Payment Schedule

Payment schedules represent the expected schedule of costs or incomes on a budget (cost center and cost type). Payment schedules are typically associated with request items, order items and contract items. A request item, order item and contract item can have any number of payment schedules.

Payment schedules can be created with negative amount (they are displayed in red color), but they cannot be created for zero amount. If no costs are expected for a request item, order item or contract item, no payment schedule should be created for them. However, offer with zero prices can be used with a request item, order item or contract item.

Differentiation From Related Concepts

• Differentiation from payments

  If the same costs are expected in the same amount periodically, they should be represented by only one payment schedule. If payments are generated out of this schedule for a certain period, as many payment objects will be created as the number of months that falls within the period used for generating. Each payment can then have its specific status (approved, paid…)

• Differentiation from offer

  An offer specifies the price offered by a vendor, which was used as a basis for the request item, order item or contract item. The real expected cost may be slightly different in amount (e.g. interest can be included) or in timing (offer does not define the timing of the costs, it only contains the period of time in which the offer may be used). A payment schedule is initiated from an offer selected for a request item, order item or contract item, but it can be changed independently later on.

• Differentiation from net unit price of request item, order item or contract item.

  Net unit price of request items, order items or contract items is calculated out of payment schedules.

Payment Schedule Types

The following payment schedule types can be distinguished from the view point of continuance and periodicity:

Continuance

Payment schedules for order items and contract items

Payment schedules for order items and contract items are of two different types:

• Regular:  Continuance of all regular payment schedules for order items/contract item is required. Next regular payment schedule must begin the next day after the previous payment schedule has ended. Neither a gap between or overlapping of two regular payment schedules is allowed. Regular payment schedules can be periodic or non-periodic.
• Irregular: Continuance of irregular payment schedules for order items/contract item is not required. A gap between two regular payment schedules is allowed. An irregular payment schedule may overlap with other regular and irregular payment schedules. Irregular payment schedules are displayed in italics.

Payment schedules for request items

Payment schedules for request items are not differentiated as regular/irregular. Irregular payment schedules can be periodic or non-periodic. Continuance is not required; they behave as irregular. When an order item is generated out of a request item and it inherits its payment schedules, the continuing payment schedules are identified automatically and they are stored at the order item as regular payment schedules.

Periodicity

• Periodic:  A periodic payment schedule specifies the period of the payment cycle within a given time interval or within a given number of payment occurrences. A typical periodic payment schedule is the monthly schedule of the same leasing payment amount over the leasing time interval. Periodic payment schedules can be regular or irregular.
• Non-periodic: A non-periodic payment schedule has no payment cycle period specified. It always represents one-time cost/income. However, it can still define the end date of the time interval that is covered by this schedule. Non-periodic payment schedules can be regular or irregular.

Initialization

When a payment schedule is created, its begin date is taken from the desired delivery date of the order or request item, or from the contract date of the contract. If these dates are not available, the current date is used.

When more than one payment schedule exists and they need to be replaced (after changing the item type or offer for the request item, order item or contract item), the starting date of the new payment schedule is taken from the earliest original payment which the schedule replaced.