Create a Prime Contract

A Prime Contract records the agreement between the project and its owner. It is the financial starting point for the owner-facing construction lifecycle.

The prime contract defines the agreed scope and value, supports owner billing, and keeps approved changes connected to the original agreement history.

Watch the walkthrough

Create the prime contract

1. Open the Prime Contracts Tool

   In the project, open the Prime Contracts Tool from the sidebar or the tools dropdown in the header. Select Create to open the Create Prime Contract form.

   
2. Enter the prime contract number and title information

   Field	What to enter
   Contract #	Accept the default number, or enter the number your team uses to identify this agreement.
   Title	A descriptive name that makes the contract easy to recognize in billing and reporting.

   
3. Confirm the Owner, Contractor, and Architect/Engineer.

   Click the dropdown to select the Owner/Client. If tghe company has n olt been added contact the accounting department to set up the company credentials. This field is not required to crfeate the contract and can be edited later.

   Field	What to enter
   Owner/Client	The project owner or client executing the owner-facing agreement.
   Contractor	The company managing the contracted work, when applicable.
   Architect/Engineer	The lead design professional, when applicable.

   
4. Confirm the status

   Open Status to review the available lifecycle states. Use Draft while the SOV or supporting information is still under review. Move the agreement forward only when it is ready for your approval and billing controls.

   Field	What to enter
   Status	Start in Draft while the contract and SOV are under review. Available states: Draft, Out for Signature, Approved, Complete, Terminated. A contract must be Approved or Complete before it can be used for change orders or owner invoices.
   Contract is executed	Select after all required parties have signed.

   
5. Complete the remaining fields

   Add a concise Description so the project team understands the owner-facing purpose and scope. Upload supporting documents if needed.

   Field	What to enter
   Default Retainage	The retainage percentage to apply to SOV line items — e.g. 10 for 10%.
   Description	The owner-facing purpose and scope of the agreement.
   Attachments	The signed agreement, exhibits, or other contract files to keep with this record.

6. Update the relevant dates.

   Date	When to use
   Start Date / Estimated Completion Date	Establish the planned contract timeline.
   Substantial Completion Date	When work is sufficiently complete for its intended use.
   Actual Completion Date	When the work is complete.
   Signed Contract Received Date	When the executed agreement was received.
   Contract Termination Date	Only if the agreement is terminated.

   
7. Clarify included and excluded scope

   Record Inclusions and Exclusions whenever the agreement needs explicit boundaries. This prevents scope assumptions from being confused with contracted work when invoices or changes are reviewed later.

   Field	What to enter
   Inclusions	The work, materials, or services included in the agreement.
   Exclusions	The work, materials, or services not included.

   
8. Apply privacy rules

   Turn on Private when only project admins and specifically selected non-admin users should access the contract. Leave it off when the project team’s normal access model is appropriate.

   When the contract is private, select the permitted project users in Access for Non-Admin Users. Select Allow these non-admin users to view the SOV items only for users who also need the contract’s line-item values.

   
9. Create and verify the agreement

   Select Create Prime Contract. The saved agreement opens on its detail page. Confirm the contract identity, owner/client, status, dates, SOV total, scope notes, and privacy setting before it enters approval or invoicing.

   

Related Training

• Add Prime Contract SOV
• Create an Owner Invoice
• Create a Prime PCO