Mark these items on the document in front of you
- All parties and assets are identified correctly
- Every referenced exhibit is attached
- The total cost can be reconstructed
- Verbal promises are written into the deal
- Renewal and cancellation dates are recorded
- Blank spaces are crossed out or completed
Confirm the contract’s identity
Match the legal names, addresses, product or property, effective date and every referenced schedule. A quote, brochure or sales email is not automatically part of the agreement. If a promise matters, locate it in the signed package or request an amendment.
Build the document inventory. List the main agreement, exhibits, schedules, policies, specifications and linked terms with version dates. Resolve missing pages, conflicts and blanks before interpreting the deal.
If the signature makes an individual answer for another party's obligation, complete the personal-guarantee risk review before accepting the liability and exit terms.
Rebuild the total price
Add deposits, recurring charges, taxes, finance costs, mandatory services, add-ons and charges triggered later. Note which figures are fixed, estimated or adjustable and who controls each adjustment.
Trace performance and payment together. For each payment, identify the work, delivery, approval or milestone it follows. Mark deposits, recurring charges, adjustments, late costs and amounts triggered by cancellation, damage or delay.
Map performance and acceptance
Write down what is delivered, by whom, at what standard and on what date. Find inspection, rejection and cure procedures. A warranty has little practical value if notice must be sent through an obscure channel within a short period.
Rehearse the exit. Choose a realistic cancellation, nonperformance or dispute scenario. Follow notice method, cure period, refund, termination cost, property return, governing law and dispute route using the final wording.
Trace renewal and exit
Locate the initial term, automatic renewal, cancellation window, early termination cost, notice address and required delivery method. Put notice dates on a calendar before signing.
Read the dispute path
Identify governing law, venue, arbitration, class-action waiver, fee shifting and notice requirements. These provisions affect the cost and location of resolving a problem even when the underlying price is small.
Turn the agreement into a map of obligations
A complete contract review identifies who must do what, by when, for how much and with what consequence if plans change. The signature page is only the end of that map.
The pages and terms that control the decision
All parties and assets are identified correctly
Which document controls if two terms conflict?
Every referenced exhibit is attached
What can change after signing, and by how much?
The total cost can be reconstructed
Exactly how must cancellation notice be delivered?
Items the document should answer clearly
- Which document controls if two terms conflict?
- What can change after signing, and by how much?
- Exactly how must cancellation notice be delivered?
- Which promises are not included in this written agreement?
Before-You-Sign Checklist uses the values from this review in a working calculation.
Create a marked signing copy
Work from the complete version you may sign. Mark each controlling page, attachment and unresolved blank so the final reconciliation can detect substitutions or late changes.
For this decision, the first working threshold is concrete: All parties and assets are identified correctly; Every referenced exhibit is attached; The total cost can be reconstructed.
Read those checks beside the sections on Confirm the contract’s identity, Rebuild the total price, Map performance and acceptance. Completing one item does not cure a mismatch elsewhere, so leave the decision open until the record is internally consistent.
Assign every unresolved row an owner and a date for receiving the missing document so it cannot disappear in the rush to sign.
| Document check | Location or version to mark | Question for the final copy |
|---|---|---|
| All parties and assets are identified correctly | Match the legal identity or asset identifier across the final document and an independent authoritative record. | Which document controls if two terms conflict? |
| Every referenced exhibit is attached | Mark the page and version, obtain every referenced attachment and preserve the complete final package. | What can change after signing, and by how much? |
| The total cost can be reconstructed | Copy the dollar amount or rate, its source page, what it includes and the condition that can change it. | Exactly how must cancellation notice be delivered? |
| Verbal promises are written into the deal | Put the promised result, standard, responsible party, completion date and remedy in the signed writing. | Which promises are not included in this written agreement? |
| Renewal and cancellation dates are recorded | Record the exact date, lead time, delivery rule and proof that notice was sent or received. | Which document controls if two terms conflict? |
| Blank spaces are crossed out or completed | Mark the page and version, obtain every referenced attachment and preserve the complete final package. | What can change after signing, and by how much? |
Repeat the check on the signing version. Save the completed document and every incorporated attachment together, with no blank relying on a verbal explanation.