The object model
The Contract mirrors the same three-level structure as Quotes and Orders:| Layer | Quote | Order | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Header | Quote | Order | Contract |
| Time segments | QuotePhase | OrderPhase | ContractPhase |
| Line items | QuoteLine | OrderLine | ContractLine |
Contract
The top-level record representing the full commercial relationship with a customer. It stores the account association, overall term, activation state, and references to all Orders that have affected it.Contract Phases
Each Contract Phase represents a contiguous time period during which a specific set of commercial terms applies. Phases are sequential and non-overlapping. They correspond to the Phases defined on the originating Quotes and Orders. For a simple annual deal, there may be a single Phase. For a multi-year ramp deal, there will be one Phase per commitment interval (e.g., Year 1, Year 2, Year 3), each with its own pricing and quantity structure.Contract Lines
Contract Lines define the product-level entitlements within each Phase: the active quantity, contracted price, billing cadence, and service boundaries for each SKU. Contract Lines are the system of record for what the customer is paying for and what they’re entitled to receive.How Orders affect Contracts
When an Order is activated, the system evaluates how each Order Line should affect the associated Contract. The behavior depends on the Order’s commercial classification.New Business
If no prior Contract exists for the customer, Order activation creates a new Contract. Each Order Line produces one or more Contract Lines that define the initial entitlement: active quantity, contracted price, service start and end, billing cadence, and renewal behavior. The Contract becomes the system of record for this customer’s commercial relationship from this point forward.Amendment
If the Order references an existing Contract, the system applies mutation logic rather than creating a new baseline. The Contract is incrementally modified to reflect the change. Amendment Orders can instruct the system to:- Increase or decrease quantity of an existing Contract Line
- Add new products as new Contract Lines
- Adjust service periods
- Extend the term
- Introduce new Phases for future commitment windows
Amendments modify the Contract prospectively. They do not rewrite history. Existing executed segments remain intact — only future commitment windows are affected.
Renewal
In renewal scenarios, the system either extends the existing Contract term in place or creates a successor Contract and migrates active lines forward. Renewal Orders often replace expiring Contract Lines with new ones that contain updated pricing, quantities, or terms. The historical record of prior pricing remains intact in previous Contract Phases, maintaining a full audit trail of the commercial relationship over time.Contracted price preservation
This is one of the most important concepts in contract management: amendments do not reprice history. When an amendment Quote is created, it references the active Contract. That Contract contains the authoritative commercial state from all prior Orders: active quantities, service intervals, contracted unit prices, and any negotiated discounts or uplifts. The amendment uses the contracted price as the baseline — not the current list price and not the pricing rules that were in effect during the original negotiation. Example: A product was originally contracted at 4.25 contracted rate unless explicitly overridden. The system does not recompute pricing from the current price book or reapply the discount logic from the original deal. This preserves three critical properties:- Commercial integrity — negotiated pricing remains stable and enforceable across the life of the contract.
- Auditability — historical pricing logic does not need to be re-derived. The contracted price is authoritative.
- Predictability — amendments modify state; they do not reinterpret it. Both the customer and the finance team know what to expect.
Activation vs. creation
It’s important to distinguish between when an Order is created and when it’s activated, because these are different events with different downstream effects. Order creation may happen immediately when a quote is accepted. But the Order can remain in a pending state while additional steps are completed: signature confirmation, finance approval, payment processing, or compliance review. Order activation is what actually triggers contract mutation, billing orchestration, and provisioning. Until the Order is activated, the Contract is unchanged.What each layer is authoritative for
After a deal moves through the full lifecycle, each object serves a specific purpose:| Object | Authoritative for | Mutability |
|---|---|---|
| Quote | Historical negotiation artifact. What was proposed and how pricing was modeled. | Locked after promotion. |
| Order | Transactional history. What was committed, when, and by whom. | Immutable after activation. |
| Contract | Current entitlement state. What the customer is entitled to right now. | Updated only through new Orders. |
System integrity
The architecture enforces a deliberate separation of concerns:- Quotes are mutable and computational. The pricing engine operates here.
- Orders are authoritative and transactional. They contain fully resolved commercial values independent of future pricing model changes.
- Contracts are stateful and cumulative. They reflect the current reality of the customer relationship.
What’s next
Quote Overview
Understand how quotes are built, including Phases and the Promotion workflow.
Renewals and Amendments
Deep dive into amendment logic, renewal workflows, and price preservation.
Proration Logic
How Veles calculates prorated charges for mid-term changes.
Rules & Approvals
Configure the guardrails that govern amendments and renewals.