Understanding the Contract Status Pipeline

Every agreement in StretchContracts has a status that says exactly where it is in its lifecycle, and a type that says what kind of document it is. Getting these right keeps your dashboard accurate, your renewals visible, and your reports meaningful. This article is the full reference.

The status pipeline

Agreements move through nine statuses. You don't have to use every one, but this is the intended flow:

1. Draft — the agreement is being written or negotiated. This is the default for a new record. Nothing about it is considered final.
2. Internal review — the draft is complete and waiting on internal sign-off (legal, finance, or a manager). This status feeds the Pending approval dashboard metric.
3. Sent — the agreement has been sent to the counterparty (for example, out for signature).
4. Approved — internally approved and agreed, ready to become active or already fully signed.
5. Active — the agreement is in force. Active agreements with an upcoming renewal date drive the Renewals due metric.
6. Renewed — an active agreement that has been renewed for a further term.
7. Expired — the term has ended and the agreement was not renewed.
8. Cancelled — the agreement was terminated or abandoned before or during its term.
9. Archived — removed from your active lists. Archiving is a soft action: the record is retained (with an archived timestamp) but no longer counts toward active metrics or appears in default lists.

How status affects the rest of the app

• Dashboard metrics count agreements by status: Active counts active, Pending approval counts internal review.
• Renewal watchlists only include non-terminal agreements — those in draft, internal review, sent, approved, active, or renewed — that carry an end date or renewal date. Expired, cancelled, and archived agreements are excluded.
• Archiving is how you "delete" an agreement. Rather than destroying the record, StretchContracts sets it to archived and stamps the time, so you keep a defensible history.

Contract types

When you create an agreement you choose a type. The type sets the contract-key prefix and groups the agreement in lists and reports. Available types:

• msa — Master Services Agreement
• sow — Statement of Work
• retainer — ongoing retainer arrangement
• nda — Non-Disclosure Agreement
• proposal — a proposal or quote-style document
• contractor — independent contractor agreement
• service — general service agreement
• employment — employment or offer letter
• consulting — consulting/advisory agreement
• saas — SaaS subscription agreement
• vendor — vendor/supply agreement
• custom — anything that doesn't fit the above

If you enter a type the system doesn't recognize, it is stored as custom so nothing is lost.

Step-by-step: advancing an agreement

1. Open the agreement from the dashboard or your agreements list.
2. Change its status field to the next stage (for example, draft → internal review).
3. Save. The dashboard metrics and watchlists update immediately.
4. When the agreement reaches the end of its life, set it to expired, cancelled, or archived as appropriate.

A realistic example

A SaaS vendor agreement starts life as a draft while the terms are negotiated. Finance needs to bless the pricing, so it moves to internal review (now visible in Pending approval). Once finance approves and the vendor signs, it becomes active with an end date twelve months out and a renewal date 30 days before that. Eleven months later it appears in Renewals due; the team renews it, and it flips to renewed with fresh dates. If the team had instead decided to drop the vendor, they'd set it to cancelled and it would leave the renewal watchlist.

Tips

• *Use internal review deliberately. It's the only status that shows in Pending approval*, so it's your signal that something needs sign-off.
• Set terminal statuses promptly. Marking lapsed agreements expired or cancelled keeps your renewal watchlist clean and trustworthy.
• Archive instead of worrying about deletion. Archiving hides the record from active views while preserving it for audit.
• Keep dates current. Renewal and portfolio intelligence only work on non-terminal agreements that have an end or renewal date.

FAQ

What happens when I delete an agreement? It is archived — set to archived status with a timestamp — not permanently destroyed. This keeps a record for compliance.

Can I move backward in the pipeline? Yes. Status is a simple field you can set to any valid value, so you can move an agreement back to draft if negotiations reopen.

Why isn't my agreement showing in Renewals due? It must be approved or active with a renewal date inside the next 45 days. Check the status and the renewal date.