Understanding Life-Cycle Statuses and Actions

Accept Supplier's Revisions and Finalize

Click to accept the document updates made by a user on the supply-side and to set the document status to Collaborated. This button is available for the contract administrator after users from the supply-side complete their collaboration.

The system must be configured to enable external online collaboration with suppliers. The feature is only available if you have a portal configured for external users on the supply-side to access the system, and the document has an external contact and user defined as the primary owner of the document.

Add Attachments/Related Documents

Click to add attachments and documents that are related to the main document. Attachments can represent supplier papers, internal executive summaries, or other documents that are related to the contract. Attachments that have been added using the Contract Entry - Contract Page for source transactions of a purchasing contract also appear on the Attachments page. Related documents are other documents that are created using Supplier Contract Management that you want to associate as being related to other documents.

Approve

Click this button to approve the document if your organization uses Approval Workflow.

Approval Details

Click this link to view approval detail as a graphical workflow for a document.

Attach to Requisition

Click this button to attach a document, along with any comments that you enter, back to a purchase order requisition under the header comments. You can attach only one version of a document to a requisition at a time. This button is visible only if the ad hoc document is tied to a requisition ID. The document must be assigned to a document type that is set up for use with purchasing requisitions.

Bypass Approvals

Click this button to automatically set the document status to Approved. This option bypasses all approvals. Only administrators with proper authorization can expedite the approval of a contract by taking this action. The system logs this action. If approvals are not required, the system does not display this button.

Cancel Approval Process

Click to end the approval process. When contract administrators stop the document approval process, the system changes the document status to Draft.

Cancel Collaboration

Click this button to stop collaboration on a document. This action is performed by the document owner.

If you are canceling an internal collaboration cycle and no collaborators have responded to the collaboration request, the system displays a message that indicates that the document status will be set back to Draft. If one or more collaborators have already responded, the document administrator needs to finalize the collaboration before proceeding, and the status is set to Collaborated, Pending Review.

If you are canceling an external collaboration cycle and the external user has not started to make changes, the system sets the document status to Draft. If the external user has already started making changes, the system displays a message that you that those changes will be lost if you proceed with canceling the collaboration.

Cancel Check Out

Click this button to cancel the check out of a document. Any changes that might have been made to the document are not saved, and the system records the action in the document history.

Cancel Signature Process

Click to stop the signature process for a contract document. This action rolls back the document to the last editable (.xml) version and removes signatures that have been entered on the document. After canceling the signature process, you can change the document and prepare it again for signatures.

Cancel Signing

Click to cancel the check out of a document that is being signed. This button only appears for the user who has the document locked for signing and the document administrator.

Change to New Source

Click to change the source transaction type for an imported ad hoc document. This button only appears for imported ad hoc documents on the Document Management Page and enables you to access the Change Source Transaction Page. You can change the source from an ad hoc document to a purchase order or purchasing contract document. The change is permanent and after you make the change, the button is no longer available.

Check In

Click this button to check in a document that has been checked out. The system prompts you to select the checked out file, upload it, and define version updates. If you are checking in an amended contract that is in an amendment cycle, and the amendment option is Amend Contract with Amendment Files, then the system asks you if you want to automatically update the amendment file with the changes made to the amended contract.

Compare Document

Click this button to compare the differences between the current version of a document and a re-created, or refreshed, version of the same document. This button is available only if you have set up the system for document comparisons.

Use the Installation Options - Supplier Contract Management Page to define comparison and rendering settings.

Compare Selected Word Documents

Click this button to compare two documents that you select from the Document History Page.

Compare Revised Documents

Click this button to compare a revised document from a supplier with the current version of the document. This enables you to compare the changes may have been made by the supplier. The system opens a new temporary document that shows the changes, which is similar to comparing the files using the Microsoft Word compare functionality.

Complete Document

Click this button to indicate that the document is in a completed status. The button appears when a document is tied to a corresponding document type that has been set up with Draft/Complete statuses instead of full life-cycle statuses. When you complete a document, modifications are complete and additional collaboration is not necessary.

Copy Document

Click this button to create a document using an existing document. The copy document function creates a new document starting with the source document content, and then runs a refresh to update bind values and content based on the bind values of the target contract.

