Creating and Authoring a Contract

Creating and Authoring a Contract


Introduction

A contract is a legally enforceable agreement that recognizes and governs the rights and duties of the parties involved. Each party is legally bound to perform the duties mentioned in the contract, which usually involve payment or delivery of goods or services.


For example, the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is a contract between at least two parties that outlines a confidential material and defines the terms for its restricted access to third parties.


Create a New Contract


  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Click New Contract at the top-right corner of the contracts list page. 
  3. Choose a contract type from the Select Contract Type window. You will be directed to the New Contract form. 
  4. Enter the details in the New Contract form, then click Save and Continue. 


Upon saving, the contract details page will appear, where you can author the contract document.


Notes

Note:

  • If you've selected the Contract Effective Date field as On Execution, the Contract End Date field won't have the Specific End Date option.

  • Financial Details are not applicable for contract types whose intent is not to buy or sell.

  • If the contract is renewable, then the Renewal Details has two options to select: Manual or Evergreen.

    • Select Manual if you want to renew the contract before its expiration date manually. In such a case, you can set a renewal notice period before which the contract is supposed to be renewed and an expiration reminder for you to renew the contract duly.

    • Select Evergreen if you want the contract to be renewed automatically at the end of its term. In such a case, you should set a renewal term period in months or years and optionally a non-renewal notice period before which the non-renewal notice should be given if the contract has to be terminated. 

  • The contract's effective date, expiration, termination, and obligation schedules will be based on the selected Time Zone. To select a specific Time Zone other than the Organization's or Counterparty's, select Other under Time Zone, then choose the desired Time Zone. You can also change the contract's Time Zone during its Draft status.


Author a Contract Document


In the contract details page, the document editor will display a document template based on the Contract Type, Contract Term, and Renewal details that you've entered in the New Contract form. 


To author a contract:


  1. Check whether the loaded document contains the expected clauses and clause language. 
  2. To deselect the existing clauses or select new ones from the clause library, click Clauses at the top of the document editor, then select the tab.
  3. For each selected clause, choose the standard or one of the alternative languages.

  1. To add additional clauses that are not in the clause library for the corresponding contract type, insert them by manually typing at the desired location. 
  2. To navigate between the document fields and fill them, click Fields Form at the top of the document editor, then select the Show Fields Form tab. 
  3. Fill the respective Pre-filled Value fields listed under the Fields Form panel, then click Save.
  4. To insert new document fields, place the cursor on the document where you want to insert the new document field.
  5. Click Fields at the top of the document editor, then select the Fillable Fields.
  6. Select the field type under the Fields & Buttons heading in the Fillable Fields panel. The new field will appear before the cursor.
  7. Click the field to enter the document field name in the Label field under the Field Properties heading in the Text Field panel that opens on the right. 
  8. To fill the value for the new field, enter the value in the Value field.
  9. After you author the document, click Draft Complete at the top-right corner of the contract details page.



Notes

Note: 

  1. In addition to the preset contract types and the respective templates that are available, an Admin user can add new contract types and customize the existing templates. For more information, see Contract Types in the Admin Guide.
  2. You can also add other users in your organization as collaborators in authoring the document. For more information, see Sharing and Collaboration. 

Reopen to Edit a Completed Draft 

To reopen a completed contract draft and continue to work on it:


  1. Select the Contracts tab at the top of the page. 
  2. Click to open the contract in Draft Complete state that you want to edit.
  3. Click Reopen to Edit at the top-right corner of the contract details page.