How to back up your contracts

Contracts are the documents you rarely open and badly need when you do. A lease comes up for renewal, a client disputes a payment term, an employment agreement turns out to have a notice period you’d forgotten. At that point the signed copy might be in an e-signature account you no longer log into, an attachment buried in a former colleague’s inbox, or a paper original in a box from the last office move.

This guide covers the usual ways people and small businesses keep copies of contracts, where those copies go missing, and how to back up every agreement to Fabric so it’s protected, available on any device and searchable by its terms.

How people usually keep copies of contracts

E-signature services such as DocuSign and Dropbox Sign store the completed agreement in the sender’s account and email a copy to each party. That’s convenient on signing day. Over the years the completed copies spread across several accounts and inboxes, some belonging to people who’ve since left.

Paper originals still matter for some agreements, and a filing cabinet or a box file is the usual home. It’s a single copy, in one building, and checking a clause means finding the folder first.

A shared drive folder called Contracts is the common middle ground. It works when someone files every agreement there promptly. When filing slips, the folder holds most contracts but not quite all, and filenames like Agreement_signed(2).pdf don’t say which client or which version. How to store important documents securely online covers the broader question of where sensitive documents should live.

Step 1: Gather the contracts you have into one folder

Create a Contracts folder in Fabric, or a space if a team will use it. Download completed agreements from your e-signature accounts and drag them in, or click Upload a file; uploading handles large numbers of files at once. Signed PDFs and editable drafts in DOCX can sit side by side.

For paper originals, photograph each page with your phone or scan them, then upload the images or the scanned PDF. Fabric reads the text in PDFs and in photographed pages, so a scanned agreement becomes searchable alongside digital ones. Keep the paper original too; for some agreements it’s the copy that counts.

Step 2: Catch new contracts as they’re signed

When a signed copy arrives by email, forward it to your Fabric email address. Fabric only accepts mail from your verified account address, and on a team you can approve extra senders, so a colleague who handles signing can send agreements straight in.

On a phone, open the attachment in your mail app, tap Share and choose Fabric. Get the iOS or Android app from the mobile download page if you haven’t already. You can add a comment or tags as you save, such as the counterparty’s name and the renewal date.

Step 3: Protect the folder with a password

Contracts often include pricing, personal details and terms you’d rather not show to every person with access to your workspace. Add password protection to the Contracts folder: right-click it, or open it and click the three-dot menu, choose Add password protection and enter a password. Password protection is on the Pro and Team plans.

A password on a folder also covers files added to it later, so new contracts are protected as they arrive. Anyone with access has to enter the password, and access lasts six hours before it’s asked for again. There’s no password reset, so keep it in a password manager.

To give a client access to only their own agreements, create a space for that client and share it with them; they see only that space. Roles and permissions set what each person can do.

Step 4: Find a clause or a date when you need it

Click Search or press Cmd+F (Mac) / Ctrl+F (Windows). Search matches by meaning and keyword across your contracts and opens results at the exact page. Put a phrase in quotes, such as “limitation of liability” or a contract number, for an exact match, and filter by tag or folder to stay within one client.

For questions that span several agreements, open the Contracts folder and ask the AI assistant. It limits itself to that folder and cites the contracts it used, so you can ask which agreements renew in the next quarter or what notice period each supplier requires, then click through to the clause. Treat the answer as a quick way to find the right page; legal judgment on what a clause means stays with you and your lawyer.

For a fuller routine around renewals, see how to keep track of renewal dates.

Step 5: Open contracts wherever the question comes up

Contract questions tend to arrive away from the desk: a landlord on the phone, a supplier at a trade show, a client call from the car. Fabric runs on the web, as a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux, and on iOS and Android, so the backed-up agreement and its search are available on whichever device you have. Password protection and link analytics need a Pro or Team plan; see pricing for the differences.

Frequently asked questions

Where should I store signed contracts?

Somewhere separate from the e-signature service and your inbox, in one folder that’s backed up and protected. Fabric can hold signed PDFs, drafts and scans together, with a password on the folder on Pro and Team plans.

How do I back up contracts from DocuSign?

Download the completed documents from your DocuSign account and upload them to Fabric, or forward the completion emails with attachments to your Fabric email address.

Can I back up paper contracts?

Yes. Photograph or scan each page and upload it. Fabric reads the text in photographed pages and scanned PDFs, so they’re searchable. Keep the paper original as well.

Can I password protect a folder of contracts?

Yes, on the Pro and Team plans. The password covers files added later, access lasts six hours, and there’s no reset, so save it in a password manager.

Can I search for a specific clause across all my contracts?

Yes. Search covers the text inside your contracts, and quotes give exact matches. Results open at the page where the clause appears.

Can AI tell me when my contracts renew?

You can ask the AI assistant about a folder of contracts and it answers with references to the documents it used. Check the cited clause before acting, and take legal questions to a lawyer.

How do I share contracts with a client securely?

Create a space for that client and share it with them, so they see only that space. You can add a password on Pro and Team plans.

Is storing contracts in Fabric private?

You control access through sharing, roles and passwords. The security page covers how Fabric protects data, and your own legal and compliance team should confirm it fits your requirements.