Create Amendment

Document owners use this action to create a formal amendment to the current executed document. The system sets the document status to Draft, sets the amendment cycle to 1.00, and the portion of the life cycle that pertains to amendments begins. The administrator can still control the versions of the document.

Most actions in this table that apply to the original version of a document also apply to the amended version. The system maintains the executed version of the contract. Multiple handling options for amendment files are available to support the different amendment processes. See Understanding Contract Document Amendments.

Create Document

After you select a source transaction and document configurator ID, click this button to create the initial draft version of a document. Only users with proper document administrator authority can perform this action.

See User Preferences - Supplier Contract Management Page and Generating Microsoft Word Documents.

Deactivate Document

Document administrators use this action when they determine that a document should not be available for use. The system updates the document status to Inactive. You can use this status to close contracts. The system displays this message after a document has been deactivated: This Document Has Been Deactivated. The system retains the current document status at the time the document is deactivated.

Decline Signing Document

Click this button to decline the action of digitally signing the document, and enter comments to the document. Using this option could be due to a variety of reasons, such as a signature field is not in the PDF fole or the document needs revising. The system updates the Document Management Page to indicate that the document has been declined.

Dispatch

Click to select and send original documents, attachments, amendments, or any combination of these to suppliers for final signatures. The document owner performs this action. You can also use this action to initiate the collection of digital signatures on the Supplier Portal for external suppliers. The system updates the document status to Dispatched to indicate that the routing to suppliers for signatures is in process. This button appears only when the document is in an Approved status.

Document Details

Document administrators can click this link to update information about the document including administrator, document type, sponsor, department, description and any user-defined field attributes. For ad hoc documents, you can also change the begin date and expire date of the document. The Document Details Page also provides information about document cycle times, document creation, and processing activities.

Document Modification Summary

Click this link to view changes, such as new, changed, or deleted clauses, that have been made to a document.

Document Version History

Click this link to access the Document History Page where you can view the history and version details for a document.

Document View Access

Click this link to grant permission to users to view the document and to review the collaborators who have permission to view the document. You can assign view access based on the role of the user.

Edit Amended Document

Click this button to edit a document that has been amended. The button is only available when you create an amendment using the amendment option: Amend Contract with Amendments. This option enables you to check out and amend the main contract. You can also edit the amendment file using the Edit Amendment File button. When you check out an amended document, the system updates the Document Management Page to indicate that the document is checked out, and provides Check In and Cancel Check Out buttons for the document.

Edit Amendment File

Click this button to edit an amendment file. This file contains a summary of changes for the amended document. When you check out the file, the system updates the Document Management Page to indicate that the file is checked out, and provides Check In and Cancel Check Out buttons for the file.

Edit Document

Click this button to edit and check in a revised version of a document. Generally, only users with proper document administrator authority can edit the document. However, users who are defined as collaborators (interested parties) can also edit the document during the collaboration cycle if they have edit privileges. During the amendment cycle, this button opens one of two files depending on how you are maintaining amendments for the document.

Execute Contract

Click this button to indicate that the original document has been signed off by all parties and is frozen. Document owners perform this action. At this point you can create an amendment for the document, send it back to contacts, or reset the document to Dispatched status. The system updates the document status to Executed after you click this button.

External Contacts/Signers

Click this link to add and update external contacts for a document. The system uses values that are defined on the External Contacts Page as default values when you send or dispatch documents. In addition, the attributes that are required to access documents through the supplier portal are defined for external users using this page.

Finalize Collaboration

Click to complete collaboration after all collaborators have responded to a collaboration request. The document owner performs this action. For internal collaboration, the owner should review the current version of the document and review and approve any changes in the document, before clicking this button.

For external collaboration, when you click this button, the system disregards any supplier, or external user, changes, and continues using the current version of the document. If you want to incorporate some or all of the supplier changes, but do not want to take the supplier's version as is, you can check out the original version sent to the supplier, make your own changes, and then check in the document before finalizing it. This may be necessary if a supplier made too many changes and you only want a couple of them, or if the supplier returned the document in an incorrect Microsoft Word format that does not have a .xml file extension.

If you want to use the supplier's version and make it the current version, use the Accept Supplier's Revisions and Finalizebutton. The system updates the document status to Collaborated when collaboration is finalized.

