Revenue – ifrs 15 handbook

Providing end-user documentation is generally an administrative 
task
Providing end-user documentation (e.g. instruction manuals) is generally an 
administrative task if it is provided to allow the customer to obtain the inherent 
utility of the good or service (i.e. does not provide incremental benefit to the 
customer).
Conversely, information of an advisory or consulting nature that helps the 
customer do more than simply achieve the base utility from the good or service 
may provide incremental benefit to the customer and therefore represent a 
good or service to be transferred to the customer.
Distinguishing between an administrative task and a promised 
good or service 
The transfer of a promised good or service requires the customer to be able to 
obtain the benefit from that good or service. Therefore, an activity that does not 
provide any benefit beyond access to other goods or services is generally an 
administrative task or set-up activity.
In general, set-up activities involving the entity’s own systems or IP will not 
provide the customer with incremental benefits and therefore do not represent 
goods or services. Examples of set-up activities include the following. 

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2 Step 2 – Identify the performance obligations in the contract | 37
2.2 Implied promises and administrative tasks
| 
– 
Activation of a wireless contract:
Entities may charge a fee to activate a 
wireless customer’s access to the network and to cover the cost of required 
tasks such as setting up the wireless service, processing a new customer 
in the billing system and performing a credit check. These activities do not 
provide the customer with benefit beyond allowing the customer to access 
the subsequent services. 
– 
Outsourcing contracts:
An entity may need to design or build technology for 
its internal use to provide a service to a customer. The costs of designing 
and migrating data for internal use to provide services to the customer in 
the future do not provide the customer with incremental benefits beyond 
accessing the service. 
– 
Software as a service:
A SaaS provider may implement a user interface 
that permits the customer to access its online platform. These activities, 
permitting the customer to access the SaaS for which it has contracted, 
provide no incremental benefit beyond the customer accessing the platform. 
However, goods or services transferred to a customer that provide some 
measure of benefit beyond solely being able to access another good or service 
will generally be promised goods or services. When another entity provides 
similar services to customers on a stand-alone basis or the customer could 
perform the tasks, it is a strong indicator that the good or service is a promised 
service rather than a set-up activity.
Examples of up-front activities that are generally promised goods or services 
include: 
– performing customer-specific services that enhance the customer’s asset; 
and
– providing training services to permit the customer to use the service more 
effectively.