Grouping Contracts by Type

ℹ️ Contract Types Overview

This article explains how to use the “Group contracts by type” feature in Pivott.

With this feature, you can:

• See contracts automatically grouped by their type (for example: Contract, Permit, License, Inspection, Warranty, etc.)
• Quickly spot gaps or duplicates in your contract coverage
• Update and clean up contract types in bulk

If you don’t see this feature in your account, your account manager can enable it for you.

🗒️ How Contract Types Work

When “Group contract by type” is turned on in a contract list, Pivott reorganizes the list so that contracts are grouped under headings by their type instead of being shown as one long list.

• Group headings: Each type (for example, “Contract”, “Warranty”, “Insurance Policy”) becomes a section header.
• Contracts under each group: All contracts with that type appear together under the matching heading.
• “Not Assigned” group: If some contracts don’t have a type yet, they’ll usually appear in a separate group like “Not Assigned” or similar. This makes it easy to find contracts that still need to be categorized (not that they have to be).

You may see this grouping in several places, such as:

• Vendor contract lists – Contracts grouped by type for a specific vendor
• Property contract lists – Contracts grouped by type for a specific property

You can turn grouping on or off with a control near the top of the page, such as a “Group by” view toggle. When you turn it off, the list returns to a simple, ungrouped view.

Please note: The All Contracts list and card views cannot be grouped by type due to their size, but it is visible as a column:

⚙️ Setting Up Contract Types

Before you can use contract types effectively, your organization should agree on a simple set of standard types.

Contract types are managed in Organization Settings by administrator users.

1. Open Settings
   • Look for something like “Settings”, “Contracts”, or “Configuration” in the main menu.
2. Find the contract type configuration
   • Look for a section named “Contract Types”
3. Add new contract types
   • Use an “Add”, “New type”, or similar button.
   • Enter a clear, plain-language name like “Contract” or “Permit”.
   • Keep type names short, consistent, and easy to understand for everyone.
4. Edit or delete existing types
   • If a type is no longer used, you may be able to edit its name or delete it, depending on your configuration.
   • Avoid deleting types that are already in use; instead, prefer renaming or deactivating so existing contracts remain readable.

If you’re not sure where to manage types or don’t see the option, ask your account manager to confirm that contract types and “Group contract by type” are enabled for your account.

📝 Assigning Types to Individual Contracts

Once your list of contract types is set up, you can assign a type to each contract so it appears in the correct group.

Typically, you can do this in two ways:

1. While Creating a New Contract

• Start a new contract (for example, by clicking a “New Contract” or “Add Contract” button).
• In the contract form, look for a field labeled “Contract type."
• Choose the appropriate type from the dropdown list.
• Save or create the contract.

From then on, that contract will appear under the chosen type whenever you use the “Group contract by type” view.

2. Editing an Existing Contract

• Open the contract you want to update.
• Click “Edit” (or the equivalent button).
• Find the “Contract type” field.
• Choose the correct type from the dropdown.
• Save your changes.

This is especially helpful for cleaning up older contracts that were created before types were in use.

✨ How Pivott AI Assigns Types

When you upload contracts, Pivott can use AI to assign a contract type automatically. This is meant to save time and reduce manual data entry.

Here’s how it generally works:

• What the AI looks at
  • The contents of the document (titles, headings, key phrases).
  • Common patterns, such as words like “Lease,” “Service Agreement,” “Insurance Policy,” “Maintenance,” etc.
• How the AI suggests a type
  • After you upload a contract file, the system analyzes it in the background.
  • It then selects the most likely contract type from your existing list of types.
  • This suggested type appears in the “Contract type” field for that contract.
• Your role
  • Always review the suggested type. AI is helpful, but it can make mistakes.
  • If the suggestion is wrong or too generic, change it manually to the correct type before or after saving.
  • Over time, reviewing and correcting the AI’s suggestions helps keep your data consistent and improves how useful your reports and grouped lists will be.

If you don’t see AI-powered type suggestions in your upload process, your account manager can tell you whether this option is enabled for your organization.

☑️ Using Bulk Actions to Set Types

If you have many contracts without a type, or you want to standardize types across multiple contracts at once, you can use Bulk Actions to update them in one go.

Typical steps:

• Open a contract list
  • This might be a vendor contract list, a property contract list, or the all-contracts view.
• Select the contracts to update
  • Use the checkboxes next to each contract to select them.
  • Some lists also include a “Select all” checkbox to quickly select every contract on the page.
• Pick “Change type” (or similar)
  • Select the new contract type
• A dialog or side panel will open with a “Contract type” dropdown.
  • Choose the correct type that should apply to all selected contracts.
  • Confirm the update
• Review the number of contracts that will be changed.

After this, all selected contracts will share the new type and appear together in the “Group contract by type” view.

Tips for using Bulk Actions effectively:

• Filter first: Use filters (for example, by vendor, property, status, or keyword) to narrow down the list, then apply a bulk type update to that smaller group.
• Check the “No type” group: When grouping is enabled, start with the “No type” group to quickly assign types to uncategorized contracts.

📋 Tips & Tricks

To get the most value from “Group contract by type”:

• Ask your account manager to ensure the feature and contract types are enabled.
• Define a clear, simple list of contract types your team will use.
• Assign types consistently when creating or editing contracts.
• Review and adjust AI-suggested types after uploads.
• Use Bulk Actions to quickly clean up and standardize existing contracts.

Once everything is in place, your contract lists will be easier to scan, easier to manage, and far more useful for understanding your organization’s contract coverage at a glance.