Creating a new commitment

Creating a new commitment

When you are entering a new commitment, you can register it in Spend Cloud. To do this, click the 'Add Commitment' button at the top of the commitments overview. Clicking this button will take you to the page where you can fill in all the details of the commitment.


Header details of the commitment

  1. Description
Here, you can provide a brief description of the commitment. This description will be displayed in the overview and in the invoice line where you can select the commitment. Ensure that the description is clear so you can easily find the commitment later.
  1. Administration
Depending on the number of administrations available to you, you can specify for which administration the commitment is being made.
  1. Excl. VAT/Total Amount
Enter the expected amount of the total commitment here. This amount is exclusive of VAT. If you've selected an administration that doesn't use VAT, the title 'Excl. VAT' will change to 'Total Amount.'
  1. Written Off
This is the amount that has been written off from the total amount so far. This happens when invoices related to the commitment arrive. Spend Cloud automatically updates this amount. For this reason, you can't manually adjust this amount.
  1. Outstanding (open)
This is the total amount that remains open after deducting the written-off invoices. Spend Cloud automatically updates this amount.
  1. Status
Here, you can set the entire commitment to inactive. You can only use the commitment again when it's active. You also have the option to only set a commitment line to inactive. You can do this at the bottom of the commitment line, under the 'Status' section.

Commitment Line

In a commitment line, you can fill in all the specific details of the commitment. You can choose to spread the commitment over multiple commitment lines. You would do this, for example, if you want to distribute the commitment over several cost centers. To split a commitment line, click the 'Add Commitment Line' button at the top of the page. If you choose to add multiple commitment lines, Spend Cloud will perform a check to validate that the amounts match the total commitment amount. If they don't match, you'll receive an error message and need to adjust the amounts.

  1. General Commitment Line
If you choose 'Yes' here, you don't need to specify a relation. This indicates that it's a general commitment line and can be used with any relation. If you choose 'No,' the commitment is specific to a relation.
  1. Relation
If you haven't indicated that the commitment is a general commitment line, you can enter a relation here. This is the relation with whom the commitment is made.
  1. Percentage
This is the percentage of the total amount that is allocated to this commitment line. If you have only one commitment line, this will always be 100%. If you've added multiple commitment lines, you can allocate the percentage across them.
  1. Excl. VAT/Total Amount
Depending on what you've entered in 'Percentage,' Spend Cloud will automatically calculate this amount. The reverse also applies. If you enter an amount here, Spend Cloud will calculate the percentage.
  1. VAT %
Indicate the VAT rate of the commitment here.
  1. VAT Amount
If you've specified the VAT rate, the VAT amount will be automatically calculated.
  1. Total Amount
The total amount is the amount including the VAT amount calculated by Spend Cloud. This amount is also calculated automatically.
  1. General Ledger Account
You can specify the general ledger account where the costs should be booked.
  1. Cost Center
Here, you can enter the cost center where the costs should be booked.
  1. Organizational Unit
Specify the organizational unit where the costs should be booked.
  1. Project (free field)
If you work with projects, you can specify which project this commitment is associated with. The list of projects is managed in the Application Management section of Spend Cloud. The project is a free field, which means it might have a different label in your instance. Each organization can give a free field its own label.
  1. Attachment
If necessary, you can add a file here.
  1. Effective Date (Optional)
When configuration setting 020 (release commitments) is enabled, you can specify a date on which a commitment begins. Invoices linked to the commitment must have an invoice date on or after this effective date.
  1. Number of periods (of X) (Optional)
When configuration setting 020 (release commitments) is enabled, you can indicate the number of periods in which a commitment may be debited. For example, if you receive a monthly invoice for a period of one year, you would enter 12 installments of 1 month here.
  1. Invoice Date Margin (Days) (Optional)
When configuration setting 020 (release commitments) is enabled, you can specify how many days in advance an installment is released. For instance, if you have 12 installments of 1 month, the installment starts on the first of the month. If you enter 7 days here, the invoice date is permitted to be up to 7 days prior to the start of that period.


Once you have filled in all the details, you can click the 'Save' button at the top of the page. The commitment has now been created and will be displayed in the overview. Additionally, you can now select the commitment when an invoice for it arrives—unless you have set an effective date, in which case the commitment will only become available starting from that date.

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