Abort, Archive, Terminate, and Delete

You finished a deal and want it off your dashboard, but is that Archive or Terminate? Pick wrong and you either hide a contract from reports you still need, or remove a record you meant to keep.

Four actions close a contract out: Abort, Archive, Terminate, and Delete. They differ on two things that matter: whether the work history is kept, and whether the action can be undone.

The actions live in the more-actions menu on the contract record, the three-dots (⋮) icon button next to the main contract actions. Which ones appear depends on the contract’s current status. An executed contract can be terminated; a draft cannot.

• Work started, then abandoned → Abort (reversible)
• Completed its lifecycle, clear the dashboard → Archive (reversible)
• Executed contract ended early → Terminate (not reversible)
• Created by mistake, no real work done → Delete (not reversible)

Work was done, the contract was abandoned.

Use Abort when negotiation started but the parties decided not to proceed, the deal fell through, or you switched to the counterparty’s template after starting with your own.

• Disappears from the main list, but stays searchable through the Aborted status filter.
• Timeline and work history are preserved for the audit trail.
• Excluded from reports and analytics.
• Cannot be edited while aborted.
• Reversible: Restore Contract returns it to active status.

Available from Draft, In Negotiation, Pending Approval, and Pending Signature. If you abort because the work moved to a replacement contract, link the two with a contract relationship so the connection is clear.

Reduce dashboard clutter, keep full functionality.

Archive is the everyday cleanup tool. Use it when a contract has reached its natural end of term, or is no longer relevant to daily work but still needs to be on file.

• Disappears from the main list unless the Show Archived filter is on.
• Stays fully functional; you can still open, update, and manage it.
• Counted in reports, analytics, and exports.
• Reversible: Unarchive at any time.

Available from any status, with no restrictions. Because archived contracts still count in reports, many teams terminate a contract first and then archive it, keeping the termination record while clearing the active view.

Formally end an executed contract early.

Terminate is for executed contracts that end before their term is up, by mutual agreement, breach, or other circumstances that end the relationship. It records a real legal status change, so the system asks you to document it.

• Prompts for a justification (up to 256 characters) and lets you attach up to five supporting files.
• The justification, date, and files are saved as part of the contract record.
• Stays searchable, but is excluded from reports by default.
• Cannot be edited, and cannot be undone.
• Available only from Executed status.

Permanent removal, for genuine mistakes only.

Use Delete sparingly: contracts created by accident, duplicates, or test records with no meaningful work on them.

• Removed from every view, report, and export.
• Cannot be searched, referenced, or restored.
• This is the only action that cannot be undone.

If any real work was done on the contract, abort it instead so the record and its history survive.

*Unless the Show Archived filter is applied.

The one distinction to remember: archived contracts still count in volume reports, while aborted and terminated contracts drop out. To pull each group back into view, use the Show Archived filter for archived contracts, or the status filter (Aborted / Terminated) for the others.

• Contracts overview
• Contract Status Reference for what each status means and how contracts move between them
• Contract Relationships to link an aborted original to its replacement
• Data Exports for how archived and aborted contracts appear in exports