Manage Sales (Purchase) Agreements

Steps

Navigation Path

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECS > [Buyer Name]

SR > Buyers > [Buyer Name]

Notes

• The Agreement has been submitted by SR to SM for review, changing the Workup to an Agreement with a status of Agreement Submitted
• The Agreement can be viewed while in any status, by selecting the Sales Status link
• The Sales Manager reviews the offer, edits as desired per available Tasks listed in this topic, and responds

Counteroffer

Steps

1. SM: Select Agreement Submitted link.
2. Modify tasks (incentive, differential, contingency, deposit) as desired.
3. Enter comments in required fields (Internal Comments are required for any response; Differential Comments are required if Differential has changed).
4. Select Counter Offer and Send button (Agreement is returned to SR module with Sales Status changed to Agreement Countered).
5. SR: Select Agreement Countered link ( BT Action Prompt displayed).
6. Review Counter Offer.
7. Modify tasks, make revisions.
8. Select from the following action buttons:
   1. Accept - Accepts the SM Counter Offer and changes Sales Status to Agreement Accepted
   2. Counter Offer and Send - Re-Counters the Counter Offer and re-sends to SM for review, changes Sales Status to Agreement Countered
   3. Cancel - Makes no change, and leaves the Agreement in a Countered Status

Accept Offer

Steps

1. SM: Select Agreement Submitted link.
2. If the offer is acceptable as written, enter comments in Internal Comments field (required for any response).
3. Agreement Date can be modified without requiring a counter offer.
4. Select Accept button (Agreement is returned to SR module with Sales Status changed to Agreement Accepted).

Note: Agreement Accepted status triggers availability of Finalize link in SR module at this Buyer's record. (See Finalize Contract for more)

To Set Up Builder Incentives

Navigation Path

Admin > Projects > Project Settings > Builder Incentives

Notes

• The user incentive is the dollar amount represented by an established user discount program.  This amount is always calculated as a reduction to the purchase price so it must be entered as a positive number in the text field.
• Incentives may be added or edited on any Workup prior to Accepted status.
• A user may set up and apply one or more incentives to a given agreement.
• Access to incentives is determined by permissions in Admin > Users.

Add New Incentive

1. Use the text field to enter the Incentive Name. (Recommended Practice: include the amount the incentive will reduce the purchase price in parentheses for easy access when applying the incentive to the agreement.)
2. Select the Add button to add the incentive.

Edit an Incentive

1. Use the text field to enter the New Name.
2. Select the Update button to save the changes

Remove an Incentive

1. Select the Hide link to remove an incentive that is in use from view at the workup screen, or
2. Select the Delete link to remove an incentive that is not currently selected on a workup.

Note: To re-offer a hidden incentive, select the Show link.

To Add / Edit Incentives to a Workup

Navigation Path

SR > Prospects or Buyers tab > Workup

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECS > Workup

Add Incentive

1. Select the Add Incentive link.
2. Select the appropriate incentive from the Name pull-down menu.
3. Use the text field to enter the Amount of the incentive. (Any amount may be selected. Enter a positive amount, BuildTopia will automatically calculate the incentive as a reduction from the purchase price).
4. Select the Save button to add the incentive, or, as appropriate, select the Cancel button to return to the Submit Agreement screen without adding the incentive.
5. Repeat as many times as appropriate until all incentives have been added.

Edit Incentive

1. Select the Edit link for the incentive to be modified.
2. Use the text field to edit the Amount of the incentive.
3. Select the Submit button to modify the incentive, or, as appropriate, select the Cancel button to return to the Submit Agreement screen without editing the incentive.

Remove Incentive

1. Select the Remove link for the incentive to be removed.
2. At the prompt, "Are you sure you wish to remove this Incentive?", select the OK button to delete the incentive, or, as appropriate, the Cancel button to leave the incentive.

Note: SM may counter the Incentive as a part of negotiating a Counter Offer.

