> ## 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 records, pair them into deals, and draft new ones from your own templates.

Every purchase and sales contract is its own record. A contract can stand alone, such as a purchase you haven't sold yet, or be paired with its counterpart into a deal, where it becomes one of the trade's legs.

For example, the sugar deal VCS-S-2026-0714 pairs the purchase VCS-P-2026-0688 from Kanchana Siam Sugar (27 MT at USD 528/MT FOB) with the sale VCS-S-2026-0714 to Meridian Foodstuffs (27 MT at USD 565/MT CIF).

> [!NOTE]
>
> Needs the **Contracts** module. Drafting from templates also needs the **Contract drafting** module and Contracts access in your role. Ask your workspace admin.

## Find a contract

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.

Switch between **Purchase** and **Sales**, and filter by status, counterparty or **Needs review** (a document waiting in the Inbox). The page opens on **Active** only, so click **All** to see delivered or completed contracts too. Each row shows the counterparty, commodity, Incoterms, contracted and delivered quantity, unit price, deal and status.

| Status | When |
| - | - |
| **Draft** | Entered by hand, with no approved contract document yet. |
| **Active** | Backed by an approved contract or recap, or created from a Deal Capture card. |
| **Delivered** | The quantity loaded covers the contracted quantity. |
| **Complete** | Its deal is marked complete. |
| **Cancelled** | Set by your team, or by an approved termination agreement. |

Mercora works the status out. Click the pill to pin another, or choose **Auto** to hand it back.

## Add a contract

* **Upload it.** Click **Upload contract** or drop files on the page. Approving the document in the [Inbox](https://docs.mercora.io/documents/inbox.md) creates the contract.
* **Enter it by hand.** Click **New contract**, pick **Purchase** or **Sale**, and fill in the terms. A contract number and counterparty are required. **Copy from previous…** starts from an existing contract.
* **Capture it** from email or chat with [Deal Capture](https://docs.mercora.io/workflows/deal-capture.md).

## Pair contracts into a deal

1. Open a standalone contract and click **Pair into deal**.
2. Search contracts and deals. Matches that share a deal reference are marked **deal ref match**.
3. Pick a standalone contract on the other side to create a new deal, or an existing deal to join it.

You can also link contracts with **New deal** on the Trades page (see [Create a deal from contracts](https://docs.mercora.io/trades/overview.md#create-a-deal-from-contracts)) or **Add leg** on a trade's Overview tab.

To take a contract out of a deal, use **Unpair from deal** on the contract or **Detach from deal** on the leg; it stays as a standalone record. **Delete contract** is permanent.

Amendments are reviewed in the Inbox, where you choose **Apply amendment** or **Keep current** for each change.

## Draft contracts from your templates

Mercora can draft a contract from your own Word template, filled with the contract's data. Admins upload the templates, tagged by side, entity, Incoterm and commodity, under [Contract templates](https://docs.mercora.io/admin/workspace-settings.md#contract-templates).

1. In the [Copilot](https://docs.mercora.io/copilot/overview.md), ask for the contract, for example "Draft the sales contract for P-2026-118".
2. Confirm the template. The Copilot picks the one that fits the contract's side, entity, Incoterm and commodity, or asks you when several fit, none fits or it isn't clear.
3. Check the draft. It's filled only from the contract's data and what you said in the conversation. Anything it can't confirm is left as a highlighted placeholder.
4. Download it, 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 carry commercial and legal weight.

## 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.


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