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  3. Deliverables

Creating and Managing Deliverables

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The functionality described in this article is available with our Mencia release and will not be available if your Practifi instance is not upgraded to this release.

Please note: This content is intended for Practifi System Administrators and is technical in nature. The steps described in this article may not be able to be completed without System Administrator permissions. Please discuss your configuration plans with your Practifi Customer Support Team for their assistance.

Overview

Deliverables help track the entitlements your firm provides to clients across your book of business, giving your team a structured way to monitor service commitments and flag when client obligations are at risk of being missed. Configuring Deliverables well is what ensures the right services are tracked, the right people are notified, and the right activities are created automatically on behalf of your team.

Deliverable configuration in Practifi lives in the Settings app, under the Servicing category on the Entity Management page. From there, administrators can manage Service Types and their associated Deliverable Types, control who is allowed to edit Deliverable schedules, and configure how Deliverables are assigned across the firm. Deliverable Type setup uses a guided builder that asks plain-language questions and shows a live schedule preview as you work, so you can confirm the schedule looks right before saving. Saving a Deliverable Type and syncing its changes to active Deliverables are separate actions. Save writes the configuration, and notifications on the Deliverable Type record page and the Service Type page let you choose when to push those changes to your live Deliverables.

This article covers how to configure Deliverable Types, how the save-and-sync model works, how to configure edit permissions, and how to manage exceptions, deactivate Deliverables, and set up activation rules. For information on using and understanding the Deliverable functionality within your organization, please consult our Understanding Deliverables article.

Please note: This feature is not automatically enabled within your Practifi organization. To enable this functionality or answer any questions regarding this feature, please get in touch with your CSM.

Deliverable Type Configuration

Deliverable Type records are separated into four sections: Basics, Assignment, Schedule, and Fulfillment. You can create new Deliverable Types or view existing ones from the Deliverable Types section of a Service Type record.

For a full explanation of each section's options, see our Understanding Deliverables article.

Assignment, Including Queues

The Assignment section, configured at the type level, controls who owns new Deliverables. The available options are Service Owner, Deliverable Type Owner, Entity Owner, Role, Business Role, and Queue. Selecting Queue reveals a Routing Queue picker that lists only queues configured to accept Deliverables, so you can't inadvertently choose one that routing would reject.

Live Schedule Preview

Directly below the "How often?" question in the Schedule section, a preview shows the next few due dates the current configuration would produce, using a worked example ("If a service starts on [date], the next 3 due dates will be...").

Creating Deliverable Types

To create a new Deliverable Type in your Practifi organization, do the following:

  1. Click the App Launcher and select the Settings app.

  2. From the Settings app, use the Navigation Menu to select Entity Management.

  3. In the left sidebar, under the Servicing heading, click Service Types.
  4. In the left rail, select the Service Type you want to create Deliverables for. Its details appear in the right pane.

  5. In the Deliverable Types section of the right pane, click the New button. Practifi immediately saves the record as a Draft and opens it in a new tab.

  6. In the Basics section, enter the following details:
    • Name – The name of the Deliverable you would like displayed in Practifi.
    • Type – Select the Deliverable type from the picklist.
    • Status – Deliverables will not be added to new Services if the status is Draft or Inactive. Set this field to Active to make the Deliverable Type available upon saving.

    • Description – Enter a detailed explanation of the Deliverable's purpose. End users can view this information in the Description field on the Deliverable record or by hovering over the info icon next to the Deliverable's name in the Task and Event records side panel.

  7. In the Assignment section, select how the Deliverable should be assigned. The Assign to field is set to Service Owner by default. The other available options are Deliverable Type Owner, Entity Owner, Queue, Role, and Business Role. If an Entity lacks a Servicing Team and the Assignment Type is set to Role or Business Role, the Deliverable will be assigned to the owner of the related Service.

    Please note: For information on assigning a Deliverable Type to a queue, see the Assigning a Deliverable Type to a Queue section below.

