> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://zenskar.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Contract reference This page is a field-level lookup. For task steps, see [how to create a contract](/docs/20240301/product-modules/contracts/how-to-guides/create-a-contract-using-the-zenskar-dashboard) and [how to manage contracts](/docs/20240301/product-modules/contracts/how-to-guides/manage-contracts). For the reasoning behind these fields, see [contract: concepts](/docs/20240301/product-modules/contracts/concepts/contract). ## Contract fields | Field | Required | Description | | ---------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Name | Yes | The contract's name. | | Description | No | Internal description of the contract. | | Customer | Yes | The customer this contract bills. | | Currency | No | Defaults to your organization's default currency. | | Contract period | Yes | Start date, and an optional end date. | | Start billing cycle on | No | The anchor date invoicing is calculated from. Defaults to the contract's start date if not set separately. | | Contract link | No | A URL to the underlying signed agreement, kept for reference. | | Custom attributes | Depends | Shown only if your organization has defined custom attributes for the Contracts module. | | Status | Yes | See [contract status](#contract-status) below. Defaults to draft. | ## Contract status | Status | Description | | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Draft | The contract exists but hasn't started billing. Can be edited or deleted freely. | | Active | The contract is live and generating invoices. | | Paused | Billing is temporarily suspended. | | Expired | The contract has ended. This is a final state. | | Disputed | The contract is flagged as disputed. This is a final state. | ### Allowed status transitions | From | Can move to | | ------ | --------------- | | Draft | Active | | Active | Expired | | Paused | Active, Expired | Expired and disputed contracts can't move to any other status. You can only set draft or active directly when creating or updating a contract, pausing and expiring each go through their own dedicated action. ## Renewal policies Renewal policy isn't a field on the contract form. Every contract is fixed to "don't renew automatically" at the individual level. It's only configurable as an organization-wide default, under **Settings → Contracts & Invoices**. | Policy | Available as organization default | | ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------- | | Don't renew automatically | Yes | | Renew with same contract terms | Yes | | Renew without customer-specific prices | Yes | | Renew without customer-specific prices, aligned to month end | Yes | See [contract renewal: concepts](/docs/20240301/product-modules/contracts/concepts/contract-renewal) for how this works. ## Phases | Field | Description | | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | Name | The phase's name. | | Start date, end date | The window this phase's terms are valid for. | | Type | Active, trial, or pause. Defaults to active. | A contract needs at least one phase before it can be activated. Creating a contract through the dashboard gives you one phase by default, spanning the contract's full period. ## Feature types Feature types available when you configure features on a phase: | Feature | What it does | | ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Discount | Reduces the phase's charges. Fixed or percentage-based. | | Tax | Applies a tax rate, either entered manually or resolved through Avalara. | | Commitment | Sets a minimum billing amount for the phase. | | Consumptions | Defines how usage draws down against a grant configured on one of the phase's products. | | Payment terms | Controls when invoices for this phase are due. | | Service fees | Adds a fixed or percentage-based fee on top of the phase's charges. | Free units and grants aren't available here, they're product-level features. See [products reference: feature types](/docs/20240301/product-modules/products/reference/products#feature-types). ## Plan fields | Field | Description | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | Name | The plan's name. | | Description | Internal description of the plan. | | Status | Draft or active. | | Phases, products, features | Same structure as a contract, but customer-agnostic. | ## Contract creation methods | Method | Description | | -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Dashboard | Build a contract manually, optionally starting from a plan. | | API | Create contracts programmatically. | | AI ingestion | Upload a signed contract document and let Zenskar extract fields into a draft contract. | | Connector sync | Sync contract data from a connected CRM, CPQ, or ERP. | ## Editing and concurrency Editing a contract is a straightforward save, there's no conflict detection if two people edit the same contract at once. The most recent save wins. ## Deletion | Status | Can be deleted? | | ---------------- | --------------------- | | Draft | Yes | | Any other status | No, expire it instead | Deleting a draft contract removes it. For a contract that's already gone active, expiring is the equivalent action, see [how to manage contracts](/docs/20240301/product-modules/contracts/how-to-guides/manage-contracts#expire-a-contract).