Understanding contract task types
To create new tasks and assign them to others you must be the contract draft creator, have at least “View and comment on document” shared access for drafts, or have “Can view” shared access for pending, rejected, or signed contracts. You must have user permissions to “Manage all contracts” enabled in order to add tasks to any of your company contracts.
You can choose from 9 different obligation task types depending on where the document is in its lifecycle. Use the following guide to determine which task type best fits your workflow:
Pre-signature tasks
These tasks are generally used while the contract is still in drafting or negotiation stages.
Approval task: A task used to officially clear a contract draft for the next stage. In Contractbook, the approval task’s details module uniquely includes a setting to block the draft from being sent for signatures until the assignees formally approve it. Enable the Block document from signing until the task is marked as done to utilize this feature in drafts’ approvals.
Review task: A task request for an internal company user or an external collaborator to read through the contract draft, verify its contents, and leave comments or suggested edits if necessary.
Post-signature execution tasks
Once a contract is signed, use these task types to track and enforce the agreed-upon terms.
Obligation reminder: A legally binding requirement or duty that a party must fulfill as stipulated by the contract terms (e.g., making a scheduled payment or delivering goods).
Milestone reminder: A significant, scheduled event or phase in a contract’s lifecycle that often triggers a subsequent action, such as a phase completion that releases project funds.
Update task: A task to revise, amend, or refresh specific clauses or data fields within a contract due to changing circumstances or new agreements.
End-of-lifecycle tasks
Use these tasks to manage deadlines and prevent unwanted auto-renewals.
Renewal task: A scheduled reminder to review, negotiate, or extend an active contract before its current term concludes, preventing accidental lapses.
Expiration reminder: A final alert indicating that a contract’s active term is coming to a hard end on a specific date, after which its terms are no longer legally binding.
General and flexible tasks
These task types can be used at any point during the contract lifecycle.
Inform task: A passive notification designed to keep specific stakeholders updated about a contract’s status or execution.
Custom task: A flexible task type that allows you to name and define unique, organization-specific actions that fall outside standard contract task types.
Helpful guides: