What's in the Checklist
- **The Basics (5 checks)** — Party names, effective date, exhibits, scope of work, blank spaces
- **Money & Payment (5 checks)** — Fees, payment schedule, late penalties, hidden costs, price escalation
- **Risk & Liability (4 checks)** — Liability caps, indemnification, confidentiality, IP ownership
- **Exit & Disputes (4 checks)** — Termination process, auto-renewal, jurisdiction, arbitration
The four extra checks beyond the 15-point core come from the Money and Exit sections — payment terms and dispute clauses are where most contracts hide their worst surprises.
Each checkpoint includes a brief explanation of what to look for and what 'reasonable' looks like. You don't need a law degree to use it — just the willingness to actually read what you're signing.
How to Use the Printable Checklist
- **Step 1** — Read the contract once, without marking anything. Get a feel for the overall structure.
- **Step 2** — Go through each checklist item in order. Check PASS, FLAG, or FAIL for each.
- **Step 3** — For every FLAG and FAIL, write down what specifically is wrong and what you'd want changed.
- **Step 4** — Send your marked-up checklist along with your revision requests to the other party.
- **Step 5** — Review the revised contract against the same checklist. Make sure every FLAG was addressed.
For simple contracts under 5 pages, this takes about 15-20 minutes. For longer agreements, budget 30-45 minutes — or skip to the AI approach below.
When to Use AI Instead of a Paper Checklist
- **You might not know what 'reasonable' looks like.** Is a 3-year non-compete reasonable? Should a liability cap be $50K or $500K? The checklist can't answer these — it can only flag the question.
- **You can miss patterns.** A clause that looks fine in isolation might be dangerous when combined with another clause three pages later. AI catches these cross-clause risks.
- **It's slow for complex contracts.** A 30-page SaaS agreement with multiple schedules is going to take hours with a paper checklist. AI does it in 30 seconds.
ContractRev's AI reviewer runs essentially the same checklist — but automatically, with context-aware analysis. It knows what's standard for your contract type, flags clauses that deviate from norms, and suggests specific rewrites. And it catches the cross-clause risks that a paper checklist misses.
Get the Checklist (or Let AI Do It)
You have two options. Both work — pick the one that fits your situation.
**Option A: Manual review.** Print the checklist, go through it point by point, and negotiate from your findings. Best for short contracts when you have time and want to stay hands-on.
**Option B: AI review.** Upload your contract to ContractRev and get the checklist run automatically. You'll get a risk score, flagged clauses with explanations, and specific revision suggestions — all in plain English. Best for any contract involving significant money, long-term commitment, or complexity you're not confident evaluating manually.
Either way, stop signing contracts without a systematic review. The checklist is your first line of defense — whether you run it on paper or with AI.
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