GNM_RCS_Contract_Management_FS

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• 1. .Introduction

     1. Purpose

GNM Editorial enters into agreements with contributors to supply content for publication in Guardian media.

Editorial staff engage contributors to supply content on a one-off or ad hoc basis, and these contractual relationships are known as “Commissions”.

When contributors are engaged on a longer term, or more regular basis, their contractual relationship is known as a “Contract”.

This document describes how contracts are recorded, and subsequently managed.

• 1. Scope

This document is intended as a high-level document outlining the main processing involved. It is not a detailed functional specification from which the system could have originally been developed.

Separate Technical specifications document the implementation of these functions.

• 1. .Specification

     1. Content providers

To contact a contributor the editor is likely to search for the contributor’s contact details in RCS. Searches can be performed based on name, by-line, geographical location, or skillset. Once found the contributor’s name, address, phone number and email address are available.

Once the user has entered their search criteria a search of the database is performed and all matching contributors are displayed. The user can then scrolls through them and chooses the correct one.

They can then record a contract against this contributor.

• 1. Rights

Every contract has its own rights profile. When content is published and matched to a contract each item of content is deemed to have the rights profile of the contract. The rights profile defines how GNM can use the content and for how long, whether it can re-publish it in other media, and whether it can syndicate the content to 3rd parties.

The rights model is now quite complex. To save time and reduce errors the contract rights profile is initially a copy of a set of default rights. In most cases this set of rights does not need to be changed, but they can be.

The Rights department and the Editors Office process all contracts. Department heads can enter contracts, but all contracts are subject to approval in terms of fees payable and the rights acquired.

Any deviation from the default rights marks the rights profile as “non-standard”, and all changes are clearly highlighted.

• 1. Fees

The fee structures that are agreed with contributors broadly fall into 2 categories:

• • Fixed fee e.g. a monthly fee for a monthly column, or for an agreed weekly word count; and

  • Pay as you go fees e.g. ad hoc fees for each image used or article published.

Payments can be made payable to the contributor or their agent.

• 1. Fixed fees

Also known as “Gross fee” contracts, these contracts are for a fixed period of time, with a fixed fee payable. The fee may be payable monthly, quarterly or as a single lump sum. Payments may be due in advance, arrears, or on specified day of the month.

The cost contract fixed fee contracts may be split across multiple desks by “splitting” the fees across different Chart of Accounts segment combinations (especially Cost centres and Products).

All 8 CoA segments must be completed before a payment instruction can be sent to Accounts.

Once the fees and split have been finalised the payment instructions can be scheduled that will be sent to Oracle AP over the course of the contract. When paid monthly in arrears, these payment instructions are scheduled for the last Tuesday of the month that will allow the payment to clear in the payee’s account during the month.

Extra payments can be added to contracts, and the fees can be modified before they are sent to Oracle AP if for example the contract is renegotiated.

Expense payments may also be linked to contracts.

Contracts can be paid in pretty much any currency.

Monthly service fees can also be defined against fixed fee contracts.

• 1. Pay as you go fees

     1. Lineage

Contracts for text (articles & blogs) can be defined as payable according to a lineage rate. This involves agreeing a rate per thousand words published, and then applying that rate to all content that is subsequently published and matched to the contract.

• 1. Space rates

Space rates can be used for contracts for the supply of images. A fee scheduled is agreed for different area bands (e.g. 0-5 sq. inches, then 5-10 sq. inches etc.), and then these rates are applied to published images that are matched against the contract.

RCS will pay the largest size published if an image appears in multiple editions of the paper in differing sizes.

Wire fees can also be paid against each picture usage.

• 1. Stock vs. New content

In the case of imagery, contributors may be contracted to produce new content, or GNM may contract to have a subscription to their back catalogue or archive of images. The main difference between the two is that GNM acquires more rights in new content – as the inspiration for the image is from GNM.

• 1. Content formats

Multiple formats of content may be delivered under a contract, but it is not possible to define a fee structure for each format.

• 1. Chart of Accounts

The GNM Chart of Accounts has 8 distinct segments that define how expenditure is recorded in and reported by the finance systems.

• 1. Approval

RCS has two approval mechanisms for contracts which help identify mistakes, and prevent unauthorised expenditure.

• 1. Fees

The Editors office approves all contracts, and therein the associated fees.

• 1. Rights

Every contract is queued for review by the Rights department. The rights model is quite complex, and so an expert review of the agreed rights is always required. The rights department can adjust the rights, or reset them to the current set of defaults applicable to the type of contributor, format of content, and whether the contributor is assigning copyright to GNM or agreeing a licence for the reuse of their content.

• 1. Contract types & sub types

RCS manages the following contracts types and sub types therein:

• 1. Term sheets

RCS issues term sheets for the contract types above where the Generate Paperwork is “Yes”.

These contracts set out the agreement between GNM and the contributor. RCS bases the contracts on templates held in the database, into which text is substituted in accordance with what has been agreed and who it was agreed with. These contracts may also cross reference GNM standard terms which set out in more detail the rights GNM secures in bought-in content.

The contracts are produced as PDF documents and are either emailed to the contributor or posted to them if they do not have an email address.

These contracts are stored in the database against the relevant contract, along with any other paperwork that may have been scanned and loaded.

• 1. Cancellation and termination

Contracts may be cancelled, or they may be terminated on a specific date. Payments are stopped for these contracts.

• 1. Reviewing

Once contracts have been entered onto RCS they can be reviewed and modified.

An editor can see all contracts for a specific contributor using the “Review contracts” screen.

• 1. Managing contracts

Users have various options to review lists of contracts based on their status:

• • Contracts not received;

  • Current contracts; and

  • Contract renewals.

• 1. Change history / audit

From an audit perspective it is important that a change history (or audit trail) of changes to key data be kept. An audit trail is recorded for contract data, & fee splits, but isn’t visible to the users of RCS.

• 1. Reporting

There are two reports relating to contracts:

• • Contracts list; and

  • Contracts not returned.

Contract data also appears on many of the other reports that focus on monitoring expenditure.

• 1. Billing periods, products, and invoices

A small number of suppliers have contracts whereby GNM pays for their content, but aslo invoices them from redistribution fees. For these contracts it is also possible to define contracts periods, products being sold in those periods, and to schedule invoices that GNM must issue to the supplier (related customer).

For this to be possible an Organisation can be linked to a Customer, and all billing under the Organisation’s contract will be processed via the related Customer.

End of Document