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Contracts

xAssets IT Asset Management User Guide
Contracts

Contracts

Contracts in xAssets track agreements such as hardware maintenance contracts, software licence agreements, leases, and support contracts. Use the Contracts module to monitor start and end dates, link contracts to the assets they cover, and receive advance warning of upcoming expirations.

Why Track Contracts

Without centralised contract tracking, organisations risk:

  • Missed renewals -- contracts expire without notice, causing gaps in coverage
  • Unnecessary spending -- contracts auto-renew for assets that have been disposed of
  • Audit failures -- inability to demonstrate that assets are covered by valid agreements
  • Operational risk -- hardware maintenance lapses on business-critical servers

Viewing Contracts

Navigate to the Contracts menu to see all contracts. The Contracts Dashboard provides an overview:

Contracts Dashboard

Contracts are organised in a tree hierarchy. Use the left pane to filter by contract type (e.g., Hardware Maintenance, Software Licence Agreement):

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-2"

Click a contract to view its details:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-3"

Key Contract Fields

Field Purpose
Description Name of the contract or agreement
Category Type of contract (Maintenance, Lease, Licence Agreement, Support, etc.)
Supplier The vendor or provider
Start Date / End Date The contract term
Cost The contract value
Status Active, Expired, Renewed, etc.
Asset Count Number of assets linked to this contract

Contract Expiry

The Contracts menu and dashboard include reports showing contracts that have expired or are approaching expiry:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts Dashboard" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-4"

Contracts list view

Tip: Set up email notifications (see Email Notifications) to receive automatic alerts when contracts approach their expiry date. This removes the need to check the dashboard manually.

Managing Contracts

The Manage Contracts section of the Contracts Dashboard allows you to create, dispose of, and renew contracts, as well as run expiry reports:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts Dashboard" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-6"

Leases

Leases are managed in the same way as contracts -- a lease is simply a contract with the category set to "Lease". To create a new lease, navigate to Contracts > New Lease:

New contract dialog

Lease records include the same fields as contracts, plus lease-specific information such as the monthly payment and residual value.

Linking Assets to Contracts and Leases

To associate physical assets with a contract or lease, use one of these methods:

Method 1: Drag and Drop

Drag assets from a query results screen directly onto the contract record.

Method 2: Copy and Paste

  1. Select the assets you want to link from a results screen
  2. Choose Query > Copy -- a dialog confirms the copied records

Screenshot

  1. Open the contract or lease record

Screenshot

  1. Choose Paste Children...
  2. Select the appropriate Dependency Type (e.g., "Is Lease For" for leases, "Is Maintenance For" for maintenance contracts):

Screenshot

  1. Click OK

After linking, the contract's Asset Count updates to reflect the associated assets:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-11"

Open the contract and navigate to the Related Assets tab to see which assets it covers:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts" | ClickItem "tr.drow:first-child td a" | ClickTab "Related Assets" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-12"

This same approach works for all contract types, including hardware maintenance contracts.

Lease Expiry Reports

The Assets with Leases Expiring within 90 days report (under Lease Renewal in the Contracts Dashboard) identifies business-critical assets affected by upcoming lease expirations:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts Dashboard" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-13"

Combined View

The Contracts and Leases section of the Contracts Dashboard shows both contracts and leases in a single view:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Contracts Dashboard" | PrintScreen "itam-contracts-contracts-14"

Click a location in the Contracts and Leases by Location chart to drill down to the individual contracts and leases at that location. Use the up arrow Drill-up arrow icon

to drill back up, or the full screen icon ![Full screen icon](../../images/icon-full-screen.png) to expand the view.

Tips

  • Link all assets to their covering contracts -- this enables you to quickly assess the impact when a contract expires
  • Review the expiry reports monthly and plan renewals at least 90 days in advance
  • When disposing of assets, check whether they are linked to contracts that should be adjusted or terminated
  • Use parent-child relationships to link related contracts (e.g., a master agreement with sub-contracts)