> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.clivanta.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Engagements & periods

> How Clivanta models the work you do for a client over time.

An **Engagement** is a long-lived service relationship between your firm and a client for a defined service type — for example "Acme Ltd — VAT Compliance" or "Acme Ltd — Statutory Audit". It defines *what* service you provide and how often.

A **Period** is a specific occurrence of work under an Engagement — "VAT Q1 2026", "March 2026 Accounting", "FY2026 Audit". The Period is the operational unit: it carries the request items, the internal tasks, and all documents and evidence.

## Lifecycle

An engagement moves through a simple lifecycle:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Draft">Set up but not yet sent — invisible to the client. You add or adjust request items here.</Step>
  <Step title="Active">Sent to the client and actively collecting. Draft request items become `requested` and the client is notified.</Step>
  <Step title="Done">All work complete and closed. For recurring services, closing one period can generate the next.</Step>
</Steps>

## Recurring services

For recurring work (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual), Clivanta can chain periods: when you close one, the next planned period is generated as a draft, carrying the same structure forward. History is the set of periods with the same service type for a client.

<Note>
  Active engagements count toward your plan's **active-engagement limit**. Drafts don't consume quota — only sending/activating an engagement does.
</Note>