Generation Log

Click this link to review warnings, wizard information, and configurator expansion information that the system gathers during the generation or re-creation of a document.

Import Document

Click this button to import prior, executed versions of a document. When the current version is already in an amended state, then you can import prior versions. You can import only one version for each prior amendment number within a contract. See Importing Documents.

Import Prior Document

Click this button to access the Import Document page where you can import a prior version of a document after you have generated the document. The button is only available when a document is eligible to have a previous version imported.

Internal Contacts/Signers

Click this link to view or maintain the internal collaborators and signers defined for the document.

Create/Maintain Executive Summary

Click to access the Executive Summary Page where you can view, update, refresh, and re-create an executive summary document.

Mark as Reviewed

Collaborators use this action when they are finished reviewing and potentially changing the document, or adding collaboration comments. When the final collaborator uses this action, the system sends a notification to the document administrator.

Modify Attachments/Related Documents

Click to update attachments and documents that are related to the main document. The attachments can represent supplier papers, internal executive summaries, or other documents that are related to the contract. Related documents are other documents that are created using Supplier Contract Management that you wish to associate as being related to other documents.

Modify Collaboration

Click this button to update the list of collaborators when a document is pending collaboration. The system opens a separate page that enables you to view the status of current collaborators and add new users to the list. In addition, you can route the document for collaboration, which sends notifications to the new users that were added to the collaboration process.

Notify Me

Click this button to create a list of people who should be notified when a document is checked in. The system provides this button when a document is checked out by someone other than yourself. The system tracks the date and time when you enter an email address for the person to be notified. The system provides a Notify When Available Template field on the Installation Options - Supplier Contract Management Page where you can select a notification template to use when this button is clicked.

The Notify Me function is useful when you route a document for internal collaboration and it can be edited on a first-come, first-serve basis. If a user attempts to edit a document and someone else has it checked out, the user can setup a notify option to receive an email when the document becomes available.

Prepare Document for Signing

Click this button to access the Prepare Document for Signatures Page where you can verify that the list of signers is accurate and add those who need to sign the document. Internal signers must be in the list so that they have access to the document and that the system provides them the appropriate tasks on the Document Management Page.

This action converts (creates a copy) the document to the appropriate signature method defined on the Installation Options - Supplier Contract Management Page. After preparing the document for signatures, you cannot make additional changes to the editable version of the document. You use the Internal Contacts List and External Contacts List links to establish document signers.

Showing this button on the Document Management page also depends on the document type settings. When internal signatures have been enabled, you can define when a document should be ready for signing, such as prior to, during, or after approvals.

Preview Approval

Click this button to view approvals for the document. When document approvals are required, this action enables administrators to review the approval process prior to submitting the document for approval. Use the Installation Options - Supplier Contract Management Page to indicate whether document approval is required. If the system doesn't require approvals, it does not display this button. See Understanding Document Approvals.

Reactivate Document

Document administrators use this action to activate a document that has been deactivated. The document remains in the same status that it was in when it was deactivated.

Recreate Document

Click this button to completely re-create the document and rerun associated wizards to view and update wizard values. During re-creation, the system removes document contents and does not save manual edits that had been made to the original document in the re-created document.

If you specify a new version when re-creating the document, you can view previously generated and edited versions of the document using the Document Version History link. When you are working with amendments, the amendment processing option that you select determines whether you can re-create the amendment file or the primary document.

See Generating Microsoft Word Documents.

Refresh Document

Click this button to update the bind values in a document. The system uses a copy of the most current version of the document, evaluates changes to bind variable values that are referenced in the document, and replaces those values in the document with the most current values in the system, such as the values in a purchasing contract. The system also evaluates rules that use bind variables and might change the document content based on the evaluation.

When a bind variable is not used in a rule and does not repeat, such as a contract amount or wizard value, the system replaces the value within the clause. Edits that have been performed within the related clause are not lost. However, when a bind variable is used in a rule, or does repeat, and changes are made, such as changes to a contract line, then the system re-creates the entire repeating or rule section and replaces it in the authored document, including any clause text.

The system produces a new version of the document unless you specify to use the same version as part of the refresh process. When you are refreshing an amendment, the amendment processing option that you select determines whether you can refresh the amendment file or the primary document. See Refreshing Microsoft Word Documents.