Navigation Path

SR > Prospects or Buyers tab > Workup

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECS > Workup

Notes

The Differential (delta) is a suggested/negotiated dollar amount that represents a difference from the user's Asking Price (sub total including incentives).  This amount may be either positive or negative (and entered in the text field as such).  

Revise Differential

1. Select the Revise button.
2. Use the Differential (Delta) text field to enter the amount of the differential.
3. Select the Calculate button.
4. Total Price is modified to reflect the calculation.
5. Enter comments in Differential Comments text box (required to proceed if any amount other than $0.00 is entered in Differential (Delta) field. Typically, the user would offer an explanation or reasons for offering more or less than the user's Asking Price.

Note: SM may counter the Differential as a part of negotiating a Counter Offer.

Navigation Path

SR > Prospects or Buyers tab > Workup

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECS > Workup

Notes

• BuildTopia allows one active contingency per agreement
• When an Agreement has a Contingency attached, the Sales Status is appended by (Contingency) in both sales modules.
• The Contingency must be manually removed when the contingency either expires or is considered satisfied by the Buyer.
• See Best Practice: Contingency for more

Steps

1. SR: Prior to sending the Purchase Agreement to the SM for review, select the Check here if there is a contingency on this contract check box if appropriate.
2. If a contingency exists, use the text field or use the Pick Date link to select the Contingency Expiration Date using a calendar view.  Manually entered dates must be entered in the correct format, e.g. MM/DD/YY.
3. Select the Send button.

Note: SM may counter the Contingency by selecting Remove Contingency link as a part of either Accept Offer or Counter Offer response. See Best Practice: Contingency for more SM options in the case of a Contingency.

Navigation Path

SR > Prospects or Buyers tab > Workup

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECS > Workup

Notes

Deposits may be collected and tracked against the Contract, CO, NSO, Option, or Other.

Add Deposit

1. Select the Add Deposit link.
2. Use the text field to enter the Deposit Amount.
3. Use the pull-down menu to select the Deposit Type.  Type choices are: Contract, CO, NSO, Option, Other.
4. Use the pull-down menu to select the Payment Type.  Type choices are: Check, Credit Card, Other or Cash.
5. As appropriate, use the text field to enter the Deposit Schedule or use the Pick Date link to select the Deposit Schedule using a calendar view.  Manually entered dates must be entered in the correct format, e.g. MM/DD/YY.  For more information, view the Date Text Fields and Links page.
6. As appropriate, use the text field to enter the Deposit Detail (check number or other identifying information).
7. As appropriate, select the Deposit Paid checkbox.
8. Use the text field to enter the Deposit Notes (if deposit is held in escrow by Buyer's Broker Agent, for example, and the name of the company).
9. Select the Save button to save the deposit, or, as appropriate, select the Cancel button to discard the deposit addition and return to the Submit Agreement screen.

Edit a Deposit

1. Select the Edit link.
2. Follow steps 2 - 10 of the Add Deposit section above.

Note: SM may counter the Deposit amount by Editing it as a part of negotiating a Counter Offer.

Navigation Path

SR > Prospects or Buyers tab > Workup

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECS > Workup

View / Print Contract

Notes:

• Only documents which have been uploaded and assigned the Document Type: Sales Contract in the Document Management module will be displayed in the View / Print Contract document launch. (See Document Creation for more.)
• For instructions on tagging documents to auto-fill with Prospect and Project information see About Tags in Document Management book.

Steps

1. Select the View / Print Contract link.
2. If multiple contract documents have been uploaded:
1. Select the contract documents to be printed from the list of available contract documents.  
2. Select the Print button to print the selected documents or the Cancel button to close the pop-up window and return to the Submit Agreement screen.
3. If only one contract document was uploaded, the document will open in a new window.
4. Send the document[s] to your printer.

