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Support and renewals

This article explains how to enter support items or renewal items when you enter sales orders. These items are used to calculate the charge amount for the original support contract and/or the renewal amount that is used when a billing schedule is created in Subscription billing. For example, your company sells a server to a customer, and you offer a data backup subscription for the first year and the option to renew that subscription every year. The support item is the subscription for the first year, and the renewal item is the renewal for every successive year.

You can enter information for the support contract, the renewal contract, or both. When you enter the support contract information, only the support item is added to the sales order. When you enter the renewal contract information, the renewal item is used to create a billing schedule.

Support and renewal setup

On the Support and renewal levels page, you can set up different support levels for support and renewal items. The support or renewal can be a percentage of the original item amount, or it can be a standard amount.

You can select the default support levels on the Recurring contract billing parameters page.

For example, a company might offer the following support and renewal levels.

Support level Support percentage Renewal percentage
Unlimited 40% 30%
Gold 25% 18%
Silver 20% 14%
Bronze 15% 10%

To create a support or renewal level, follow these steps.

  1. On the Support and renewal levels page, select New.
  2. In the Support level field, enter a unique name.
  3. In the Description field, enter a description.
  4. In the Support calculation method field, select the support calculation method. If you select Percent, enter a support percentage in the Support percentage field.
  5. In the Renewal calculation method field, select the renewal calculation method. If you select Percent, enter a renewal percentage in the Renewal percentage field.
  6. Select Save.

Fields

The Support and renewal levels page contains the following fields.

Field Description
Support level A unique identifier for the support or renewal level (for example, Gold or Silver).
Description A description of the support or renewal level.
Support calculation method Select the support calculation method for the level: Percent or Standard amount.
Support percentage If you selected Percent as the support calculation method, specify the percentage that is used to calculate the price of the support item. If you selected Standard amount as the calculation method, the amount is specified when the transaction is created.
Renewal calculation method Select the renewal calculation method for the level: Percent or Standard amount.
Renewal percentage If you selected Percent as the renewal calculation method, specify the percentage that is used to calculate the price of the renewal item. If you selected Standard amount as the calculation method, the amount is specified when the transaction is created.

Support and renewal process

The support and renewal functionality can apply different support levels to items and update renewal information in Subscription billing.

Before you use the support and renewal functionality, the following tasks must be completed.

  1. On the Support and renewal levels page, create at least one support or renewal level.
  2. On the Item setup page, associate an item with support and renewal items. This task is required only if you want to set up default values for support and/or renewal items.
  3. On the Recurring contract billing parameters page, specify the default support and renewal settings for new billing schedules.

To apply different support levels to items and update renewal information, follow these steps.

  1. On the All sales orders page, create a sales order.
  2. On the Sales order lines FastTab, add an item.
  3. On the Invoice tab, select Support and renewal > Add support and renewal.
  4. On the Support and renewal process page, the header section is updated with the settings from the Recurring contract billing parameters page. These values apply to all the support and renewal items. (For example, if the billing frequency is set to Annually, all sales lines that are created that have a renewal item have an annual frequency.) To associate the sales order with an existing billing schedule, select a value in the Billing schedule number field.
  5. To change the support or renewal start date, set the Override start date option to Yes.
  6. To add or edit the support item, select the Support checkbox, and then enter a support item in the Support item field. The item is added to the sales order.
  7. To add or edit the renewal item, select the Renewal checkbox, and then enter a renewal item in the Renewal item field. When the sales order is invoiced, a billing schedule that includes the item will be created.
  8. Select OK.
  9. On the Generate tab, select Invoice. When the sales order is posted, the billing schedule is created. A notification that includes the billing schedule information appears in the message details.
  10. On the All/Active billing schedules list page, select the billing schedule number to review the details of the billing schedule on the Billing schedules page.
  11. On the Billing schedule lines FastTab, select Support and renewal to review the details of the lines that were created.

Note

If the renewal start date for a billing schedule line must be changed, you can edit the Start date value for the line on the Billing schedules page. When you open the View billing detail page for the line, the Billing start date field is updated with the new date. The Billing end date value is recalculated based on the billing frequency. The renewal start date can be updated only if the first invoice for the renewal billing schedule hasn't been created and posted. After the first invoice is created and posted, the start date can't be edited.

The support and renewal process is available for the sales order only. When you add support and renewal items to a sales order, you can create a new billing schedule or add the renewal item to an existing billing schedule.

Support and renewal audit

On the Support and renewal audit page, you can review the details of the billing schedule lines that are created from the renewal item on a sales order. This option is available when the billing schedule line item is a renewal item.

To edit support and renewal information for a billing schedule line, follow these steps.

  1. On the All billing schedules page, select the billing schedule number.
  2. In the Billing schedule lines section, select a line, and then select Support and renewal.
  3. Review all the information for the support or renewal item.
  4. Make any required changes to the support level, or the renewal percentage or amount, and then enter a value in the Reason for change field.
  5. Select Process.

Fields

The Support and renewal audit page contains the following fields.

Field Description
Item number The item number for the billing schedule line.
Product name The product name.
Support plan level View or change the support level for the renewal item.
Renewal percentage Enter the renewal percentage that is used when the unit price is calculated for a renewal item in a billing schedule.
Renewal amount Enter the renewal amount that is used when the unit price is calculated for a renewal item in a billing schedule.
Reason for change Enter your reason for changing the support and renewal information. You must enter a reason when you change the Renewal percentage, Renewal amount, or Support plan level value.
Original sales item The original sales item number from the sales order.
Original net amount The original net amount for the item.
Original support level The original support level for the item.
Original renewal percentage The original renewal percentage for the item.
Original renewal amount The original renewal amount for the item.
Grid
Original support level The previous support level.
Original renewal percentage The previous renewal percentage.
Original renewal amount The previous renewal amount.
Modified by The user name of the user who made the change.
Modified date and time The date when the change occurred.
Reason The reason for the change.