  8. In the Schedule section, select Recurring or One-time, then answer the questions that appear.
    • For recurring Deliverables, the dialog asks:
      • How often? – Select Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annually, Annually, or an Every N years/months/weeks option (along with a numeric value for N). A live preview appears below showing the next three due dates based on your current settings.
      • When should the first occurrence be? – Choose to anchor the due date to the service start date, to the end of the calendar period the service starts in, or to a specific day within that calendar period.
      • Calculate subsequent due dates from – Select From the previous due date to keep the schedule calendar-aligned, or From the previous fulfillment date to have the schedule follow actual completions.

    • For one-time Deliverables, the Schedule section asks a single question: When should it be due? The options are a specific date, a specific calendar date, or a number of days, weeks, or months after the Service starts. Its Deliverables show a schedule reflecting that single due date.

  9. In the Fulfillment section, configure the following:
    • Automatically create a task to fulfill this deliverable? – Toggle this on to create a dedicated task each time the Deliverable comes due. When enabled, additional task fields appear:
      • What kind of task? – Choose from: Task Template, Task within a Process, or Reminder Task.
      • How many days before the due date will this task be created? – Enter a whole number. Defaults to 0, meaning the task is created on the due date itself.
      • Can the fulfillment date be changed? – Controls whether users can edit the Fulfillment Date on the Task or Event that fulfills the Deliverable. Options: 
        • Yes, until the work item is completed (default)
        • No, never
        • Yes, at any time

      • What if it isn't fulfilled in time? – Options: Skip it and recalculate the next due date (the Deliverable is marked as Missed); Keep it open as overdue (remains open and can still be fulfilled, marked as Fulfilled Late).

        Please note: When Automatically create a task to fulfill this deliverable? is turned on, the What if it isn't fulfilled in time? field is locked to Keep it open as overdue.

    • End the deliverable after [ ] fulfillments – Toggle this on and enter a whole number in the box to stop the deliverable from recurring once it's been fulfilled a set number of times. See Understanding the Complete After X Fulfillments Setting below.

  10. Click Save to finalize the creation of the Deliverable Type. After saving, an unsynced changes notification appears on the Deliverable Type record page (with a Sync button scoped to that type only) and on the Service Type record page (with a Sync button that syncs all unsynced types under that Service Type). For a new Deliverable Type, the sync creates Deliverables on active Services of this type rather than updating existing ones. See The Save and Sync Model below.

Deliverables will be added to Client records, along with the associated Service, upon saving and syncing. To learn more about how Deliverables are fulfilled and adjusted at the client level, consult our Understanding Deliverables article.

Assigning a Deliverable Type to a Queue

If you want all Deliverables of a certain type to be assigned to a queue rather than a single user, select Queue as the Assignment Type in the Assignment section of the Deliverable Type record. This can be set when creating a new Deliverable Type (see the Assignment step above) or by editing an existing one. To update an existing Deliverable Type's assignment to a queue, do the following:

  1. In the Settings app, use the Navigation Menu to select Entity Management, then click Service Types under the Servicing heading in the left sidebar.
  2. In the left rail, select the Service Type containing the Deliverable Type you want to update.
  3. In the Deliverable Types section of the right pane, click the hyperlinked name of the Deliverable Type you want to update. The Deliverable Type record opens in a new tab.
  4. In the Assignment section, select Queue from the Assign to picklist. A Routing Queue picklist appears.

  5. In the Routing Queue picklist, search for and select the queue you want the Deliverable Type to be assigned to.

    Please note: The Routing Queue picklist only lists queues that have been configured to support Deliverables. If the queue you want does not appear, navigate to Setup, then Queues, and add the Deliverable object to that queue's list of supported objects.

  6. Click Save to finalize the change.

The Save and Sync Model

Saving a Deliverable Type and syncing its changes to active Deliverables are separate actions. Saving writes your changes to the type's configuration. Notifications then appear at two levels: on the Deliverable Type record page and on the Service Type record page, giving you a Sync button at each level to push those changes to active Deliverables whenever you're ready.

Saving a Deliverable Type

The Deliverable Type record page footer has two buttons: Cancel and Save. Clicking Save writes your changes to the Deliverable Type record. No sync runs at save time. If your changes would affect active Deliverables, unsynced changes notifications appear at both the Deliverable Type and Service Type levels after saving.