View / Print Pricing Addendum

Notes

• Pricing Addendum is normally attached as a contract document signed by the parties
• The Pricing Addendum is a signature-ready detailed print form displaying all pricing items generated in the Agreement, including the following summarized in this order:

• Base Price
• Lot Premium
• Options totalled and itemized
• NSOs totalled and itemized [only NSOs submitted and approved by the Buyer display in the Pricing Addendum]
• Addenda totalled and itemized
• Sub Total
• Incentives totalled and itemized
• Asking Price
• Differentials totalled and itemized
• Total Price
• Deposits totalled and itemized
• Comments History
• Differential Comments History

Steps

1. Select the View / Print Pricing Addendum link.  The pricing addendum PDF opens in a new window.
2. Send the document to your printer.

Navigation Path

SR > Buyers > [Buyer Name]

Notes

When an agreement is accepted by the Sales Manager (SM), the Sales Status displays the Accepted Agreement link and the Finalize link appears in the Actions column.

Steps

1. Select the Finalize link.
2. The Sales Status now displays Agreement Finalized and two new links are added to the Action column: Settlement Date and Homepage.

Note: See Buyer Management book for more discussion on Settlement Date and Homebuyer Homepage.

Navigation Path

SR > Buyers > [Buyer Name]

SR > SPEC List [SPEC Record]

Notes

•  Prior to Agreement Submitted status (or SPEC Accepted status), Options can be added to a Workup via the Select Opts link. Once a PA workup or SPEC workup is submitted by the Sales Rep, modifications to the Base House with Options on a Lot must be handled via a Change Order.
• Change Orders (COs) add, subtract, or modify options that are processed - selected, submitted, approved - after the sales contract has been submitted (or after a SPEC workup has been accepted).
• Change Orders that have been approved by the SM cannot be edited or discarded.
• Notes on CO Status:
  • Pending Not Sent: CO has been created buut not submitted to SM for review/approval. In this status, the CO can be discarded and edited.
  • Pending: CO has been created and submitted to SM fort review/approval. In this status, the CO can be edited but not discarded. this status applies to a new CO submitted to the SM, as well as a previously submitted and rejected CO that was edited and re-submitted to SM.
  • Accepted: CO has been approved by SM. It cannot be edited beyond this point.
  • Rejected: CO has been rejected by SM. In this status, the SR may still either discard the CO or edit it for re-submissions.
  • Rejected-Editing: A rejected CO has been edited but not yet submitted to SM for review/approval.

Create / Edit / Submit Change Order

1. Select the CO link.
2. If the change order is new, select the Create New Co link.  If the change order is to be modified, select the Edit link.
3. Select the options to be included in the change order:
   1. Follow steps 3- 7 of the Select Options section to modify options for the change order
   2. Select the Save changes for this option category button
   3. As appropriate, repeat steps a and b for additional option categories

   Notes:

   • In addition to saving the selection information, Save Changes also calculates the Options price for the selected options.  The total price is found in the Pricing Summary box to the right of the workup section of the screen.
   • If the user wishes to abandon the CO at this point and return to complete it later, selecting Cancel after an Option Category has been saved will return you to the Change Order Log for the Workup, and will save the CO in a Pending Not Sent Status.

4. Enter the deposit information:

Note: If a change order deposit amount or percentage was required during setup, a red-letter note will be displayed indicating the minimum deposit amount required. (Setup defined in Admin > Projects > Project Settings > Change Order Deposit Required)

1. Use the text field to enter the Deposit Amount.
2. As appropriate, complete the following optional fields:
• Use the pull-down menu to select the Payment Type: Check, Credit Card, Other, Cash.
• Use the text field to enter the Deposit Detail.
• Select or de-select the Deposit Paid checkbox to indicate payment status.
5. As appropriate, use the text fields to enter the Comments (optional fields):
• Comments - appear on the Change Order
• Internal Comments - do not appear on the Change Order and are for the Sales Manager

Note: Enter internal comments only when ready to Save CO and Submit to SM.

6. Select the Save CO and Submit to SM button, or as appropriate, select the Cancel button.
7. CO is sent to SM for review and approval / rejection, and the status changes to Pending in both Sales modules.

