Administration and Tools | Procurement Journey

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Purpose

This guidance sets out the minimum administrative standards and procedures for managing medium and high-risk contracts within the Scottish public sector.

The purpose is to ensure that:

Contract documentation is complete, accurate, and controlled
Contract activity is properly recorded
Contractual obligations are tracked and administered correctly
Risks, changes, and issues are handled consistently
Public sector accountability and transparency requirements are met

Scope

This guidance applies to:

All medium and high-risk contracts (Routes 2 and 3)
All staff undertaking contract administration activities, including:
- Contract officers
- Contract administrators
- Contract managers where performing administrative functions

This guidance applies post-award, from contract signature to contract close-out.

Administrative Roles and Accountability

Contract Administrator

Responsible for day-to-day contract administration and record-keeping.

Key administrative responsibilities include:

Maintaining the contract file
Recording performance, meetings, and decisions
Tracking key dates and obligations
Administering variations and extensions
Supporting governance and audit requirements

Contract Owner

Accountable for:

Approving key administrative outputs (e.g. variations, extensions)
Ensuring appropriate administrative controls are in place

Contract File Management

For medium and high-risk contracts (Routes 2 and 3), a complete contract file should be maintained.

Signed contract and schedules
Procurement documentation (award decision, approvals)
Contract variations and extensions
Performance reports and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Governance meeting minutes
Risk and issue logs
Financial records and invoices
Correspondence relating to material decisions

Files must be:

Stored in approved systems
Version controlled
Accessible for FOI requests

Contract Mobilisation – Administrative Activities

Upon contract award, the following administrative actions must be completed:

Confirm contract start and end dates
Record key contractual milestones and review points
Set up meeting schedules
Establish reporting templates
Confirm named contacts for both parties
Create contract risk and issue logs
Ensure baseline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are documented

Meeting Administration

For all formal contract meetings:

Issue agenda in advance
Record attendance
Produce written minutes
Log actions with owners and deadlines
Retain records in the contract file

Performance Administration

The contract administrator must:

Collect performance reports from the supplier
Record Key Performance Indicator (KPI) results against contractual requirements
Maintain a performance log
Highlight persistent under-performance for escalation
Retain evidence supporting performance assessments

Risk and Issue Administration

Risk Register

Maintain a contract-specific risk register
Record risk description, impact, likelihood, owner, and mitigation
Update regularly and retain version history

Issue Log

Record all material issues
Track actions and resolution dates

Escalate unresolved or high-impact issues

More guidance on Risk Management can be found in Additional Resources

Change Control and Variations (Administrative Process)

All changes must be administered formally.

The administrator must:

Record all variation requests
Ensure impact assessments are documented
Confirm approvals in line with delegated authority
Update contract documentation and registers
Retain signed variation documentation

No informal or retrospective changes should be permitted.

For detailed guidance, please refer to the Variation/Extension/Amendments station.

Financial Administration

Administrative controls must include:

Recording contract values and limits
Monitoring cumulative spend
Checking invoices against contract terms
Retaining evidence of approvals and payments
Flagging potential overspend or irregularities

For high-risk contracts, financial tracking should be updated regularly.

Compliance, Transparency and Records Management

Contract administration should support:

Freedom of Information obligations
Audit and assurance requirements
Data protection and information governance standards

Records must be:

Accurate
Complete
Timely
Retrievable

Contract Extensions, Renewal and Expiry Administration

The administrator should:

Track contract end dates and notice periods
Flag upcoming expiry or extension points early
Ensure approvals are obtained before extensions
Retain decisions and supporting rationale

For detailed guidance, please refer to the Variation/Extension/Amendments station.

Contract Close-Out and Exit Administration

At contract end, the administrator must:

Confirm completion of contractual obligations
Ensure final payments are validated
Retain handover and exit documentation
Close and archive the contract file

For detailed guidance, please refer to the Dispute Resolution / Termination / Contract Exit station.

Alignment to Resource Planning

Medium and high-risk (Route 2 and 3) contracts require:

More frequent administrative activity
Greater documentation and control
Increased workload

These factors should be reflected in resource planning and workload models.

Checklist

Contract Administration - Points to Consider

What you Need to Do	Points to Consider	Met?
Administration of the contract is important Contract administration is concerned with the mechanics of the relationship between the customer and provider. Its importance should not be underestimated. Clear administrative procedures ensure that all parties to the contract understand who does what, when and how.	The elements that need managing are likely to include: Contract maintenance and change control Notice periods, contract closure or termination Charges and cost monitoring Ordering procedures Payment procedures Budget procedures Resource management and planning Management reporting Asset management
Maintain the contract documentation. The contract will have to evolve to reflect changes in arrangements. Contract maintenance means keeping the documentation up to date and relevant to what is happening on the ground. Maintaining contract documentation is an important activity.	Establish procedures to keep contract documentation up-to-date (including how to store/archive documentation). Ensure all contract documents are consistent, and that all parties have the correct version.
Changes must be controlled. Changes to services, procedures or contracts may have an effect on service delivery, performance, costs and on whether the contract represents value for money. The specification and administration of change control is an important area of contract administration.	Appropriate structures need to be in place with representatives from both customer and supplier management sides to review and authorise change requests. Be careful that changes do not fall outside the scope of the original PCS advertisement and conflict with procurement regulations – seek advice if you are unsure. It is particularly important that additional demands on the supplier should be carefully controlled. Formal authorisation procedures will be required to ensure only those new requirements (that can be justified in business terms) are added to the service.
Make sure management understands what is happening. Management reporting procedures ensure that information about contract problems reach those with power to act as soon as possible.	Requirements for service performance reports and management information should be built into the contract and confirmed at the tender stage. Where possible, you should make use of your Organisation's own management information and performance measurement systems. For many business managers a summary of the service they have received along with a note of exceptions is normally sufficient. Information requirements may change over the life of a contract.

Blank rows are provided for your use e.g. to add additional checklist items.

A detailed Contract Administration Checklist document is available for you to download and use, the document can be found at the bottom of this page.

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Care and Support Services Lessons Learned

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