Contract Repository Setup Guide

How to organize vendor contracts for visibility, compliance, and renewal tracking (without relying on tribal knowledge).

Run the OperationCoreGuide60–90 min setup

Disclaimer: Educational only. Align storage, retention, and access controls with your legal and security policies.

What you'll accomplish

By implementing this guide, you will:

Create a single source of truth for executed agreements (and stop losing them in email)
Make renewals trackable: end dates, notice windows, and auto-renewal rules become visible
Tie contracts to compliance gating (COI, W-9, security, etc.) and invoice controls
Enable fast answers to "What are the terms?" without a scavenger hunt
Reduce risk from unsigned drafts, missing amendments, and wrong recipient notices

Who this is for

•Procurement / vendor management
•Finance/AP
•Ops leaders who own vendor performance
•Legal ops (or whoever stores executed agreements)

When to use this

Use this when:

•You don't know where the executed contract is (or which version is "real")
•Renewals are missed because key dates aren't captured
•Compliance documents (COIs, licenses) are scattered or outdated
•Invoice disputes happen because scope and pricing aren't easy to reference

The core principle (plain English)

A contract repository is not "a folder of PDFs."

It's two things working together:

1) A predictable file structure (so you can find the document)
2) A metadata index (so you can find the terms)

If you only do #1, renewals still get missed.
If you only do #2, the evidence still gets lost.

Quick start (60–90 minutes)

Start with your top 10 vendors by spend or risk:

Create the folder structure (Template A)

Store the executed agreement + amendments (one vendor at a time)

Create a contract index row per agreement (Template B)

Extract renewal and notice fields (Template C)

Link to compliance docs (COI, etc.) and assign owners

Minimum viable repository design

What "good" looks like for every contract

For every active contract, you can answer in under 60 seconds:

•Where is the executed agreement?
•When does it end? Is it auto-renew?
•What is the notice window and does notice need to be received?
•Who is the required recipient for notice?
•What pricing and escalators apply?
•What compliance documents are required and are they current?
•Who owns renewal decision-making?

Step-by-step sequence

1Pick a single "home" for contracts

Choose one system as the authoritative storage location:

• Shared drive with permissions (acceptable)
• Document management system (better)
• Contract lifecycle management tool (best, if you have it)

Rule: Contracts must not be stored as the "final" copy in email or Slack.

2Set folder structure (vendor-first is best)

Recommended structure:

Why vendor-first works: when people think "I need the contract," they think "vendor name," not "contract type."

3Standardize file naming (so search works)

Naming convention (simple + searchable):

Examples:

Use canonical vendor name (not invoice spelling variants). Put the effective date first (sorts chronologically).

4Create the Contract Index (metadata table)

The index is what makes renewals and compliance visible. Minimum fields:

• Vendor canonical name + vendor ID (if available)
• Contract type (MSA/SOW/Lease/etc.)
• Effective date, end date
• Auto-renew? (Y/N/Unknown)
• Notice window days
• Notice rule: sent-by vs received-by (Unknown allowed initially)
• Notice recipient + delivery method requirements
• Owner + backup owner
• Link to executed contract file

5Extract renewal + notice fields (do this immediately)

This is the highest ROI extraction because it prevents missed deadlines. Extract:

• Term start / term end
• Renewal structure (auto-renew? length of renewal term)
• Notice window (e.g., "60 days prior")
• Whether notice must be received (not just sent)
• Delivery method (email, mail, courier, portal)
• Required notice recipient address/entity

Beginner rule: if you're unsure, mark "Unknown" and create a task to confirm. Unknown is better than pretending.

6Tie compliance documents to the contract

Create a contract-to-compliance link so you can gate renewals and/or payment:

• COI (certificate of insurance)
• Licenses or permits
• Security questionnaires (if applicable)
• W-9 / tax forms (as needed)
• Safety documentation (as needed)

Rule: Compliance documents live in the vendor folder under and the index links to it.

7Tie invoice controls to the contract (optional but powerful)

If you want invoice discipline, store:

• Rate cards
• Approved pricing schedules
• Invoice requirements
• Change order requirements
• Pass-through documentation requirements

This reduces "we can't prove the rate" disputes.

8Governance: keep it clean

Monthly (15 minutes)

• Contracts expiring in next 120 days reviewed
• Renewal fields completeness check
• Compliance docs nearing expiration flagged

Quarterly (30 minutes)

• Top vendors: confirm correct executed version
• Ensure amendments and SOWs are linked
• Archive expired vendors to /Inactive_Expired

Templates (copy/paste)

Template A — Folder Setup Checklist

Vendor Folder Setup Checklist

- Vendor folder created under /Contracts/Active/[Vendor Canonical]
- Executed agreement saved in /01_Executed_Agreements
- Amendments saved in /02_Amendments_and_Addenda
- SOWs saved in /03_SOWs_and_Schedules
- Compliance docs saved in /04_Compliance_COI_Licenses
- Rate cards saved in /05_Pricing_and_Rate_Cards
- Notice correspondence saved in /06_Notice_and_Correspondence
- Contract Index updated with links + key fields

Template B — Contract Index (starter table)

Vendor (canonical)	Vendor ID	Parent entity	Contract name	Contract type	Effective date	End date	Auto-renew?	Renewal term	Notice window (days)	Notice must be received?	Delivery method	Notice recipient	Pricing summary	Escalator?	Compliance required?	Owner	Backup	Status	Executed doc link
—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Template C — Renewal and Notice Extraction Checklist

Renewal & Notice Extraction Checklist

Term
- Effective date
- End date
- Renewal term length

Renewal structure
- Auto-renew? (Y/N)
- Renewal repeats? (Y/N)
- Termination rights summary

Notice
- Notice window (# of days)
- Notice rule: sent-by or received-by
- Delivery method requirements
- Notice recipient name/entity
- Notice address/email
- Any special language required

Owners
- Renewal decision owner
- Backup owner

Template D — Intake Email (internal)

Subject: Contract intake — please store executed agreement + key terms

Team,
Please store the executed agreement for:
- Vendor:
- Contract type:
- Effective date:
- End date:
- Renewal/notice summary:

Repository link:
Index row link:
Owner:
Backup:

Thanks,
[Name]

Common pitfalls

•Storing drafts as if they're executed (missing signature pages)
•Missing amendments and SOWs (the "real" pricing is often in the SOW)
•No canonical vendor naming (search becomes unreliable)
•Not capturing notice recipient details (notices get sent to the wrong place)
•No owner/backup owner (repository becomes stale)

KPIs to track

•% of active vendors with executed agreements stored and linked
•% of contracts with renewal + notice fields completed
•# contracts within 120 days of renewal with owner assigned
•% of critical vendors with current compliance docs

Change log

v1.0 (2026-01): Latest release