Document Milestones : UCM Support

Did you know that you have the ability to create Milestones specifically for your documents? That way, you don't need to keep track of the dates on the Summary tab, and notifications for that document can be kept with the file itself.

In this article, we are going to focus on Document specific set-up options for Milestones. To learn about general Milestone creation for custom date fields in your system, please click HERE.

Enabling Document Attributes

To use Document Milestones, you'll first need to have Document Attributes enabled in your system. To do so, go to Company Admin --> Settings --> Document Additional Attributes Administration.

From here, you can enabled Document Effective and/or Document Expiration date. Enabling either will allow you create Document Milestones, but we anticipate most Milestones will be created specifically for the Expiration Date.

Note: Document Value is an attribute that is not currently tied to any other areas of UCM. You can enable that option if you wish, but the Value added here will not be able to be included in any Financial Interface or Value tracking apart from some very basic Total Value reports.

Creating Document Milestones

Once you have your Document Attribute Dates enabled, you can now head to Company Admin --> Contract Administration --> Automatic Milestone Rules.

Once there, you will see a list of any existing Milestones that were configured for your system in the gird (A), and you can quickly create a new one using the green + icon in the right corner (B).

When you create a new Milestone, the first thing you'll need to do is give it a name (1). We suggest using the name of the Date Field and either the Document/Contract Type. Next, if you are creating a Document Milestone, you'll want to select Document Attributes from the Field Source selection (2), and then choose either Effective or Expiration date from the Date Field selection (3). Most likely, you'll be setting these up for Expiration Date on your documents. You'll also need to set up to five Days Prior (4) that you want your notifications to be sent out for the Date Field you selected.

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The next two selections, Attachment Category (5) and Contract Types (6), are used to filter down which documents can have Milestones created for them.

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Attachment Categories, which are created from Contract Administration, will allow you to select which types of Documents you want your Users to be able to create Milestones for. These work the same way that Contract Types do for general Milestones. As an example, in the screenshot above, we only have our SOW and COI documents selected. That is because we don't need reminders for our MSA's, since we already have a Contract Container Expiration date Milestone, and we don't want them to accidentally be placed on a BAA or a Request form, which neither have a true expiration date themselves. Note: Collaboration documents are exempt from creating Milestones unless they have their Category reassigned due to the nature of how they are entered into the system.

Contract Types, when it pertains to Document Milestones, are used to further filter down which Document and Contract Type combinations allow for Milestone creation. By default, all Contract Types will be selected, and you only need to use this option if you feel the need to. As another example, if we wanted to create notifications on our SOW and COI documents, but we did NOT want them to be created on any IT contract types, we could remove them from the list of allowed Types, and Milestones would not be able to be created on those specific Types of Contracts.

Below those setting are where you can add in any general Directions or Instructions that will be included on the email (7), and select who the notifications will be sent to (8), using either the Roles of Owner/Primary/Secondary/Tertiary, selecting a User by name, or a combination of both. If you are using Role Models (9) you can select a group to receive the notification, but as a warning, EVERYONE assigned to the Role Model will be alerted, which could cause lots of confusion.

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Finally, you have the ability to add custom data from your contracts Summary Tab to the notification that goes out using the Configured Fields (10) link. In the pop-out, you can select any of your custom fields from the left side, and drag them over to the right. Anything you select will have the data from the Contracts summary tab displayed on the email, if applicable. Every Milestone also has an Active (11) option, which can be used to either pre-create rules, or retire old Milestone rules for newer ones. More information on "retiring" old Milestones, click HERE.

Default No Document Category Milestone

As we discussed above, one of the key factors in creating a Document Milestone is the Document Category. However, that is not a required field in UCM like Contract Type is, and there may be times where Users are uploading a document that you have not seen before, so there is no Category to select. While we will always suggest using Document Categories as much as possible for organization and tracking of your documents, we do still have a Milestone option for Documents without a Category.

By default, as soon as you enable the Document Attributes, an Document Milestone will be created called, Default for Documents with No Document Category specified. This rule will be set to alert the Owner of the Contract, 90, 60, 30, & 7 days prior to the Document Expiration Date. No Document Milestones will be created however, since this rule requires a User to always manually check a box to create Milestones for a document with no Category.

