HubSpot contracts are a record of committed revenue: one-time and recurring products, total and annual contract value, MRR and ARR, billing, renewal dates and the records they relate to. They need a Revenue Hub subscription and seat, and can be created automatically when a buyer accepts a quote. Direct creation is in beta. HubSpot says contracts don't replace legal contracts or signed PDFs, so the agreement your customer signs is a quote or a separate document, stored on the record as a file or link.
Checked against HubSpot's knowledge base on 21 October 2026. HubSpot changes contracts often, and parts of it are in beta, so the changelog at the end records each update.
What are contracts in HubSpot?
A contract in HubSpot is a CRM record, not a document. HubSpot calls it the central record of committed revenue: the one-time and recurring products a customer has agreed to, the revenue figures that follow from them, and the changes over time. (HubSpot: understand contracts in HubSpot)
A deal tracks one sales opportunity. A contract covers what comes after: the agreement itself, its amendments and its renewals.
HubSpot is direct about the limit. Its article says contracts "don't replace legal contracts, such as master service agreements (MSAs) or signed PDF contracts." If you want the signed document on the record, HubSpot suggests a custom contract property with a File or URL field.
Customers can't see the contract object either. They see quotes, invoices, receipts and billing notifications.
Which HubSpot plan includes contracts?
Contracts need a Revenue Hub subscription and a Revenue Hub seat. Creating one also takes Super Admin or create permissions for contracts, and editing takes edit permissions. (HubSpot: understand contracts in HubSpot)
Two parts are in beta, which a Super Admin can opt into:
- Direct Create, Edit, and Renew HubSpot Contracts. Lets you create, edit and renew a contract without a quote. While enrolled, the Revenue Hub requirement doesn't apply.
- Connected CPQ, Billing, and Payments. Lets a contract run billing, invoicing and payment collection. It needs Revenue Hub.
Renewal workflows need a Professional or Enterprise subscription. Automatic payment collection needs HubSpot payments or Stripe connected as the payment processor.
How do you create a contract from an accepted quote?
Turn on Create contracts from accepted quotes in the contracts settings: Settings, then Data Management, then Objects, then Contracts. (HubSpot: set up contracts) Accepted legacy quotes don't create contracts.
Then the steps are the quote's own. Build the quote from the deal, share it, and once the buyer accepts or signs it, HubSpot creates a contract linked to the quote, the deal, the contact and the company. An order is created and linked to it too. Creating contracts from quotes needs Revenue Hub Professional or Enterprise and a Revenue Hub seat. (HubSpot: create contracts automatically from accepted quotes)
What happens to billing depends on the beta:
- Outside the Connected CPQ beta, payment stays tied to the quote or a standalone invoice.
- Inside it, the contract runs the billing, and the first invoice is sent as soon as the quote is accepted.
The end date follows the line items. If every line item has a fixed term, the contract ends with the last one. If a line item renews until cancelled, or the contract has only one-time items, there is no end date. Subscriptions can't be migrated to contracts yet.
What does a HubSpot contract track?
From HubSpot's articles (understand contracts, view and manage contracts):
| On the record | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Status | Draft, Scheduled, Active, Completed or Terminated |
| Financials | Total contract value, annual contract value, MRR and ARR |
| Billing | Billing contact, billed amount, billing history, upcoming payments |
| Renewal | When the renewal is due, with an alert a set number of days before |
| Associations | Contacts, companies, deals, invoices, line items, payments, quotes and subscriptions |
A contract that renews until cancelled is evergreen. It has no end date, so HubSpot doesn't calculate its total or annual contract value, though MRR and ARR still show.
How does HubSpot contract management work after the sale?
You manage contracts from Revenue, then Contracts, or from the Contracts card on a related record. (HubSpot: view and manage contracts) From there you can:
- Edit a draft, or a finalized contract in the beta. Changes can also go through a change quote, which has to be associated with a deal.
- Renew directly in the beta, or with a renewal quote. Accepting a renewal quote creates a new contract linked to the old one.
- Terminate now or on a future date, and change or cancel a scheduled termination.
- Send the buyer a link to update their payment method.
- Report on contracts with revenue and custom reports.
Some limits from the same article: a contract with billing can't be deleted, billing can't be switched on or off after a contract is created, and discounts apply to line items, not the whole contract. With Stripe, the total due has to be more than $0.50.
Is there a HubSpot contract template?
Not in the sense of a document. The contracts articles describe settings, properties and records. None of them describe a contract document template. (HubSpot: create contracts automatically from accepted quotes)
What comes closest is the quote template. It sets the quote's cover letter, line items, terms, payment options and acceptance method, and it can carry a brand's look if you have Brands, which needs Marketing Hub Enterprise. (HubSpot: create quote templates) The quote can be e-signed through Dropbox Sign, within a monthly allowance per user that depends on your subscription. (HubSpot: use e-signatures with quotes) HubSpot invoicing and quotes covers quotes from the deal in more detail.
So a business whose agreement is longer than a quote, such as an enrollment agreement or a service contract with its own terms, usually writes it in a document tool and stores the signed copy on the record.
What does a business with several locations or entities need from a contract?
The contracts object answers "what did this customer commit to?" A group that runs each location as its own entity also has to answer "which entity did they sign with, and is that the one charging them?" Check these before you choose where the agreement lives:
- Each entity's own agreement. The parties, the terms and often the refund policy differ by entity or by state. One template per entity keeps a Phoenix customer from signing Denver's terms.
- Each entity's own branding. The customer should see the name and logo of the business they are paying. In HubSpot, a brand on a quote template needs Brands.
- The payment schedule on the agreement. If the customer pays over time, the deposit, the dates and the amounts belong on what they sign. Built twice, in a document tool and a payment tool, they drift. The agreement and the payment plan from the same deal shows how that happens.
- Signed by your side. Decide who countersigns for each entity, and whether the customer can pay before the countersignature.
- Payment straight after signing. The deposit is easiest to collect while the customer is still on the page.
- The right account and books. Each HubSpot account connects one Stripe account. (HubSpot: connect your Stripe account) If each entity has its own, check how the payment reaches it. Can you connect multiple Stripe accounts to HubSpot? covers the options.
Schools have extra rules on what the agreement must contain. What a career school enrollment agreement must include lists them by state and accreditor.
Contracts, quotes or a separate agreement: which do you need?
- Contracts if you sell recurring or multi-year agreements and want committed revenue, renewals and amendments tracked in HubSpot. They need Revenue Hub.
- Quotes if the customer accepts a price and terms, signs and pays, and the quote is enough of an agreement.
- A separate agreement if your terms run longer than a quote, differ by entity, or a regulator or accreditor sets what they must say.
You may well use more than one: the agreement for the terms, the quote or invoice for the price, and the contract record for revenue.
Changelog
- 21 October 2026: first published.
Payment plans built from the deal in HubSpot or Pipedrive, with each location paid into its own account and books.
Paycove builds the agreement and the payment plan from the same HubSpot deal, so the schedule the customer signs is the schedule that gets charged, in each location's own account and books.
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