Apropos Help Center
Proposals & Contracts

Customize your contract template with merge fields

Apropos generates a contract automatically from an accepted proposal, and you control what that contract contains by editing your default contract template with merge fields. Merge fields are placeholders like {{client_name}} that fill in with each proposal's data when the contract is generated.

How contracts are generated

A contract is created only when a client accepts a proposal with the Generate contract on acceptance setting turned on (it is on by default). If it is off, the client can only view and print the accepted proposal, and no contract is created.

On acceptance, Apropos assembles the contract from your organization's saved Default contract template (or a built-in default if you haven't saved one) and fills it with the accepted proposal's selected services, payment terms, and terms and conditions. The client then signs from the same link, without needing an account. When no countersignature is required, the contract is fully executed as soon as the client signs; when it is required, the owner countersigns afterward.

Merge fields you can use

Each merge field pulls a specific value from the proposal, your business profile, or the signing event. The eight fields below appear in the Merge fields — click to insert picker.

Merge field

What it fills in

{{client_name}}

The proposal's client name.

{{business_name}}

Your business profile name (falls back to the organization name).

{{services_section}}

The accepted proposal's selected services, including their scope. Individual prices are omitted when the proposal hides line-item prices.

{{contract_rules_section}}

The selected services' contract rules.

{{payment_terms}}

The proposal's payment schedule.

{{terms_and_conditions}}

The proposal's terms and conditions.

{{total_amount}}

The selected services' total, formatted in US dollars.

{{signed_date}}

The date the client (or owner) signs. This stays as a placeholder until someone signs.

{{client_company}} is also supported and fills in the client's company name, but it is not shown in the picker — you can type it manually if you want it.

Edit the default contract template

Only admins can change the template. The template is saved automatically as you type, so you don't need to click a save button.

  1. Open Settings and select the Contracts tab.

  2. In the Default contract template editor, place your cursor where you want a value to appear.

  3. Under Merge fields — click to insert, click a field such as {{client_name}}. Apropos inserts the placeholder at your cursor.

  4. Add or rearrange the surrounding text and placeholders as needed. The editor shows Saving... while your changes are written.

You can also type or paste a merge field directly, including {{client_company}}. Any unsupported token is left in the template as written.

The template is a default, not a per-proposal contract. It applies to every contract generated from an accepted proposal. To vary content by job, adjust the proposal's own payment schedule, terms, and line items before it is accepted.

Require your own countersignature

By default a contract is fully executed as soon as the client signs. To require your own signature after the client signs, turn on Require countersignature in the same Contracts settings tab.

With countersignature on, the client's signature moves the proposal to Awaiting countersignature, and you complete it from the project view with Counter-Sign Contract. With it off, the client's signature makes the contract fully executed immediately.

The default contract wording is not legal advice. Apropos doesn't provide legal counsel, so review any contract you send with your own attorney before using it.

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