LICENSEE SUPPORT
Table of Contents Account Administration... 3 Is There a Test Server Where I Can Practice my Setups?... 4 How Do I Request Support?... 5 License Agreements...11 How do I view Agreement terms?...12 Royalty Reporting...21 How do I create and submit a royalty report?...22 How do I upload royalties using my file format and Column Mapper...33 How do I save my file as CSV?...41 How do I resolve unrecognized SKUs found in my sales upload file?...42 How do I fix sales upload errors?...44 How do I request a royalty report be rejected or unapproved?...46 How do I resubmit a rejected royalty report?...47 How Do I Report Returns and How Do They Affect My Royalties?...50 Marketing Contributions and Commitments...53 How do I manage a Marketing Contribution? (For Licensees)...54 How do I record and track progress towards satisfying a Marketing Commitment? (for Licensees)...57 Invoices...60 How do I view and pay an invoice?...61 Licensed Products...65 How Do I Submit a Product For Approval?...66
Account Administration Page 3
Is There a Test Server Where I Can Practice my Setups? RoyaltyZone provides a convenient test server so that users - both Licensors and Licensees - can practice adding data, uploading items, processing royalties and anything else you can do live. To log in to the test server, go to https://test.royaltyzone.net Log in using your email address and password, just as you would in the live application Page 4
How Do I Request Support? RoyaltyZone provides an interactive easy-to-use Help Desk to submit all your support requests, whether they be questions on how to do something, system issues, or requests for new features. If you are a Licensee with questions on your Agreement terms, reporting requirements or available rights, please contact your Licensor directly. From the top navigation bar, select "Help" and then select "Request Support" Page 5
Fill out the RoyaltyZone Help Center Support Request 1. Enter your email address 2. Entered a detailed description. Be as thorough as possible to help us research the issue. Include steps you took to get to the issue and include any error messages you received. 3. Select the type of request - Question: How do I do something/how does it work; Incident: The system is down/part of the system is down: Problem: I think something is wrong; Task: I'd like to suggest a new feature or enhancement on an existing one. 4. Enter the url of the last page you were on Page 6
1. Enter your name 2. If you are a RoyaltyZone Client, enter your company name (and sub-account if applicable). If you are a licensee, agent or licensor invited by an RZ client - enter the company that has invited you AND your company name 3. Attach any screenshots, files you were attempting to upload, files you downloaded, or any other information that could be helpful. You can add as many attachments as necessary 4. Click "Submit" You will receive a message with your request number: You will also receive an email with your request information You can reply to the email to submit additional information, make comments and ask questions You can track your request directly in the RoyaltyZone Help Desk System Page 7
The first time you access the Help Desk after you've submitted a request, you will need to Get A Password Once you receive your password, you can log in at any time to check your request status 1. You can view a detailed list 2. You can view a compact list 3. You can view recently solved and closed tickets 4. View the current status 5. View the request history Page 8
Request History 1. Date and time of original submittal 2. Details of submittal 3. Download link to download your attachments 4. Ticket Statistics 5. Add additional comments Page 9
You can submit new requests here As your request processes to its conclusion, you will receive email notifications from the Help Center Page 10
License Agreements Page 11
How do I view Agreement terms? 1. From the Dashboard, click the name of the Agreement you'd like to view 2. Use the Agreement navigation bar to explore an Agreement's details and terms 3. Assigned tasks and attachments will appear as a number, click the link to view. Page 12
3. Click the "Actions" menu to export the Agreement terms to CSV or PDF 4. The "Details" tab summarizes the key Agreement clauses Page 13
5. The "Terms" tab displays the overall Rights for the Agreement. 6. Click "Royalty Rates" to view the Royalty Rate details. Click any Triangle icon to expand the view to include the rights for each royalty rate. Page 14
7. Click "Advances" to view the Advance details, payment schedule, and recoupable balance. Click on the "Clock" icon to see an Advance's history NOTE: You will receive a invoice whenever an advance payment is due to be paid. 8. The Advance history displays a ledger of recoupable balance debits and credits 9. Click "Guarantees" to view the Minimum Royalty Guarantee details. Click the "Calendar" icon to view the Guarantee Page 15
Payment Schedule, or click the "Clock" icon to view the Guarantee History 10. The Guarantee Payment Schedule displays progress towards satisfying the minimum guarantee, and any remaining payment milestones. NOTE: You will receive a invoice whenever a guarantee milestone payment is due to be paid. Page 16
11. Click the "Fees" tab to view any One Time Fees (admin, reimbursement, etc) or Recurring Fees (Common Marketing Fund, etc.) called for by the Agreement 12. Click the "Products" tab to view all Licensed Products assigned to the Agreement. NOTE: The ability to add or edit products depends on settings configured by your Licensor. Page 17
