Process Contract Items

The Process Contract Items task is used to perform a number of functions for contract items. Users can perform the following functions with this task:

• Expire contract items: A contract item in a Preliminary state will be changed to the Expired state on the item’s expiration date. A Preliminary contract item with no expiration date will not be changed to Expired.

• Complete contract items: If a contract item is in the Active state and the Expected End date has been reached, the item will be changed to Completed if all charges have been generated for the item. The task, however, will not automatically set the Actual End date.

• Synchronizes PCS meal plans: If a patron has a contract item linked to an Odyssey PCS meal plan, the task determines if Odyssey PCS needs to be sent a transaction to assign or remove the patron from the plan.

Note: The Synchronize PCS Meal Plans functionality is not currently available in ResCenter. To complete this process, use Odyssey HMS to run the Process Contract Items task. However, processing contract items in HMS will not allow adding multiple charge schedules to a contract item or linking charge schedules to contract items in ResCenter.

• Generates charges: The Process Contract Items task generates all applicable charges through the date specified in the Generate Charges Up To field. This setting allows generating charges for items that start in the future. For recurring charges, charge calculations are based on the item’s Start and End dates.

Note: If using Odyssey HMS to run the Process Contract Items task, all charge schedules must be linked to contract items in HMS; ResCenter contract items will not be used. Similarly, if using ResCenter to run the Process Contract Items task, all charge schedules must be linked to contract items in ResCenter; Odyssey HMS contract items will not be used.

• Charges generated through the Process Contract Items task are linked to the charge transaction code defined for the contract item’s charge schedule. Charges will also be sent to the patron’s FT account based on the charge transaction code.

• A patron with Suspend All Processing enabled will not be processed by this task. The failure will be noted in the task’s history.

• It is important to set the Generate Charges Up To date to select the contract items to process. For example: To generate charges for all contract items and assignments through the end of last month but not for the current month, select the last day of the previous month. Otherwise, if the option is set to Batch Run Date, the task will generate all charges through the date and time the task runs.

• The Process Contract Items task assumes the run date is the Batch Run Date or the selected Generate Charges Up To date. It generates and posts charges based on this date. To set the task to run the day after the Batch Run Date or the selected date, select the Process as of next day instead of selected date option. If the option is not checked, all processing will happen as of the selected date or Batch Run Date (if no date is selected).

• The Process Contract Items task can also define the Asset Types to be processed using the Only Process Items for Asset Types option. For example: This option can be used to select only meal plan asset types to end meal plans but not assignments.

• When deciding how often to run this task, consider how often contract items will change for the institution. If contract items change frequently, the task could be scheduled to run nightly in order to process the changes.

• Patron Selection: Select one of the following options to provide a list of patrons for the Process Contract Items task process:

o Remote File Path: Enter the full directory path and file name (including extension) in the available field. For example:

The imported file can be an ID List or a simple text file with only one record per line. The file must be stored on the Odyssey HMS/ResCenter server. It is not possible to import the file from a local workstation.

Notes: If a file path is defined for a scheduled task, the path is referenced each time the task runs. If the file’s data is updated (either manually edited or overwritten), the updated data will be used the next time the task is processed.

When creating or editing a task, ResCenter only verifies that the Remote File Path field is populated—not that the file exists—allowing a user to schedule a future task with a file that will be added later. If the file does not exist when the task runs, an error will be recorded in the Task History, and a failure email will be sent (if the task is configured with an email address).

o Advanced Find: Click the  Advanced Find button to use the Patron Advanced Find function to search for and select patrons to process with this task.

Note: When configuring an Advanced Find filter, the Max items to return field is set to 1,000, by default. CBORD recommends users increase this value if there’s a possibility that more than 1,000 patrons could be returned for this task.

• Generate Charges Up To: Select a date on which the contract items will be processed. For example: To generate charges for all contract items and assignments through the end of last month but not for the current month, select the last day of the previous month.

Alternatively, leave the Generate Charges Up To option set to Run Task Date; the task will generate all charges through the date and time the task runs.

• Only Process Items for Asset Types: Select this option to process specific asset types. Select one or more asset types from the left window and click the  mover button to add them to the right window. To add all asset types, click the  Move All button.