In this guide 6 sections
A contract record holds the agreement: parties, signing date, clauses, term and renewal notice. An AMC record holds the service: covered assets, visit schedule, parts exclusions and billing. One module can serve both when each agreement covers one kind of service. Keep two linked records when one agreement spans many sites.
What the agreement record holds
The agreement record answers one question. What did both sides sign? It carries the parties, the signing date, the start and end dates and the renewal notice period. It also carries the clauses that bite later, such as liability caps and indemnity wording.
A scanned PDF sits behind it. The fields on top make it searchable, because nobody wants to open forty files to find which vendor agreement lapses in March and who must be told.
Amendments belong here. A signed addendum that changes the fee or adds a site attaches to the original. Nobody guesses the latest terms. Nobody hunts through email either.
- Parties and named signatories
- Start, end and renewal notice dates
- Payment, indemnity and termination clauses
- The signed PDF with every addendum
- The owner on your side who answers questions
What the service schedule holds
An AMC is a promise to do work on named equipment. Its record opens with the asset list: model, serial number, install site and warranty end date, followed by the preventive visit plan for each chiller, lift or genset.
Exclusions live here too. Consumables, spare parts and damage from misuse usually sit outside the fee, so the technician reads that list before fitting a compressor part and arguing about the bill.
Billing follows the schedule. A quarterly invoice, a lump sum at renewal or a charge per visit hangs off this record, not off the agreement. Keep them apart.
- Covered assets with serial numbers and nameplate ratings
- Visit calendar and response time for breakdown calls
- Parts, consumables, refrigerant top-ups and exclusions
- Invoice rhythm and rate per visit
When one module is enough
A single record works when one agreement equals one service on one set of equipment, and a lift maintenance contract for one building is the classic case. Splitting it adds clicks. It adds no clarity.
It also suits small teams. If one admin handles the paperwork and the dispatch, a combined screen with agreement fields at the top and a visit grid below is quicker to learn.
Check one thing first. Does the module raise the renewal notice date and the next breakdown-call or visit due date as two separate alerts? If not, you will miss one of them.
When the two records need a link
Split them when one agreement covers many things. A master service agreement with a hospital group may sit over six sites, each with its own chillers, its own technician and its own visit plan.
The opposite happens with vendors. A scanner supplier may hold a purchase contract, a support agreement and a lease, each with different clauses, yet only the support agreement has visits.
Link them with an agreement number carried on every schedule, so a renewal rolls every schedule forward while a change in one site’s equipment never touches the signed document.
- One agreement, many sites or asset groups
- One vendor, several agreement types
- Different owners for legal and service work
- Amendments that add or remove equipment mid-term
Test your setup with one renewal
Pick an agreement that renews in the next ninety days. Open its record and answer four questions without leaving the screen: the notice deadline, the covered assets, the visits still due and the renewal invoice.
Every time you opened a folder, a spreadsheet or an email, you found a missing field or a broken link. Fix those gaps before you load the other agreements. Then repeat with a second renewal.
Agreement and AMC field map
Two columns, Agreement record and Service schedule, run down a printed sheet. Rows list each field you track, such as signing date, notice period, covered serial numbers, visit count and parts exclusions. Tick the column where each field lives today. Then mark the fields that need a link.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Do small businesses need both contract management and AMC management?
Not always. If every agreement covers one service on one set of equipment, a single record is enough. Add the second record once agreements start covering several sites or asset groups.
Where should the renewal notice date be stored?
On the agreement record. It comes from a clause in the signed document. The service schedule can show it for reference, but the agreement owns it.
Can an AMC exist without a written contract?
It can, such as a quote accepted by email. Even then, keep an agreement record with that email attached, so the terms and the renewal date have a home.
What happens to the schedule when equipment is replaced?
Update the asset list on the schedule and attach a note to the agreement. The signed terms stay unchanged unless the replacement alters the fee or scope.