Effective dates are another important element of service levels you can define. Effective dates add a layer of differentiation to limits. You can use them with limits set up for invoice sorts or for limits that apply to work code and service category combinations.

The system uses effective dates on limits the same way it uses effective dates in other functions, with some exceptions. Similarities and differences are noted in the following sections.

If you leave a start or end date blank, the system, as usual, assumes the date is open ended and coverage is in effect from the beginning of time or to the end of time.

Unlike dates in other parts of the system, effective dates for limits cannot overlap. Since you can accumulate amounts against limits when you copy them into a contract, there can be only one valid set of limits at any one point in time. Otherwise, the system would not know where to post the consumed amounts.

Since the system considers a limit with a blank start and end date always in effect, you cannot create such a limit and then create another with specific start and end dates.

When you copy limits into a contract, the system sets the earliest start date to the contract start date and the last effective date to the contract end date.

In a simple case, you can set up limits on a contract type without any effective dates, then create a contract based on that contract type. The contract start date is 01/01/07 and end date is 12/31/07. When you copy limits into the contract, the starting effective date is 01/01/07, the end effective date 12/31/07.

Now consider what happens if you have two sets of limits on the contract type with the following effective dates:

The same contract from 01/01/07 and 12/31/07 still has two sets of limits, but the system copies them in with these dates:

How you set up effective dates on contract types can affect contract renewal. When you create a contract, you can tell the system to copy limits from the contract or from the contract type. If you set up limits with consecutive effective dates and tell the system to refer to the contract type, the system brings in the limits effective for the renewed contract’s start date.

This way you can phase in changes and the system applies them during contract renewal.

Call Activity Recording uses the call open date when it looks for coverage limits. Remember this if you add lines to an open call. The system bases the limits it applies to that line on the date you opened the call, not the date you added the line. The call open date also determines limits during invoicing.

Work Code/Service Categories with Blank Dates illustrates sample limits based on the data in Limits by Work Code and Service Category. However, a new row for effective dates has been added to the table. To make this example simple, dates are blank for all the limits. This means each service category is effective all the time.

The coverage defined in this table continues forever, or until superseded by another contract. In this case, the service categories are not controlling coverage periods in the contract; they are controlling only the percent of coverage and the limits.

Work Code and Service Categories with Non-blank Dates illustrates limit data for two years. You might use a contract type like this for a two-year contract or to have the system apply next year’s limits when this year’s contract expires.

In this example, preventive maintenance coverage for each service category starts at 100%. The second year it is 75%. While these factors are the same for the PM work code and each service category, the actual monetary limit varies.

This kind of table helps you set up work codes and service categories. For each work code, you can enter any number of time periods, percentages, and limit amounts for a service category, to match your business. For Labor1, for example, you can set up a series of coverage periods for preventive maintenance.