Contract Creation and E-Signature

The control flow a finance team actually needs.

The ERP surface involved.

Template library with variable substitution from quote and account fields; full version history and redline tracking between drafts; e-signature integration with audit certificate; configurable reminder schedule for unsigned contracts; executed contract stored immutably with SHA-256 checksum; contract linked to account, opportunity, and resulting subscription; start/end dates and auto-renewal clause parsed and stored as structured fields; contract search by account, status, and renewal date; alert 90/60/30 days before renewal

US and UK teams have different compliance hooks, but the same control problem.

US teams usually care about clean evidence for audit support, vendor records, payment controls, tax reporting, and management review. UK teams usually care about VAT-ready records, approval evidence, digital-record discipline, and traceable postings. The country-specific details differ, but the operating pattern is the same: the ERP needs controlled records, explicit ownership, defensible state changes, and evidence that survives beyond the person who completed the task.

The control matrix.

Audit evidence is a chain, not a folder.

contract { id: string (ctr_*), external_id: string, account_id: string, opportunity_id: string, template_id: string, status: enum, start_date: date, end_date: date, auto_renewal: bool, total_value_minor: int64, currency_code: char(3), pdf_checksum: string, esignature_certificate_url: string, version: int };
contract_version { id, contract_id, diff_summary, created_at, created_by };
(reference, product may differ).

POST /v1/contracts { external_id, opportunity_id, template_id, commercial_terms } -> 201 { id, status };
POST /v1/contracts/{id}/send-for-signature -> 200 { esignature_url };
GET /v1/contracts/{id}/signature-status -> 200 { status, signatories: [] };
GET /v1/contracts ?renewal_before=date;
emits contract.executed, contract.renewal_alert events;
idempotent via external_id.

DRAFT -> UNDER_REVIEW -> SENT -> PENDING_SIGNATURE -> EXECUTED | EXPIRED;
terminal EXECUTED, EXPIRED, TERMINATED;
guard: EXECUTED requires all signatories signed;
EXECUTED stores immutable PDF with checksum;
renewal alerts fire at 90/60/30 days before end_date.

The useful version of this workflow is not only fast. It is inspectable. A controller, auditor, or operator should be able to move from source event to system record to state transition to final business outcome without guessing.

Implementation contracts.

`contract` { id: string (ctr_*), external_id: string, account_id: string, opportunity_id: string, template_id: string, status: enum, start_date: date, end_date: date, auto_renewal: bool, total_value_minor: int64, currency_code: char(3), pdf_checksum: string, esignature_certificate_url: string, version: int }; `contract_version` { id, contract_id, diff_summary, created_at, created_by }; (reference, product may differ).

`POST /v1/contracts` { external_id, opportunity_id, template_id, commercial_terms } -> 201 { id, status }; `POST /v1/contracts/{id}/send-for-signature` -> 200 { esignature_url }; `GET /v1/contracts/{id}/signature-status` -> 200 { status, signatories: [] }; `GET /v1/contracts` ?renewal_before=date; emits `contract.executed`, `contract.renewal_alert` events; idempotent via `external_id`.

`DRAFT -> UNDER_REVIEW -> SENT -> PENDING_SIGNATURE -> EXECUTED | EXPIRED`; terminal `EXECUTED`, `EXPIRED`, `TERMINATED`; guard: EXECUTED requires all signatories signed; EXECUTED stores immutable PDF with checksum; renewal alerts fire at 90/60/30 days before end_date.