Merging documents with your contracts

Introduction

In many instances, contracts sent out for signatures need to include supporting documents, which, although not subject to negotiation, must be attached for reference. These supporting documents, such as annexures, remain unchanged throughout the negotiation process. While the main contract undergoes redlining and review, the annexures are separately referred to but ultimately need to be included in the final contract for ease of reference.

Enable document merging (For Admins)

Admins can allow users to upload and merge documents created using certain workflows. Follow the below steps to enable this feature for a workflow:

1. Navigate to Workflow Manager: Use the navigation bar on the side (Manage > Workflow Manager). Alternatively, you can use Quick Access (Cmd/Ctrl + K) and search for 'workflow manager'
2. Select the Workflow: Choose the workflow where you want to enable document merging.
3. Go to Workflow Settings: Click the "Workflow Settings" button at the top right corner of the workflow details page.
   
4. Enable "Document Merging": Scroll down to the "Document Merging" option in the Workflow Settings side panel and toggle the "Document Merging" option on.
   

Important note:

This feature will work only for "Template Contract" and "Upload third party contract" workflows. It cannot be used with the "Send for signatures" or "Upload executed contracts" workflows.

Merge documents (For users)

Once the document merging is enabled for a workflow, a new card called "Documents to Merge" will appear on the Summary page of any contract that uses this workflow. This will have a row called "This contract" by default that indicates the contract you are currently on.

Follow the below steps to merge documents into a contract.

1. Click on the "Add Documents to Merge" button to open up the modal to upload files.
   
2. Once uploaded, they will show up under the main contract.
   
3. You can rearrange the order in which documents will be merged, by using the drag-and-drop feature.
4. Mark the contract for execution to merge them into a single PDF. Note that this will change the title of the card to "Merged documents".
   

Important notes:

1. Only PDF and DOCX documents can be merged.
2. A maximum of 10 documents including the contract can be merged.
3. The combined size of the PDF cannot be more than 30 MB.
4. This feature can't be used for the contracts created before it was toggled on for the workflow.
5. Documents to be merged can't be uploaded or managed if the contract is already in the Signing stage or beyond.
6. Unmarking the contract for execution will undo the merge and you can continue making changes as needed.