ContractStudio Getting Started Guide

Welcome to ContractStudio! This guide will help you get up and running with the platform in 15 minutes.

Step 1: Access the Platform

Open your browser and go to:

Local: http://localhost:3000
Production: https://contractstudio.com

You'll see the login page. Enter:

Email: Your work email
Password: Your password

If you don't have an account, contact your administrator.

Step 3: Onboarding Wizard

On first login, you'll see the onboarding wizard:

Organization Type — Choose whether you're a law firm or an internal legal department
Configure Company — Enter your company's CNPJ to auto-fill its name and register it
Create Your First Contract — Pick a template and generate a real first contract right in the wizard

Click "Pular Tutorial" (Skip Tutorial) at any point to dismiss the wizard and explore on your own.

Understanding the Interface

The left sidebar is an icon rail — click a category icon to slide open its panel:

Category	Purpose	Includes
🏠 Dashboard (Painel)	Overview of your contracts and obligations	—
📋 Contratos	Create and manage contracts	Meus Contratos, Criar Contrato, Modelos, Workflows, Biblioteca de Cláusulas
💬 Revisões	Review and approve contracts	Unified review hub
🛒 Marketplace	Buy/sell contract templates	(law firm accounts)
📊 Inteligência	Revenue and obligation tracking	Financeiro, Mercado
👥 Cadastros	Manage clients and vendors	Partes
⚙️ Gestão	Organization profile & settings	Meu Perfil, Equipe, Configurações
🛡️ Administração	Team, permissions, settings (admins only)	Usuários, Papéis, Permissões, Logs de Auditoria

Note: Cláusulas, Partes, and Financeiro are no longer separate top-level sections — they now live inside Contratos, Cadastros, and Inteligência respectively.

Dashboard Overview

Your dashboard shows:

Contracts: Total, draft, active, completed
Obligations: Upcoming deadlines, at-risk items
Recent Activity: Latest changes and notifications
Quick Actions: Create contract, view your contracts, pending reviews, marketplace, and more

10-Minute Workflow: Create Your First Contract

Click "Novo Contrato" on the Contratos list (or Criar Contrato in the sidebar) to open the creation screen. You'll be asked to pick one of four methods:

Method 1: Do Modelo — From Template (Recommended)

Step 1: Choose "Do Modelo"

On the creation screen, click the "Do Modelo" card (marked "Recomendado")

Step 2: Choose Template

Browse templates by category
Look for one matching your need (e.g., "Service Agreement")
Click a template to preview and select it

Step 3: Fill in Basics

Contract Title: e.g., "SaaS Service Agreement with Acme Corp"
Description: Optional, for internal notes
Parties:
- Add your organization (if not already set)
- Add counterparty (client or vendor)
- Search by CNPJ or type name

Step 4: Review & Save

Template content loads with placeholders
Review the clauses
Save as a draft when ready

Method 2: Importar — Upload Existing Contract

Step 1: Choose "Importar"

On the creation screen, click the "Importar" card
Select a PDF, DOC, or DOCX file from your computer (max 50 MB)
System automatically extracts clauses

Step 2: Review Extracted Clauses

AI automatically identifies clauses
You can adjust extraction
Add/remove clauses as needed

Step 3: Add Metadata

Title, description, parties
Save

Method 3: Com IA — AI Assistant

Step 1: Choose "Com IA"

On the creation screen, click the "Com IA" card
Describe contract in plain language:
- "Service agreement for cloud hosting, 3 years, $50k/year, with SLA"
AI generates contract structure

Step 2: Review Generated Content

AI creates draft with clauses
Review quality and content
Edit as needed

Step 3: Save

When satisfied, save the draft

Method 4: Editor — Build From Scratch

For advanced users: skip templates and AI generation entirely and start from a blank, AI-assisted clause editor. Choose the "Editor" card on the creation screen.

