Contracts are legal records that must stay authentic and traceable from creation to expiry or termination. In Zoho Contracts, several design decisions focus on protecting the integrity of every document. These measures ensure that no important details are lost, altered, or overlooked as the contract moves through its various stages.
Let us look at the reasoning behind these design choices.
1. Mandatory Document Upload During Import
When importing an organization-initiated contract, the system requires both the editable document (.rtf, .doc, or .docx) and the signed PDF, as each serves a distinct purpose. The signed PDF represents the finalized, legally binding agreement, while the editable document preserves the contract’s structure and content for future amendments, redlines, and ongoing reference. Together, they provide the full context and obligations that metadata alone cannot capture.
Both versions are essential to support future legal and operational needs. The editable document enables accurate drafting of amendments and reliable tracking of historical changes, while the signed copy serves as the authoritative reference during audits, reviews, or dispute resolution. Without these documents, the contract record would be incomplete and unable to support actions across its lifecycle reliably.
Having the complete set of documents allows the system to:
- Support accurate drafting of future amendments.
- Track redlines and historical changes with proper context.
- Serve as a dependable reference during audits, reviews, or dispute resolution.
By enforcing mandatory document upload during import, Zoho Contracts ensures that every contract entered into the system is complete, traceable, and capable of supporting long-term governance and compliance needs.
2. Restricting Edits Beyond the Draft Stage
Once a contract leaves the Draft stage, the document can no longer be edited. This is an intentional safeguard to prevent unauthorized or unnoticed changes. At this point, the contract is often under review, approval, or negotiation, and allowing edits could cause confusion about which version was approved or what terms were agreed upon.
During the signing stage, editing is restricted strictly to the signature-related fields. This ensures that the agreed contract content remains unchanged while still allowing the signing process to be completed correctly.
By freezing the content, we ensure that:
- All reviewers see the same version.
- Approvals are based on accurate information.
- The audit trail remains reliable.
This helps maintain control and consistency across all stages.
3. Sending a Clean Copy for Approvals and Negotiations
During reviews or negotiations, contracts often contain tracked changes or comments. While these help during discussions, they can make the document hard to read when it is time for approval.
To solve this, Zoho Contracts allows sending a clean copy — a version where all tracked changes are accepted, all comments are resolved, and no annotations remain, indicating that all discussed points and areas requiring attention have been fully addressed.
This ensures:
- Approvers and counterparties see only the intended final text.
- Decisions are made with full clarity.
- Misunderstandings or disputes over agreed terms are avoided.
The clean copy helps everyone focus on what matters — the agreed content.
4. Retaining Contracts Until Expiry or Termination
Contracts must remain in the repository until they expire or are formally terminated. This is not just a storage decision but a compliance practice. Each active or historical contracts are part of your organization’s legal and operational history.
Retaining contracts until closure supports:
- Audits and compliance checks.
- Reference for renewals or amendments.
- Evidence in case of disputes.
Removing contracts too early could create data gaps and compliance risks. By keeping them available until their lifecycle ends, Zoho Contracts ensures a complete and traceable record.
Document integrity is essential for every organization that handles contracts.
Zoho Contracts enforces this through:
- Mandatory document uploads for imported contracts.
- Edit restrictions beyond the Draft stage.
- Use of clean copies for approvals and negotiations.
- Retention of contracts until expiry or termination.
Together, these measures protect your data, support compliance, and preserve trust in your contract records.
Stay tuned for Why Zoho Contracts Prefers Structured Approvals Over Ad-hoc Approvals.
Recent Topics
The Social Wall: December 2025
Hello everyone! As we wrap up the final edition of the Social Wall for 2025, it’s the perfect time to look at what went live during December. QR code generator From paying for coffee to scanning metro tickets, QR codes are everywhere and have made everyday
Custom AI solutions with QuickML for Zoho CRM
Hello everyone, Earlier, we introduced Custom AI Solutions in CRM that let you access QuickML for your custom AI needs. Building on that foundation, we’ve now enabled a deeper integration: QuickML models can be seamlessly integrated into CRM, and surface
Helper Functions and DRY principle
Hello everyone, I believe Deluge should be able to use 'Helper functions' inside the main function. I know I can create different standalones, but this is not helpful and confusing. I don't want 10000 different standalones, and I dont want to have to
Introducing workflow automation for the Products module
Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a few recent enhancements we've made to Bigin's Products module. The Products module in Bigin now supports Workflows, enabling you to automate routine actions. Along with this update,
Power up your Kiosk Studio with Real-Time Data Capture, Client Scripts & More!