13. Click the "Royalties" tab to view a summary of all Royalty Reports for the Agreement Click on any Report name to view the report details. Page 18
14. Click the "Invoices" tab to view every Invoice created for the Agreement Click on the Invoice Due Date to view the Invoice details, export to PDF, or make a payment 15. Click on the "Trends" tab to view the financial performance over the life of the Agreement Page 19
16. Click the "History" tab to view a full history of every action over the life of the Agreement 17. Optional: click on "Manufacturers" or "Insurance" to view the approved manufacturers or insurance certificates assigned to the agreement. Page 20
Royalty Reporting Page 21
How do I create and submit a royalty report? On the Dashboard, click "Submit" to begin the submission process for the desired royalty report NOTE: previously submitted royalty reports must be approved before a new report can be submitted. Click "Yes" if you are reporting zero sales to proceed directly to the submit report page. Otherwise, click "No" to proceed. Page 22
Step 1: Profile: make sure your company profile data is accurate and complete. Scroll down and click "Continue" to proceed. NOTE: this step will be skipped if you've updated your profile within the last six months. Page 23
Step 2. Manage Products: review the product database in RoyaltyZone to make sure that all of your licensed products are listed. Click "Continue" when ready to proceed. Licensors can choose from three modes for Product Management. The allowable product management options on this page will be determined by the mode selected by your Licensor. Open: Both Licensees and Licensors are permitted to add, upload, and edit product data. Use the Add an Upload icons to manage products. Closed: Only Licensors are permitted to add, upload, and edit product data. Contact your Licensor to request a product be added. CTI ProofTrak: New products must be submitted for approval in ProofTrak by Licensees. Product data is synced to RoyaltyZone once approved in ProofTrak. RZ Product Product Manager (Not Shown): New products must be submitted for approval in the RoyaltyZone Product Management System MediaBox: (Not Shown): New products must be submitted for approval in MediaBox. Product data is synced to RoyaltyZone once approved in MediaBox See the How do I add Products? tutorial for more information on managing products in RoyaltyZone Page 24
Step 3. Enter Sales: upload or enter sales transaction data for the royalty reporting period. Option 1: click "Upload Sales" to upload your sales transaction data Page 25
Paste your exported sales data into the proper columns on the upload template Follow instructions in template Do not delete or reorder columns Remove any extra header, total, and/or blank rows Delete the instructions rows prior to import Helpful Hint: the available Territories and Distribution Methods are listed on the sales upload page in RoyaltyZone Territory and Distribution Method names must match exactly. Copy and pasted from this page to your upload file. You can also choose to map your terminology to the terminology in RoyaltyZone. For example, lets say you have named the Territory "USA" in your accounting software, but it is named "United States" in RoyaltyZone. RoyaltyZone will identify the mismatch, then prompt you to fix the error. Once mapped, Royaltyzone will replace USA with United States for the current upload, and all future uploads. Page 26
Save your upload file in CSV format, return to RoyaltyZone, and upload the file. NOTE: uncheck the header row box if you deleted the header row form the template. If you need help creating a CSV file, view the How do I save my file as CSV? tutorial RoyaltyZone will check your file for errors. Click "Continue" when prompted. View the "How do I fix sales upload errors?" tutorial to learn how to resolve the various sales upload errors NOTE: you will be notified by email when the upload is complete if your file contains over 1000 sales transactions Page 27
Your uploaded sales transactions will be captured in the table. 1. You can edit or delete individual sales transactions 2. You can "Delete All Sales" if you need to start over 3. You can "Export Sales" to a CSV file 4. You can upload or enter additional sales, which will be added to the list of sales transactions. Option 2: if you only have a few items to report, click "Add Sale" to manually enter sales data Page 28
1. Complete all fields on the entry form 2. Click "Save" to return to the sales transactions list 3. Click "Save and Add Another" to continue adding sales transactions Click "Continue" at the bottom of "Step 3. Enter Sales" to proceed. RoyaltyZone will take a moment to calculate royalties and create the royalty report. Page 29
Step 4: Submit Report: review the report for accuracy and submit to your Licensor Review the report totals in the Report Summary box Scroll to the right to review the Net Sales and Royalty Calculations for each Sale, Return, and Exempt Sale (if permitted) Page 30
Scroll to the bottom of the report to review recoupable Advance balances and progress towards Minimum Royalty Guarantees If desired, export the royalty report to CSV for further review Click on any numbered icon to return to a previous step. You can change or edit any item prior to submission. When ready, click the affirmation check box, write an optional note to the Licensor, and click "Submit Report" Page 31