Please note: Status-only changes, such as setting a Deliverable Type to Inactive, do not trigger the notification, because they do not require updates to existing Deliverable records.

Unsynced Changes Notifications

When you save a change that would affect active Deliverables, notifications appear at two levels. If a Deliverable Type has no active Deliverables yet, no notification appears. The save is sufficient, and there's nothing to sync.

On the Deliverable Type record page, a notification at the top of the page indicates this specific type has unsynced changes. It includes a Sync button that runs a sync scoped to that one Deliverable Type only. Use this when you want to push a single type's changes immediately without affecting others under the same Service Type.

On the Service Type's record page, when any Deliverable Type under a Service Type has unsynced changes, a notification appears at the top of that Service Type's details on the Entity Management page. It includes a Sync button that runs a service-type-wide sync, applying all unsynced Deliverable Types under that Service Type in a single operation.

For new Deliverable Types, syncing creates Deliverables on active Services of that type. It doesn't update existing records, since none exist yet.

The Sync Confirmation

Clicking Sync, whether from the Deliverable Type's notification or the Service Type's, opens a confirmation screen. The sync can cover all Deliverables except the ones that have been customized, or all Deliverables including customized ones, which overwrites their customized settings. The confirmation always asks how each Deliverable's next due date should be updated: recalculate it from today's date, or from the last fulfillment date. Each choice is explained in plain language as it's selected, so it's clear what will happen before anything changes. The confirmation also keeps a count of what the run will do. The sync then runs in the background, and the notification clears when it completes.

While a Sync Is Running

Larger syncs run in the background. While one is in progress, a progress banner on the Service Type page shows how many Deliverables have been updated out of the total. You can continue working while a sync is running. When the sync finishes, you receive a bell notification, and the banner switches to Sync complete, with a link to a Sync Run audit record showing success and failure counts.

Deliverable Sync Batch Scope

Syncs process Deliverables in batches. If your organization regularly syncs large volumes of Deliverables and encounters sync failures or timeouts, contact Practifi Support. They can help you adjust how many Services each batch processes at a time to better suit your organization's data volumes.

Managing Deliverable Exceptions

There are cases when a Deliverable is not fulfilled due to extenuating circumstances, such as a client being unavailable to meet. In such instances, you can mark Deliverables as exceptions, which updates the outcome to Excepted rather than Missed, ensuring accurate reporting. Deliverables can be marked as exceptions on the Deliverable Fulfillments tab on a Client record or in the Data Management app.

Please note: To access the Mark As Exception action for Deliverables, users must be assigned the Manage Exceptions permission set. For more information, please see our Enabling Deliverables article.

Deliverable Exceptions at the Client Level

To mark one or more Deliverables as exceptions at the Client record level, do the following:

  1. Open the Entity record with the Deliverable(s) you want to mark as exceptions.
  2. In the record side panel, click the Services & Pipeline navigation icon.
  3. On the Services & Pipeline page, click the Deliverable Fulfillment tab.

  4. In the record list, click the caret on the row of the desired Deliverable, then select Mark as Exception.

    Please note: This option will not appear for users who do not have the Manage Exceptions permission set.

  5. In the Mark as Exception window, enter a reason in the text field.

  6. Click the Excepted By field and search for and select the user making the exception.

  7. Click Save.

Deliverable Exceptions in the Data Management App

Users with access to the Data Management app can mark Deliverables as exceptions in bulk on the Deliverable Fulfillments page.

Please note: The Deliverable Fulfillments page is not enabled in the Data Management app by default. To add it, please see the instructions in our Enabling Deliverables article.

To mark multiple Deliverables as exceptions:

  1. Click the App Launcher and select Data Management.

  2. In the Data Management app, click the Deliverable Fulfillments tab.

    Please note: You might have to click the More drop-down at the right-hand side of the header to see the Deliverable Fulfillments option.

  3. On the Deliverable Fulfillments page, check the boxes next to the Deliverables you want to mark as exceptions.

  4. At the top of the record list, click the Mark as Exception button.

  5. In the Mark as Exception window, enter a reason in the text field.
  6. Click the Excepted By field and search for and select the user making the exception.
  7. Click Save.

