Auto-filled details and blanks
When you write a contract in CoreHue, you want bits of it to change from client to client. Their name, the shoot date, the total. There are two completely different ways to do that. They sit side by side in the editor, and picking the wrong one is the most common contract mistake people make.
Here is the whole thing in one line:
Variables are filled in by CoreHue, from information it already has. Client fields are blanks your client types into while they are signing.
The quick test
Ask yourself: do I already know this answer?
Yes, it is in CoreHue somewhere. The client's name, your business address, the booking date, the invoice total. Use a variable, and CoreHue fills it in for you.
No, only the client can tell me. An emergency contact, the name of their venue coordinator, how they would like to be credited. Use a client field. They fill it in as they sign.
Variables: CoreHue fills these
You insert a variable from the contract editor's toolbar. There are 28, grouped by where the information comes from, and they show in the editor as coloured pills:
| Group | Examples |
|---|---|
| Client | Client Name, Client Email, Client Phone, Client Address |
| Business | Business Name, Business Email, Business Phone, Business Address, Registration Number |
| Contract | Contract Number, Contract Date, Expiry Date |
| Booking | Booking Date, Booking End Date, Service Name, Venue, Booking Duration, Start Time, End Time, Package, Add-ons |
| Invoice | Invoice Number, Invoice Total, Currency, Deposit, Balance |
| Dates | Today's Date, Current Year |
Write the contract once with Client Name and Booking Date in it. Every contract you send from then on carries the right details, without you retyping anything.
A variable that cannot be filled stops the send
A variable only works if the information actually exists. If a contract is not linked to a booking, the booking variables have nothing to draw on. If you have never filled in your business address, that variable has nothing to draw on either.
CoreHue does not let a half-filled contract out. The send is blocked, and a Cannot send contract box lists each variable, its group, and why it cannot be filled: No booking linked, Business phone not set in profile, No expiry date set. Link the record it needs, or take the variable out, and the send goes through.
The one exception is a contract inside a proposal. The invoice does not exist until the client accepts, so every invoice variable is allowed to wait. That only holds while the proposal has Payment switched on. If it does not, there will never be an invoice, and the proposal will not send until you turn payment on or take those variables out.
Red italic text in a finished document is the other side of the same idea. It is how a variable with nothing to fill it looks if one ever reaches a reader. You see it, rather than an empty space.
Client fields: your client fills these
A client field is a blank line in the contract body. Your client sees it while they are reading and signing, and they type into it.
There are two kinds:
- Text, for anything written: a name, a note, an address
- Date, with a date picker, so the format is always right
A contract can carry up to 50 of them, and each one can be required or optional. A field is required unless you say otherwise.
Give each field a clear label. Your client is reading a legal document, possibly on their phone, possibly in a hurry. "Name of your day-of coordinator" is a much better label than "Coordinator".
Once they have signed, whatever they typed is locked into the finished contract. You see it filled in when you open or download the signed copy.
Side by side
| Variable | Client field | |
|---|---|---|
| Who fills it | CoreHue | Your client |
| When | The moment you send the contract | While they are signing |
| Where the answer comes from | Your account, the contact, the booking, the invoice | Their head |
| Can you change it afterwards | Change the source information and reissue | No. It is part of the signed record |
| If it cannot be filled | The send is blocked and CoreHue names the reason | The client sees an empty blank to complete |
A worked example
A portrait session contract might use both:
This agreement is between Business Name (variable) and Client Name (variable), for a session on Booking Date (variable) at Venue (variable).
The total fee is Invoice Total (variable), with Deposit (variable) payable on signing.
Emergency contact on the day: ________________ (client field)
Please list anyone who must not be photographed: ________________ (client field)
Everything CoreHue knows, it fills. Everything only the client knows, they fill.
Questionnaire answers do not flow into contracts
It would be reasonable to expect that asking for the venue in a questionnaire makes it appear in the contract. It does not work that way. Questionnaire answers stay in the questionnaire.
If you need something in a contract, either add a client field so the client fills it in at signing, or read the questionnaire response and type it in before you send.
Where to go next
- Variables and blanks: the full list, where each one reads from, and the extra rules for a contract attached to a booking service
- Filling in names automatically: the separate, much simpler way names fill in inside emails