You will reach the confirmation page when successfully submitted You will also receive a confirmation email Page 32
How do I upload royalties using my file format and Column Mapper You can upload royalties using your own file and map the data to the appropriate fields in RoyaltyZone. RoyaltyZone can accept any csv file. Your file must be in columnar format in a spreadsheet-type software (such as Excel, Numbers, Google Spreadsheet) Page 33
First, prepare your sales file for upload 1. Delete any rows above header row 2. Delete any rows, including totals, below your last line of data 3. You do not need to delete columns that will not be mapped, RoyaltyZone will ignore them Save it as a.csv file Depending on what spreadsheet program you are using, your 'Save As' window might look different Page 34
On the Sales Transactions Page (step 3 of report submittal) select "Upload Sales" Page 35
Select your file 1. Select "Use my own data file" from the drop-down as your file type 2. Select "Choose File" - Locate your file from its saved location 3. Leave checked if your file has a header row, uncheck if it does not 4. Select "Upload" Page 36
Map your data to RoyaltyZone! You can map columns from your file to fields in RoyaltyZone Or you can set a "Global Value" to accept data that is not accounted for in a column on your file Page 37
Select the appropriate column from your file for each field in RZ, or enter your "Global Value", then save your map to use in the future 1. All RoyaltyZone fields 2. Must have a corresponding column on your upload file, or 3. A global value assigned. 4. Select your data format - NOTE: Leave as-is for US formatting 5. Name your Mapping 6. Select "Create Map" Once you select "Create Map" your report will begin the normal report submittal process Page 38
Once you have created a Column Map, you can reuse it by selecting it from the drop-down box during Step 3 of royalty reporting Page 39
RoyaltyZone will display the saved mapping and you can change any values as necessary 1. You can rename and/or 2. Resave new mapping You can create multiple mappings to handle different report formats from different divisions within your company, then upload each report format before submitting Page 40
How do I save my file as CSV? Page 41
How do I resolve unrecognized SKUs found in my sales upload file? RoyaltyZone compares the SKUs in your sales upload file against those found in the database. SKUs must match exactly to be recognized by RoyaltyZone. RoyaltyZone will display a list of unrecognized SKUs for review. Your options for managing these SKUs will depend on the Product Management mode selected by your Licensor. Product Management: Open Option 1. Click "Ignore" to remove all sales for the designated SKU from the upload (click "Ignore All" to remove all) Option 2. Click "Typo" if you mistyped the SKU number and need to map it to an existing SKU in the RoyaltyZone database Option 3. Click "Add" to enter the description, property, and category for the designated SKU Page 42
Product Management: Closed Option 1. Click "Cancel" to cancel the sales upload. You will need to contact your Licensor outside of RoyaltyZone to request that they add any missing SKUs to the database. Option 2. Click "Continue" to submit your royalty report. The unrecognized SKU's will be assigned a default royalty rate and be marked as "Unrecognized" property and category. Product Management: CTI ProofTrak Option 1. Click "Cancel" to cancel the sales upload and submit the unrecognized SKU's for approval via ProofTrak. SKU's will not appear in RoyaltyZone until final approval is received in ProofTrak. Option 2. Click "Continue" to submit your royalty report. The unrecognized SKU's will be assigned a default royalty rate and be marked as "Unrecognized" property and category. Page 43
How do I fix sales upload errors? RoyaltyZone display any errors found in your sales upload file You can fix errors from within RoyaltyZone: 1. The total number of errors is displayed 2. The error type and corresponding row in your spreadsheet are displayed 3. You can "Fix" or "Delete" each error You also have the option to cancel the entire upload, fix the errors in your upload file, and try the upload again. NOTE: If your upload is over 1000 transactions, you will receive an email highlighting the errors, and a link to the "Fix" page Page 44
Click "Fix" to resolve each error, then click "Fix This Item" when done. Page 45
How do I request a royalty report be rejected or unapproved? Access your Royalties page and select the report you want rejected or un-approved Scroll down to the bottom of the page and 1. Enter Reason and 2. "Select Request Unapproval" An email will be sent to your licensor asking them to unapprove your report. If the report is submitted, but not yet approved, the "Request Rejection" button will appear. Page 46
How do I resubmit a rejected royalty report? You will receive an email if a royalty report is rejected by your Licensor The email will include the reason for rejection. Click the link in the email or click "View" from the Dashboard to access the rejected royalty report Page 47
Click "Resubmit" to edit and resubmit the royalty report Use the report navigation icons to edit or add the appropriate items Click "Continue" on "Step 3. Enter Sales" to recalculate the royalty report Page 48
