Moving a Live NEC Contract Onto Software

To implement NEC contract software on a live job, start with the contract's communication rules, set a cutover date, and load only what can still cost you something. The contract doesn't stop for your rollout. Every period keeps running while you move, so the risk lies in the changeover itself.

This page gives the order of work for a contract already in progress. We haven't put timescales on it, because they depend on the contract's size and on how far your present records can be relied on. It is part of the NEC contract management software guide.

First: can you actually move?

Do this before anything else, as it can change the whole plan.

What the contract says	What it means
The Scope (NEC4) or Works Information (NEC3) names a particular system for communications	You can't simply start using another for contract notices. The Project Manager can instruct a change to the Scope (14.3), which would normally be a compensation event (60.1(1)), even if it has little or no value. Agree the approach openly, and take advice if you're unsure.
It names no system	Under NEC4 13.2, a communication has effect when received at the notified address. Using a system for formal notices then needs agreement on how they'll be treated. Don't just assume that it counts.
The other Party won't agree	You can still use software as your internal record and tracker, while the formal notices go as they do now. That gives you a part of the benefit, and takes double entry.

A Z clause may also deal with communications, so read those too. Clause 13 explains the rules.

The order of work

1. Pick one contract. Choose one with enough activity to test the system, and a team willing to try it. Avoid one about to reach Completion or in the middle of a dispute.
2. Name an owner on each side. Someone has to decide what gets loaded, and answer questions. Tell the other Party who it is.
3. Set up the contract from its documents. Go to the Contract Data and Z clauses and enter the actual periods, and don't rely on the defaults. Get a second person to check them against the signed contract. One wrong period gives you wrong dates for the whole job.
4. Enter the clauses and terms. Make sure the edition and form are right, and that any amended clauses appear as amended.
5. Add the users and try one record. Have somebody from each side do a test notification and reply on something harmless, or on a practice contract if you have one.
6. Load the open position (see below), and have the owner of each process check it.
7. Pick a cutover date, ideally just after an assessment date, so that the next payment cycle starts cleanly.
8. Tell everyone in writing. From this date, these notices go through this route. Send it as a proper communication, and make sure each Party has confirmed it.
9. Review after the first few weeks, and before you bring on more contracts. What wasn't entered? What did site ignore?

What to load, and what to leave

Load now	Reference only	Leave behind
Open compensation events, with original notification dates and awareness dates	Implemented events, as a summary, so that the Prices and dates are explained	Closed requests for information and general correspondence
Quotations awaiting reply, with the submission date	Earlier programme revisions	Duplicates and drafts from your old tracker
The current Accepted Programme, and any revision submitted	Past certificates	Informal e-mail threads, which should stay archived
The live Early Warning Register, with open actions
Next assessment date, current Completion Date and Key Dates in force

Keep the old tracker read-only, and archive it with the contract. Don't try to recreate history as if it had taken place in the new system. A record entered today describing a notice from last March should say that clearly, and the original letter or email should stay available as the evidence.

Where this goes wrong

• A running period gets lost in the move. Before the cutover, list every clock that is open that day, with its end date, and tick each off once it is visible on the new system. A reply that's due on the cutover day should have one named person.
• Backdated dates get recalculated. Make sure a loaded item's dates reflect the original submission. Otherwise the system may show a fresh period that doesn't exist under the contract. Ask a supplier how this works.
• Two routes stay open. If people still send notices by e-mail as well, you have two records and no certainty. Decide what happens to an e-mailed notice after the cutover, because one will arrive. Don't assume you can just ignore it.
• Site isn't told. Train the people who see events first, not only those who chose the system. A short briefing on site is worth more than a formal course for the wrong people.
• The other side feels imposed on. They have to use it too. Explain what they gain: the same dates, and their own replies on the record.

Setting up in practice

As an example of the sort of settings to look for: in Contract Status, a new contract takes your company's reply periods as defaults, and each contract can then hold its own on Edit Contract. Clauses come from your own clause library for that NEC version, so you can change wording to reflect Z clauses. Where the library has no clause, the item is shown without a number. Check that whatever you choose lets you do the equivalent, because the third step above depends on it.

When the first contract has settled, use what you've learned for the next. Common standards across jobs are covered in managing many NEC contracts, and the first 30 days of an NEC contract is the better guide if your contract hasn't started yet, since it is much simpler to begin on a system from day one.

Related guides

• NEC Contract Management Software
• Answering Your Finance Director's Questions on NEC Software
• What Poor NEC Administration Really Costs
• Building the Business Case for NEC Software

This guide is general information in our own words, not legal advice. Your contract and its Contract Data always govern. NEC, NEC3 and NEC4 are trade marks of Thomas Telford Ltd; Contract Status is not affiliated with or endorsed by NEC.