A contract template is an agreement you can reuse for separate signature requests. Create the wording and signing layout once, then choose the people who will sign each time you send it.
Choose a starting point
Open Grow → Contracts and select Add contract template under Contract types. Choose one of three sources:
- Ready-made contract: adapt a starting point from the contract library.
- Your own PDF: use an agreement you have already prepared outside Cedros.
- Blank draft: write the agreement in Cedros.
If you cannot create a template, check your contract permissions and storage connection first. See Setting up contracts for your business.
Start from a ready-made contract
- Select Ready-made contract.
- In the Starter contract library, read the description, category, and review level for the agreement you want to use.
- Select Use template.
- Read the notice and select I understand to create your editable copy.
- Review the copy in Edit template. Under Readiness, give it a useful Template name, such as “Consulting agreement — standard terms,” and select Save name.
The library provides starting wording. Review and adapt the whole agreement for your business, and arrange the legal review described in the notice before using it.
If Complete document details appears, fill in the relevant blanks and select Apply filled details. Then review the wording in Contract document. Filling the boxes alone does not apply or save the changes.
Details you apply become part of the reusable wording. Check names, amounts, dates, and other information that may vary between clients. Drafting markers such as {{Company name}} must be completed before the template is ready; they are not fields the recipient fills in while signing.
Select Save and generate PDF when you want to save the wording and produce its signing document. You can save unfinished wording as a draft and return to it later.
Upload your own PDF
- Select Your own PDF.
- Enter a Template name, or leave it blank to use the file name.
- Select Choose a PDF and choose the agreement from your computer.
- Select Upload PDF and wait for the upload to finish.
- Back in Contract types, select the new template's name to open its editor.
Under Signing PDF, check the file name and page count. You will place signer fields on this document in Signers and fields.
An uploaded PDF keeps its existing wording and layout. Cedros does not turn it into editable text in the contract editor. To revise the wording, edit the original document outside Cedros, export a new PDF, and create a template for that version.
Write a blank draft
- Select Blank draft.
- Enter a Template name and select Create draft.
- Back in Contract types, select the new template's name.
- Write or paste the agreement into Contract document.
- Select Save and generate PDF. Check that the generated document appears under Signing PDF.
Use a name that lets teammates distinguish this agreement from similar versions. If you rename it in the editor, select Save name separately from saving the document wording.
Save and prepare the template for reuse
The Readiness checklist shows what remains before the template can be sent. Use Fix beside an item to move to the relevant section.
- Finish and save the wording, including any remaining document details.
- Generate the latest PDF, or attach a readable PDF of your own.
- In Signers and fields, define the signer roles, give every signer at least one field, and place the fields on the document. Select Save template setup.
- Expand Delivery defaults to review the settings for new requests. If you change them, select Save delivery settings.
The editor has separate save actions for the name, document, signing setup, and delivery settings. Save each part you changed before leaving. If the unsaved-changes warning appears, stay in the editor to save anything you want to keep.
Once the saved template is complete, select Mark ready. If something is still missing, Cedros takes you to the first open step. Confirm that the template shows Ready in Contract types.
You can now select it in Send contract and enter the people who should fill its signer roles. Creating or marking a template Ready does not send a request.
Make a separate version of an existing template
In Contract types, open the template's actions menu and select Clone to new draft. Rename the copy and select Save name, then review its document, roles, field placements, and delivery settings before making it Ready.
Use a clone to reuse the existing PDF and adjust its signing setup. After the first request, the original template's document and fields are locked to protect existing signing links.
For wording changes to an agreement written in Cedros, start a new Blank draft and copy the wording into it. This avoids a PDF-generation problem with copied templates. Generate its PDF, then add and save its signer fields again. For wording changes to an uploaded PDF, revise the original file and upload it as a new template.
After changing the wording and generating a new PDF, recheck every field placement. Page breaks and text positions may have moved. Saving revised wording returns the template to Draft, so finish your checks and mark it Ready again before sending.
If the template will not save or become Ready
- The upload fails: check that you selected a readable PDF within your site's upload limit, then check the storage connection.
- Document details remain unfinished: apply the filled details, replace any remaining drafting markers, and select Save and generate PDF.
- PDF generation reports that existing fields are on missing pages: move or remove those placements, save the signing setup, then generate the PDF again.
- The document or fields are locked: follow the separate-version steps above. Clone to reuse the PDF, or create a new template for revised wording.
- A save reports an error: keep the editor open, retain your unsaved wording, and resolve the error before leaving. Do not assume the latest changes were saved.
For help, include the template name, the step that failed, and the exact error. See Getting help and reporting a problem.