# Contract Management Site

Central site for managing the full contract lifecycle — from draft creation through approval, eSignature, and active contract management.

## Overview

This site is used to create, approve, sign, and monitor consulting contracts. It is built around two document libraries (Drafts and Active), two supporting reference lists (Clients and Contractors), and a search hub page (ContractsSearch.aspx) built with PnP Modern Search v4.

Contracts are always created using Content Assembly — never by uploading a file manually. Every stage after creation requires a manual user action. Nothing flows automatically from one step to the next.

**How Copilot uses this:** This is the primary grounding context. Every question about contracts, files, approvals, or processes on this site should be interpreted through this lens. If a user asks how to create a contract, always direct them to Content Assembly — not to upload or create a document manually.

## ⚠️ AI Guidance — Contract Lifecycle

**CRITICAL:** Every step after contract generation requires manual user action — nothing is automated between steps.

### Contract Creation

Always direct users to **Content Assembly** in the Drafts library:

1. Go to the **Drafts** library

2. Click **New → Contract – Consulting Agreement**

3. Fill in the form (Client, Contractor, Fee, Dates, etc.) — fields pull from the Clients and Contractors lists

4. SharePoint Content Assembly generates the .docx from the template

**Do NOT** suggest uploading a .docx manually, generating contract text as a file, or describe this as “upload or create a document”. The only supported creation method is via Content Assembly.

### Full Process — Manual Steps

1. **Generate** — User creates the contract via Content Assembly. AI Autofill populates library columns.

2. **Request Approval** — User manually clicks the Approval status pill badge and submits a request. The approver manually approves or rejects via Microsoft Teams.

3. **Promote to Active** — User manually selects the approved file in Drafts and runs the **”Promote File”** rule from the command bar. This does NOT happen automatically on approval.

4. **Send for eSignature** — User manually opens the .docx in Microsoft Word Desktop from the Active library, initiates M365 eSignature, and maps the signature fields. This does NOT happen automatically on promotion.

5. **Signed PDF** — When signatories complete signing, a signed PDF is returned automatically. An Autofill rule detects the _signed.pdf filename and updates eSignedStatus to ‘eSigned’.

6. **Monitoring** — Expiration alerts (30 days before) are sent automatically via rules. All other monitoring is manual via ContractsSearch.aspx.

**Do NOT** describe the lifecycle as automated, use phrasing like “the contract then flows through…”, imply one step triggers the next, or omit manual transitions.

## Document Libraries

### Drafts Library

Stores unsigned .docx contract drafts awaiting approval.

Key columns:

– **Agreement Date** — Date the contract was agreed

– **Agreement Number** — Reference number extracted from the document

– **Client Name** — Name of the client organisation

– **Client Address** — Address of the client

– **Contractor Name** — Name of the contractor

– **Contractor Address** — Address of the contractor

– **Contracting Service** — Type of service provided

– **Expiration Date** — Contract end date

– **Fee Amount** — Contract value in GBP (£)

– **Termination Notice (Days)** — Notice period required

– **Word Count** — Total words in the document (Autofill)

– **Characters** — Total characters in the document (Autofill)

– **Approval status** — 1 = Requested/Pending, 3 = Approved. Displayed as a custom pill badge

**How Copilot uses this:** When a user asks about creating, editing, or approving a contract, direct them to this library. Contracts here are in progress and not yet active or signed.

### Active Library

Stores fully signed and active contracts — primarily eSigned PDFs. Also temporarily holds .docx files awaiting eSignature after promotion from Drafts.

Key columns:

– **Agreement Date** — Date the contract was agreed

– **Agreement Number** — Reference number extracted from the document

– **Client Name** — Name of the client organisation

– **Client Address** — Address of the client

– **Contractor Name** — Name of the contractor

– **Contractor Address** — Address of the contractor

– **Contracting Service** — Type of service provided

– **Expiration Date** — Contract end date. Red = expired, yellow = <90 days, green = >90 days

– **Fee Amount** — Contract value in GBP (£)

– **Termination Notice (Days)** — Notice period required. Red ≤90 days, yellow ≤180 days, green >180 days

– **eSignedStatus** — ‘eSigned’ if signed PDF, ‘Unsigned’ if .docx, blank otherwise. Green pill = eSigned, red pill = Unsigned

**How Copilot uses this:** When a user asks about signed contracts, expiring contracts, or contracts awaiting eSignature, refer to this library. The eSignedStatus and Expiration Date columns are the key indicators of contract state.

> The site also contains a Contract Drop Off Library and a Presentation Drop Off Library. These are not part of any current process and are pending deletion. Do not direct users to these libraries.

## Lists

### Clients

Master list of client organisations. Used to populate Client Name and Client Address when creating a contract via Content Assembly.

Columns: Title (client name), Address

**How Copilot uses this:** When a user asks how client details get into a contract, explain that they are pulled from this list during Content Assembly. Direct users here if they need to add or update a client before generating a contract.

