Explaining Contract Authoring Concepts

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to examine the main contract authoring concepts and their use for document authoring.

Contract Authoring Features

Contract authoring is the process of creating and managing contract documents in SAP Ariba using reusable clauses, document properties, style mapping, and collaborative editing tools. This phase of the contract lifecycle ensures accuracy, consistency, and compliance by combining predefined document components into fully assembled agreements.

Circular process showing the steps in a contract lifecycle. Steps are prepare and author, review and negotiate, approve and finalize, amend and manage.

SAP Ariba Contracts offers a powerful set of features that simplify and standardize the contract authoring process:

Clause Library: Store, manage, and reuse approved text. Authors can select pre-approved clauses, choose alternatives based on region or commodity, and track where each clause is used. This promotes consistency, ensures compliance, and reduces drafting effort.
Document Properties: Dynamically insert key contract details—such as supplier names or contract dates—directly from workspace fields into the document. Changes made in the document can also update the corresponding workspace fields.
Style Mapping: Apply consistent formatting by linking Microsoft Word paragraph styles to contract sections and clauses. This ensures proper numbering and styling across all contract documents.
Collaboration and Versioning: Collaborate with stakeholders in real-time, manage approvals, and track edits—all while maintaining a full version history of document changes.

Assembled Documents

Assembled documents are Microsoft Word files that contain the text of the contract agreement. Organized into sections and clauses, they integrate with contract authoring features to support standardized and efficient contract creation. In SAP Ariba Contracts, assembled documents are referred to as the Main Agreement and Contract Addendum.

Main Agreement: A Microsoft Word document that contains the primary contract text. Each SAP Ariba Contracts template or workspace includes only one Main Agreement.
Contract Addendum: A Microsoft Word document that supplements the Main Agreement. Multiple addenda can be added to a template or workspace to include additional terms or modifications.

You can create and manage the Main Agreement and Contract Addendum directly from the Documents tab in a contract workspace.

In the example below, these options appear under the Actions→Create menu. This is where contract authors initiate the creation of assembled documents within a workspace.

Screenshot ot the Actions button and Create menu for Main Agreement and Contract Addendum.

Assembled Document Views

SAP Ariba provides two views for working with assembled documents, each offering unique benefits depending on the task:

Microsoft Word View: Displays the document as a standard Microsoft Word file, showing the full text, sections, clauses, and styling. This view is often used to review or edit the contract text.
Outline View: Presents the document in a hierarchical format, displaying each section and clause as an outline. This view is typically used to quickly navigate and modify the document structure, making it ideal for reordering, adding, or deleting sections and clauses.

Sections and Clauses

In SAP Ariba Contracts, sections and clauses are the building blocks of assembled documents. They bring structure, promote consistency, and support compliant contract creation.

Section: A section is a container that groups related clauses under a common heading. For example, the Term section in the screenshot below organizes all associated clauses. Sections help organize content logically, making it easier to navigate and understand.
Clause: A clause consists of one or more paragraphs treated as a single unit. Clauses can be created manually or pulled from the Clause Library for consistent reuse across multiple contracts.

Outline View of the Main Agreement displaying the sections and clauses.

Clause Types

When viewing assembled documents in the Outline View, each clause is labeled with a type that indicates its origin. Understanding clause types helps contract authors track changes, identify non-standard or manually edited content, and streamline approvals by flagging changes for review.

SAP Ariba Contracts supports five clause types:

Clause Type	Definition
Template	A clause that originated from the contract template. All clauses in a new workspace begin as this type.
Library	A clause inserted from the Clause Library as a replacement for an existing clause.
Non-standard	A clause that has been manually edited by a user. Once modified, it is no longer considered standard, even if it started from a template or library.
Ad Hoc	A clause added directly in Microsoft Word or uploaded from an external document. It is not linked to the library or template.
Ad Hoc Library	A clause pulled from the Clause Library and added as a new clause (not a replacement).

Lesson Summary

Contract Authoring: Combines reusable clauses, document properties, and style mapping for accurate, consistent, and compliant contracts.
SAP Ariba Features: Offers a clause library, document properties, style mapping, and collaboration and versioning for standardized contract creation.
Assembled Documents: Include Main Agreement and Contract Addendum, managed directly from the Documents tab in a contract workspace.
Document Views: Microsoft Word view for editing and Outline View for structuring, aiding efficient contract creation.
Sections and Clauses: Essential building blocks of assembled documents, promoting structure, consistency, and compliance.

Go to Course