# Creating a Service Agreement

Source: https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/service-agreements

> Step-by-step guide to creating a service agreement in Astalty, from setting up the template to sending it for signing.

## Overview

A **service agreement** in Astalty is a document generated from a **Service Agreement
template** and pre-filled with a Participant's details. It pulls information straight from
the Participant's profile - and, when you select a **Budget**, builds out the **Schedule of
Supports** for you - so you're editing a finished document instead of retyping it.

This page walks through the full process: setting up the template, optionally creating a
Budget for the Schedule of Supports, generating the agreement, and sending it for signing.

> **Templates vs Forms**
>
> A service agreement is a **Template** - a formatted document you produce, download, or get
> signed. If instead you need to *collect* information back from someone, reach for a
> [Form](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/forms/getting-started-with-forms).

> **Custom templates require Astalty Premium**
>
> Service Agreement templates are part of **Astalty Premium**. If you don't see Custom
> Templates in your account, speak with the Astalty team about enabling Premium.

## Before you start

Every service agreement needs a template. A Budget is optional and is only needed when the
template should include a populated Schedule of Supports:

1. **A Service Agreement template** - the reusable document that defines the wording and
   placeholders. You only set this up once (see [Step 1](#step-1-set-up-a-service-agreement-template)).
2. **A Budget, when needed** - select one to populate the **Schedule of Supports** placeholder
   with the Participant's supports and amounts (see [Step 2](#step-2-create-a-budget-for-the-schedule-of-supports)).

## Step 1: Set up a Service Agreement template

A service agreement is generated from a custom template with the **Service Agreement** usage
type. This usage type unlocks the Service Agreement placeholder group - including the
**Schedule of Supports** - on top of the Business, Participant, and Primary Coordinator
placeholders.

To create one, head to [Template Settings](https://app.astalty.com.au/settings/templates),
click **Create a Template**, and choose the **Service Agreement Template** usage type. Our
recommendation is to choose the **Astalty Template** format so you keep full use of
placeholders and can edit the document up until it's generated.

![The Content editor of a Service Agreement template in Templates settings, with the placeholder buttons Business, Participant, Primary Coordinator, Service Agreement and Formatting highlighted above the agreement text.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/service-agreement-template-1.png)

> **Full template setup guide**
>
> For the complete walkthrough of building a template, adding placeholders, and choosing
> between an Astalty and a Word template, see [Template Settings](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/template-settings)
> and the full list of [document placeholders](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/document-template-placeholders).

You only need to do this once - the same template can then be reused for every Participant.

## Step 2: Create a budget for the Schedule of Supports

The **Schedule of Supports** in a service agreement is built from a Participant's **Budget**.
Creating the budget first means the supports and amounts are populated for you when you
generate the agreement.

Skip this step when the template does not need a Schedule of Supports. If you generate the
agreement without selecting a Budget, Astalty leaves the Schedule of Supports placeholders
blank.

On the Participant's profile, open the **Budgets** page, click **Create Budget**, and add
your budget items. If the Participant's funding is released in stages, you can also split the
budget across [funding periods](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/budgets#budget-funding-periods) - these
carry across into the Schedule of Supports.

> **Full budget guide**
>
> For everything budgets can do - internal vs external budgets, budget items, and funding
> periods - see [Budget Functionality](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/budgets).

> **Shared supports**
>
> If a support is shared between Participants, set a
> [support ratio](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/budgets#support-ratios) on the budget item. The
> Participant's reduced rate and total are then calculated in the budget and carried into the
> Schedule of Supports, instead of only appearing once an invoice is raised.

## Step 3: Generate the service agreement

There are two ways to generate a service agreement. Both open the same **Generate Document
Template** form.

### Option A - From the Participant's Templates page

1. On the Participant's profile, open the **Templates** page.
2. On the **Custom** tab (the default), select your Service Agreement template from the list.

![The Templates page on a Participant's profile with the Custom tab highlighted, a list of templates by Usage and Name including two Service Agreement templates, and a Generated Documents table below listing one Finalised service agreement.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/participant-custom-templates-2.png)

3. In the **Generate Document Template** form, give the document a **Name**. If the template
   uses a Schedule of Supports, choose the Budget under **Select a Budget**. Otherwise, leave
   the Budget blank.
4. Click **Generate**.

