Overview
Create contract units
Contract units can be created in Alasco under the menu item "Costs" under the submenu item "Contract units". New entries can be added here in the same way as contracts and change orders. To do this, click on the button "Add contract unit" at the top right corner of the screen.
When you create a new contract unit, it is necessary to assign it a name and a type. You can decide whether you want to create a "normal" contract unit or a reserve.
Note:
You cannot create contracts within a reserve contract unit. However, you shift budget from reserve contract units to "normal" contract units at any time.
The budget can be distributed to contract units and reserves alike. The article on budget distribution explains how to distribute budget to contract units. A reserve contract unit is treated differently from a contract unit in the cost controlling. The difference is described in more detail in the article on cost controlling.
API usage for contract units
Contract units can now also be created and updated via the public API. This is incredibly useful if you want to import or modify budgets on a large scale, or to set up a default structure of contract units for a new project.
Note:
Setting or changing the budget via the API is only possible if the project does not use cost elements. In those cases, the budget must be set via distribution, not directly on the contract unit.
Additionally, a dedicated public API endpoint is available for fetching budget shifts on the contract unit level.
Assigning established invoice workflows
When creating a project, a default invoice workflow must be assigned. This invoice workflow is preselected whenever a new contract unit is created. The invoice workflow is then consequently inherited by the contracts and associated invoices within the contract units.
However, you can assign an invoice workflow different from the default workflow to a contract unit. To do this, select your preferred invoice workflow in the drop-down menu "Invoice workflow" when creating or editing the contract unit. Note that you can only select already created invoice workflows.
Tip:
You can also enter text in the invoice workflow field to search for a certain workflow.
For the invoice workflow, Alasco now offers additional automation capabilities (for Pro & Advanced customers):
The "enter and validate invoice" step can be disabled entirely in the workflow configuration. Invoices will then go directly to the first approval step, where users can review the data automatically extracted by the AI.
Original invoice documents without any annotations can now be downloaded directly in the Document Manager.
In Alasco, you can also have a predefined workflow for change orders.
As soon as you have created a change order workflow and assigned it to the project in the project settings, you can assign contract units their own change order workflows, which differ from the default change order workflow.
Note:
Please note that in both cases you can only select workflows that have already been created in the master data.
For the change order workflow, the following enhancements are available:
Automatic data extraction: When creating a change order, Pro and Advanced customers can upload the document, and Alasco will automatically extract and pre-fill key fields using OCR and AI.
Value limits for approval steps: Customers can now set minimum amounts for approval steps (except the first) in the change order workflow.
Original documents: The original change order files can also be downloaded without annotations (including via API).
Create contract units during budget distribution
Another way to create a contract unit is directly from the budget distribution. To do this, call up the "Budget" menu item in the "Costs" area and navigate to the "Budget distribution" tab. Here you can distribute the budget of a cost element to one or more contract units. To do this, click on the "Edit" button on the right-hand side of the screen in the line of the cost element. In the window that opens, you will see all contract units that already receive a budget from the cost element. Click on the "+ Assign contract unit" button to select another contract unit.
A new line will then appear in which you can select from contract units that have already been created and enter a budget.
Click on the first field "+ Add new". This opens the same input screen as described above. Enter all the information required to create the contract unit here and create it by clicking the "Save" button.
The contract unit type is automatically assigned when creating a contract unit from the budget distribution page. A reserve must be created from the submenu item "Contract units" as per the method specified when creating contract units.
The budget distribution page has been optimized with the following features:
Unified view: All cost elements and contract units are now organized into a single, comprehensive table.
Visual budget indicators: Over- and under-budgeting are clearly highlighted, allowing you to spot discrepancies at a glance.
Smarter defaults: When assigning the first contract unit entry, the system automatically pre-fills it with the full available budget of the cost element.
Percentage-based input: You can now specify budget distribution by percentage instead of absolute amounts.
Gross allocations: When using cost allocations, you now have the option to distribute gross amounts rather than net amounts.
Transparency: All budget reallocations and adjustments are transparently documented to enhance accountability.
Note on budget overdistribution:
The rule regarding budget overdistribution has been relaxed. You can now reduce the budget of a cost group at any time. If this results in an overdistribution of budget to the associated contract units, a warning banner will be displayed.
Contract unit list and analytics
An overview of all your contract units is provided by the contract unit list in Alasco. You can access it under the menu item "Costs" and submenu item "Contract units". The list can show the contract units for all projects combined or for a specific project. You can add and remove columns to the displayed list as per your requirements. You can save several different views for your particular requirements and quickly switch between them. You can also filter the contract units using any of the active columns. You are also able to export any specific view in Excel format.
Additionally, the list now offers the following capabilities:
Bulk edit: You can bulk-edit the status of multiple contract units at once, which is especially helpful for managing project forecasts.
CSV Export: In addition to Excel exports, users can now export the contract units and budget changes tables as CSV files, making it easier to process data with external tools (e.g., Make or Power Automate).
Filter by area: Costs can now be filtered by area or type of use to better compare expenses across different assets.
Filter by cost element: In the multi-project level cost controlling, you can now filter by specific cost elements across multiple projects.
For Pro & Advanced customers, Administrators can now create custom KPI columns directly in the cost controlling table by combining cost and project data through addition, subtraction, or division. Furthermore, all column tooltips have been updated to a new design to improve readability.
Cash outflow planning on contract unit level
The enhanced Cash Outflow Planning ("Good COP") allows Advanced and Pro customers to plan their outflows more precisely. You can now conduct cash outflow planning directly in the tabs at the contract unit level (in the detail view) or on the contract level.
Planning on budget level: Outflows can now be planned at the budget level (cost elements). There is no longer a need for dummy contracts, as unassigned budget amounts can be planned directly.
Flexible moving: Parts or entire plans can be easily moved back and forth to quickly represent delays or project stops (including multi-select support).
Excel-like editing: Manual plan adjustments are intuitive and can be done directly in the table, with a clear separation between view and edit modes.
Self-service switcher: Users can seamlessly switch to the new tool, with all planned and actual values being automatically migrated.
Automatic adjustments: Plans are automatically adjusted when previously unassigned amounts are later allocated to contract units and contracts. Actual vs. plan differences from past months can also be resolved effortlessly.