View / Print CO

SR > Buyers > CO

Notes

The following sub tasks can be accessed from the Change Order Log for the Buyer at the CO link:

View

1. Select the View link. The Change Order Number ___ for [Buyer Name Lot ___] screen displays all original and requested change information in addition to a Workup summary header.

Change Order with History

1. Select the CO with History link.  The change order PDF with Purchaser and Seller signature block opens in a new window.

Change Order I

Opens a signature-ready PDF, summarizing the changes included in the Change Order.

1. Hover over the printer icon.
2. Select the CO I link.  The change order PDF opens in a new window.

Change Order II

Opens a signature-ready PDF, detailing the changes included in the Change Order, categorized by Added Options, Deleted Options and Modified Options.

1. Hover over the printer icon.
2. Select the CO II link.  The change order PDF opens in a new window.

Sales Manager Response to CO Alert

Navigation Path

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECs > [Buyer Record] > CO ( BT Action Prompt displayed)

Approve a Change Order

Steps

1. Select View / Approve link.
2. As appropriate, use the text field to enter Internal comments for the Sales Rep.
3. Select the Approve and Send button, or, as appropriate, select the Cancel button to return to the list of Change Orders for the buyer.

Reject a Change Order

Steps

1. Select  View / Approve link.
2. As appropriate, use the text field to enter Internal comments for the Sales Rep.
3. Select the Reject and Send button, or, as appropriate, select the Cancel button to return to the list of Change Orders for the buyer.

Discard Change Order

Notes

Rejected and Pending Not Sent Change Orders are displayed in the Change Order Log screen with the status Rejected and an additional link in the Action column: Discard.

1. Select the Discard link.
2. The following prompt is presented, "Are you sure you want to discard this CO?".
3.  Select OK to continue with the discard, or select the Cancel button to stop.
4. The Change Order record is deleted, and the CO number is returned to availability for future change order creation.

Navigation Path

SR > Buyers > [Buyer Name] > NSO

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECs > [Buyer Name] > NSO

Notes

• SR & SM: Selecting the NSO link from the navigation path above redirects the user to the NSO module, NSO List for the Lot, at the Buyer's sub-tab.
• The user may create, copy, view, print, and manage an NSO from this screen.
• The BT Action Prompt is displayed if the user has responsibility for an NSO Action via settings determined in Admin > Company Setup > NSO Settings > General Settings and Workflow Settings.
• See Custom Option Management for a full discussion and step by step procedures to create and manage NSOs.

Navigation Path

SR > Buyers > [Buyer Name]

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECs > [Buyer Name]

Notes

• In BuildTopia, Addenda are pricing adjustments to the agreement, submitted at any point after the Agreement has been submitted by SR.
• Addenda may be positive or negative dollar amounts, or may represent a non-dollar-value agreement between the parties with a zero dollar amount.
• Addenda may be created and viewed by the Sales Manager and the Sales Rep, may be edited by both Sales Manager and Sales Rep, but can be accepted by the Sales Manager only.
• If deleted, the Addenda record disappears from Addenda History.
• The Addendum modifies the Workup final price, but is not displayed in the Workup Summary until accepted by the Sales Manager.
• Addenda are different than the Pricing Addendum, which lists ALL pricing terms in the agreement, including Addenda.

Add Addendum

Steps

1. Select Addenda link.
2. Use the text field to enter the Subject of the addenda.
3. Use the text field to enter the Text of the addenda.
4. Use the text field to enter the Price of the addenda.  If the addenda is intended as a credit, enter a negative value.
5. Select the Submit button to save the addenda and submit it to the SM for approval, or, as appropriate, select the Cancel button to discard the addenda.

Note: The Addendum is created and displays in the Addenda History for the Workup at the SM module > Addenda link with Edit, Accept, and Delete links available.

Edit Addendum

Notes

• Either Sales Rep or Sales Manager may edit the Addendum multiple times prior to acceptance by Sales Manager.
• The Edit link is unavailable after the addendum has been accepted by the SM.

