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    Processing Renewals

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    To process renewals, you must have the following role:
    • Purchasing Operator
    • Purchasing Manager
    You can edit PO lines marked for automatic or manual renewal at any time. However, you cannot edit the vendor or acquisition method of these PO lines.
    Renewals can be processed only after the PO Line – Renewal job has run. (The process must be marked as Active on the Monitor Jobs page.)
    After the PO Line - Renewal job runs, the PO Lines to Renew page (Acquisitions > Purchase Order Lines > Renew) lists all the PO lines that are due for renewal. You can access the PO Lines to Renew page also by selecting the Order Lines – Recurring Renewal link in the Tasks List (see Tasks in the Task List).
    po_lines_to_review_ux.png
    PO Lines to Renew Page
    Renewals are not assigned to users, which is why the Assigned/Unassigned tabs do not appear on this page. The Assigned to field always shows a - (except in rare cases when the PO Line - Renewal job is processing that PO line at that very moment).
    To view a PO line, select the name of the PO line. The PO line summary page appears (for details, see Viewing PO Line Information – Renewals). The PO Line Summary page for renewals is almost the same as the PO Line Summary page for regular acquisitions. The sections on this page and the respective fields that are specific for renewals are described in the Summary Tab Fields - Renewals table in Processing Renewals. For details on all other fields on this page, see Editing PO Line Information.
    In addition, you can perform the following management tasks on a PO line to renew:

    Editing PO Line Information – Renewals

    You can edit the displayed PO lines on the PO Line Summary page.
    To edit PO line information for renewals:
    1. Select Edit in the row actions list for the relevant PO line on the PO Lines to Renew page (Acquisitions > Purchase Order Lines > Renew). The PO Line Summary page appears, displaying a brief description of the PO line, its status, type (book/e-package), the library for which the item is being ordered, and the PO and PO line numbers. The tabs on the PO Line Summary page are described in Editing PO Line Information.
    2. In the Summary tab, modify the displayed PO line information, as required. A description of selected (non self-explanatory) fields, common to all PO lines, is provided in the Summary Tab Fields table in Manually Creating a PO Line. The following table describes the sections and fields that are specific to PO lines for renewals:
      Summary Tab Fields - Renewals
      Section Field Description
      Renewal Manual renewal When selected (default), the PO line for the renewal appears in the renewals task list (Acquisitions > Purchase Order Lines > Renew) when the material is due for renewal. Further processing of this PO line must be performed manually.
      When set to manual renewal and the date defined by the Renewal reminder period (days) arrives, the PO Line renewal job changes the status of this PO line from Recurring Renewal to Waiting for Manual Renewal. The PO line then appears in the Renewal task list; to renew the subscription, the operator must manually edit the PO Line to change the renewal date to a future date.
      To have the PO line renewed automatically, clear this checkbox. Automatic renewal means that when the renewal date arrives, the PO Line renewal job automatically changes the renewal date to the previous renewal date plus the period of time specified under Renewal cycle. The status of the PO Line remains Recurring Renewal.
      Subscription from date The date that the subscription for the PO line began. This field is informational only.
      Subscription to date If no date is entered, the renewal continues in perpetuity.
      When the PO line renews automatically (that is, Manual renewal is not selected for the PO line), the PO line is closed when the renewal job detects that the Subscription to date has passed.
      When the PO line renews manually (that is, Manual renewal is selected for the PO line), the PO line’s status becomes Waiting for manual renewal when the renewal job detects that the Subscription to date has passed.
      This date indicates the last day of the subscription and must not be confused with the Renewal date. For example, if you take out a subscription for five years that must be renewed annually (Renewal cycle = one year), the Subscription to date is the last day of the five-year period.
        Renewal date (Required) The renewal date.
      For automatic renewals, this date is entered when the initial subscription is created. Thereafter, it is automatically incremented according to the Renewal cycle.
      For manual renewals, this date is entered when the initial subscription is created, and then manually incremented at each renewal cycle.
      Renewal cycle The renewal cycle period — for example, 1 year.
      Renewal reminder period (days) (Required) For manual renewals, the number of days before the renewal date that the operator wants to be reminded about the renewal (that is, the number of days before the renewal date that the operator wants the renewal to be added to the task list (Acquisitions > Purchase Order Lines > Renew). For example, if the renewal date is the 10th of May and the Renewal reminder period is 5, the renewal is added to the task list on the 5th of May.).
      The maximum number of days that can be entered in this field is 120.
    3. In the Description tab, modify the PO line information, as required.
    4. In the Alerts tab, view the alerts that were generated for the PO line. The following are the most common alerts generated by the system:
      • Recurring Renewal – Generated when the calculated Renewal date for an automatic renewal is later than the Subscription to date. The PO line for the renewal appears in the Recurring Renewal task list (Acquisitions > Purchase Order Lines > Renew) with this alert.
      • There is an active, duplicated order # for this ordered resource – Generated when there is a duplicated order for the resource.
    5. In the Invoice Lines tab, view, add, or edit any invoice lines associated with the PO line. For information on invoice lines, see Creating an Invoice From a PO or Manually.
    6. In the Associated PO Lines tab, view the PO lines associated with the current PO line, as required. For details on editing a PO line, see Creating PO Lines.
    7. In the Communications tab, start a new communication with the vendor. If there is an existing communication with the vendor, you can enter details of the reply from the vendor and/or follow up on the communication with your reply to the vendor. For details on this tab, see Communicating with Vendors.
    8. In the Notes tab, edit as required any notes that may have been included when the PO line was created. For details on working with notes, see step 16 in Manually Creating a PO Line.
    9. In the Attachments tab, edit as required any attachments that may have been included when the PO line was created. For details on working with attachments, see step 17 in Manually Creating a PO Line.
    10. In the Interested Users tab, you can add or modify the activities for interested users. See the Interested Users tab in Manually Creating a PO Line.
      Notification is not sent to users when a PO line is canceled or deleted.
    11. After you have completed editing the PO line, select one of the following actions (not all actions are available for all PO lines):
      • Renew — Renew the PO line and recalculate the renewal date.
      • Relink – Changes the bibliographic record to which the PO line is linked (see Relinking PO Lines).
      • Cancel line — The PO line is not renewed and is canceled. A dialog box appears, requesting a reason for the cancellation and, if vendor notification is configured, a cancellation notification is sent to the vendor (see Canceling PO Lines).
      • Change Bib Reference – Changes the bibliographic record of the PO line. See Changing Bibliographic Reference.
      • Save — The information you modified is saved, but the status of the PO line remains Recurring Renewal and the PO line does not continue to the next stage of the renewal workflow. Use this option if you are unsure as to whether you want the PO line to continue to the next stage of the renewal workflow.
      • Save and Request Evaluation – The information you entered is saved and a trial is requested. Use this option if you do not have the Trial Operator/Trial Manager role. The PO line’s status changes to Under Evaluation and moves to the Manage Trials page with the status Requested, where the Trial Operator/Trial Manager can access it and continue with step 3 in the evaluation workflow. This option is available only for electronic PO lines that create inventory.
      • Save and Start Trial – The information you entered is saved and a trial is started. Use this option is you have the Trial Operator/Trial Manager role and want to start the trial. The PO line’s status changes to Under Evaluation and the Trial Details page opens (continue with the evaluation workflow at step 3). This option is available only for electronic PO lines that create inventory.
      • Change Vendor - See Changing Vendors - Renewals.
      • Close – The PO line is closed. Select Confirm in the confirmation dialog box to close the PO line (see Closing PO Lines).
      • Delete – The PO line is deleted. Select Confirm in the confirmation dialog box to delete the PO line (see Deleting PO Lines).
      • Replace (Only) Vendor – Change the vendor to which the PO line is sent (see Changing Vendors – Renewals).
      • Save as template —The entered field values are saved as part of a template.