Redispatch

Click this button to dispatch a document to external users again. This button is only available when the document status is Dispatched. This action can be useful if dealing with multiple external parties, or if the document needs to be rerouted for signatures.

Reset to Dispatch

Click this button to reset the status of a document from Executed to Dispatched. This provides a means to make updates to a document without going through the amendment process. For example, you can fix a minor typographical error in the contract without creating a formal amendment. Only administrators with proper user authorization have access to this button and can reset the executed document to a Dispatched status.

Route Externally

Click this button to send a document for external collaboration. External collaboration enables you to send documents to the primary document owner for external collaboration. After you submit a document for external collaboration, the system essentially locks the document while waiting for the supplier to respond. However, during this process, the contract specialist and administrator can cancel the external collaboration cycle if needed.

Route for Internal Signatures

This button is available for document administrators when the system is configured to allow routing for signatures before or after approvals. Click this button to send the document to internal signers for digital/electronic signatures. The system routes the document in sequential order according to each person listed as a signer on the Internal Collaborator/Signers page. The system skips those who have already signed the document. After everyone in the list has signed the document, the system completes the route for internal signature and notifies the document administrator.

This button only appears when the document has been prepared for signing and when the document type has been set up to route for internal signatures. Use the Life Cycles Options section on the Document Type Page to select routing options. When you select the Enable Internal Signatures option in the Life Cycles Option section, the system activates three additional check boxes: Prior to Approvals, During Approvals, and After Approvals. If you select the Prior to Approvals or After Approvals check box, this button appears. If you select During Approvals this button does not appear on the Document Management page. See Setting Up Document Types.

Route Internally

Click this button to set up collaboration and to send notifications to internal contact users who need to review and provide feedback for a document. Document owners perform this action. The system begins the process using the administrator's default list of collaborators defined on the My Contacts/Collaborators page. You can modify this list to include or exclude additional users before clicking the Route for Collaboration button. The system sends notifications to all users simultaneously.

Users who have edit authority can check out and edit the document on a first-come, first-served basis. When the document is sent, the system sets the document status to Pending Collaboration. Only users who have document administrator authority can send the document. You can apply this action to the original document as well as amendments.

Send to Contacts (send document to contacts)

Click this button to send the document to contacts. Document owners perform this action when they want to send an original executed document, current document, document amendments, attachments, or any combination of documents to external or internal contacts. In addition, you can use this button to route the document to external contacts for their digital signature. This routing is online and uses the Supplier Portal. The document format can be .xml, .doc, or .pdf; depending on how the rendering options are set on the Installation Options - Supplier Contract Management Page.

When sending documents to contacts, such as suppliers, owners can change the document status to Checked Out, using the Set to Checked Out check box. This prevents internal changes to the document while it is at the supplier's location. When the document status is Checked Out, the Document Management page displays the message: File locked for external review.

When a document is prepared for digital signatures, the Send to Contacts button enables you to send the signature-ready PDF file using email. You can also use the supplier-side portal if the system is configured for it. To route for external signatures using the supplier-side portal, the document must have an external primary owner that specifies that a signature is required. If multiple signatures are required from an external organization, the primary document owner must route the PDF manually, within that organization, to capture external signatures and then upload the final, signed document through the supplier-side pages. See Signing External Documents.

Sign Document

Click this button to lock the document for signing. The button only appears for users who are listed as a signer for the document and have not signed the document. This action locks and opens the document, enables you to digitally sign the document, and then upload it back to the system. When using approval processing and capturing signatures during the approval process, the user who is approving the document also sees the Sign button on the Document Management Page when the approval step is awaiting the user.

Sign Document (On Behalf)

Contract administrators click this button to sign a document on behalf of an internal signer. The system locks the document for signing and opens it for the administrator to sign. After signing, the document needs to be uploaded. This button enables an administrator some flexibility to capture signatures offline if corrections are needed or a user is marked as signed but did not actually sign the document.

Stop Internal Signatures

Contract administrators use this button to cancel the internal signature process and access the Stop Route for Internal Signatures page. The system takes the document out of the route for internal signature process and notifies users.