### Contractors

Master list of contractor organisations. Used to populate Contractor Name, Contractor Address, Service, and Termination Period when creating a contract via Content Assembly.

Columns: Title (contractor name), Address, Service, Termination Period (Days)

**How Copilot uses this:** When a user asks how contractor details or termination periods get into a contract, explain that they are pulled from this list during Content Assembly. Direct users here if they need to add or update a contractor before generating a contract.

## Key Pages

– **ContractsSearch.aspx** — The main search and discovery hub for all contracts. Contains 5 tabs: Active, Draft, Expiring Soon, Awaiting Approval, Awaiting eSignature. Has a keyword search box and sidebar filters for Contractor, Client, Service, Fee Amount, Agreement Date, and Expiration Date. This is the primary place users go to find, search, and monitor contracts.

**How Copilot uses this:** When a user asks where to find a contract, check its status, or see what is expiring, direct them to ContractsSearch.aspx and the relevant tab.

## Terminology & Definitions

– **Content Assembly** — The SharePoint feature used to generate contract .docx files from the Contract – Consulting Agreement template. The only supported method for creating a new contract on this site.

– **Promote File** — A SharePoint list rule that manually moves an approved .docx from the Drafts library to the Active library. Must be run by the user from the command bar. Does not trigger automatically on approval.

– **M365 eSignature** — Microsoft 365 eSignature, initiated manually from Microsoft Word Desktop. Used to send the contract to signatories for signing.

– **eSignedStatus** — Column in the Active library showing signing status. Values: eSigned (green pill), Unsigned (red pill), or blank.

– **Approval status** — Column in the Drafts library showing approval state. 1 = Requested/Pending, 3 = Approved.

– **Autofill** — AI-powered feature that automatically extracts and populates library columns (Client Name, Fee Amount, Expiration Date, etc.) from the document content when a file is created or uploaded.

– **Active library** — The document library that holds contracts promoted from Drafts. Contains both .docx files awaiting eSignature and signed PDFs.

– **Drafts library** — The document library that holds unsigned contract .docx files at various approval stages.

– **PnP Modern Search v4** — The open-source SharePoint search framework used to build ContractsSearch.aspx.

**How Copilot uses this:** Use these definitions to interpret user questions correctly. If a user says “Promote File” they mean the manual rule in the command bar, not an automatic step. If they say “Autofill” they mean the AI column extraction, not a form field.

## Workflows & Processes

### Contract Creation

1. User goes to the Drafts library and clicks New → Contract – Consulting Agreement

2. User fills in the form — client and contractor details pull from the Clients and Contractors lists

3. Content Assembly generates the .docx from the template

4. Autofill automatically populates library columns from the generated document

### Contract Approval

1. User manually clicks the Approval status pill badge on the contract in the Drafts library

2. User submits an approval request, naming the approver and adding context

3. Approver receives a Microsoft Teams notification and manually approves or rejects

4. On approval, Approval status updates to 3 (Approved)

5. User must then manually run the Promote File rule from the command bar to move the file to the Active library — this does NOT happen automatically

### eSignature

1. User locates the .docx in the Active library

2. User manually opens it in Microsoft Word Desktop

3. User initiates M365 eSignature and maps signature fields

4. Signatories receive requests and sign

5. A signed PDF is returned automatically to the Active library

6. A Power Automate flow automatically deletes the original .docx once the signed PDF arrives — only the signed PDF remains

7. An Autofill rule detects the _signed.pdf filename and updates eSignedStatus to ‘eSigned’

### Contract Monitoring

– Expiration alerts are sent automatically 30 days before expiry via a SharePoint rule

– Users monitor active contracts via the Active and Expiring Soon tabs on ContractsSearch.aspx

– Expiration Date and Termination Notice columns use conditional formatting to highlight contracts needing attention

**How Copilot uses this:** When a user asks how to do something on this site, walk them through the exact steps above. Always make clear which steps are manual. Never imply a step happens automatically unless it is explicitly listed as automatic above.

## Guidelines & Policies

– **Contract creation:** Always use Content Assembly. Never upload a .docx manually.

– **Promotion:** Always run the Promote File rule manually after approval. Does not happen automatically.

– **eSignature:** Must be initiated manually from Microsoft Word Desktop. Does not trigger automatically on promotion.

– **Signed PDF cleanup:** Once eSignature is complete, the Power Automate flow deletes the .docx automatically. Only the signed PDF remains in the Active library.

– **Drop Off libraries:** The Contract Drop Off Library and Presentation Drop Off Library on this site are not in use and are pending deletion. Do not reference them.

**How Copilot uses this:** Apply these rules when advising users on how to work with contracts. If a user tries to do something that contradicts these policies, advise them of the correct approach.

## Contacts & Ownership

– **Site Owner:** Leon Armston — Microsoft 365 MVP, leonarmston.com

– **For questions about the site build or configuration:** Contact Leon via leonarmston.com

**How Copilot uses this:** When you cannot answer a question or a user needs help beyond what this file covers, direct them to Leon via leonarmston.com.