Introduction

In today's dynamic business landscape, contracts can never stay stagnant. They undergo numerous changes, even after they become active, corresponding to the changing business requirements. Additionally, they also need to change when there are regulatory or policy changes. Changes that are made to a contract after it becomes active are called Amendments. 

In Zoho Contracts, when a contract owner amends a contract, it must again go through the approval (if the respective contract type has an approval workflow), negotiation, and signature cycles before the amendment can become active. This process will ensure that the internal stakeholders and the counterparty are aware of the changes that you make to a contract. 

1. Amendment Letter: When this option is selected, an amendment letter will be automatically generated upon completion of the amendment draft, based on the predefined template or as customized by the organization admin. The amendment letter will capture and display the contract history in chronological order (past amendments, renewals, and extensions) and a list of all the changes, including additions and removals that the contract owner made during the current amendment. The content changes made in the Attachment section of the contract document will also be captured in the amendment letter. To learn how to customize the amendment letter, see Customizing Amendment Letter. 

Note: Amendment letters will not be generated for imported contracts and the contracts created using contract types with uploaded templates. In such cases, you can directly edit the contract document and proceed with the next applicable action.

1. Amended Document: When this option is selected, the contract owner can directly edit the contract and proceed with the next applicable action. This approach does not offer clause-level tracking or a summarized view of the changes like the amendment letter does.
   

Note: During an amendment, the contract owner can insert new clauses, and remove or edit the existing ones. To learn how to edit the contract term period, see Renewals and Extensions. 

Create a New Amendment

1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
   
2. Click to open the Active contract that you want to amend. 
   
3. Click More  at the top of the contract details page, then choose Amend Contract. 
   
4. Choose the Document Type, fill in the Amendment Details form in the left panel, then click Save. 
   
   

The contract will still be Active, and only the contract document will move to the Draft state. You can make changes to the document. The amendment will take effect after both parties sign the amendment document or letter. At this point, the status of the contract will be Active, with the sub status: Amendment Draft. 

Note: For imported contracts and those created using contract types with uploaded templates, an amendment letter will not be generated. In such cases, the option to select a Document Type will be unavailable. You can directly edit the contract document and proceed with the next applicable action.

Tip: 

You can also amend a contract by selecting the Amendment tab in the contract details panel if it is the first amendment for the contract. To do so: 

1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
   
2. Click to open the Active contract that you want to amend. 
   
3. Select the Amendment tab in the contract details panel on the left.
   
4. Click Amend Contract. 
   
5. Choose the Document Type, fill in the Amendment Details form in the left panel, then click Save.
   

Author an Amendment Document

Authoring an amendment document is similar to authoring a contract. You can make any changes in the document. For example, inserting a new clause, removing an existing clause, altering the clause language, or inserting a new document field. To learn how to author, see Creating and Authoring a Contract. 

Edit Amendment Details

1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
   
2. Click to open the Active contract with the amendment in the Draft state.  
   
3. Select the Amendment tab in the contract details panel on the left.
   
4. Click More  next to the current version of the amendment, then choose Edit. 
   
5. Change the details in the Amendment Details form based on your requirements. 
   
6. Click Update. 
   

Note: You can edit the amendment details only when the amendment is in the Draft or Draft Completed state. 

Delete an Amendment

1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
   
2. Click to open the Active contract in which you want to delete an amendment.  
   
3. Select the Amendment tab in the contract details panel on the left.
   
4. Click More  next to the current version of the amendment, then choose Delete. 
   
   

Note: You cannot delete an amendment after it becomes Active. To redo the changes made during an amendment, you will have to amend the contract again.

Tip: 

You can also delete an amendment from the More menu on the contract details page when the amendment is in the Draft state. To do so: 

1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
   
2. Click to open the Active contract in which you want to delete an amendment. 
   
3. Click More  at the top of the contract details page, then choose Delete Amendment.