![The Generate Document Template drawer with Support Coordination Service Agreement chosen as the Service agreement template, a Document Name filled in, and the Budget dropdown open showing one Budget with its amount and date range, above the Generate button.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/participant-template-service-agreement-1.png)

> **The per-item funding breakdown needs the Budget Item Allocations beta**
>
> If the selected budget uses
> [Budget Item Allocations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/budgets#budget-item-allocations), you'll see an
> **Include the per-item funding breakdown** option. It is **off by default** - tick it to list
> how each budget item is allocated across the funding periods; leave it unticked to show only
> the funding period totals.
>
> Budget Item Allocations is in beta and is enabled per account by the Astalty team, on top of
> Astalty Premium. If you don't see the option, the selected budget isn't using item
> allocations - or the beta isn't enabled on your account.

### Option B - From the Budget

You can also start from the budget itself. Open the budget, click **Actions**, then
**Generate Service Agreement**. The budget is already selected for you - just pick the
Service Agreement template to use.

![A Participant's budget with the Actions menu open and an arrow pointing to Generate Service Agreement. Create Service is greyed out in the menu.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/budget-funding-periods-generate-agreement.png)

![The Generate Document Template drawer with the Community Access Service Agreement template selected, a Document Name filled in, and the Community Access budget chosen under Select a Budget.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/budget-funding-periods-agreement-template.png)

If the budget includes funding periods, each period and its amount is captured in the
Schedule of Supports alongside the supports.

![A generated Schedule of Supports listing one item at $73.58 per hour for 5 hours per week, totalling $30,484.19, followed by a Funding Period table of four dated periods: $7,621.05 for each of the first three and $7,621.04 for the last.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/budget-funding-periods-schedule-of-supports.png)

This is the same **Generate Document Template** form as Option A, so the
**Include the per-item funding breakdown** option appears here too when the budget uses
[Budget Item Allocations](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/budgets#budget-item-allocations). Because the
budget is already selected, you'll see the option straight away rather than after choosing a
budget.

> **The template needs content first**
>
> If the template doesn't have any content yet, you'll be prompted to finalise the template
> before you can generate the document. Word templates are finalised and downloaded
> immediately when generated.

## Step 4: Edit the generated document

Once you click **Generate**, an Astalty (rich text) template opens in the document editor
with its available placeholders filled in. These can include Participant details, the primary
coordinator, and the Schedule of Supports when you selected a Budget. You can update, add,
or remove content here before finalising.

![The generated service agreement open in the document editor with a Draft badge, a formatting toolbar and a Contacts dropdown, showing the agreement text with the Participant's name and provider name filled in, and a Finish Editing button at the top right.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/participant-templates-3.png)

You can also insert **Contact** details on the fly using the Contact dropdown - select the
contact and the contact method, and Astalty inserts it wherever you've placed it in the
document.

## Step 5: Finalise and create a record

When the document is ready, click **Finish Editing**, then **Finalise**. From here you can
**Create a Record** so the agreement is stored against the Participant with the right record
type and expiry.

![The generated service agreement in the document editor, marked Draft, with an orange arrow pointing to the Finish Editing button at the top right.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/participant-templates-4.png)

![The service agreement after editing, still marked Draft, with Actions, Edit and Finalise buttons at the top right and an arrow pointing to Finalise. The Actions menu is open and highlighted, showing Download as Draft, Email as Draft and Delete.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/finalise-participant-templates-1.png)

When creating the record, choose the **Record Type**, enter the record details, and choose
whether it needs to be signed. If you select **No**, you can still send it for signing later
from the Participant's Records page.

![The service agreement now marked Finalised, with an arrow pointing to the Create Record button beside Actions. The Actions menu is open and highlighted, showing Download, Email and Delete.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/create-participant-record-1.png)

![The Add Participant Record drawer with Record Type set to Service Agreement. Highlighted are the Record Details fields (Issue Date, Expiry Date, Reference Number, Record Description) and the signing questions, with need to be signed set to Yes and send to be signed immediately set to No. An arrow points to Create Record.](https://docs.astalty.com.au/assets/participant-record-type-1.png)

> **More on records**
>
> See [Participant Records](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/participant-records) for how records and
> expiry tracking work.

## Step 6: Send the service agreement for signing

From the record you can send the service agreement for signing using Astalty's built-in
**eSignature** functionality, or download a PDF to print and sign in person.

> **eSignatures**
>
> Learn more about sending documents for electronic signature in
> [Requesting Signatures](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/esignatures/requesting-signatures) and the
> [eSignatures overview](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/esignatures).

## Related guides

- [Template Settings](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/settings/template-settings) - build and manage your Service Agreement template.
- [Budget Functionality](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/budgets) - create the budget behind the Schedule of Supports.
- [Participant Custom Templates](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/templates/custom-templates) - generating and finalising any custom template.
- [Participant Records](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/participants/participant-records) - storing and tracking the signed agreement.
- [Requesting Signatures](https://docs.astalty.com.au/guide/esignatures/requesting-signatures) - sending the agreement for eSignature.