How to share contracts with a client

A statement of work, a master services agreement or an NDA tends to go back and forth a few times before anyone signs it. The client’s lawyer queries the payment terms, you adjust the scope section, and somewhere in the exchange two people are working from different drafts. Once it’s signed, the agreed version needs to stay findable for the length of the engagement, because questions about notice periods and deliverables come up months later.

This page covers how freelancers and agencies usually send contracts to clients, where the drafts and signed copies tend to get lost, and how to handle the sharing side in Fabric: comments on specific clauses, a protected link for the final, and a searchable home for the signed agreement.

How people usually share contracts with clients

Most contracts still travel as email attachments, either a Word file for negotiation or a PDF for signing. Tracked changes in Word are good at showing what each side changed. The trouble is the thread: after a few rounds, there are several attachments with similar names, and checking which one the client last commented on means opening each of them.

E-signature services such as DocuSign handle the signing step well and keep an audit trail of who signed when. The signed copy then lives in that service’s account and in an email notification, separate from the project files, so finding it a year later can mean remembering which account sent it.

Shared folders in Google Drive or Dropbox keep the drafts together. Because contracts carry fees, rates and personal details, people using them for this often worry about link settings left open to anyone with the link, and about colleagues outside the account seeing the folder.

Step 1: Keep each client’s contracts in their space

Create a space for the client and a contracts folder inside it. Upload the draft (PDF or DOCX) by dragging it in or clicking Upload a file. If drafts arrive from the client’s lawyer by email, forward them to your Fabric email address; it accepts mail from your verified account address, and on a team you can approve extra sender addresses. Shared with the client, the space shows them their own material and none of your other work. How to give a client access to only their files covers that setup in more depth.

Add a password to the contracts folder from the start. Right-click it (or open it and use the three-dot menu), choose Add password protection, and enter a password. A password on a folder also covers files added later, so each new draft is protected as soon as it’s saved. A forgotten password can’t be reset, so record it in a password manager. Access lasts six hours before it has to be entered again. Password protection is on the Pro and Team plans.

Step 2: Send the draft for comments on specific clauses

Click Share on the draft, give the client commenter permission, and send them the shared link and, separately, the password. The client doesn’t need an account to open it. They and their lawyer can highlight a clause and add a comment, so a query about the termination section sits on the termination section. The roles and permissions page explains what commenters can and can’t change.

As you resolve each point in the next draft, mark the comment completed. That gives both sides a clear view of which points are settled and which are still open, and the history stays with the draft. How to mark client feedback as done covers this way of working through comments.

Step 3: Deliver the final version as a named link

When the wording is agreed, publish the final. Click Share to open the share modal, open the Publish tab, and click Create link. Name the link after the person receiving it, such as “Maria, Head of Legal”. Turn on allow downloads so they can keep a copy, turn off indexing by search engines, and turn on engagement analytics if you want to see when it was opened.

Analytics show visits to the link with dates, location and device, though they don’t identify the visitor by name; the named link is what tells you who it was sent to. If several signatories need the contract, send each a separate link. Link analytics are on the Pro and Team plans, and how to track if someone opened your shared link explains the method. If you use an e-signature service, send the final through it as usual once the client confirms they’ve read it.

Step 4: Store the signed copy and find clauses later

When the signed contract comes back, forward the email to your Fabric address or upload the PDF to the client’s contracts folder. Fabric reads the text inside PDFs, so search can find the agreement by what it says. Put a phrase in quotes for an exact match, such as “30 days written notice”, and results open at the exact page.

For a question rather than a phrase, open the contracts folder and ask the AI assistant, for example “what are the payment terms in the Acme SOW?” It works only from that folder and cites the document and passage it used, so you can read the clause yourself. The assistant points you to the wording; questions about what a clause means legally belong with your lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the safest way to send a contract to a client?

Keep it in a password-protected folder in the client’s own space and send a link rather than an attachment. Send the password separately from the link.

Can a client comment on a contract without changing it?

Yes. Share it with commenter permission. They can highlight clauses and add comments, and you can mark each comment completed.

Can I tell whether the client opened the contract?

Yes, with engagement analytics on a published link, on the Pro and Team plans. Send each signatory their own named link to see which of them opened it.

Can I password protect a contract?

Yes, on the Pro and Team plans. There’s no reset, so save the password in a password manager.

Can the client download the contract?

Yes. Switch on allow downloads while setting up the publish link and they can save a copy.

How do I find a clause in an old contract?

Search the client’s contracts folder with the phrase in quotes for an exact match, or ask the AI assistant, which cites the passage it found.

Can I keep signed contracts in Fabric?

Yes. Forward the signed copy to your Fabric email address or upload the PDF, and it’s stored and searchable with the rest of the client’s files.

Can the AI tell me whether a contract term is fair?

The assistant can find and quote the relevant clauses with citations. Judging whether terms are acceptable is a decision for you and your lawyer. Plan details are on the pricing page.