Hello Everyone, We’re thrilled to announce a powerful set of enhancements to Kiosk Studio in Zoho CRM. These new updates give you more flexibility, faster record handling, and real-time data capture, making your Kiosk flows smarter and more efficient
Zia Formula Expression Generator for Formula fields
Hello everyone! Formula fields are super useful when you want your CRM to calculate things for you but writing the expression is where most people slow down. You know what you want, but you’re not fully sure which function to use, how the syntax should
Issue with Zoho Creator Form Full-Screen View in CRM Related List Integration
Hi Team, We have created a custom application in Zoho Creator and integrated it into Zoho CRM as a related list under the Vendor module, which we have renamed as Consignors. Within the Creator application, there is a form named “Pickup Request.” Inside
Wrapping up 2025 on a high note: CRM Release Highlights of the year
Dear Customers, 2025 was an eventful year for us at Zoho CRM. We’ve had releases of all sizes and impact, and we are excited to look back, break it down, and rediscover them with you! Before we rewind—we’d like to take a minute and sincerely thank you
Customer Parent Account or Sub-Customer Account
Some of clients as they have 50 to 300 branches, they required separate account statement with outlet name and number; which means we have to open new account for each branch individually. However, the main issue is that, when they make a payment, they
Projects custom colors replaced by default orange
Since yesterday, projects uploaded to Zoho, to which I had assigned a custom color, have lost the customization and reverted to the default color (orange). Has anyone else had the same problem? If so, how did you resolve it?
Restrict Users access to login into CRM?
I’m wanting my employees to be able to utilize the Zoho CRM Lookup field within Zoho Forms. For them to use lookup field in Zoho Forms it is my understanding that they need to be licensed for Forms and the CRM. However, I don’t want them to be able to
Introducing Connected Records to bring business context to every aspect of your work in Zoho CRM for Everyone
Hello Everyone, We are excited to unveil phase one of a powerful enhancement to CRM for Everyone - Connected Records, available only in CRM's Nextgen UI. With CRM for Everyone, businesses can onboard all customer-facing teams onto the CRM platform to
Unknown table or alias 'A1'
I would like to create a subquery but i am getting the following error: Unknown table or alias 'A1' used in select query. This is the sql statement: SELECT A1.active_paying_customers, A1.active_trial_customers, A1.new_paying_signup, date(A1.date_active_customers),
in the Zoho creator i have address field based the customer lookup im selecting the addresss , some times the customer address getting as null i want to show as blank
in the Zoho creator i have address field based the customer lookup im selecting the addresss , some times the customer address getting as null ,i want to show as blank instead of showing null. input.Billing_Address.address_line_1 = ifNUll(input.Customers_Name.Address.address_line_1,"");
Question about upgrade and storage space Zoho Notebook
After upgarding my Zoho Notebook plan, I am running into the following issue. I just upgraded from a free Zoho Notebook subscription to Pro Lite after I got a notification in my Window Zoho Notebook desktop app saying that I had run out of space. However,
how to add email to existing organization i w
I am already registered my organization and i have an email id. I need one more email id but i can't find anywhere .i want the cheapest email id . how to add ?
add zoho account
How to add a zoho mail to previous zoho account? I have two
Name changed in settings for mailbox but still not changed when typed in To field
In the email account secretary@ i have updaetd the new staff members details but the old members name still appears when I type secretary@ in the To field. I cant work out where Zoho is finding the old name from. I have deleted the browser cache. If I
Printing to a brother label maker
I see allot of really old unanswered posts asking how to print to a label maker from a zoho creator app. Has their been any progress on providing the capability to create a customized height & width page or print template or whatever to print labels?
Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)
Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:
Track online, in-office, and client location meetings separately with the new meeting venue option
Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce meeting enhancements in Zoho CRM that bring more clarity and structure to how meetings are categorized. You can now specify the meeting venue to clearly indicate whether a meeting is being held online, at the
Calling the new 'Custom API' feature from within a Custom Widget
From what I've learned it is not possible to call an endpoint from the new "Custom API" feature within a Creator Widget. The SDK's doesn't support it yet, when calling it natively you end up with CORS issues or at least I couldn't get it working even
Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (1.32.0)
Hello everyone! We’re excited to introduce the latest updates to Trident, which are designed to reinforce email security and protect your inbox from evolving threats. Let’s take a quick look at what’s new. Deliver quarantined emails. Organization admins
Marketing Tip #5: Improve store speed with optimized images
Slow-loading websites can turn visitors away. One of the biggest culprits? Large, uncompressed images. By optimizing your images, your store loads faster and creates a smoother shopping experience leading to higher sales. It also indirectly improves SEO.
SMS to customers from within Bigin
Hi All, Is there anyone else crying out for Bigin SMS capability to send an SMS to customers directly from the Bigin interface? We have inbuilt telephony already with call recordings which works well. What's lacking is the ability to send and receive
Admins cannot see each others' Scheduled Reports?!
Very frustrating that as an admin I cannot see what my reports my fellow admins have created and scheduled. After asking about this on the help chat, I was told the issue is trust and security. By giving someone Admin status, it means we trust them with those responsibilities. Please change this, it is not a good process to have to bother other users to change a report or change users within a report.
Automatically CC an address using Zoho CRM Email Templates
Hi all - have searched but can't see a definitive answer. We have built multiple email templates in CRM. Every time we send this we want it to CC a particular address (the same address for every email sent) so that it populates the reply back into our
Writer update results in BitDefender blocking it as malware
After updating Writer to latest update, Bitdefender blocked the app and writer no longer runs.
Is there a way to invoke deluge function from within a widget?
Hi! I have custom functions in deluge and I was wondering whether there is any way to call this function through a widget? Something like on click of a button inside a widget, run the deluge custom function. Would this be possible?
Missing Import Options
Hello, do I miss something or is there no space import option inside of this application? In ClickUp, you can import from every common application. We don't want to go through every page and export them one by one. That wastes time. We want to centralize
Zoho CRM Portal Field Level Permission Issue
Hi Support Team, I am using the Zoho CRM Portal and configuring field-level editing permissions. However, we are unable to restrict portal users from editing certain fields. We have created a portal and provided View and Edit (Shared Only) access for
Why am I seeing deleted records in Zoho Analytics syncing with Zoho CRM?
I have done a data sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics, and the recycle bin is empty. Why do I see deleted leads/deals/contacts in Zoho Analytics if it doesn't exist in Zoho CRM? How can I solve this problem? Thanks
Custom Fonts in Zoho CRM Template Builder
Hi, I am currently creating a new template for our quotes using the Zoho CRM template builder. However, I noticed that there is no option to add custom fonts to the template builder. It would greatly enhance the flexibility and branding capabilities if
Introducing the Zoho Projects Learning Space
Every product has its learning curve, and sometimes having a guided path makes the learning experience smoother. With that goal, we introduce a dedicated learning space for Zoho Projects, a platform where you can explore lessons, learn at your own pace,
All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs
The address field will be available exclusively for IN DC users. We'll keep you updated on the DC-specific rollout soon. It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition. Latest update
Collaboration with customers made easy with Zoom Meeting and Zoho Desk integration
Hello everyone! We are happy to announce that you can now integrate your Zoho Desk account with Zoom Meeting. The integration bridges the gap between digital communication and human connection, empowering teams to deliver timely support when it matters
CRM Canvas - Upload Attachments
I am in the process of changing my screens to Canvas. On one screen, I have tabs with related lists, one of which is attachments. There doesn't appear to be a way to upload documents though. Am I missing something really obvious? Does anyone have
TrueSync regularly filling up my local disk
Seems that WorkDrive's TrueSync randomly starts filling up my local hard drive space. None of the folders have been set as "Make Offline" but still it seems to randomly start making file offline. The settings of the app is so minimal and is of no real
Kaizen #194 : Trigger Client Script via Custom buttons
Hello everyone! Welcome back to another interesting and useful Kaizen post. We know that Client Scripts can be triggered with Canvas buttons and we discussed this with a use case in Kaizen#180. Today, let us discuss how to trigger Client Script when a
[Webinar] A recap of Zoho Writer in 2025
Hi Zoho Writer users, We're excited to announce Zoho Writer's webinar for January 2026: A recap of Zoho Writer in 2025. This webinar will provide a recap of the features and enhancements we added in 2025 to enhance your productivity. Choose your preferred
Next Page