Contract templates

Every contract in Tillage starts from a template. A template is a stack of blocks (text, deliverables, a payment schedule, signatures and more) that the contract wizard walks you through when you create a contract. Build a template once for each kind of engagement, such as a statement of work or a monthly retainer, and reuse it.

Tillage doesn’t include ready-made contract templates, so create at least one before your first contract.

Create a template

1. Go to Contracts → Contract Templates in the sidebar and click New Template.

2. Under Template Information, fill in:

   Field	What it’s for
   Template Name	Your name for the template, such as “Standard service agreement”.
   Contract Type	Statement of Work, Service Agreement, Full Contract or Custom. A label for your own organization.
   Category	General, Services, Products, Consulting, Development, Design or Marketing. Templates are grouped by category.
   Set as default	Makes this the default template in its category.
   Contract Title Format	The title each contract gets, such as Service Agreement for {clientName}. Click Variables to insert one.
   Description	When to use this template.

3. Under Template Blocks, choose a block type to add your first block. Add more with the buttons below the last block, or click + between two blocks to insert one there.

4. Give each block a title, such as “Introduction” or “Scope of work”, and fill in its content.

5. Drag blocks by their handle to reorder them.

6. Click Save Template.

Include a Signature block in every template so the contract has signature fields. Contracts created through the API or an AI assistant can’t be sent without one.

Optional blocks

Turn on Optional on a block to let whoever creates the contract skip it in the wizard. For example, make Timeline optional if only some projects need one.

Block types

Block	What it does
Text	Rich text for any section: parties, terms, confidentiality, cancellation. Supports smart variables.
Deliverables	The scope of work, taken from the quote’s line items. You pick which lines to include when creating the contract, and whether to Show pricing in contract.
Timeline	Project phases and dates. You enter the phases in the wizard’s Project Timeline step.
Payment Schedule	When the client pays: a deposit, milestones, installments or the full amount. You pick the schedule in the wizard. Invoices are created from it when the contract is signed. See Payment schedules.
Ongoing Services	A recurring service, such as a monthly retainer, that starts a billing schedule when the contract is signed.
Signature	Signature fields for the client and your company, with editable labels (Client Signature and Company Representative by default).
Attachments	Exhibits for the contract. In the wizard you can choose Include Original Quote to attach the quote as Appendix A.
Email Template	The default email subject and message for sending the contract. Not shown in the contract itself.

In a template, Deliverables, Timeline, Payment Schedule and Attachments show a placeholder. Their content comes from the quote and the choices you make in the wizard.

Ongoing services

Use this block for work billed on a cycle. Set:

• Service Description, shown before the service details in the contract
• Plan Name
• Frequency: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly or Annually
• Start Date and Payment Due (days)
• Line Items for the recurring charge
• Automatically generate invoices
• Initial Invoice Status: Draft (review before sending) or Sent (auto-send enabled)

When the contract is signed, Tillage creates a billing schedule from these settings. See Billing schedules.

Smart variables

Smart variables are placeholders that fill in from the contract’s client, quote and your business, so one template works for every client.

To add one in a text block, click the ✨ Insert Variables button in the toolbar, search or browse the Client, Quote & Project, Your Business and Contract groups, and click a variable. It appears as a chip in the text. In plain fields such as Contract Title Format or the email subject, use the Variables or Insert Variable menu.

Commonly used variables:

Variable	Fills in
{clientName}	The client’s company name
{clientContact}	The primary contact’s full name
{clientEmail}, {clientPhone}	The primary contact’s email and phone
{clientAddress}	The client’s address
{projectName}	The quote’s project name
{quoteNumber}	The quote number
{totalAmount}	The quote total, formatted as currency
{acceptanceDate}	The date the client approved the quote
{businessName}, {businessEmail}, {businessPhone}	Your business details
{contractNumber}	The contract number, such as CT-0001
{contractDate}	The date the contract was created
{effectiveDate}	The project start date you set in the wizard

Inside a Payment Schedule block you can also use {invoiceCount}, {invoiceAmount} and {firstInvoiceDueDate}. They don’t fill in anywhere else in the contract.

See Smart variables for the full list.

For example:

This Service Agreement is made on {contractDate} between {businessName}
("Provider") and {clientName} ("Client") for the project "{projectName}".

Manage templates

On the Contract Templates page, each card shows the contract type, a Default badge if set, and the number of blocks. Use the card menu to:

• Edit the template. Changes apply to new contracts, not ones you’ve already created.
• Duplicate it, including all blocks.
• Export as JSON to download a copy. Use Import on the templates page to load an exported template, in this team or another.
• Copy to Team to copy it to another team you belong to. You’re switched to that team afterwards. Shown only if you’re on more than one team.
• Delete it and all its blocks. This can’t be undone.

Related

• Create a contract
• Payment schedules
• Smart variables