Key Workflows

Workflow 1: Analyze Contract for Risk

Once you have a contract:

Open Contract → Click contract from list
Click "Analyze" button
Wait for Results (30-120 seconds)
Review Risk Summary:
- Risk score (0-100)
- Risk level (Low/Medium/High/Critical)
- Key issues highlighted
View Clause Analysis:
- Click on high-risk clauses
- See specific problems and AI recommendations

Understanding Risk Scores:

0-20: Green (Safe) — Standard terms, low risk
21-50: Yellow (Medium) — Some concerns, manageable
51-80: Orange (High) — Notable risks, should negotiate
81-100: Red (Critical) — Dangerous terms, must negotiate

Open Contract
Click "Request Review"
Select Reviewers — Choose team members to review
Add Instructions — e.g., "Please review payment terms"
Send — Reviewers notified

Reviewers can:

Add comments to specific clauses
Approve or request changes
See all comments in one view

Workflow 3: Negotiate with Counterparty

Open Contract
Click "Share with Party"
Enter Counterparty Email or select from party list
Set Permissions: View only, Comment, Propose changes
Send Link — Email sent automatically
Counterparty receives email with access link
Counterparty views and comments
You see proposals in "Pending Proposals" section
Accept or counter-propose changes

Workflow 4: Track Obligations & Deadlines

Open Contract
Click "Extract Obligations"
AI finds all duties, deadlines, payments
Review and confirm obligations
Save
Dashboard shows upcoming deadlines
Get notified when approaching due date
Mark complete when obligation fulfilled

Open Contract
Click "Export PDF" (top right)
Choose format:
- Signed PDF (for execution)
- Clean PDF (for sharing)
Download to your computer
Or Share link directly

Common Questions

Q: How do I invite team members?

A: Go to Admin → Users → "Invite User". Enter email, select role, send. They receive email with login link.

Q: Can I revert to an older version?

A: Yes! Click "Versions" → Find older version → Click "Restore". Creates new version with old content.

Q: How do I add notes to obligations?

A: Open obligation → "Add Note" → Type internal notes → Save. Only visible to team.

Q: What if I want to use a clause from another contract?

A: Click the clause → "Copy" → Go to target contract → Paste. Or save to clause library.

Q: Can counterparties edit the contract?

A: Not by default. You can give them "Propose" permission so they suggest changes, but you approve/reject them.

Q: How does the AI know about Brazilian law?

A: ContractStudio's AI is tuned specifically for Brazilian law and commercial practices. It provides recommendations in context of Brazilian law and business culture.

Q: Is my data secure?

A: Yes. All data encrypted in transit and at rest. See our Security and Privacy Policy pages for details.

Tips & Tricks

Pro Tip 1: Use Templates

Creating from templates is 5x faster than starting from scratch. The marketplace has 1000+ templates.

Pro Tip 2: Comment with @mentions

Add comment → @username → They get notified. Great for getting specific feedback.

Pro Tip 3: Set Approval Workflows

Instead of emailing people, create approval workflow. Stakeholders see pending approvals in their dashboard.

Pro Tip 4: Track Negotiation History

System remembers which clauses each counterparty accepts. Next time similar clause appears, you get a warning.

Pro Tip 5: Bulk Export

Instead of exporting one at a time, use Contracts → Bulk Export. Select multiple, download all at once.

Next Steps

After Your First Contract:

✅ Create a contract (you just did this!)
📊 Run analysis to see AI features
👥 Add team member
📤 Share contract for review
💬 Practice commenting and mentioning

Learn More:

FAQ & Troubleshooting — Common issues
Developer Docs — Technical documentation

Help & Support

Getting Help In-App

? icon in top right — In-app help
Settings → Contact Support — Email support team
Keyboard shortcut: Press ? to see all shortcuts

Common Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd/Ctrl + N`	New contract
`Cmd/Ctrl + F`	Search
`Cmd/Ctrl + S`	Save
`?`	Help
`Cmd/Ctrl + /`	Command palette

Support Channels

Email: support@contractstudio.com
Chat: In-app chat (bottom right)
Documentation: https://docs.contractstudio.com
Community: https://community.contractstudio.com (coming soon)

What's Next?

Congratulations! You've completed the getting started guide. You can now:

✅ Create and manage contracts
✅ Use AI analysis
✅ Collaborate with team
✅ Track obligations
✅ Share with external parties

Ready to dive deeper? Check out the FAQ for answers to common questions.

Getting Started Guide Version: 1.1
Last Updated: 2026-08-17
Estimated Read Time: 15 minutes