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Contracts

Creating Your First Contract

Written By Timothy Murenzi

Every contract starts from the New contract button at the top right of the Contracts page. You have three ways to begin.

The New contract dialog: Build from scratch, a saved template, and Upload PDF

Option

Use it when

Build from scratch

You want to stack sections (scope of work, payment terms, legal terms…) and write the text inside Workroom.

A saved template (marked SAVED, with its section count)

You've sent this kind of contract before. Every contract your studio has saved as a template appears here.

Upload PDF

The agreement already exists as a PDF, for example drafted by your lawyer. You then drop signature, initials, date, text and checkbox fields onto it.

Workroom doesn't come with built-in Simple, NDA or MSA templates. The list only shows templates your studio has saved. To get a first draft without a template, use Draft with AI (Walter) once the contract is open — see Saved Templates & Walter.

Step by step

  1. Go to Contracts and click + New contract.

  2. Choose Build from scratch, a saved template, or Upload PDF (then pick the file).

  3. In Contract details, enter a Contract name (for example 2026 Design Services Agreement).

  4. Optionally pick a Client. Leave it on — no client (send to a prospect) — if the person isn't in Workroom yet.

  5. Optionally pick a Project. Linking one fills in merge fields like the project name.

  6. Click Create contract. The editor opens and the contract is saved as a Draft.

Contract details with name, optional client and optional project

Use the ← arrow at the top left of the dialog to go back and pick a different starting point.

Sending to a prospect

If you leave Client empty, you can still add the prospect as a signer by name and email. Turn on Auto-create the client (and, if you like, Auto-create the project) in Settings → Studio → Contracts. When the contract is fully signed, Workroom then creates the contact and project for you. See Settings & Automation.

What you'll see next

A new contract built from scratch opens with an empty page and an Add your first component prompt. Continue with The Contract Editor.

A new, empty contract in the editor with the page rail, Navigator, field palette and header buttons highlighted

Troubleshooting

  • My template isn't in the list. Only templates saved as a whole contract appear here. Section templates are added from inside the editor. Check Settings → Studio → Contracts → Contract templates.

  • Upload PDF fails. Make sure the file is a regular PDF without a password. Scanned PDFs sometimes need re-saving (for example "Save as optimized PDF") first.

  • The client I want isn't in the dropdown. Add them under Contacts first, or send to them as a prospect.

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