Contract Relationships

A master services agreement has three statements of work, one of which was amended last quarter. An NDA was signed before a vendor agreement, and a renewal replaced the original term. If these connections only exist in someone’s memory or a spreadsheet, anyone picking up the file has to reconstruct the picture from scratch.

Contract relationships let you link any two contracts in Pactly and label how they relate. You create the link once, from either contract, and pick the label that reads correctly from where you started. It then shows on both contracts: the side you started from shows the label you chose, and the linked contract shows the matching opposite label, so navigating from an amendment back to the original agreement (or from a parent to its children) is one click from either side.

Relationships fall into six directional pairs. The type dropdown lists both directions of each pair, so you can pick whichever label reads correctly from the contract you started on. Whichever you choose, the link is stored once and the linked contract shows the opposite label of the pair. is related to is the symmetric case: both sides show the same label.

The full dropdown lists all eleven labels (both directions of each pair, plus the single is related to). Starting from a master agreement, you can label the link is the parent of the work order directly, rather than opening the work order to say it is a child of the master. Either choice produces the same single link, shown with its opposite label on the other contract.

If a new document restates the entire agreement rather than modifying specific clauses, renews usually fits better than amends.

Step-through All steps

Step 1 of 2

1

Open the Relationships tab

Open the contract you want to link from. In the right sidebar, click the Relationships tab. Any existing linked contracts and form entries appear in a list.

2

Add and configure the relationship

Click Add Relationship. Choose the label from the dropdown that reads correctly from this contract (e.g., "renews", "amends", "is a child of", or the opposite direction like "is the parent of"). Search for the target contract by name, reference number, or party name. Click Create to save.

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The relationship shows in the Relationships tab of both contracts right away. The linked contract displays the opposite label: if you selected “amends” on Contract A, Contract B shows “is amended by.” It is a single link viewed from two sides, not a separate entry on each contract.

There is no limit on the number of relationships a contract can have, and you can link any combination of contract types (template, playbook, or external).

When a variation or termination agreement is executed (signed, uploaded as signed, or imported as executed), Pactly reads it, finds the contract it changes, and suggests the date it sets: the new expiration date for a variation, the termination date for a termination. Nothing changes until someone confirms.

• Review in Relationships. The executed agreement’s Relationships tab shows the suggested contract, the current and proposed date, and the clause that states it. Confirm adds the relationship and updates the date in one step; if the relationship already exists, the button reads Update date. Dismiss changes nothing, and Review again brings the suggestion back.
• The original says so. The changed property shows a pill: Suggested while the change waits, Amended once applied (Set by agreement when the property was empty), Confirmed when the agreement matches what was already recorded. Click it to see the previous and new value, the agreement and who applied it, and to Undo an applied change.
• Both timelines record it, with the previous value, the source and who confirmed it. A termination date is recorded as set; the contract stays Executed.
• When Pactly cannot tell which contract. It lists the candidates to choose from, or asks you to add the relationship yourself, and then offers the change.
• When you cannot open the original, the suggestion shows only its reference number. Ask an admin for access to confirm it.

Termination dates go into the property your company uses for them. An admin chooses it under Settings > Properties > Settings > Termination date.

When duplicate checking is enabled on a form, similar submissions can create an is a possible duplicate of relationship between their contracts. It appears on both contracts with a Needs review label and a System flag in the timeline. The flag explains the match; it does not mean the requests are definitely duplicates.

Review the evidence and open the linked contract to compare the requests. From either the timeline flag or the Relationships tab:

• Choose It is a duplicate to confirm the match. This records your decision; it does not merge, delete, or abort either contract.
• Choose Not a duplicate, select a reason, and save to dismiss the match. Dismissal applies only to this pair of contracts. Other matches involving either contract still need their own review.

Both contracts retain the decision in their timelines. The settled flag collapses and can be expanded to read its details. Review controls appear when you can view both contracts and manage relationships on at least one.

Automatic duplicate relationships are not available in the manual relationship picker and cannot be removed with the remove icon. Use the review actions to record the outcome.

To remove a manually added relationship, open the Relationships tab on either contract and click the remove icon next to the linked contract. Because it is one link, removing it from either side clears it from both.

Once relationships are in place, the Relationships tab becomes a navigation hub: each linked contract is listed with its relationship label and name, and clicking one opens it directly. During a review you can read an amendment, jump to the original agreement, check a related NDA, and come back, all without leaving the record or running a search.

• Master agreement with work orders. Link each work order with “is a child of” so the MSA lists its full scope; if a work order is later amended, link the amendment to the work order, not the MSA.
• Amendment or renewal chain. Link each amendment with “amends” or each new-term contract with “renews” to build a chain you can walk back to the agreement currently in force.
• Supporting documents and NDAs. Use “is added info for” to attach a schedule, SLA, or DPA to its main contract, and “is related to” to tie an NDA to the commercial agreement it protects.

• Link at creation time, while you still have the context. Waiting builds a backlog of unlinked contracts that is harder to reconcile later.
• Agree on type conventions with your team. Decide when to use parent/child versus amends (for example, whether DPAs are children of the MSA or amendments to it) and apply it the same way every time.
• Check existing links before adding one. A pair of contracts can only be linked once, so picking the wrong type and re-linking with the right one leaves clutter behind.

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