Hey @Mila_M
The key thing to understand is that Contracts and Entitlements serve different purposes, and their relationship to Sold Products and Install Base Items (IBIs) depends on the business model being implemented.
Contract vs. Entitlement
A Contract represents the commercial agreement between the customer and the provider. It typically defines:
- Coverage period
- Renewal terms
- Pricing and commercial terms
- Service commitments
An Entitlement represents the actual support rights that ServiceNow evaluates when determining whether a customer is eligible for support.
In simple terms:
- Contract = What was agreed commercially
- Entitlement = What support the customer is entitled to receive
When a Case is created, entitlement checks are generally what drive support eligibility and SLA selection.
Where do Sold Products and Install Base Items fit?
Product
The master definition of what is being sold.
Examples:
- Software Subscription
- Network Switch
- Premium Support Package
Sold Product
Represents what a specific customer purchased.
Example:
Customer ABC purchases:
- 100 Software Licenses
- Premium Support
The Sold Product answers:
"What did the customer buy?"
Install Base Item (IBI)
Represents the actual deployed asset, device, or service instance being supported.
Examples:
- Router Serial Number R1001
- Laptop SN-12345
- Specific software instance
The Install Base Item answers:
"What specific thing are we supporting?"
Is Entitlement related to the Sold Product or the Contract?
The answer is potentially both, depending on the implementation.
Common patterns include:
Pattern 1 – Entitlement linked through Contract
Contract
→ Entitlement
→ Support Rights
Typical for subscription and service-based businesses.
Pattern 2 – Entitlement covering Sold Products
Contract
→ Entitlement
→ Sold Product
Used when support rights are purchased as part of a product offering.
Pattern 3 – Entitlement covering Install Base Items
Contract
→ Entitlement
→ Install Base Item
Common in hardware support scenarios where individual assets or serial-numbered devices are covered.
Example:
- Product: Cisco Router
- Sold Product: Router purchased by ABC Corp
- Install Base Item: Router SN-1001
- Contract: Gold Support Agreement
- Entitlement: 24x7 Support + Advanced Replacement
When a Case is opened against Router SN-1001, ServiceNow evaluates the entitlement coverage for that asset.
Best Practices for CSM Data Modeling
- Use Products as the master catalog of offerings.
- Use Sold Products to track customer purchases and ownership.
- Use Install Base Items when individual assets, devices, subscriptions, or deployed instances require support tracking.
- Use Contracts for commercial agreements and coverage periods.
- Use Entitlements as the source of truth for support eligibility and case coverage validation.
- Avoid designing support processes that rely directly on Contracts; leverage Entitlements for operational support decisions.
- Choose the coverage model (Account-level, Sold Product-level, Service-level, or Install Base Item-level) based on how your business sells and supports its offerings.
Example
Hardware Company
Product
→ Network Switch
Sold Product
→ Network Switch sold to ABC Corp
Install Base Item
→ Switch SN-12345
Contract
→ Gold Maintenance Agreement
Entitlement
→ 24x7 Support + Advanced Hardware Replacement
Case Created
→ ServiceNow evaluates Entitlement coverage
→ Appropriate SLA is applied
In practice, the most important design decision is determining what object your entitlement should cover (Account, Sold Product, Service, or Install Base Item). That decision should be driven by how your business sells and supports its offerings rather than by the platform data model itself.
Hope this helps clarify the relationship between Contracts, Entitlements, Sold Products, and Install Base Items within CSM.
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If this response helps, please mark it as Accept as Solution and Helpful.
Doing so helps others in the community and encourages me to keep contributing.
Regards
Vaishali Singh
Servicenow Developer
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaishali-singh-2273361bb
