What Are Contract Families?
Contracts often exist as part of a larger relationship rather than as standalone documents. You may have a Master Service Agreement, related Statements of Work (SOWs), and amendments that modify terms over time.
Contract families help you see and manage these connected contracts together. By linking records, you can view the full picture of your contractual relationship with a counterparty, all in one place.
Contract families also automate updates. When you link an amendment to its parent contract, you can choose to update key terms like renewal dates to reflect the amendment’s details.
Types of Contract Relationships
You can create different types of relationships between contracts to represent how they’re connected.
Related Records
The most general type of contract relationship is a related record - a simple one-to-one relationship between two contracts. This is most useful when representing the relationship between contracts that don’t directly modify each other, but you might want to reference together. An example of this might be a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and a Statement of Work (SOW).
Parent and Child Records
Parent and child records represent a more specific type of contract relationship where the contracts directly reference each other and must be evaluated together. Child records are usually sub-agreements to the parent record.
- Each parent can have multiple children.
- Each child can have only one parent.
- Child contracts can also be parents to other records, creating a contract family.
- When a record is a part of a contract family, in addition to the record’s direct parent and child records, you can see the entire contract family.
This is important because contracts need to be evaluated as a group. An example of this might be a Master Service Agreement, Statement of Work, and an amendment on the Statement of Work.
Parent and Amendment Records
Parent and amendment records represent a contract relationship where the amendment modifies the original parent contract.
- A parent can have multiple amendments.
- Each amendment can have only one parent.
When you link an amendment, Ironclad displays a side-by-side comparison of all new and updated properties. You can then choose which values should roll up to the parent record. Once selected, these values become the new source of truth across Ironclad, updating all related reminders, filters, and dashboards. If you ever need to reference the original values, you can easily view them in the record’s Properties section.
For example, if you have an Order Form set to expire in 20 days and you create an amendment, when you link the amendment to the original Order Form, you will have the option to update the renewal date (and any other differing properties) to match the new terms defined in the amendment.
Currently, only properties, not clauses, can be rolled up. Workflow metadata (such as Time in Review, Signature Date, AI Prediction Date, etc.) are hidden because they are not typically amended. Of the lifecycle preset properties that affect contract status, only Expiration Date is supported for rollup at this time.
Note: Amendment functionality is currently available only on records. You can not designate amendments on the launch form.
You can also configure amendment relationships via Ironclad’s Records Public API. To learn more, refer to the Developer Hub.
Show Amended Property Values and Disconnect
After you add an amendment and update any properties, you can view the amended values directly from the Dashboard. When you open the record, the Properties panel on the right displays which fields were updated. Amended values are clearly marked with a family tree icon. At any time, you can toggle Show Amended Values to view the original contract terms.
To view which properties have been amended and the contracts their values are derived from, click Edit, then open the Values in dropdown in the top-right corner and select Amendments. You’ll see a list of amended properties, their values, and links to the source contracts.
If you find that an amended value that should not be linked to the contract, you can unlink the amendment by clicking the trash icon next to the property value.
Import and Export Amended Values
When you import record metadata, the original values will be updated. Amended properties will remain linked and will not be overwritten by metadata import.
When you export record metadata from the Dashboard or Insights tabs, you can choose whether or not to include amended values. To learn more, refer to Export Record Metadata.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can I mark an amendment from a workflow launch form? | Not today. Amendments are created via the records UI (or import/API), not the launch form. |
| Do I need access to both records to link an amendment? | Yes, you need edit access to both the parent contract and the amendment. |
| Can I label contracts as amendments via UI, import, or API? | Yes. You can designate amendment contracts through the Contract Families UI, metadata import, and through the API. |
| Can I filter by relationship type (parent/child/amendment) today? | Not at this time. |
| Does Ironclad generate a “conformed copy” that merges amendment text into the original document? | Not currently; we show linked relationships and metadata but do not create a single conformed document that merges text. |
| Can I choose which parent contract properties are updated when I add an amendment? | When you mark a child as an amendment, you’ll see a side‑by‑side comparison of changed/new fields and can check which values roll up to the parent. To learn more, refer to Create and Edit Contract Families. |
| Can I amend an amendment? | Not today. You can have multiple amendments that impact a single parent contract (such as multiple change orders to a Statement of Work), but you can’t set an amendment to an amendment. |
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