    Changing Vendors – Renewals

    You can change the vendor to which the PO line is sent when renewing the PO line. Changing the vendor closes the PO line and creates a new one.
    To change the vendor:
    1. After you have completed editing the PO line (see Editing PO Line Information – Renewals), select Change Vendor and select Confirm in the confirmation dialog box. The following dialog box appears:
      change_vendor_in_order_ux.png
      Change Vendor on Order
    2. Select the target vendor/account and select Change Vendor on Order.
      The following occurs:
      • The current PO line is closed.
      • A new PO line for the new target vendor/account is created.
      • The new PO line is associated with inventory from the closed PO line.
      • The new PO line is set to In Review status from which the operator can update the new PO line with new information, according to the information communicated with the new target vendor.
    For more information on changing the vendor account details, see the Change Vendor of a Purchase Order video (3:13 mins).

    Vendor Controlled Renewals

    To save duplication of work, by simultaneously renewing the vendor subscription and the matching continuous PO line in Alma, you can enable a vendor to automatically update a PO line once the subscription is renewed on the vendor side. At this time, the option is available for ProQuest (RenewMe) and EBSCO (EBSCONET) renewable subscriptions. 
    To enable this functionality for ProQuest renewable subscriptions, please contact ProQuest RenewMe customer support at: e-renewals@proquest.com.
    To enable this functionality for EBSCONET renewable subscriptions, please contact the EBSCO Integration support team at ils-ediservices@ebsco.com.
    To configure vendor controlled renewals:
    1. Generate the API key. To do so, see the Developer Network.
      Add Edit API key.png
      Add/Edit API Key
    2. Supply the vendor with your API key to allow the vendor to perform updates to the PO line in Alma.

    3. When the renewal process completes, the matching Alma PO line is updated automatically with:

      • Price
      • (Next) Renewal Date
      • Renewal Note - populated with the renewal information sent from the vendor..
    EBSCONET customers can customize which fields in Alma's PO line will be updated upon renewal
     
     
    For ProQuest renewals, users have the option to launch the Renewme subscription renewal from within Alma:
    1. After the functionality is enabled by ProQuest RenewMe customer support, go to the Vendor Details page->System integrations, select the Renew at Vendor System check box.
      Vendor Details.png
      Vendor Details
    2. When the Renew at vendor system integration is enabled, all continuous PO lines which are associated with the vendor display the Renew at vendor system button on the Purchase Order Line Details page, select the Renew at Vendor System button.
    3. A ProQuest RenewMe form opens (in a separate browser tab), which includes the Alma PO line number. Select Continue to progress to the RenewMe payment page. For more information on how to renew the subscription in ProQuest, see the RenewMe program site.

    When the renewal process completes, the matching Alma PO line is updated automatically with:

    • Price
    • (Next) Renewal Date
    • Renewal Note - populated with the renewal information sent from the vendor.
    This process can also be launched from the vendor's email notification sent to your institution periodically.
    An indication regarding the matching PO line is presented on the vendor's renewal form. If a PO line number is not presented, the PO line is not renewed in Alma.

    In case of adding a new subscription on the vendor platform and a new matching PO line in Alma, there is a need to contact the vendor and state the PO line number to be associated with the subscription.