Deactivating Deliverables

When Deliverables are not needed, you can handle this in a few ways:

  • Complete or cancel individual Deliverables within a Service
  • Cancel all Deliverables within a Service
  • Deactivate the Deliverable Type so new Deliverables will no longer be copied over to new Services

Please note: When clients are marked as lost using the Mark As Lost Client action, their Deliverables are automatically deactivated.

Completing or Canceling Deliverables

Completing a Deliverable sets its status to Completed, while canceling it sets its status to Canceled. When a Deliverable's status is set to Completed or Canceled, the following things happen:

  • The Deliverable no longer appears in the sidebar on Task and Event records.
  • The Next Due Date field's current value is deleted and stops recalculating.
  • Fulfillment activities are not created.

Practifi follows this logic for Deliverable cancellation:

  • When a Service is canceled, its related Deliverables are canceled as well.
  • When a Deliverable's status is set to Canceled, the following actions occur:
    • It no longer appears in the sidebar assistant on Tasks and Events as available for fulfillment.
    • Any Tasks and Events previously associated with the canceled Deliverable can now fulfill other Deliverables.
    • If the Task was a pre-nominated fulfillment activity previously linked to the canceled Deliverable, it will also be canceled.
    • The Next Due Date field's current value is deleted and is not recalculated.
    • Fulfillment activities are not generated.

Please note: Tasks with a status of Canceled will display Deliverables in their sidebar, but they will not have plus icons next to them because canceled Tasks cannot be used to fulfill Deliverables.

To complete or cancel an individual Deliverable:

  1. Open the Entity record with the Deliverable you want to complete or cancel.
  2. In the record side panel, click the Services & Pipeline navigation icon.
  3. On the Services & Pipeline page, click the Deliverables tab.

  4. In the record list, click the caret on the right-hand side of the row for the desired Deliverable, then select Complete Deliverable or Cancel Deliverable.

  5. In the pop-up window, click to confirm that you want to complete or cancel the Deliverable.

To complete or cancel multiple Deliverables in a list view:

  1. Check the boxes next to the Deliverables you want to complete or cancel.

  2. At the top of the list view, click the Complete Deliverables or Cancel Deliverables button.

  3. In the pop-up window, click to confirm that you want to complete or cancel the Deliverables.

Reactivating Deliverables

If you want to restore one or more completed or canceled Deliverables, you can reactivate them. The Reactivate Deliverable action is available on Deliverable records and as a row action or mass action for Deliverables with a status of Completed or Canceled.

The Reactivate Deliverable action changes the Deliverable's status from Completed or Canceled to Active. Attempting to reactivate a Deliverable that already has an Active status will result in an error.

Please note: Reactivating a Deliverable means it will become available for fulfillment on Tasks and Events, will start generating fulfillment activities (if enabled), and its Next Due Date field will be recalculated. If the calculation basis is the Service's start date, today's date will be used instead. Alternatively, you can manually set the due date in the Reactivate Deliverables window using the Next Due Date field.

Alternatively, you can manually set the due date in the Reactivate Deliverables window using the Next Due Date field.

Canceling All Deliverables within a Service

To cancel all Deliverables within a Service for a given Entity, use the Cancel Services action:

  1. Open the Entity record whose Service you want to cancel.
  2. In the record side panel, click the Services & Pipeline navigation icon.

  3. On the Services tab, click the caret on the right-hand side of the row for the Service, then select Cancel Service.

  4. A prompt asks you to confirm you want to cancel all related Deliverables. Click Cancel.

Setting Deliverable Types as Inactive

If you no longer want Deliverables of a certain type to be copied over into new Services, you can deactivate the Deliverable Type in the Servicing settings page:

  1. In the Settings app, navigate to Entity Management > Service Types.
  2. In the left rail, select the Service Type containing the Deliverable Type you want to deactivate.
  3. In the Deliverable Types section, click the hyperlinked name of the Deliverable Type. The Deliverable Type record opens in a new tab.
  4. In the Basics section, click the pencil icon.
  5. Click the Status picklist and select Inactive.
  6. Click Save at the bottom of the screen.

