The Contract register helps you control contractual agreements and manage associated compliance requirements. After adding a contract, it will move to the Manage stage for review prior to approval and publishing to the register.
Quick steps to adding a contract:
- Go to the Contract register and click on the FAB and select Contract
- Complete the Contract details form
- Attach the contract
- Click Submit
Form tabs
The Contract details form contains six tabs which display related items linked to the contract from other registers and attached records to the contract:
- Description - description of the contract and its details.
- Compliance - list of compliance items that relate to the contract.
- Training - list of scheduled training items that relate to the contract.
- Licensing - list of scheduled licensing requirements that relate to the contract
- Audits - list of scheduled audits that relate to the contact.
- Attached Records - list of records that have been attached to the contract.
For more information about using tabs, refer to this article Adding related items to a contract.
Form Components
| Contract details | Describes and categorises the contract and specifies the review and expiry dates. |
| Funded programs | Enables you to list programs funded by the contract. |
| Related risks | Where you can make an assessment of the risks to the organisation associated with entering (or not entering) into the contract. |
| Assign | Where you can set the contract manager and owner. |
| Workflow | Optional feature that enables you to program multiple workflow stages to manage and review the contract. |
| Add new version for approval | Where you will upload or link to the contract file. |
| System event history | A chronological list maintained by the system of most entries, changes, and linkages made in the system in relation to this contract. |
Workflow
The Stage Navigation Bar displays the workflow stages that the contract will follow once added (subject to the decisions made along the way).
Contract details
This component allows you to describe and categorise the contract, and specify critical dates relating to the life of the contract.
- Contract name - add the name of the contract.
- Contract type - select the type of contact, eg employment contract.
- Contract number (optional) - add a contract number, if applicable.
- Keywords (optional) - data in this field will be searched when you use the Search functionality at the Register level as well as the Global search functionality. It is sometimes useful to use this field to add the 'common' name of a contract to make it easier to find if the formal name of the contract is not generally known.
- Other party - add the name of the other party, for example, for an employment contract, select the name of the employee the contract relates to. Note: If the other party to the contract is not in the list, select Free type other party and type the name of the other party.
- Contract purpose - state the purpose of the contract.
- Contract start date - select the start date of contract.
- Contract review date - select the review date of the contract. This is the date that will trigger a task for the Contract manager to review the contract.
- Contract expiry date - select the contract expiry date. If the contract does not have an expiry date, select the option No expiry date (expiry date cannot be left blank without selecting the No expiry date option).
- Additional comments (optional) - add additional comments relating to the contract. Useful for adding details relating to variations of contracts.
Funded programs (optional)
This component enables you to add details of programs that the contract funds. Click +Add and type the program name and use the Program manager menu to select a the person responsible for the program. To remove a program, click on the trash can icon.
Related risks (optional)
This component enables you to add an assessment of the risks to the organisation associated with entering (or not entering) into the contract. If the Risk register is activated in your platform, you can also link the contract to known risks. Toggle on Link this contract to a risk and select from your list of identified risks. This is a multi-select menu.
Financial details (optional)
Add any financial details to the contract i.e. contract value and management fees.
Assign
This component is where you will assign the Contract owner to ensure delegations and communication relating to the management of the contract aligns with organisational requirements.
- Related business area - select the business area the contract relates to, eg. the business area the contract funds or, for employment contracts, the business area where the employee works.
- Related meeting - select the meeting that has responsibility for oversight of the contract.
- Contract manager - (This field only appears in legacy contract registers) select the staff member who is accountable for the management of the contract.
- Contract owner - select the staff member who is accountable for approving the contract for publishing to the register.
- Notify other users by email (optional) - You can use this function to notify relevant personnel that the contract has been added to the QMS, thereby providing them with a link to the contract.
Note: users sent notifications relating to the contract will need to be included in Access control to see the contract.
Access control
The Access control component is where you define which users have access to view the item. You can grant access to a team or individual users, or both.
| All users can access | Select this option if you would like all users to be able to view the item. |
| Specify who can access | Select this option to control which users can view this item. |
| Teams | Select the team/s who need to view the item. |
| Individual users | Select specific users (if they are not included in the selected team/s) who need to view the item. |
| Who can view? |
Click this button to see a list of users who can see the item based on your selection. The list will also include those users assigned to the item in the workflow. Note: Users with system level permissions to see all items will also be included. |
Workflow
Note: Earlier/legacy versions of LogiqcQMS do not have this Workflow component. These versions simply include the Contract manager in this component. Click here to enquire about activating the Workflow Builder add-on.
This component enables you to build a customised workflow sequence with multiple 'manage' stages to match the the specific requirements for managing the contract. This is particularly applicable where multiple staff need to have input into the management of a contract as it progress to the Approval stage.
You can also specify different sequences for the first time a contract is approved vs when the contract comes up for review.
In the example below, two workflow sequences have been programmed with the first sequence including extra steps for legal and financial review. After the contract has been approved for the first time, a 'loop' control has been inserted to set where the workflow sequence will begin when the contract comes up for review.
Example Stage names and instructions:
Finance Manager review - advise if the contract deliverables can be met within the allocated funding budget.
Program Manager review - advise if our health services program has the capacity to delivery the contract deliverables. If it doesn't advise of what additional resources would be required.
Legal review - advise if the terms and conditions of the contract are satisfactory.
Click Add stage to create a workflow.
- Stage name - select the first stage in the contract workflow from your list of workflow stages. Stage names and instructions can be added by your System Administrator. You can also edit the instructions provided.
- Assign to - select the person who has responsibility to manage this stage. They will receive an email notification of the task.
- Display this user as the contract manager - selecting this will assign the person as the contract manager and display their name in a new column in the register. Any user in the workflow stages can be assigned as the Contract manager. Selecting someone as Contract manager is optional but it allows you to identify who has operational responsibility for the contract in addition to the user assigned as the Contract owner.
- Instructions (optional) - edit the pre-programmed instructions, if applicable.
- Workflow to begin this stage when due for review - select this to set where the second and future contract sequences will begin when the contract comes up for review. See example above.
- Approval stage (mandatory) - The approval stage is a mandatory stage. It can only be assigned to the Contract Owner who will do the final approval of the contract once the previous manage stages have been completed.
Repeat the above steps until all stages of the contract workflow are listed.
Note: users assigned the last Manage stage prior to an Approval stage will have the option to escalate the contract to the Contract owner for approval.
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Add new version for approval
This component enables you to upload or link the contract.
- File/Link - click on Choose file and navigate to the contract saved on your computer or network drive. If you have links enabled, toggle to change the control to add a URL to the contract. The URL must be a in a web (http://) or Microsoft SharePoint format (https://<company>.sharepoint.com/...).
Submit/save the form
The green Submit button will save the form and in most cases progress the item to the next stage of the workflow. The button label, however, will change depending on certain conditions to make it quicker to complete tasks. For example, if you assign the item to yourself to mange, the button label will change to 'Next' allowing you to manage the item without having to click through to another stage in the workflow.
- Create a related item - If you want to create a related/linked item after the upload is completed you can select the relevant register in the Create a related item component. When you press Submit, the platform will launch a new item in the register you selected. The platform will display a link between the two items in the System event history.
- Quick publish - If you are the Contract owner, you can skip the Manage and Approve stages by selecting Quick publish. The Quick publish option will immediately approve the contract and publish it to the Contract register.
- Submit/Next - The green Submit button will save the form, upload the contract and move it to the Manage stage.