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Contracts

What is this page about: Light tracks contracts as multi-period agreements with customers, grouping their line items and driving invoicing over the contract period. This page explains where to find the Contracts list, what the lifecycle states mean, how to create a contract, what's in a contract's detail tabs, how to edit custom properties after publishing, and how termination works.

On this page

  • What is a contract in Light?
  • Where can I find the Contracts list?
  • What do the contract lifecycle states mean?
  • How do I create a contract?
  • What's in a contract's Lines and Invoices tabs?
  • Can I edit a contract after it's published?
  • How do I terminate a contract?
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Related Articles

What is a contract in Light?

A contract in Light is a multi-period agreement with a customer. A contract groups line items, the products, quantities, prices, taxes, discounts, and amortisation schedules being sold, and drives invoicing over the contract's start and end dates.

Where can I find the Contracts list?

You can find the Contracts list by navigating to Revenue & Invoicing → Contracts in Light.

The Contracts table can show ten columns, in this order: Customer, Entity, Status, Description, Start date, End date, Renewal date, ARR, Activated at, Terminated at. By default, only Customer, Entity, Status, Description, Start date, End date, Renewal date, and ARR are visible. Activated at and Terminated at are hidden by default, and you can turn them on from the column settings above the table.

By default, the Contracts list shows only Active and Draft contracts; Terminated contracts are hidden. The status filter above the table offers three options, Active, Draft, and Terminated, so clear or adjust it to bring Terminated contracts into view.

What do the contract lifecycle states mean?

A contract in Light moves through four customer-visible states:

  • Draft: the contract has been created but not yet activated.
  • Active: the contract is in effect.
  • Pending termination: a termination has been scheduled for a future date; the contract shows a warning banner until that date arrives.
  • Terminated: the contract has ended.

How do I create a contract?

To create a contract in Light, use the create-contract dialog, which collects only a few fields up front. Line items, payment terms, and other configuration are added afterwards in the contract details view.

  1. Click + Create contract

  2. Fill in:

    • Contract period: start date and end date
    • Description
    • Entity: the company entity this contract belongs to
    • Currency: Light defaults this from the company's base currency

  3. Click Create

Contracts can also be created from a customer's detail page. This opens the same create-contract dialog. The customer is not pre-filled, but gets linked to the contract automatically after it's created.

What's in a contract's Lines and Invoices tabs?

Every contract in Light has two detail tabs:

  • Lines: the contract's line items (products, quantities, prices, taxes, discounts, amortisation)
  • Invoices: the invoices issued against the contract

Line items are added and edited only in the Lines tab, not in the create dialog.

Can I edit a contract after it's published?

Yes, but with limits. On a published contract, line-level price, tax code, quantity, and description are locked. Only a line item's custom properties (department, cost center, project code, etc.) stay editable, without voiding and recreating the contract. Some contract-level fields, including start/end date, renewal date, net terms, PO number, reference, and the estimated ARR value, can still be edited directly on the contract.

  1. Open the published contract and go to the Lines tab
  2. Enter edit mode on the line item you want to update
  3. Add, change, or remove its custom properties
  4. Confirm the changes when prompted, then save

Amounts, tax codes, descriptions, and other revenue- or ledger-impacting fields on a line item remain locked. Every change is recorded in the contract's modification history, and the line item re-locks after saving. See Custom Properties for more.

How do I terminate a contract?

To terminate a contract in Light, open it and use the terminate action. What happens next depends on the termination date you choose:

  • Termination date today or in the past: Light moves the contract directly to Terminated, with the terminated date recorded.
  • Termination date in the future: Light puts the contract into Pending termination, shown with a warning banner, until that date, then completes it to Terminated. While pending, the scheduled termination can be cancelled to return the contract to Active.

Frequently asked questions

What does ARR mean on a contract?

ARR is the contract's estimated annual value. It's editable directly on the contract and shown in the Contracts list column of the same name.

Can I change a contract's price or tax code after it's published?

No. Line-level price, tax code, quantity, and description stay locked once a contract is published. Only custom properties can still be edited on the line. Some contract-level fields (start/end date, renewal date, net terms, PO number, reference, ARR) can still be edited directly on the contract.

What happens if I schedule a contract termination for a future date?

The contract moves to Pending termination and shows a warning banner until the termination date arrives, then it moves to Terminated. You can cancel the scheduled termination any time before that to return the contract to Active.

Why don't I see Terminated contracts in the Contracts list?

That's expected. The Contracts list shows only Active and Draft contracts by default, and Terminated is hidden. The status filter above the table lets you choose Active, Draft, or Terminated, so clear or adjust it to see Terminated contracts.

Where do I add line items to a contract?

Line items are added and edited in a contract's Lines tab after the contract is created, not in the create-contract dialog.

If I create a contract from a customer's page, does it pre-fill the customer?

No. Creating a contract from a customer's detail page opens the same create-contract dialog as anywhere else, and it doesn't have a customer field. The customer gets linked to the contract automatically right after you create it.

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