Setting Up JC Contracts

JC Contracts link contract revenue to job costs so profitability and suggested Job Billing stay aligned. Every JC job must have a contract number. JC Departments are required on the contract. PM Contracts share the same JCCM file; pending PM data becomes available in Job Cost after the project is interfaced, then either form updates the other.

Before you start

• JC Departments exist. Customer and payment terms exist when you will invoice.
• Know bill type: Progress (P) vs T&M (T) (items can also use Both or None).
• Have schedule-of-values / bid item detail ready for Progress contracts.
• You have permission to maintain JC contracts.

Steps

Contract header

1. Open JC Contracts.
2. Create the contract header: customer, department, payment terms, contract start month (WIP reporting), and bill type.
3. Keep bill description aligned with how items will appear on invoices.

Items (schedule of values)

4. On the Items tab (grid or JC Contract Items form):
   • Progress (P) contracts: enter schedule-of-values / bid items (any piece billed separately should be its own item).
   • T&M (T) contracts: often need only one item.
   • Item Bill Type defaults from the header and can be Progress, T&M, Both (T&M with Progress backup), or None (not billed through Job Billing). Changing bill type after an item has been billed warns that Previous Billed amounts in JB may differ; the save still proceeds.
   • Department on each item defaults from the header and can be overridden. Changing department after revenue or costs have posted does not move prior GL amounts; adjust GL manually if needed.
5. If you change header Department, Retainage %, Tax Code, or Default Bill Type, Vista asks whether to update existing items that still hold the old value. Answer Yes to push the change to matching items, or No to save the header only.

JB Info, Forecasts, Customer POs

6. Configure JB Info (invoice format / delivery). This mirrors JB Contract Info used for billing setup.
7. Optionally configure Forecasts: enter monthly rows manually, or use File > Forecast Initialize with the forecast method from JC Company Parameters.
8. If using field tickets, enter Customer POs on the contract first. Without contract Customer POs, PO entries on tickets are informational only.
9. Save.

Notes

• Department on the header defaults to items but can be overridden per item.
• Resync Total Contract Amount (File > Resync) is usually unnecessary. Use it only to reconcile original / current contract totals to item totals.
• Soft close and hard close are covered in JC Contract Close, not on this setup form.
• Related setup: JC Departments, JC Jobs, JC Job Phases, JC Standard Item Codes, JC Company Parameters, JC Contract Close.