Create a contract change

The contract change process

Contract changes in Cost have a built-in process that controls the submission, review, and approval of the change. When a contract is shared, the downstream can submit a contract change but the upstream controls the assessment and approvals.

Create a contract change (variation)

Contract changes go through several steps from creation, submission, assessment, and approval. In some cases, contract changes can be created and approved in one step.

On shared contracts, contract changes can be created by either the downstream or the upstream organization. 

New contract changes and the assessment are created as drafts, which remain private until the status is changed. Contract changes can be saved in a preliminary status and shared with the other organization before the submit step. This allows the change to be edited by either organization.

Draft contract changes can be deleted on shared contracts, however once they are submitted or approved, they cannot be deleted. Only the status can be changed.

There are opportunities for the upstream and downstream organizations to revert to preliminary or withdraw a submitted contract change. The upstream organization can revert an approved contract change to proceed, submitted, or withdraw the approval entirely. 

On non-shared contracts, your organization can create, edit, update the status, and delete contract changes.
 

Pay items and change items

Contract pay items and contract change items are related but not the same. Unlike payment applications, when you create a contract change it does not automatically copy all the contract pay items.

Each contract change has a set of items defined that represent the changes to the contract. Each item on the contract change can either update existing contract pay items or create new ones. Newly created contract pay items behave similarly to original pay items, however the link to the contract change is maintained and displayed in Cost.

Multiple contract change items can link to the same contract pay item (on the same contract change or in different contract changes).

Contract pay items created by a contract change can be modified by other contract changes in the future. If this occurs, you may not be able to delete or withdraw a contract change if it is referred to in a future contract change.

Cost impact and ETC drawdown

Contract changes have two unique concepts: Cost impact and ETC drawdown.

Cost impact is set for the entire contract change and affects how the contract change value is displayed in other grids while its being prepared (i.e. until the change is proceed or approved). 

• Pending contract changes are included in the All Commitments column on the cost worksheet, and also affect Estimate To Complete and Estimate At Completion, depending on the ETC drawdown option. The Pending status should be used for changes that are likely to occur and are being reviewed for approval.
• Potential contract changes do not affect All Commitments or the Estimate To Complete and Estimate At Completion columns. Potential values show up in the dedicated status columns such as potential contract changes, and should be used for changes that may or may not occur.

ETC drawdown is an option that can be set for the entire contract change, however each contract change item inherits the parent value and can be changed. This allows for change items that either drawdown from ETC or don't.

• ETC drawdown should be selected for contract change items that are included in the estimate to complete value, i.e. if the scope of the contract changes was within scope of the approved budget. When selected, the estimate to complete value on the control account will be reduced (subject to the forecast method and other system rules).
• ETC drawdown should not be selected if the contract change item represents new or additional work that was not included in the approved budget. When unselected, the Estimate To Complete value on the control account will not change, and the Estimate At Completion will increase.

Create a contract change

Contract changes can be created for contracts which are in the proceed, approved, and defects & liability status. 

Contract changes may be created with no or a single contract change item, and may need additional items to be added. Contract change items can modify existing contract pay items or create new ones.  

1. Select the Upstream or Downstream tab on the contract change grid as appropriate.
2. Click the + on the toolbar.
3. Select a contract.
4. Enter a change no. and name, along with any other optional fields.
5. If adding a contract change item, enter the item no, name, and select whether to create a new or modify existing pay item, then enter a requested amount.
6. When the details are correct, click Add Contract Change.
7. Enter any data in the top part of the screen such as change date.
8. Use the lower grid to add additional items to the contract change by clicking the +.
9. Add any attachments, configured field and tag values. On shared contracts you can specify which attachments will be shared when the draft is submitted. Configured fields and tags are always private.
10. Make sure the requested amount values are all correct.
11. When finished, click Submit. If you are the upstream or the contract is not shared, you can immediately approve the contract change. 
12. The contract change is now submitted and will be shared with the upstream organization if the contract is shared. You may be able to retract or withdraw the submission if you need to make corrections.

Approve a contract change

As the upstream, when you receive a submitted contract you can assess the requested amounts and either accept the change as-is or enter a different amount before approval.

On contracts that are not shared, you can still go through this process after creating & submitting the contract change, or you can create and immediately approve the contract change following the steps in the previous section.

1. Select the Upstream or Downstream tab on the contract change grid as appropriate.
2. Find the contract change on the register and click the link in the change no or name column. Note: if you've already created a draft, you will see an icon in the draft column. You should click the draft icon to go directly to your draft version.
3. If you need to assess the contract change at a different value to the request, click Edit in the top right corner to create a draft. You can immediately approve the change if you agree with all the requested amounts.
4. When editing the assessment, many of the fields in the top screen are read-only, based on the submitted contract change. Some internal fields are editable.
5. In the lower grid, work through each item and enter an accepted amount.
6. Add any attachments, configured field, and tag values. On shared contracts you can specify which attachments will be shared when the draft is submitted. Configured fields and tags are always private.
7. Make sure the accepted amount values are all correct.
8. When finished, click Approve.
9. The contract change is now approved and will be shared with the downstream organization if the contract is shared. You may be able to retract the approval if you need to make corrections.

Link and share attachments

Mail and documents along with photos and other files can all be attached to contract changes. They can be kept private for your own organization or can be shared and visible to other organizations. 

Add an attachment:

1. Navigate to the contract changes grid.
2. Select a contract change and enter the detailed view.
3. Select the Attachments tab.
4. Click the + icon on the toolbar and select Mail, Document, or File as appropriate.
5. If you are attaching a file, drag the file into the dialog, or use the browse option. You can change the name after attaching the file if required.
6. When working with shared contracts, choose Shared to automatically display attachments to the other organizations when the change is submitted or approved. Alternatively choose Private to restrict the visibility to your organization only. You can share private attachments later. Note for these options, the contract change must be in draft form.
7. Click Attach File.

Share a private attachment:

1. Navigate to contract changes grid and open detailed view by clicking the contract change number.
2. The contract change must be in draft to share the attachments, so you may need to retract approval of a change.
3. Once you are editing the draft, navigate to the Attachments tab.
4. Select the checkbox on the left column to select attachments to share.
5. Click Share from the toolbar.
6. Confirm you want to share the selected files by clicking Share in the dialog.