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Plane provides a full agreement workflow for getting documents signed by workers, contractors, vendors, and other counterparties. From drafting to signing to storing the final executed document, the entire lifecycle is managed in one place.

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How agreements work

An agreement in Plane moves through a clear lifecycle: Draft—The agreement is being prepared. You can edit the content, add or remove signers, and fill in variable fields. Nothing is sent to anyone yet. Approved—The agreement has been reviewed and approved internally. It is ready to send for signatures. Signing—The agreement has been sent to counterparties for signature. Each signer receives a unique link to review and sign. The content is locked while signing is in progress. Signed—All counterparties have signed. The final executed agreement is stored as a document automatically. If something goes wrong during signing, agreements can also be cancelled (by you) or rejected (by a counterparty). In either case, the agreement returns to draft so you can make changes and send it again.
Once an agreement enters the signing state, its content and counterparties are locked. If you need to make changes, cancel the signing round first, which returns the agreement to draft for editing.

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Creating an agreement

Agreements start from a document that serves as the template.
1

Select a source document

Choose an existing document from your workspace to use as the agreement’s content. This can be a contract template, offer letter, NDA, or any document you have created or uploaded in Plane.The source document’s content is copied to the agreement, so editing the agreement does not modify the original template.
2

Edit the content

Review and customize the agreement text. Agreements support variable fields using template syntax—for example, party names, dates, and custom fields that get filled in with specific values for each signer.
3

Add counterparties

Add the people or organizations who need to sign. For each counterparty, you provide their name and email address. If you have worked with a counterparty before, you can select them from your existing contacts.Each counterparty can be assigned a party name (like “contractor” or “client”) that maps to template variables in the agreement text.
4

Review and approve

Once the content and counterparties are set, approve the agreement. This step confirms that the agreement is ready to send and locks in the current content for signing.

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Sending for signature

After an agreement is approved, you send it for signing. Plane handles the delivery:
  • Each counterparty receives an email with a unique, secure link to review and sign the agreement
  • Signers do not need a Plane account—they access the agreement through a token-based link
  • The agreement shows the full text with all variable fields filled in, so signers see exactly what they are agreeing to
  • Each signer can accept (sign) or reject the agreement
You can track the status of each signing request from the agreement detail view. You will see which counterparties have signed and which are still pending.

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The signing experience

When a counterparty clicks their signing link, they see a clean, focused view of the agreement:
  • The full agreement text is displayed with all fields filled in
  • Variable values that have been populated are highlighted so the signer can see what was customized
  • The signer reviews the agreement and either accepts or rejects it
  • No login or account creation is required—the token-based link provides secure access
This frictionless experience means counterparties can review and sign quickly without onboarding into a new tool.
Each counterparty gets their own unique signing link with a secure token. Links cannot be shared between signers—each person must use their own link.

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Multiple signers

Agreements often require more than one signature. Common scenarios include:
  • Contractor agreement—The contractor and the company both sign
  • Employee offer letter—The new hire and a company representative both sign
  • Vendor agreement—The vendor and the company both sign
  • Multi-party agreements—Any number of counterparties can be added to a single agreement
All signing requests for an agreement are part of the same signing round. The agreement is not considered fully signed until every counterparty has accepted. If any counterparty rejects, the agreement moves to rejected status and returns to draft for revision. Each signer’s request is tracked independently, so you always know exactly who has signed and who is still pending.

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Contractor agreements vs. employee agreements

While the agreement workflow is the same for all worker types, the content and purpose differ:

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Contractor agreements

Contractor agreements typically cover:
  • Scope of work and deliverables
  • Payment terms and rates
  • Intellectual property assignment
  • Confidentiality provisions
  • Termination terms
These are usually created during contractor onboarding and sent for signature as part of the setup process.

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Employee agreements

Employee agreements are generated based on local labor law requirements for the worker’s country. They typically cover:
  • Employment terms and conditions
  • Compensation and benefits
  • Notice periods and probation
  • Confidentiality and IP provisions
For employees hired through Plane’s EOR (employer of record) service, agreements are generated with the appropriate local requirements built in.

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Vendor agreements

Vendor agreements cover business-level service terms between your company and a vendor organization, including service scope, payment terms, and liability provisions.

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Viewing signed agreements

Once all counterparties have signed an agreement, several things happen automatically:
  • The agreement status moves to signed
  • A document artifact is created and stored in your workspace’s documents
  • The signed agreement is accessible from the worker’s profile (for worker-related agreements) and from the agreements list
  • Email notifications are sent confirming the completed signing
You can view the fully executed agreement at any time from the agreements section or the worker’s document library.

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Agreement lifecycle summary

Here is the full set of states an agreement can move through:
StateWhat is happeningWho acts
DraftAgreement is being prepared and editedYou (admin)
ApprovedAgreement is reviewed and ready to sendYou (admin)
SigningSent to counterparties, waiting for signaturesCounterparties
SignedAll parties have signed, document is storedComplete
RejectedA counterparty rejected the agreementReturns to draft
CancelledYou cancelled the signing roundReturns to draft

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API access

The Contracts API gives you programmatic access to view agreements associated with your workers.
Yes. When you create an agreement from a source document, the content is copied. The original document stays unchanged, so you can create as many agreements from the same template as you need.
The agreement returns to draft status. You can review the rejection, edit the agreement content or counterparties, and send it for signing again. The previous signing round is preserved for history.
Yes. You can cancel a signing round at any time. All pending signing links are invalidated, and the agreement returns to draft so you can make changes and re-send.
No. Counterparties receive a secure, token-based link via email. They can review and sign the agreement without creating an account or logging in.