How to Create Contract Category and Billing Code Templates

When you first move any of the Autotask integrations to production, CEO Juice will create all needed templates for the contract categories and billing codes in your production e-automate database. After this, anytime that you add a new category or code to Autotask, you will need to manually create the template in e-automate to match.

Jump to: Contract Category Templates | Billing Code Templates | Tips and Tricks

Contract Categories

Contract Category Templates

Each contract category in Autotask will have a matching contract template in e-automate. When you create a new contract category in Autotask, follow these instructions to create the matching template in e-automate:

Main Contract Screen:

1. In the Service contracts screen, click on New to create a new contract.

2. Set the contract number to be **AT ContractCategory. (Replace ContractCategory with exactly how the contract category is set in Autotask). 

3. Set the customer to your internal company customer, like the rest of the templates.

4. Set the contract type and bill code as needed on the template.

5. The billing cycle should be blank.

6. Select the option to 'Use equipment base rates'.

7. Set the base distribution code on the template as needed.

The Billing/Contact tab:

1. Uncheck the box to Bill contract.

2. Set the billing group if you are using that.

3. Set the tax code. (Just a placeholder value; the sync will assign the proper tax code when creating new contracts.)

4. Set the report group to the correct invoice format for the template.

Click OK to save the contract template.

If you change the name of a contract category in Autotask, you'll need to update the contract number of the matching contract template in e-automate. There is no background linking for the templates; they are solely matched based on the contract category matching the contract number after the **AT prefix.

Billing Code Templates

Billing Code Templates

The item templates are based on the billing codes in Autotask. You'll have one item template for each material code and one for each service code. If you create a new billing code in Autotask, follow the steps below to create the matching item template in e-automate:

1. In the Items screen, click New to create a new item.

2. Enter the item number as **AT BillingCode. (Replace BillingCode with the exact billing code name from Autotask)

3. Enter a description for the item. 

4. Select a category for the item.

5. Set the unit of measure for the item.

6. If items created from this template will be added to sales orders, select either Inventory or Expense as the item type and set a corresponding inventory or expense code.

7. If items created from this template will be added to sales orders, add a sales code to the item.

8. Check the box for Serviceable as item in the Other settings section

9. Select a contract base distribution code for the item. This will drive the GL account revenue for this item will post to when the item is added to a contract.

Click OK to save the new item.

*If you change any billing code names in Autotask, you'll need to update the item templates in e-automate to match. There is no background linking for the templates; they are solely matched based on the billing code name matching the item number after the **AT prefix.

Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks

1. If there are item or contract templates in e-automate that are no longer needed, you can delete them from e-automate. If the item or contract has ANY existing transactions in e-automate, you will NOT be able to delete them and can make them inactive instead.
2. If you change the contract category names in Autotask, you will need to update the contract numbers to match in e-automate so that the sync can find the proper template to use when creating new contracts. 
3. If you add a new contract category in Autotask and don't add the matching templates to e-automate, the sync will use the default template to create the new contracts. If you see this happen, do not delete the contract created with the default template and attempt to resync the invoice to a new contract. The contract created by the sync is linked in our background tables; deleting it from e-automate will only cause the sync to try and update a contract that no longer exists. The proper way to fix the issue is to manually correct the new contract created so that the coding is correct. Then create the needed contract template so that future contracts are created correctly.