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The set-up of this Milestone will be a little different than what is detailed above, since you cannot edit the Field Source, Date Field, Attachment Category, or Contract Type. This rule is for the sole purpose of No Category Documents for all Types of Contracts. If you feel like you need more flexibility, you'll have to create a custom Milestone rule and possibly a new Document Category.

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You CAN still edit the Description/Instructions, Individual Users, Days Prior, and Configured Fields. This will allow you to adjust when and who gets alerted, as well as any information that is included with the alert.

If you do not ever want a Document with No Category to have Milestones created for it, you can always make this rule inactive by un-checking the Active box (A) and saving.

Document Milestones on Upload & Edit

Now that you have Document Attributes enabled, and you've created a Document Milestone rule, let's see what your Users will see when they are uploading documents.

Note: Depending on which screen you are uploading the Document from, the exact layout and order of the following options may change slightly from the screenshot below, but the functionality is all the same. Currently the only areas that Document Milestones can NOT be created during upload is from the Create Corresponding X Records action, and from the Additional Document upload screen when creating a new Container using a Template. The Template document that is being created CAN have Milestones created for it though.

When you go to upload or edit a document, you'll see some new fields in between the Document State and the File upload box. You will now have Document Effective & Expiration Date and the Create Milestone Notifications checkbox. Regardless of the Document you are uploading, this box will always be here, but the way it operates will change based on your Document Milestone Rules.

If the Document Category you select is one that you have configured Milestones for, the checkbox will be auto-checked, assuming the Contract Type is also applicable. Milestones will be created as soon as the Document is uploaded. You can also uncheck the box if you do not want Milestones for that document.

If you do NOT select a Document Category, the checkbox will remain unchecked, but as long as you have the No Document Category Expiration Date Milestone Active, you will be able to manually check this box to create the alerts. You can manually check it here on initial upload, or afterwards from the Attachments Grid.

If either the Document Category or Contract Type are selections that do NOT have a Milestone configured for, then the box will be grayed out, and not able to be selected.

When uploading or editing a Document, if the Create Milestone Notification box is checked, but there is NO date entered into the date field, you'll receive the warning message below. You can continue with the date blank, but no Milestones will be created.

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Document Milestones in the Attachments Grid

When you are using Document Milestones, you'll have a new column in your Attachments Grid (either from a container or the Enterprise Ribbon) called Create Milestone Notifications. This will be a checkbox that you CAN interact with, which will make for quick and easy creation and deletion of Milestones for your Documents.

The three ways this box will display are:

1) Checked - Shows that Milestones have been created for this document. Un-checking this box will DELETE all Milestones for that document. You can quickly create any accidentally deleted Milestones by checking the box again.

2) Un-Checked, but Clickable - If you see this box, you can quickly check it to create Milestones for that document. All No Category Documents will look like this when you have the default rule active.

3) Grayed Out - If you see this box, it means that Milestones are NOT able to be configured for this document based on the rule set-ups. This way, no one checks this box and assumes Milestones have been created, when they have not.

Document Milestones in the Milestone Grid

When you are using Document Milestones, you'll also have a new column in your Milestones Grid (either from a container or the Enterprise Ribbon) called Associated Attachment. This will be a link back to the document itself, with the name of the document clearly visible so you always know exactly which document the Milestone is for.

In the screenshot below, we can see a break down of what a container with two Document Milestones, and one general Milestone would look like:

A) By looking at the name of the document in the Associated Attachment column, I can tell this Milestone is for my Change Order Form, and since I only see one, it is my only Milestone for that document.

B) Using the name logic as above, I can see that this group of Milestones is for my Statement of Work document. If I clicked on that link, I would be taken directly to that document's Edit page.

C) Since there is no attachment in the column, I can tell that this is a general Milestone for my entire Container. This one is still for my Expiration Date, but if it were for another date, the name of that date would be in the name of the Milestone itself.

D) If you ever find yourself struggling to sort your Milestones, the Milestone Completion Date column will allow you to group your Milestones all together. This can especially helpful if you have more than 3 Milestones per container.

Document Milestones with the Bulk Loader

Any documents you upload with the Bulk Loader will automatically have Milestones created for them as long as the Document Category/Contract Type combination is one that you have configured a Rule for.

Any Documents with No Category will NOT have Milestones automatically created for them, but, you can quickly create them for any that you need by using the checkbox in the Attachment Grid.