Contract Navigation #
The Contract / PCO/ CO log page can be found in a project by accessing the left-side menu in a project and clicking Cost Tracking > Contract / PCO Change Order. The log initially shows pending contracts, PCOs and Change Orders; clicking the Type and Approvals columns will allow you to filter specific item types (e.g., viewing only contracts) and view approved items.

What Is the Contract/PCO/Change Orders Feature? #
The Contract/PCO/CO tool is the primary way to track and manage contracts committed towards a project, as well as any PCOs and change orders made against those contracts. The tool is flexible and can be used to manage the GC prime contract, AE contracts, and more.
- Manage contracts with your vendors at the level of detail your organization needs.
- Lock down the schedule of values and control how much can be billed against your contracts.
- Manage all subsequent items created against your contracts (PCOs, COs, invoices).
Creating Contracts #
Purchase Orders can be created in three ways: from the project Budget, from the Contract/PCO/Change Order log, or from an awarded bid package.
Creating a Contract From the Budget #

- Check the box next to the budget line item(s) that corresponds to the Contract you are creating.
- Click on Create… > Contract.

- Give the Contract a Description (title/name), then click Go.

- You will now begin building out the contract. Navigate through the General, Items, Attachments and Approval tabs using the Save & Next button to complete the contract.

- In the General tab, fill out any required information that is missing (denoted by the red asterisk *). At the minimum, you will need to choose which vendor this contract is awarded to, and what the retainage is.
- Award the contract to a User if the vendor account has a user account and will bill you directly through Projectmates.
- Award the contract to a Contact if the vendor is only listed as a contact, and you plan to enter invoices into Projectmates on their behalf.
- If there is no retainage for the contract, enter 0 in both retainage fields.

- In the Items tab, you will find the line items of the contract automatically populated based on what you selected in the Budget. Enter in the dollar amounts for the line items of the contract.

- In the Attachments tab, upload any relevant files/backup documents for this contract.

- In the Approval tab, select the appropriate approval type from the drop-down menu and click Start Approval.
Creating a Contract From the Log #
- Navigate to the log by clicking Cost Tracking > Contract / PCO / CO on the left-side menu.

- Click on the + Item button found on the upper right corner of the log, and select Contract.

- You will now begin building out the contract. Navigate through the General, Items, Attachments and Approval tabs using the Save & Next button to complete the contract.

- In In the General tab, fill out any required information that is missing.
- In the Items tab, you will need to manually create the line items for the PO.

-
- Line items can be created directly within Projectmates. Click the + icon to add as many rows as you need, and fill out the required information for each one.
- Line items can also be loaded in bulk through the Import/Export Download the Template xlsx file, fill out the line items of the contract based on Instructions provided within, then use the Select button to reimport the file to populate your PO.
- After building the line items of your contract, you can link them back to your project budget. If your organization manages the project budget, this is an extremely important step. Your contract and any change orders & invoices against the contract will not display properly in the budget otherwise.

-
- Select the line items for your contract by checking the boxes next to them.
- Click Link to Budget.
- Choose from one of the three options:
- Select Create new budget line item and add links if there currently isn’t an appropriate budget item to house the line items of the contract. Choose which Budget thread the budget item will be created in and fill out the fields (WBS/Section, Description). A budget item will be created and your contract line items will be linked as subitems within it.
- Select Add links to existing budget items if there is already a budget item that can house your contract line items. Select the budget thread, then the budget item you want to link to. If you selected one line item in your contract to link back, then you have the option to link it to an existing budget subitem or create a new subitem. If you selected several contract line items, then the only option will be to create new subitems for all of the PO line items.
- Select Remove link(s) without deleting existing budget item(s) to unlink the contract line items from the current budget subitems that they are linked to.

- In the Attachments tab, upload any relevant files/backup documents for this contract.

- In the Approval tab, select the appropriate approval type from the drop-down menu and click Start Approval.
Creating a Contract From a Bid Package #

- Navigate to the Bid Package log through the left-side menu by clicking on Contract Mgmt > Bid Package.

- Select a bid package that has been fully approved by checking the box next to it, and clicking + Contract to create a contract. This option is only available if the bid package has been awarded, fully approved, and not converted into a contract yet. This button is also accessible inside of the bid package in its Approval tab.

- You will now begin building out the contract. A majority of it will have already been filled out with information from the awarded bid. Navigate through the General, Items, Attachments and Approval tabs using the Save & Next button to complete the contract.

- In the General tab, fill out any required information that is missing (denoted by the red asterisk *). The contract will initially inherit the bid package’s Description. This can be changed to a more appropriate contract name/description.

- In the Items tab, verify the line items of the contract created from the awarded bid. If any negotiations occurred with the vendor post award, you can modify the contract line items here.

- In the Attachments tab, upload any relevant files/backup documents for this contract.

- In the Approval tab, select the appropriate approval type from the drop-down menu and click Start Approval.