Create a contract for a recently hired employee using Zoho Contracts

Topics covered in this article

This article explains how to create a contract for a new employee, using an existing template in Zoho Contracts. 

Who is this article for?

This article is for HR department members.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you:

1. Have access to Zoho Contracts module

Create a new contract

After accessing Zoho Contracts, click the "Contracts" module and then the "New contract" button:

Then, select the type of contract you want to use. A "type of contract" is a template that was previously created and contains the main information required. Zoho Contracts will, later, let you add the specific information of the employee:

Now, fill all the information:

1. Title: this allows you to name the contract to make it easy to identify it later. Write an intuitive name
   
2. Requester name and department: write the name of the company's person that's requesting the creation of the contract
   
3. Counterparty name and primary contract: this is the name of the new employee and their contact information
   
4. Contract term: select if the contract has a duration or if it's an indefinite contract
   
5. Contract effective date and contract end date: allows you to specify when the contract is going to start and, if the termination date in case you selected the "definite" option. For the starting date, you can select a specific date or you can choose that the contract starts as soon as it's signed
   
6. Termination notice period: allows you to specify how many days in advance an employee needs to notify the company that they are leaving the job
   
7. Is contract renewable?: for definite contracts, this option allows you to define if the contract can be renewed 
   

Bear in mind that you can create new counterparties from this form or, if needed, you can manage them from the "Counterparties" module:

Once you have entered the information, press the "Save and continue" button on the lower right side of the screen and wait for the contract to load.

Adding contracts specific information

After the contract loads, the contract draft is shown:

Click the three lines to the left of the contract to access the main menu:

From here, you can modify several things related to the contract's format [1]:  font type, size, color, paragraph alignment, insert lists, etc. You can also insert images, tables, drawings, links, etc. from the "Insert" menu [2], add fields from the "Fields" menu [3], change the design [4] or page setup [5]. This is based on Zoho Writer, so make sure to check the related video to get more information on how to use Writer's controls for editing documents.

When preparing the contract, there are two important activities you have to execute: a) review the contracts clauses and, b) fill the specific information. 

a. Review contracts clauses: to do this, click the "Clauses" menu to the left of the contract. Here, you will find all the clauses and their alternatives. These clauses were defined when the contract type was created from the configuration option of Zoho Contracts. Make sure to choose the ones that you need to have in the contract. For example, the company could have a clause named "Statement of work". Since one contract type can be used as the base to create contracts for different possitions, this clause could have an "alternative", which basically is a variation of the clause. In this example, we have two alternative clauses: one for the "IT manager" position, and one for the "Brand manager" position:

As soon as you choose one of them, the text in the contract is going to change accordingly. This makes it easier to create contracts for different positions in the company, without the need of having a different contract template for each position.

b. Fill all required information: in every contract, there is specific information that needs to be filled up when the contract is being created. This could include information like the name of the counterparty, their ID number, address, date of birth, etc. In Zoho Contracts, you can easily identify these fields because they are highlighted with a soft blue background. To complete the information, click on one of these fields and, to the left, enter de required information:

In this example, we filled up the ID Number. Now, every time the ID Number is required within the document, Zoho Contracts is going to put this number. This is helpful in cases in which the same piece of information (for example, the name of the new employee) repeats several times along the contract: you write the information once, and the software includes it everywhere it's needed. Remember to check that all this fields are specified or you'll get a warning message indicating that there are still missing fields:

Once the contract is completed, click the "Draft complete" button on the upper right side of the screen:

Now that the draft is completed, you can send it to the counterparty. Click the "Send for negotiation" button:

Now, select the person that is going to receive the contract. You can always add more negotiators to participate in this process. Once done, press the "Send" button to confirm the information:

Now, the status of the contract changes to "In-negotiation-Review pending":

Additional resources

Check the Zoho Contracts introduction video for more information:

Next steps

Check the "Sign a contract using Zoho Contracts" for more information on the signing process. This article explains the next steps after the creation of the contract.

Check the "Create a contract type using Zoho Contracts" for more information on how to create "contract types", which are the base that can be used to create new contracts.

• Related Articles

• Create a contract type using Zoho Contracts

  Topics covered in this article This article explains how to create a contract type using Zoho Contracts. A contract type is a template that, after configured once, can be used to create contracts for new employees without the need of writing the ...

• Sign a contract using Zoho Contracts

  Topics covered in this article This article explains the process of signing a digital contract Zoho Contracts. Who is this article for? This article is for HR or IT employees. Prerequisites Before proceeding, ensure you: For HR: have access to the ...

• Introduction to Zoho Connect

  Topics covered in this article This article is an introduction to Zoho Connect. Who is this article for? Everyone within the organization. Prerequisites Before proceeding, ensure you: Have access in your computer or phone, to Zoho Connect About Zoho ...

• Apply for a leave or time off using Zoho People

  Topics covered in this article This article covers how to register time off using Zoho People. This helps an employee request time off when needed. Who is this article for? All employees. Prerequisites Before proceeding, ensure you: Have access to ...

• Manage or create webforms for a job opening in Zoho Recruit

  Topics covered in this article Web forms are the best way of gathering specific information about a candidate. This article explains how to manage and create web forms. Who is this article for? This article is for HR department members. Prerequisites ...