When ready to submit, click the affirmation box, write an optional note, and click "Submit Report" A full history of each revision can be found at the bottom of the report review page Page 49
How Do I Report Returns and How Do They Affect My Royalties? Returns are reported along with your sales each reporting period and are deducted from sales and/or are applied back to recoupable guarantee balances. You can manually add returns to your report during royalty reporting on Step 3 Enter Sales by selecting "Add Sale" Page 50
Select "Returns" from the dropdown and enter your quantity and gross sales as positive numbers Your returns will show on your sales table as returns deductions Page 51
You can add sales to your upload template by entering the quantity and gross sales as negative numbers FOR SALES AND RETURNS THAT DO NOT APPLY TO A GUARANTEE The total sales royalty shows, and returns are deducted from total owed 1. Total royalty 2. Total returns 3. Net owed Page 52
Marketing Contributions and Commitments Page 53
How do I manage a Marketing Contribution? (For Licensees) Viewing and managing your Marketing Contribution is easy in RoyaltyZone From within your Agreement, select "Terms" and then "Fees". Your Marketing Contributions are listed under "Recurring" This example shows: 1. a rate of 2% of net sales 2. Amount owed to-date $400 3. Amount paid to-date $400 Page 54
RoyaltyZone calculates the Marketing Contribution amount due for each royalty report Once the Licensor approves your report, a seperate invoice will be sent for the Marketing Contribution Page 55
You can always review the current status of your Marketing Contribution by returning to the Fees page of your agreement Page 56
How do I record and track progress towards satisfying a Marketing Commitment? (for Licensees) You can record any marketing expenditures made during the reporting period on each royalty report, prior to submission. Marketing Commitment to Date = amount required to be spent Marketing Spent to Date = amount spent prior to current reporting period Marketing Spent this Period = amount recorded as spent on this royalty report (will update after each entry) Page 57
Click "Report a New Marketing Expenditure" 1. Enter amount spent 2. Enter description 3. Attach any supporting documentation 4. Select "Submit" Click "View History" to see all marketing expenditures reported to-date. Click any attachment link to view or download. Page 58
You can also visit "Terms" and then "Fees" inside the Agreement to view progress. The Marketing Commitment is found under Recurring Fees. You have 2 options: 1. Enter a marketing expenditure (outside of a royalty report) 2. View all marketing expenditures NOTE: you may receive an email from your licensor if you fall behind on the marketing commitment Page 59
Invoices Page 60
How do I view and pay an invoice? 1. The Dashboard will display all due or past due invoices. NOTE: Paid invoices will appear on the Dashboard for 30 days. You can view the full history of all agreement invoices by clicking "view all" Page 61
2. Click "Pay" to open an unpaid invoice 3. Take note of the payment instructions. Payment instructions will vary from Licensor to Licensor, and may vary by invoice type (royalty, advance, guarantee, or fee) 4. Click "Print invoice" to export or print a PDF version of the invoice. Click "Pay Invoice" to proceed to the payment page. Page 62
5. RoyaltyZone will only display the payment methods allowed by the Licensor. Complete the appropriate fields, then click the "Pay by..." button. 6. The status will be updated to "Payment Sent" until the Licensor verifies that the payment has been received. Page 63
7. Click "Payment History" to view all invoice payment details 8. You will receive an email notification when payment is received, and the invoice status will update to "Paid" Page 64
Licensed Products Page 65
How Do I Submit a Product For Approval? Select "Submissions" from the top green navigation bar, then select "New Submission" Select Agreement from the dropdown box and then select "Next" Page 66
Select Submission Type from the dropdown box, and then select "Next" Page 67
Fill out the information requested. Note: These fields are determined by the Licensor and may differ from this example Note: For selection fields, you can select multiple items by holding down the shift key as you select Page 68
When complete, select "Create" To upload an image, 1. name the image (optional), 2. attach one or more files, and then 3. select "Upload" Page 69
On the Details tab, you can 1. Edit your details, 2. View the licensor's submittal instructions, and: 3. Add Sku Alias' - Sku Alias can be alternative SKU numbers that you will use to report on for this item 4. Add a Packaging Submission 5. Add a Marketing Submission 6. Download an image from the Licensor's Asset Library 7. Add annotations to the image Page 70
Use the annotation tools to add comments to the image You can add additional comments on the Comments Tab Page 71
The Workflow tab shows you the Stages and Tasks for the Submittal, and the Workflow progress Page 72
The History tab shows you the time stamps of each action When ready, submit your product by selecting "Actions" and then "Submit" Note: Any time you decide to cancel the submission, you can select "Mark Dead" Page 73
You should see this message if your Submittal is successful 1. Any tasks assigned to you will show here Your Submission will show in your Submissions table Page 74