Managing Contracts
The Contracts feature in Harmony's Software Management module lets you create, track, and manage vendor contracts directly alongside the applications they support. From capturing pricing details and renewal dates to monitoring spend across your portfolio, everything you need to stay on top of your software commitments is available in one place.
This article explains how contracts work, how to create and manage them, and how to get the most out of the visibility and automation features built into the experience.
What You Can Track on a Contract
Each contract you create can capture a comprehensive set of details:
Core contract details:
Contract name, vendor name, plan type, and status (Active, Pending, Expired, Renewed, or Cancelled)
Lifecycle dates: start date, end date, auto-renewal toggle, cancellation notice period, and an auto-calculated renewal date
Flexible pricing models to match how you are billed:
Seat-based - seat count (or unlimited seats), cost per seat, and billing frequency
Flat fee - a fixed recurring or one-time cost
Usage-based - variable costs tied to consumption
Custom - any other structure that does not fit standard models
Contract line items:
Individual line items representing each component of a contract (for example, separate modules, add-ons, or user tiers)
Each line item can be linked to a specific application so it appears on that application's Contracts tab
Contract Value Auto-Calculation
You do not need to manually tally up line items to determine a contract's total value. Harmony can derive the contract value automatically:
On contract creation - if you provide line items but leave the contract value blank, the total value and currency are calculated automatically from those items.
Manual override - if you explicitly enter a contract value during creation, that value and currency are preserved exactly as entered.
Empty contracts - if no line items exist, the contract value remains whatever you provided, or defaults to 0.
Live recalculation - as you add, edit, or remove line items after creation, the contract value updates automatically to reflect the current sum.
This keeps your contract totals accurate without requiring manual updates every time something changes.
Creating Contracts
Single Contract Creation
To create a contract, navigate to the Contracts page within Software Management and use the creation form. Fill in the core details, select a pricing model, and add any relevant line items. If you want the contract to be visible on a specific application's Contracts tab, make sure each line item is linked to the appropriate application.
Bulk Contract Creation
When you need to set up contracts across a large number of applications at once, you can create multiple contracts in a single action rather than repeating the process one at a time. This significantly reduces setup time when onboarding a large software portfolio.
Draft Contracts
Before publishing a contract, you can save it as a Draft. This lets you build out contract details incrementally, review them with your team, and correct any issues before the contract becomes active in your records.
When you are ready to publish, validation checks run automatically to catch any incomplete or incorrect data before the contract goes live. This reduces the risk of publishing contracts with missing information.
Managing Contract Status
You have full manual control over the status of any contract. From the contract detail page, you can set a contract to any of the following statuses:
Active
The contract is currently in effect
Pending
The contract has been agreed but has not yet started
Expired
The contract term has ended
Cancelled
The contract was terminated before its end date
Draft
The contract is being prepared and is not yet published
Renewed
The contract has been rolled over into a new term
Previously, statuses like Expired and Pending were computed automatically and could not be changed. You can now explicitly set any status to reflect real-world situations such as early terminations, data corrections, or bulk imports where computed states would not be accurate.
Auto-renewing contracts display a dedicated renewal date column in the contracts table, so it is always clear when each contract is due to roll over.
Spotting Unlinked Contract Line Items
Linking a line item to an application is what makes a contract visible in that application's Contracts tab. If a line item is not linked, it will not appear in any application view.
To help you keep everything connected, Harmony flags unlinked line items with clear visual indicators:
An amber warning icon with a "No related application" tooltip appears next to unlinked items in the contracts table and the renewal management table.
In the add/edit contract item modal, unlinked items are highlighted with an amber border and a "No related application" label.
When you see these indicators, edit the line item and link it to the appropriate application to ensure it surfaces in the right place.
Contract Insight Widgets
At the top of the Contracts page and within individual application Overview tabs, a row of insight widgets gives you an at-a-glance summary of your contract landscape without requiring you to manually scan the table.
The following widgets are available:
Annual Cost - displays the total annual contract cost across the Contracts page, or scoped to a single application when viewed in that application's Overview tab.
Active Contracts - shows the count of contracts currently in an Active status. Clicking this widget filters the table to show only active contracts.
Upcoming Renewals - visible on the Contracts page, this widget highlights contracts approaching their renewal dates so you can take action before they auto-renew or expire.
These widgets update dynamically as your contract data changes.
Viewing Contracts Per Application
Every application in the Software Management module has a dedicated Contracts tab. This tab shows all contracts that have at least one line item linked to that application, giving you a focused view of the commitments associated with each tool.
The application's Overview tab also includes the Annual Cost and Active Contracts widgets so you can assess spend at a glance without switching to the full Contracts page.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Contracts
Link every line item to an application - unlinked items will not appear in application views and are flagged with amber indicators. Resolve these promptly to keep your data complete.
Use Draft status during bulk imports - when importing a large number of contracts, save them as drafts first so you can review and validate before publishing.
Let auto-calculation handle totals - avoid manually entering contract values when you have line items. Allow Harmony to calculate the total so it stays in sync as items change.
Set status manually when needed - if a contract was terminated early or imported with an incorrect state, update the status directly from the contract detail page rather than waiting for automatic transitions.
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