Contract Records
Create, send for e-signature, and track contracts through their full lifecycle.
A contract is the core record in the Contracts module. It holds the parties, dates, obligations, and signature history for a single agreement.
Creating a Contract
Go to Contracts > All Contracts > New Contract. Choose how to start:
- From template — Pre-filled structure with locked and negotiable sections
- From scratch — Blank editor
- Upload a PDF — For third-party contracts you want to archive and summarize
- From a signed quotation — Archive the signed quotation envelope as a
signed_quotecontract without duplicating it on retry
Required fields: title, contract type, effective date, expiry / renewal date, counterparty (CRM contact or company, or enter manually).
Contracts created from CRM or Sales preserve the canonical contact/company relationship. If a company has multiple contacts and no primary contact, choose the intended person before starting the contract rather than entering a second manual copy.
Contract Properties
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Descriptive name for the agreement |
| Contract Type | Categorizes for analytics (Service Agreement, NDA, Employment, MSA, Other) |
| Status | Current lifecycle stage |
| Effective Date | When the contract becomes active |
| Expiry / Renewal Date | When it ends or must be renewed |
| Value | Total contract value (used in analytics) |
| Currency | Contract currency |
| Owner | Internal owner responsible for alerts and CRM connection |
| CRM Link | Linked deal or company |
| Counterparty | Signing party name and email |
| Custom Fields | Additional fields per contract type (configurable in Settings) |
Editing Contract Content
The contract editor supports rich text, tables, and variable placeholders such as {{counterparty_name}}, {{effective_date}}, and {{contract_value}}.
Sections marked as locked (set in the template) cannot be edited by non-admin users. Unlocked sections can be freely edited for each deal.
Adding Signatories
Open the contract, go to the Signatories tab, and add each signer:
- Name and email
- Title
- Signing order (1, 2, 3…)
The contract sends to signers in sequence — signer 2 only receives their link after signer 1 has signed.
Sending for E-signature
Click Send for Signature. Each signatory receives an email with a unique signing link. They open it in a browser, review the document, and sign using:
- Typed name
- Drawn signature
A full audit trail is recorded for each signature. If the template requires a Workspace countersignature, the contract pauses at Signed after the last recipient signs. An authorized Workspace user then opens the contract and clicks Countersign contract. Otherwise, the contract becomes Executed automatically.
See Contract signing and countersigning for the complete recipient, Workspace, and delivery workflow.
Contract Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Being drafted internally |
| In Review | Sent for internal legal or manager review |
| Sent for Signature | At least one signatory has been emailed |
| Signing in Progress | Some recipient signatures are still pending |
| Signed | Recipients are complete; a required Workspace signature is pending |
| Executed | Every required signature is complete |
| Active | Signed and currently in effect |
| Expiring Soon | Within the renewal alert window |
| Renewed | Renewed into a new contract |
| Terminated | Ended early |
| Expired | Passed end date without renewal |
Obligations
Track commitments inside a signed contract. On the contract record: Obligations tab > Add Obligation.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Obligation Type | Payment, delivery, SLA, reporting, or renewal |
| Due Date | When this obligation must be met |
| Amount | Monetary value, if applicable |
| Responsible Party | Internal user accountable for this obligation |
| Description | Details of the commitment |
Overdue obligations generate alerts and appear in the Renewals dashboard.
AI Contract Summary
For third-party contracts (uploaded PDFs): open the contract and go to the AI Summary tab. Copilot extracts:
- Parties and counterparty details
- Effective date and term length
- Auto-renewal clause and notice period
- Payment terms and schedule
- Key obligations
- Unusual or high-risk clauses (e.g., "uncapped liability", "unilateral amendment right")
The result is a plain-English summary alongside the flagged items.
Contract Archive and Search
All contracts — draft and signed — are stored permanently. Search by:
- Party name
- Clause text (full-text search across indexed PDF content)
- Value range
- Contract type
- Owner
- Status
Signed-quotation archive creation is idempotent: repeating the conversion returns the existing contract instead of creating a duplicate legal record.
Set the Renewal Date even for contracts with no automatic renewal clause — this triggers the renewal alert window and ensures someone reviews the contract before it expires.