General Information
ContractWriter is a fully automated Excel program that writes the Contract, Cover Pages, Draw Schedules, Allowance Schedules, Warranties, Right of Rescission and other related contract documents for new home construction, and residential and light commercial remodeling remodeling projects.
This introduction will provide a quick overview of the program and it’s features so you’ll know what to expect it to do, and a summary of the various manuals, guides and references that comprise the program manual, so you’ll know where to start and where to find additional information.
Installation
You may install ContractWriter by downloading it from our website at www.PowerToolsSoftware.com. If you’ve never downloaded a file before, a concise Download Guide is also available on the website. You may also install ContractWriter from our Installation CD. With either method, our professional installation program will install the program for you in less than 60 seconds.
Setup
Setting up ContractWriter involves entering your company name and address, and making a couple of display settings to match the program to your computer monitor. A concise 6-step Installation & Setup Guide is available on our website.
Basic Procedure
The program works by a simple process of selecting the contract clauses you want to include in your contract from the Checklist of over 350 pre-written clauses. These clauses are logically grouped in categories (Basic Information, Contract Price, Draw Schedule, Warranty, etc.) and the selection process includes the ability to exclude or include a specific clause or group of clauses within that category. You can also specify Draw Schedule amounts, Unit Cost allowances, Fixed Cost allowances, and many other issues.
After you have made your selections, use Contract | Generate Contract generate a picture-perfect contract you can view, edit, print and save.
Previewing & Printing
You may preview and print any document using the menu commands under that document’s menu. Preview, change the Checklist selections, generate a new contract, and preview again until you are satisfied, then print the contract.
Other Features
A comprehensive list and descriptions of the program’s major features is available on the Program Features page.
ContractWriter is fully automated and completely menu controlled, with all the commands you need to perform every task like Insert New Clause and Save to Hard Disc.
ContractWriter is completely customizable and allows you to edit our existing clauses, or add your own unique contract clauses, including adding entire new contract sections, as easily as typing them in or using your mouse.
10 Template Contracts, including Fixed-Price, Cost-Plus, Design/Build, New Home on Owner’s Lot, and others already setup for you to select and begin using right away. Of course, you’ll probably want to customize our basic contracts with your own additional clauses, but these are a great start.
More than 450 Contract Clauses , already included in the program, selected from hundreds of builders contracts from across the entire country. We researched and identified the best-worded clauses on every subject that we could find, and you’ll benefit immediately from our hard work.
Automated Draw Schedule that divides up your Contract Price into draw amounts from the percentages you entered. Letting the program do the math allows you to focus on the draw descriptions and percentages. Of course, you can override the percentages and simply enter the dollar amounts if you wish.
Contract Configuration Settings that allow you to select if you want your Draw Schedule, Allowance Schedule and/or the Warranty incorporated into the main contract or if you would prefer to have one or more of these documents created as separate documents.
A GoTo feature that allows you to jump to any section of the Checklist by selecting it from a pull-down window. Great for editing!
The Customer Type feature allows you to change the reference to your customer throughout the entire contract. Your choices are Owner, Buyer, Customer, Lease Holder, Property Manager or Client. This allows you to tailor your contract wording to suit the nature of your relationship with the customer.
A Memorize Template feature allows you to name and save a checklist configuration. This allows you to configure your own standard contracts and recall them at any time. This is a great time saver when writing the same or similar contracts.
A Multiple Documents feature that allows you to select a group of documents to preview and print together with one command. This makes easy work of printing multi-page contracts.
The Documentation
ContractWriter is EASY to LEARN, but to ensure that all your questions are answered, we put together several items to help you.
The Manual’s Table of Contents provides an easy-to-review list with descriptions and links to all the documents that comprise the ContractWriter Manual. You may also download all the manual’s documents in PDF format from the Download Page.
The 1 page Installation & Setup Guide will steer you through the simple process of downloading the program and setting it up for your business.
The User Guide is a concise, 4 page “mini” manual of the programs features and functions.
The Reference section of the Manual includes separate webpages for each of the main menu commands Each of the separate pages lists every menu command under that menu, with an explanation of it’s purpose, and describes every dialog box and the purpose of every function, control or data entry field on them.
The Document Summary is a catalog of every document in the program and description of it’s purpose