Steps

1. Select Addenda link.
2. Navigate to Addenda History for [Buyer Name, Lot]
3. Select Edit link.
4. Modify the Addendum per Steps 2 - 5 in Add Addendum above.

Delete Addendum

Notes

• Either Sales Rep or Sales Manager may delete the Addendum.
• The Delete link is unavailable after the addendum has been approved by the SM.

Steps

1. Select the Addenda link.
2. Select the Delete link for the addenda to be removed.

Approve Addendum

Steps

1. Select the Addenda link.
2. Select the Accept link for the addenda to be accepted.

Print Addendum

Notes

Opens a signature-ready contract (agreement) addendum document, describing the addendum added.

Steps

1. Select the Addenda link.
2. Hover over the printer icon.
3. Select the Addenda link.  The addendum PDF will open in a new window.
4. Send the document to your printer.

Navigation Path

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECs > [Buyer Name]

Notes

• In the event the Buyer is unable or unwilling to proceed with the contract, or events cause the user to end the contractual relationship with the Buyer, the user may terminate the agreement, which returns the lot to its previous sales status and deletes the Buyer's prospect record.
• Termination of an agreement in an Accepted status should be undertaken with caution; this action is not reversible in BuildTopia, and should reflect the user's decision after seeking legal counsel if appropriate.
• Termination of an agreement can occur while the agreement is in any sales status.

Steps

1. Select the Terminate link.
2. BuildTopia launches a prompt 'If construction for this PA [Purchase Agreement] has started all related customer service data will be transferred to the SPEC. If construction has not started for this PA then all customer service data will be deleted.' Select the OK button, or cancel to return to previous screen.
3. The Terminate PA screen appears. To complete the termination, enter comments in the text box, and select the Terminate button, or Cancel and return to the Buyers and SPECs list screen.
4. Terminated Agreements are moved to Terminated sub-tab with Sales Status reflecting the status of the agreement at the time of termination.

Navigation Path

SR > Prospects or Buyers tab > Workup

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECS > Workup

Notes

• The user has the opportunity to make and track comments throughout the Purchase Agreement negotiation and management process:
  • Internal Comments are required by SR and SM each time the Purchase Agreement is submitted, counter offered, or accepted. These comments are visible on the user's screen, but are not displayed in printed documents.
  • Differential Comments are required by SR and SM each time the Purchase Agreement is submitted, counter offered, or accepted, if the Differential amount is not $0.00.
  • Recommended Practice: Comments field is the primary method for the Sales Rep to communicate the Buyer's situation regarding Contingencies or the reasoning behind offering some amount less than the Asking Price.

Navigation Path

SR > Buyers > [Buyer Name]

SM > Manage Buyers and SPECs > [Buyer Name]

Notes

The Option Log keeps a diary of all Options added to a Workup with a running record of the Source (Workup or Purchase Agreement), Quantity, Unit Price, Selection Notes, the user who modified the workup, with a Date/Time log entry for each option.

This log is especially valuable to the user when:

• Multiple options are selected in a workup
• Buyers make multiple material and color selections changes
• The Workup is modified by Change Orders or NSOs
• A Lot has been started as  Spec and subsequently purchased by a Buyer (SPEC to PA)

Steps

1. Select Option Log link.
2. Filter the screen results by pull down menus for:
   1. Option
   2. Source
   3. Modified By
   4. Modified Date

Navigation Path

SM > Lot Matrix > [Lot # Record]

Notes

• Release to Production releases the House type for Construction
• The Builder’s policy determines when the Sales Manager will Release to Production . Typically it is when the Builder receives the “green light” from the Mortgage Company, or some date agreed upon between the Buyer and the Builder
• Specs may be financed internally and therefore the Release to Production could be released immediately upon Sales Manager's acceptance of the SPEC workup

Steps

1. The Release to Production action prompt is displayed when an Agreement has been accepted (also displays in Lot/Sales Status as Sold) or a SPEC Workup has been accepted.

2. Select the Start Date: Request link.