Creating Activation Rules

Because not all clients need the same level of service, your firm might want to tailor Deliverables to fit different client segments. Practifi organizations can activate Deliverables automatically when specific criteria are met, for example:

  • If Client Segment = Platinum, activate the Quarterly Review Deliverable
  • If Client Segment = Gold, activate the Semi-Annual Review Deliverable
  • If Client Segment = Silver or Bronze, activate the Annual Review Deliverable

Practifi Administrators can create one or more rules using the Activation Rules tab on Deliverable Type records. The Activation Rules tab works the same way as the Rule Builder components found within Active Forms and the Rulebook in Practifi.

To add activation rules to a Deliverable Type record:

  1. In the Settings app, navigate to Entity Management > Service Types.
  2. In the left rail, select the Service Type containing the Deliverable Type you want to edit.
  3. In the Deliverable Types section, click the hyperlinked name of the Deliverable Type you want to edit. Its record page opens in a new tab.

  4. On the Deliverable Type record, click the Activation Rules tab.

  5. On the Activation Rules tab, define the rule(s) you want to apply, then click Save.
  6. Click back to the Service Type record.
  7. When you return to the Service Type, if there are unsynced changes, a notification appears at the top of the detail pane. Click Sync in the notification to push the updated activation rules to active Deliverables.

Execute Activation Rules Immediately

If you don't want to wait for the system's nightly job to evaluate activation rules, you can run them on demand at the individual Deliverable level. Do the following:

  1. Open the desired Entity record.
  2. In the record side panel, click the Services & Pipeline navigation icon.
  3. On the Services & Pipeline page, click the Deliverables tab.
  4. Click the name of the desired Deliverable.

  5. On the Deliverable record, click the caret and select Execute Activation Rule.

Understanding Activation Rules

Activation rules cause Deliverable statuses to change based on whether the rule criteria are met. Note the following about activation rule logic:

When activation rules are added to Deliverables, the system checks them with a nightly scheduled job.

  • If the rule conditions are true, the Deliverable's status is set to Active, and it behaves like normal.
  • If the rule conditions are false, the Deliverable's status is set to Inactive.

Inactive Deliverables behave the same way as Deliverables with a status of Completed or Canceled:

  • They don't appear in the sidebar assistant on Tasks and Events.
  • Their Next Due Date field is blank.
  • Their fulfillment activities aren't created.

As with other Deliverable settings, a local copy of the Deliverable Type's activation rules is stored on the Deliverable record itself, so that bespoke changes can be made if necessary.

Every night, a job runs that evaluates all active and inactive Deliverables against their activation rules.

  • If the Deliverable is active and its activation rules are true, nothing happens.
  • If the Deliverable is active and its activation rules are false, its status is set to Inactive.
  • If the Deliverable is inactive and its activation rules are true, its status is set to Active.
  • If the Deliverable is inactive and its activation rules are false, nothing happens.
  • If the Deliverable is Marked for Fulfillment and its activation rules are false, its status is set to Inactive.

When the activation rule is evaluated and passed, resulting in the deliverable's status being set to Active, the following happens:

  • The Deliverable starts appearing in the sidebar assistant on Tasks and Events again.
  • The Next Due Date field is calculated. This calculation follows the same logic as when the Deliverable was initially created, using the Initial Calculation Basis on the Deliverable Type. However, if the Basis is Service Start Date, the reactivation date (today's date) is used instead.
  • Fulfillment Activity Creation: Once the due date is calculated, fulfillment activities should be created according to the configured criteria.
    • Immediate Fulfillment Activity Creation: If the Deliverable's status is set to Active today and the time between today and the Deliverable's due date is less than the interval specified for the fulfillment activity (i.e., Days Before Due Date on the Deliverable Type record), then the respective fulfillment activity is created immediately after the Deliverable becomes active.
    • Scheduled Fulfillment Activity Creation: If the time between today and the Deliverable's due date is greater than or equal to the interval specified for the fulfillment activity, the respective fulfillment activity will be created by the DeliverableFulfillmentActivityService scheduled job, which runs nightly.
  • Status Update: The Deliverable's status will be changed from Active to Marked for Fulfillment if the scheduled job causes the creation of a fulfillment activity.
  • Manual Fulfillment: If an active Deliverable is manually marked for fulfillment by the user clicking the plus icon next to it on the sidebar of a Task/Event record, its status is updated from Active to Marked for Fulfillment.

