# Create a collection contract

Fill in a collection contract, its parties, people, amount, payment methods, dates and commissions, create its schedule of installments, reschedule it, and turn an owner's online request into a contract.

A collection contract records one debt: who owes it, who it is owed to, how much, and how it is paid back. This page goes through the form field by field, then through the schedule of installments.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need the **User** access right on **Collection**, or a higher one.
- The debtor and the owner must exist in [Contacts](/docs/contacts), and the payment methods in [Payment methods](payment-methods).

## Fill in the contract {#fill-in}

Open **Collection/Collections** and click **New**.

- **Debtor**: the person or company who owes the debt. **Owner**: the creditor you collect for. They cannot be the same contact.
- **Assigned To** (required): the user who follows the contract. On saving, that user gets a to-do activity due the same day. A user who holds only the **User** right sees only the contracts assigned to them.
- **Supervisor**: optional, and never the same user as **Assigned To**.
- **Documents**: the proof of the debt, as attached files.
- **Subject**, **Amount** (required) and **Payment Methods**, the ways the debtor may pay. Changing the methods later changes them on every installment of the contract, paid ones included.

![A new contract with its two parties, the people who follow it, the amount and the agreed payment method.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13735-8d999d21/collection-create-a-collection-contract-new_contract-en.png)

The **Description** tab holds free notes. The **Other Info** tab holds the **Start Date** and **End Date** of the contract and three commissions: **Co Commission**, **Sup Commission** and **Emp Commission**. The commissions are kept on the contract; nothing is computed from them. Once the **End Date** has passed, the form shows a red **Finished** ribbon and the **Finished** filter finds the contract.

![The start and end dates of the contract and the three commissions, on the Other Info tab.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13739-dfea3f9c/collection-create-a-collection-contract-other_info-en.png)

Save: the contract takes the next reference, DCC followed by five digits, and the status **To Approve**.

## Create the schedule {#schedule}

1. Open **Actions** and choose **Create Installments**. **Total Amount** shows what remains to be paid, and **Payment Methods** come from the contract.
2. Set **First Installment**, the **Installments count**, between 1 and 600, and the interval: **Every** a number of **Week**, **Month** or **Year**. **Every** starts at 0: leave it so and every installment falls on the first date.

![The first due date, the number of installments, and the interval between two of them, here one month.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13743-db344edf/collection-create-a-collection-contract-installments_wizard-en.png)

3. Click **Confirm**. The amount is divided into equal installments, numbered after the contract (DCC00004/SP1, SP2…), each **Scheduled**.

![Four monthly installments of 1,125 from 1 November 2026, each with the buttons that act on it.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13745-09f531c3/collection-create-a-collection-contract-installment_lines-en.png)

Each unpaid line carries **Register Payment**, **Split** and **Add Discount**: [Register a payment](register-a-payment), [Installments and reminders](installments-and-reminders) and [Offer a discount](offer-a-discount) explain them.

## Reschedule {#reschedule}

Once a schedule exists, **Actions** offers **Reschedule Installments** instead, after a confirmation. The same dialog opens: fully paid installments stay, the others are deleted, partly paid ones included, and what remains to be paid is spread over the new ones. Rescheduling also puts the contract back to **To Approve** and erases both signatures and the cancel reason.

![Rescheduling asks for a confirmation first; Cancel leaves the schedule as it is.](https://jaah.app/web/image/13749-ff9c7de8/collection-create-a-collection-contract-reschedule_confirm-en.png)

On a phone, the confirmation opens from the bottom of the screen.

## From an online request {#online-request}

An owner who has an account on your website can send a collection request from it. Requests arrive in **Collection/Online Requests**, grouped by **Pending**, **Approved** and **Rejected**. **Set Debtor** links the request to a contact with the same phone and e-mail, or creates one, and **Approved & Create Contract** creates a contract **Under Collection** with the request's debtor, owner and amount, and the request's number as its reference. That contract has no installments yet. Creating them as above puts it back to **To Approve**: choose **Under Collection** in **Actions** again afterwards.

## FAQ {#faq}

### Can the debtor and the owner be the same contact? {#same-party}

No. Saving shows "The Debtor and Debt Owner cannot be the same person."

### Why does a colleague not see my contract? {#not-seen}

With the **User** right, a colleague sees only the contracts assigned to them. [Collection settings](collection-settings#access-rights) lists the rights.

### Can I copy a contract? {#copy}

**Actions** then **Duplicate** copies the parties, people, subject and methods, without the schedule, payments, discounts or signatures. The copy's **Amount** takes the original's **Original Amount**: 0 when no discount was ever offered on the original, otherwise the amount before its first discount. Check it and type the right amount.

### What changes when I edit the amount after creating the schedule? {#edit-amount}

The installments keep their amounts. Reschedule to spread the new remaining amount. If a discount was once offered on the contract and none is approved, rescheduling first puts **Amount** back to **Original Amount**.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/collection/create-a-collection-contract
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Version: Collection 19.0.3.2.5
- Verified: 2026-10-28