Submit for Approval

Click this button to start the approval process. When the system requires document approvals, this action submits the document for workflow approval. Administrators take this action after collaborating final internal contract approval. Administrators can add additional approvers or reviewers for the document. Submitting a document for approval applies to the initial version of the document and amendment processing.

If the system is set up to capture internal signatures during approval and there are internal signers listed for the document, then the Sign Document button appears for each user in the approval process at that user's step for approval. Users should sign and upload the document followed by marking the document as approved.

After the document is approved, the system updates the document status to Approved. If approvals are not required, the system does not display this button.

See Understanding Document Approvals.

Upload a Document Attachment File

Click to upload a document attachment for the main document. Attachments can represent supplier papers, internal executive summaries, or other documents that are related to the contract. Attachments that have been added using the Contract Entry - Contract Page for source transactions of a purchasing contract also appear on the Attachments page.

Upload another Document Attachment File

Click to upload a document attachment for the main document.

Upload Prepared Document

Click this button to upload a prepared for signature document. This button only appears when you are preparing a document for signatures. When preparing a document for signatures using Adobe Acrobat, the document owner must certify and enable usage rights using an Adobe Acrobat Professional version. Adobe Professional is required for all administrators because enabling usage rights for the document enables other signers with the Adobe Reader security to sign the document.

When preparing a document for signatures using Word 2007, the document owner must certify and sign the contract document before it is ready to be signed by others. This prevents the document from being accidentally modified by others after it has been certified.

Upload Signed Document

Click this button to upload the signed document after you have digitally signed the document. This action updates the signature status to Signed. If the document is being routed for internal signatures before or after approvals using the Route for Internal Signatures button, then the system routes the document to the next signer in the list.

View

Click to view delete attachments and documents that are related to the main document. Attachments can represent supplier papers, internal executive summaries, or other documents that are related to the contract. Attachments that have been added using the Contract Entry - Contract Page for the purchasing contract source transaction appears on the Attachments page. Related documents are other documents that are created using Supplier Contract Management that you wish to associate as being related to other documents.

View Amended Document

Click this button to view an amended document.

View Amendment File

Click this button to view an amendment file. This is a file that tracks a summary of changes in the document.

View Document

Click to view, but not check out, a document. Users who have document administrator authority, are defined as collaborators (interested parties), or are approvers of the document, can view the document.

View Executive Summary

Select to view an executive summary of the contract document. The executive summary is available for all internal users who have view access of the document. This button is available after the summary has been created and during document approval.

View Original Document

This button appears only when the current document is an amendment, and the amendment option is Amendment Files Only. Click this button to view, but not check out, the originally executed document. The View Document button appears in addition to this button so that you can view the current amendment.

View Revised Document

Click this button to open a document that has been collaborated on with an external user (supplier). This button appears on the contract owner's Document Management Page after a supplier has completed their review.

Where Used as Related Document

Click this link to access the Search for All Content Instances Page (Search Content by Type), which provides details about where this document has been added to another document as a related document. Use the Modify Attachments/Related Documents link or the Add Attachments/Related Documents link to add or update related documents. This link automatically appears on documents that have been linked as related documents on other documents.

Pending Collaboration

The document has been routed for collaboration, but not all collaborators have responded.

Pending Internal Review

The document has been reviewed and updated by a user on the supply side. It has been returned to the document owner or contract specialist for reconciliation.

In External Collaboration

The document has been sent to a user on the supply side (external user) who is designated as the primary document owner.

Collaborated, Pending Review

The document has been reviewed by all internal collaborators and is awaiting a final review by the document administrator or owner.

Collaborated

The document has been reviewed by all external or internal collaborators, and the document administrator or owner has reviewed and updated the document based on the reviews.

Pending Approval

The document has been submitted for approval and is waiting for the approval of one or more users. In addition, the system sets a workflow status for approvers to Pending for each approver that is required . You can submit a document for approval while it's in a Draft or Collaborated status.

Approved

The document has been approved by all approvers. You can dispatch and execute the document at this point.

Draft

When any step is denied during the approval workflow process, the entire workflow is denied and terminated. The document status is set from Pending Approval to Draft. After reviewing document comments, the document administrator can update the document and begin the approval process again by submitting the document for approval.

Complete

When using document types, you can set a document to complete by clicking the Complete button.