What Contracts is for
Contracts is designed to support the contract workflow from draft to signed document:
Create contract drafts for employees or external people
Use templates with employee data automatically filled in
Upload attachments
Add multiple signers
Invite collaborators to review or edit the contract
Send contracts for digital signing
Track signing progress
Store the final signed PDF in Aboard
Creating a contract
Admins can create reusable contract templates in Aboard. When a new contract is created from a template, Aboard can automatically replace placeholders with data from the employee profile.
Supported placeholders include:
First name
Last name
Full name
Job title
Manager name
Company name
Start date
Termination date
Office address
Employment type
Probation end date
National ID number
Salary
This helps reduce manual editing and makes it easier to keep contracts consistent across the company.
Contract templates
Contract templates can be managed inside Aboard and organized into categories.
Teams can:
Create templates
Edit templates
Copy templates
Group templates into categories
Use templates as the starting point for new contract requests
Templates are especially useful for common contract types, such as full-time employment agreements, temporary contracts, consultant agreements, or country-specific contract versions.
Signers
Each contract has signers.
The first signer is the primary signer, usually the employee or person the contract is created for. Additional signers can also be added, for example:
HR representative
Manager
Legal representative
Finance or payroll contact
Each signer has their own signing status:
Pending
Signed
Aboard tracks who has signed and who is still waiting.
Collaborators
Contracts also support internal collaboration.
Collaborators can be added to a contract with different roles:
Editor — can edit the contract, add signers, and send it
Viewer — can view the contract
This allows HR teams to involve the right people before sending the contract, without giving everyone full editing access.
Sending a contract for signing
When a contract is ready, it can be sent for digital signing.
Aboard integrates with Dropbox Sign for the signing process. When the contract is sent:
Aboard generates or uses the contract PDF
A signing request is created in Dropbox Sign
Each signer receives an email with a signing link
Aboard tracks signing progress
When all signers have signed, Aboard downloads and stores the signed PDF
The contract status updates as it moves through the process.
Contract statuses
Contracts can have the following statuses:
Status | Meaning |
Draft | The contract is still being prepared |
Pending | The contract has been sent and is awaiting signatures |
Signed | All parties have signed |
Failed | Sending/signing failed |
Cancel requested | A cancellation has been requested |
Cancelled | The signing request has been cancelled |
Drafts and cancelled contracts can be deleted.
Notifications
Aboard sends notifications during the contract process, including when:
A contract has been sent
A signer has a contract waiting for signature
A contract has been signed by all parties
A collaborator has been added to a contract
This keeps HR, collaborators, and signers informed without needing to manually follow up.
Access and permissions
Access to contracts is controlled by role and relationship to the contract.
In general:
Superadmins can access contracts in their company
The employee linked to the contract can view their own contract
Collaborators can access contracts they have been added to
Editors can edit and send contracts before they are sent
Once a contract has been sent, it can no longer be edited
This helps protect sensitive contract information while still allowing collaboration.
Why this matters
Contracts in Aboard reduce the amount of manual work involved in preparing and managing employment agreements.
The feature helps companies:
Standardize contract creation
Reduce copy-paste mistakes
Keep contract work inside Aboard
Collaborate before sending
Track signing status
Store the signed document in one place