Create a contract draft from a Word document
Creating a contract draft from a docx. file accessible to your company requires specific permissions. To create a draft directly in a shared contract space, you must be the creator of the space or have permissions to "Manage contracts" within that specific space.
Choose the contract draft’s location
To understand where to create a contract draft from an external Word document to best fit your workflow, you can choose from several locations based on your contract management needs.
Navigate to private contract views, like the default My contracts view, to create new drafts for personal uses.
Navigate to a company-wide type of contract view, like the default All contracts view, to create drafts visible to the whole company. All company users with enabled user permissions to "Manage all contracts" in your company will be able to see, edit, and send the new draft for signatures.
Navigate to a specific contract space to create a draft directly within it. You must be the creator of the space or have the required “Manage contracts” shared permissions to the source contract space in order to use this option.
Import your Word document
Once you have decided on the location, you can quickly import Word document files to start drafting.
Click the Contracts tab from the main navigation menu at the top of the screen.
Select your preferred contract view or contract space from the left-hand sidebar.
Click the blue Create and sign button located in the top right corner. If you are inside an empty contract space, you can also use the blue “Create and sign” button located in the center of the page to start adding drafts in there.
Select Create a draft from Word from the dropdown menu to initiate the upload process.
Select the .docx file from your computer and click Open to start the conversion.
Edit and format your converted draft
After you upload the selected file, the system will process it and open a Contractbook-native draft. Some initial formatting may slightly differ from the Word version of the document, but the text content remains the same.
Modify the body of your contract draft using the formatting toolbar.
Click the green Review and sign button in the top right corner when you are ready to finalize the draft.
Clicking this button takes you to a dedicated review step where you can double-check contract details and set up the signing order. For full details on this next phase, read our guide on reviewing a contract and sending it for signature.
Frequently asked questions
Why should I convert my Word document to a Contractbook draft?
Converting your existing Word documents allows you to use the complete list of formatting features of the contract editor. This enables you to enrich the draft with data/metadata fields, assign those fields to collaborators or signees, share the draft with others, use it in automated workflows, utilize the contract insights to export data, run reports and organize your contract views based on data fields.
How do I prepare my file for upload?
First, ensure you save your contract as a .docx file. In Google Docs, click on File, select Download, and choose Microsoft Word (.docx).
Word-based comments are not compatible with Contractbook functionalities. For the best result, you must resolve or remove all open comments and tracked changes from your Word file before uploading it. Once your draft is successfully created, you can easily collaborate within Contractbook platform. Read our guide to learn more about using comments and suggestions in Contractbook.
Can I create a reusable template from a Word document?
Yes. If you want to create a reusable foundation for future contracts rather than a single-use draft, you can import your file directly into your template library. Read our complete guide on how to convert a Word file to a template.
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