Abort, Archive, Terminate, and Delete

When a contract is no longer active, choosing the right action matters. Each option has different effects on your dashboard, reports, and audit trail. Picking the wrong one can hide contracts from analytics you need, or clutter reports with records you meant to remove.

• Contract abandoned after work started? Use Abort
• Contract completed its natural lifecycle? Use Archive
• Executed contract ended early? Use Terminate (then optionally Archive)
• Created by mistake, no meaningful work done? Use Delete (sparingly)

Work done, contract abandoned.

Use abort when contract negotiation started but the parties decided not to proceed. Perhaps the business deal fell through, you are switching to the counterparty’s template after starting with yours, or the relationship did not move forward after initial work was completed.

When you abort a contract:

• Contract disappears from your main dashboard view but remains searchable through filters
• Timeline and work history are preserved for audit trails
• Excluded from reports and analytics by default
• Can be restored to active status via Restore Contract if circumstances change
• Cannot be further updated while in aborted status

Available from: Draft, In Negotiation, Pending Approval, and Pending Signature statuses.

Example: You draft an NDA using your template, but the counterparty requests to use their standard form instead. You abort the first contract and create a new one with their template. Both represent work completed and business value delivered.

Tip: You can create a contract relationship between the aborted contract and the replacement to maintain a clear connection between related work.

Reduce dashboard clutter, keep full functionality.

Archive is your go-to tool for cleaning up the dashboard while keeping contracts fully accessible. Use this when contracts have reached their natural expiration date, when you want to reduce clutter from older executed agreements, or when contracts are no longer relevant to daily operations but you still need them for reference.

When you archive a contract:

• Contract disappears from the main dashboard view unless you apply the Show Archived filter
• Remains fully functional. You can update and manage archived contracts normally.
• Included in reports, analytics, and exports
• Easily reversible. Can be unarchived at any time.
• Can be searched and filtered in contract listing

Available from: any status. There are no restrictions on which contracts can be archived.

Formally end an executed contract early.

Termination is specifically for executed contracts that end before their natural expiration date. It reflects the legal reality that the contractual relationship between parties has been formally ended. This might happen when parties mutually agree to end the relationship early, when there is a breach, or when other circumstances make the agreement invalid.

When you terminate a contract:

• System prompts you to provide a termination reason and optionally upload supporting documents
• Contract remains searchable in contract listing but excluded from reports by default
• Termination reason, date, and supporting documents are preserved as part of the contract record
• Cannot be further updated and termination cannot be reversed
• Only contracts that have reached Executed status can be terminated

Important: Because termination reflects a legal status change, the system helps you document the termination properly with reasons and supporting materials. This ensures you have a complete record of how and why the contractual obligations ended.

Tip: Many organizations terminate contracts and then archive them to remove from active view while maintaining the termination record and keeping them accessible in reports.

Permanent removal for genuine mistakes only.

Delete should be used sparingly and only for genuine mistakes: contracts created by accident, duplicate entries that should not exist, test contracts in your production system, or situations where no meaningful work was performed.

When you delete a contract:

• Contract is permanently and irreversibly removed from your system
• Cannot be recovered, searched, referenced, or updated (it no longer exists)
• Completely excluded from all views, reports, and analytics
• This is the only action that cannot be undone

Warning: Delete is the only irreversible action. Use abort instead if any meaningful work was completed on the contract.

Understanding how each action affects your contract visibility is essential for workspace management and accurate reporting.

Your main contracts listing shows:

• Active contracts (Draft, In Negotiation, Pending Approval, Pending Signature, Executed)
• Excludes: Archived, Aborted, Terminated, and Deleted contracts

Included by default:

• Archived contracts (fully counted in reports and analytics)

Excluded by default:

• Aborted contracts
• Terminated contracts
• Deleted contracts (permanently removed)

This distinction is important: if you archive a contract, it continues to appear in volume reports and analytics. If you abort or terminate it, those numbers drop.

You can view contracts in each category using filters:

• Archived contracts: Toggle the Show Archived filter
• Aborted contracts: Use the status filter, select Aborted
• Terminated contracts: Use the status filter, select Terminated

Situation: Started with your NDA template, counterparty requests to use theirs instead.

Recommendation: Abort the original contract, create a new one with their template.

Why: Preserves record of work done on both, provides a clear audit trail, and can be restored if needed.

Situation: Three-year service agreement reaches end of term, not renewing.

Recommendation: Archive the contract.

Why: Clean dashboard, preserved in reports for historical analysis, easily accessible if needed.

Situation: Vendor relationship ends 18 months into a 3-year agreement.

Recommendation: Terminate then optionally Archive.

Why: Records formal termination with reason and documents. Archiving afterward keeps it in reports while cleaning up the active view.

Situation: Created the same contract twice by mistake, no work done on the duplicate.

Recommendation: Delete the unused duplicate.

Why: Removes the error completely without affecting any tracking or creating confusion.

• Regular cleanup: Review and archive naturally expired contracts monthly to maintain dashboard focus
• Add timeline notes: Always explain why you are changing a contract’s status so your team has context
• Team alignment: Ensure your team understands when to use each action for consistent workspace management
• Consider reporting needs: Archived contracts appear in reports while aborted and terminated contracts do not
• Link related work: When aborting contracts that lead to new agreements, use contract relationships to maintain connections between related work
• Think twice before deleting: When in doubt, use abort instead of delete to preserve work records and maintain reversibility

*Unless the Show Archived filter is applied.

• Contract Status Reference for details on each contract status
• Contract Relationships to link related contracts (e.g., aborted originals to replacements)
• Data Exports for how archived vs. aborted contracts appear in exports
• Track Contract Progress for monitoring active contracts