> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mercora.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Contracts > Keep purchase and sales contracts as their own records, pair them into deals, and draft new contracts from your own Word templates. With the Contracts module, every purchase and sales contract is a record of its own. A contract can stand alone, for example a purchase you haven't sold yet, or be paired with its counterpart into a deal (a trade). When it's paired, it's one of the trade's legs. For example, Veltana Commodities SA's sugar deal VCS-S-2026-0714 pairs two contracts: the purchase VCS-P-2026-0688 from Kanchana Siam Sugar (27 MT at USD 528/MT FOB, USD 14,256.00) and the sale VCS-S-2026-0714 to Meridian Foodstuffs (27 MT at USD 565/MT CIF, USD 15,255.00). > [!NOTE] > > Available when the **Contracts** module is turned on for your workspace. Ask your workspace admin. ## The contract list Open **Contracts** in the sidebar. ![The Contracts list on the Purchase side with the status pills and the Needs review and Counterparty filters](https://mintcdn.com/placeholder-f4ffdeec/22McaegbdDRSI41b/images/records/contracts-list.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=22McaegbdDRSI41b\&q=85\&s=12d46c2acbd872649b251b0663c8eb0c) The Purchase side with All selected: VCS-P-2026-0688 from Kanchana Siam Sugar, 27 of 27 MT delivered, paired into deal VCS-S-2026-0714. * **Purchase** and **Sales** switch between the two sides, each with its count. * **Status** pills filter by **Draft**, **Active**, **Delivered**, **Complete** and **Cancelled**, each with its count. You can switch on several at once. The page opens with **Active** selected, so click **All** to see contracts in every status, such as a purchase that's already **Delivered**. * **Needs review** shows contracts with a document waiting for review in the Inbox. * **Counterparty** and the search box narrow it further. | Column | What it shows | | - | - | | **Contract no.** | The contract number. | | **Counterparty** | The seller on a purchase, the buyer on a sale. | | **Commodity** | The product. | | **Delivery** | The Incoterms, for example FOB. | | **Qty** | The contracted quantity. | | **Delivered** | The quantity actually delivered so far. | | **Unit Price** | The price per unit. | | **Deal** | The deal it's paired into, if any. | | **Status** | See below. | Contract documents you've uploaded that are still being processed or waiting for approval are listed above the table until they're approved. ### Contract status Mercora works out the status from what it knows about the contract: | Status | When | | - | - | | **Draft** | Entered by hand, with no approved contract document behind it yet. | | **Active** | An approved contract or recap backs its terms, or it was created from a Deal Capture card. The contract is in force. | | **Delivered** | The quantity actually loaded covers the contracted quantity. | | **Complete** | The deal it belongs to is marked complete. | | **Cancelled** | Set by someone on your team, or by an approved termination agreement. | Click the status pill to pin a different status, or choose **Auto** to go back to the one Mercora works out. A cancelled contract stays listed but no longer counts as running. Its deal is untouched. ## Add a contract There are two ways in: * **Upload a contract document.** Click **Upload contract** or drop files anywhere on the Contracts page. They go to the Inbox, and approving one there creates the contract. See [Reviewing documents in the Inbox](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/inbox.md). * **Enter it by hand.** Click **New contract**, pick **Purchase** or **Sale**, and fill in the contract number, the seller or buyer, product, quantity (MT), tolerance (%), unit price, currency, Incoterms and payment terms. **Copy from previous…** starts from an existing contract. A contract number and a counterparty are required. Contracts captured from email or chat also arrive through [Deal Capture](https://docs.mercora.io/workflows/deal-capture.md). ## Pair contracts into a deal **1. Open the contract** Open a standalone contract and click **Pair into deal**. **2. Pick the counterpart** Search contracts and deals. Matches that share a deal reference are marked **deal ref match**. **3. Pair** Pick a standalone contract on the other side to create a new deal from the two. Pick an existing deal to add this contract to it. You can also build deals from the other end: * **New deal** on the Trades page links several contracts at once. See [Create a deal from contracts](https://docs.mercora.io/trades/overview.md#create-a-deal-from-contracts). * **Add leg** on a trade's Overview tab links a standalone contract to that deal. To take a contract out of a deal, use **Unpair from deal** on the contract, or **Detach from deal** in the leg's menu on the trade. The contract stays as a standalone record. Deleting the contract itself (**Delete contract**) is permanent. ## A contract's page A contract's page shows its terms, its status, the deal it's paired into, and its **Documents**. Drop files anywhere on the page to attach them to this contract. **Edit** changes the terms. When the Derivatives module is on, the page also lists the futures fills allocated to this contract. See [Derivatives](https://docs.mercora.io/records/derivatives.md). ## Amendments When an amendment to a contract arrives, it's reviewed in the Inbox. You pick the contract it changes, then for each change choose **Apply amendment** or **Keep current**, and approve. See [Reviewing documents in the Inbox](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/inbox.md). ## Draft contracts from your templates > [!NOTE] > > Available when the **Contract drafting** module is turned on for your workspace. You also need Contracts access in your role. Ask your workspace admin. Mercora can draft a sales or purchase contract the way your firm writes it: from your own Word template, filled with the contract's data. ### What admins set up Workspace admins upload the Word templates (.docx) your team drafts from under **Settings** → **Contract templates**. Each template is tagged with its **Side** and, where your team keeps separate forms, the **Entity**, **Incoterm** and **Commodity** it's for. Left as Any, a template fits every deal. **Notes** tell the drafter how to fill it in, for example your contract numbering scheme or which arbitration clause to use. See [Contract templates](https://docs.mercora.io/admin/workspace-settings.md#contract-templates). Members with Contracts access can see the templates and **Download** them. ### Ask the Copilot to draft **1. Ask** In the [Copilot](https://docs.mercora.io/copilot/overview.md), ask for the contract you need, for example "Draft the sales contract for P-2026-118". **2. Confirm the template** The Copilot matches your templates against the contract's side, entity, Incoterm and commodity. If exactly one fits, it says which and why. If several fit, or none, or the contract doesn't make it clear, it asks you to choose. **3. Check the draft** The Copilot fills the template only with the contract's data in Mercora and what you tell it in the conversation. Anything it can't confirm is left as a highlighted placeholder to fill in, rather than a guess. **4. Download and finish** Download the draft, review it and complete it. Nothing is saved to the contract or sent to anyone. > [!WARNING] > > Always review a draft before it goes out. Prices, parties and dates in a contract carry commercial and legal weight, which is why every gap is left visible for you to fill. ## Next steps > **[Trades](https://docs.mercora.io/trades/overview.md)** > > Work the deal your contracts are paired into. > **[Counterparties](https://docs.mercora.io/records/counterparties.md)** > > The companies on your contracts, with their terms and balances. > **[Walkthrough](https://docs.mercora.io/getting-started/walkthrough.md)** > > Follow one trade from its contracts to its P\&L. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.