, no other days can be selected.
To Set the Dates for Agreement Periodic Billings
1. From the Main Menu, select Setup and click on Other.
2. Click the Edit link at the top of the screen.
3. Checkmark the day or days you want to make available for periodic billings.
Note- Please do not setup your periodic billings for the 29th, 30th or 31st of the month since not all months have those dates.
4. Click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
Creating Jobs from the Agreement Form
- In the Agreement Manager, open the agreement, and click the Visits button.
- Click the ellipsis located in the Actions column and select Create Job. The system will add a job for the visit and open the Job.
- You can schedule the call from Dispatch.
Scheduling Agreement Visits from Dispatch
- Open the Dispatch board and select the Unscheduled tab on the left side of the page.
- Use the selector to choose Agreement Visits, rather than Jobs.
- Find the visit that you want to schedule in the list.
- Drag the visit to the technician you want to assign the call to at the time you want to schedule the call.
Recording Agreement Visits
In order to properly maintain your agreements, you must record visits that have been completed in conjunction with the agreement. Maintenance visits performed for an agreement are recorded in the Invoice form. When you perform an agreement visit, complete the job as you normally would, then go to the Invoice form.
Recording an Agreement Visit
- From the Invoice form, select the Item Details subtab. Click on the Visit button.
- Select the equipment the visit was performed on.
- An agreement line will be added to the invoice.
NOTE: It is important that you use the Select Visit(s) form to mark the visit performed. Manually adding a line to the invoice will not update the agreement to indicate that the visit was completed.
- Apply any payment that may have been received at the time of service (if applicable) and post the invoice.
Charging a Service Call to an Agreement
If you perform service for a customer that has a valid service agreement with a reserve account, you will charge the work performed to the agreement instead of charging the customer. You will create the invoice for the job as you normally would, listing each of the individual line items on the invoice.
- Complete the job as you normally would.
- Enter the billing line for the service.
- Select the piece of equipment on which service was performed.
- Select the ellipsis under the Actions column for the line item that you will be charging to the service agreement.
- Click Charge Agreement to charge the invoice line to the agreement. Select the agreement to be charged from the drop-down list.
Note: The entire amount of the line item selected will be charged to the agreement. If only a portion of the work is to be charged to the agreement, create a line item equal to the total to be charged to the agreement and create additional line items on the invoice for amounts that should be applied to receivables.
Renewing Agreements from the Agreement Manager
Activating Renewals from the Agreement Manager
You can either activate each renewal, or you can activate renewals all at once.
To activate all renewals at once:
- Open the Agreement Manager and search for Renewals Due by using the Select a View drop-down.
- Select the ellipsis in the top right corner of the screen.
- Select Build Renewals.
- Click the Start button. Select Yes to confirm.
- Post the invoices and apply any payments, if applicable.
To activate each renewal as your customers respond to the renewal notices:
- Open the Agreement Manager and search for Renewals Due by using the Select a View drop-down.
- Find the renewal you want to activate and click the ellipsis under the Actions column.
- Select Renew Agreement.
- Confirm the activation by clicking Yes. An invoice will be created with the agreement listed as a line item.
- Post the invoice and apply any payments, if applicable.
Terminating Agreements
Agreements can be terminated before they have reached their expiration date. You may choose to terminate an agreement for lack of payment, or a customer may choose to cancel the agreement. Termination will also be performed if a customer wants to make a change to their agreement coverage. The original would be terminated, and a new agreement created. No matter what the reason, the termination and cancellation of the agreement are both carried out in the Agreement form itself.
NOTE: Terminations cannot be reversed. Posted invoices that are related to terminated agreements cannot be adjusted.
- Find the agreement that you wish to terminate or cancel from the Agreement Manger.
- Select the ellipsis under the Actions column and click Terminate/Cancel.
The Terminate/Cancel Agreement window will open.
In the Terminate/Cancel Agreement window, check "Terminate Agreement?". If the customer canceled the agreement, check "Canceled by Customer?" as well.
- Enter a termination date.
- Enter any comments regarding the termination.
- Click Post.
- Confirm the fact that you want to terminate the agreement by clicking Yes.
Successware will process the termination and notify you that the posting of the termination is complete.
Looking for a more interactive course on Agreements? Check out our Learning Management System (LMS)! Our courses are available to all Successware users. If you don't have a sign-in for our LMS, contact us at training@successware.com for a free account.