Ironclad workflows connect properties, tags, conditions, and formulas. Launch form questions capture information in properties. Property tags insert those values into documents, conditions use property values to control workflow behavior, and formulas calculate new property values from existing data.
Properties and Template Tagging
A property is where Ironclad stores a piece of data, whether that's the agreement date, the counterparty name, or the contract value.
Template tagging lets you select text in your uploaded Word template and replace it with a tag that inserts the associated property's value, instead of a business user having to type it into the document by hand.
Example: if you tag the phrase "ABC Company" in your template as [Counterparty Name], every contract generated from that template automatically displays whatever counterparty name is captured in that property, without anyone editing the document manually.
Conditions
Conditions are rules that tell Ironclad what to do based on property values. Instead of manually deciding which clauses belong in a contract or who needs to review it, conditions make that decision automatically based on the actual deal in front of you.
Conditions can control:
- Which clauses or language appear in the document.
- Example: a data processing clause only appears if the launch form indicates the deal involves personal data.
- Who's involved in the workflow.
- Example: conditions can trigger an approval or role assignment for a VP when contract value passes a certain threshold, while smaller deals skip that step.
- Which questions or sections show up on the launch form itself.
- Example: a "Country of Operation" question only appears if a business user selects "International" for deal type, so domestic requesters never see it.
Conditions typically compare a property against a value, like checking whether [Entity] is located in the United States, or whether [Total Contract Value] is above a certain threshold.
Formulas
Formulas let you calculate a new property value or evaluate logic directly within your workflow, instead of relying on someone to calculate it by hand or enter it manually. This reduces both manual data entry and the risk of human error making its way into a signed contract.
For a walkthrough of example formulas and more information on supported formula types, check out the Formulas Help Center.
For example, you could create a new condition called Liability Cap Exceeds Contract Value that checks whether the liability cap is set higher than the total value of the contract. When that happens, it means the cap offers little real protection since it doesn't actually limit exposure below what the deal is worth.
To turn this into a formula, you'd need to capture the Liability Cap Amount and Total Contract Value as properties on the launch form. Then, you'd use the formula editor in Workflow Designer to create a new condition that checks to see if the Liability Cap Amount is greater than the Total Contract Value, using GreaterThan([Liability Cap Amount], [Total Contract Value]).