When the activation rule is evaluated, resulting in the Deliverable's status being set from Active to Inactive, the following happens:

  • The Deliverable doesn't appear in the sidebar assistant on Tasks and Events.
  • Its Next Due Date field is blank.
  • Its fulfillment activities aren't created.

When the activation rule is evaluated, resulting in the deliverable's Status being set from Marked for Fulfillment to Inactive, the following happens:

  • The Deliverable doesn't appear in the sidebar assistant on Tasks and Events.
  • Its Next Due Date field is blank.
  • Its fulfillment activities aren't created.

 

Who Can Edit Deliverable Settings?

A multi-select picklist called Who can edit Deliverable settings? controls which users can modify a Deliverable's schedule. A user can edit a Deliverable's schedule if they match any of the selected options: 

  • Administrators (System Administrator profile)
  • Users with the Manage Deliverable Settings permission
  • Deliverable owners (the user who owns that specific Deliverable)
  • Any user

By default, it is set to Administrators and Users with the Manage Deliverable Settings permission.

A user can edit a Deliverable’s schedule if one or more of the selected options apply to them. The setting applies to all Service Types unless overridden at the Service Type level. Editing a Service Type’s configuration shows the same control, pre-filled with the current firm-wide selection. Admins can make a different selection for that Service Type.

Understanding the Complete After X Fulfillments Setting

  • This setting's initial value is specified by the administrator on the Deliverable Type record and copied across to the Deliverable upon initial creation.
  • Whenever a Deliverable Fulfillment record is created or edited, the value in the parent Deliverable's Complete after X fulfillments setting is compared to the number of Deliverable Fulfillment records where the Outcome is either Fulfilled On Time or Fulfilled Late.

  • If the setting's value is less than or equal to the count of eligible records and the Deliverable's Status is Marked for Fulfillment, then it's set to Completed.

    Please note: Whenever a Deliverable is marked for fulfillment, its status changes from Active to Marked for Fulfillment. When the setting's value is evaluated against the fulfillment records, the system checks whether the Deliverable's status is Marked for Fulfillment and then sets it to Completed.

  • If the setting's value is greater than the count of eligible records and the Deliverable's status is Completed, then it's set to Active.

Mencia Upgrade Notes

The Mencia upgrade does not change existing Deliverable records. No field values change, and Last Modified Date and Last Modified By remain as they were before the upgrade.

Deliverables that were already customized before the upgrade, meaning their settings differed from their Deliverable Type's defaults, are automatically excluded from syncs after the upgrade, so their existing customizations are not overwritten. The first time one of these Deliverables is manually edited after the upgrade, it adopts the new customization-tracking behavior: its overrides are recorded in the Customized Fields field, and future syncs include it while preserving its customized settings.

Considerations

Please note the following known behaviors:

  • Entity Management pages and sync notifications may need a browser refresh to reflect the latest state after deliverables are created or synced.
  • A brand new Deliverable Type's rollout notification appears on the Deliverable Type page but may not appear on the Service Type page until the type is edited or synced.

Quick Reference

I Want To... Go To...
Configure Service Types or Deliverable Types Entity Management > Servicing > Service Types
Set who can edit deliverable schedules firm-wide Entity Management > Servicing > Settings
Override edit permissions for one Service Type Select the Service Type, then its Who can edit Deliverable settings? override
Edit a Deliverable Type's schedule Service Type > Deliverable Types list > click the type name
Route new Deliverables to a team queue Deliverable Type > Assignment > Assign to > Queue
Push a single type's changes to active deliverables Deliverable Type record page > Unsynced changes notification > Sync
Push all unsynced types under a Service Type to active deliverables Service Type detail pane > Unsynced changes notification > Sync
Review the results of a completed sync Sync complete banner > Sync Run record
Adjust the sync batch size Contact Practifi Support
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