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Contracts

Manage contracts from your projects and let clients review and sign them online.

Set up contract templates

Go to Settings → Contracts and select New template to create reusable agreements for portrait sessions, weddings, events, mini sessions, or other work.

For each template:

  1. Give it a clear name.
  2. Choose a Category: General, or one of your services.
  3. Write the agreement. Use personalized text to fill in details such as the client’s name or project date.
  4. Select Save template.
  5. Optionally select Set as default.

You can assign a contract template to a package under Settings → Services & Packages. When choosing a template for a project, LYGHTBOX checks in this order:

  1. The package’s template.
  2. A template whose category matches the project’s service.
  3. Your default template.
  4. The first available template.

Template changes apply to future contracts. Existing project contracts keep their own content, including the signed agreement.

Set the project requirement

The Contract step in the project’s Progress shows where the agreement stands. If a job does not need one, select the step and turn off Contract required at the top of the Contracts panel. The step then shows Not required.

If a contract is in progress, LYGHTBOX asks you to confirm. You cannot turn the requirement off once a contract is signed. Cancel the signed contract instead if it should no longer be valid.

Create and publish a project contract

  1. Open the project and select the Contract step in Progress. When the project is booked and has no contract, the step shows Create contract.
  2. In Create Contract, review the selected template or choose another.
  3. Review the contract name and agreement. Personalized text uses the current project and client details when the contract is opened. The signed agreement keeps the details shown at signing.
  4. Select Save Draft to keep working, or Publish Contract to let the client sign it.

Only one unsigned contract can be published or sent for a project at a time. Before publishing another, have the client sign the current contract or cancel it if it no longer applies.

Send or share the contract

If the project has an email conversation, publishing opens the send dialog. Review the client email, subject, and message, then select Send. Once the email is sent, the Contract step shows the date it was sent.

From Existing Contracts, you can:

  • Open or copy a draft preview link.
  • Open or copy the signing link for a contract awaiting signature.
  • Send a contract awaiting signature again.
  • Edit a draft or a contract awaiting signature.
  • Choose Cancel contract from the ⋮ menu when a contract should no longer be valid.

A draft link lets the client read the agreement, but they cannot sign until you publish it.

If the project has no email conversation, copy the published signing link and share it with your client.

Client signing

Clients open the public contract page, review the agreement, and draw or type a signature. After they select Sign Contract, the page confirms the signature and shows the signed agreement, signature, and signing date.

The contract then shows Signed, and the agreement stays on the project. Contracts that are awaiting signature, signed, or cancelled can also appear in the client’s portal. Drafts do not.

By default, LYGHTBOX reminds the client 3 and 7 days after you send a contract, until it is signed. To change or turn off these reminders, go to Settings → Reminders and edit Contract reminders.

Understand contract status

  • Draft - saved for you to finish. Clients can read it through a preview link but cannot sign.
  • Awaiting signature - published or emailed, and ready for the client to sign.
  • Signed - the client’s signature and signing date are on record.
  • Cancelled - no longer valid and cannot be signed.

Cancelling a signed contract makes it invalid and emails the client if their email address is available. You can delete a cancelled contract from the project, or keep it as a record.