Contract Writing Quick Start User Guide

Quick start for Contract Writing

New to the Appian Contract Writing solution? Want to quickly get up and running so you can start managing your acquisition life cycle? Then you've come to the right place.

The Contract Writing Quick Start User Guide walks you through the most common views and actions you’ll use to manage your procurement processes and activities. It’s designed to get you up and running so that you can use CW to keep track of all of your procurements and quickly execute your tasks.

After reviewing this guide, you’ll understand how to:

• Navigate My Workspace
• Create a new solicitation
• View solicitations
• Create a new award
• View awards
• Create a new agreement
• View agreements
• Create a document from a template
• Use smart search
• Search documents with the Smart Search tab
• Chat with multiple documents using AI
• View and manage records
• Access Procurement Copilot

User requirements

Before you begin using Contract Writing, be sure you have access to the appropriate user groups for viewing and editing the awards you manage. See the Groups Reference Page for more information about group types and visibility.

My Workspace

When you sign in to Contract Writing, it opens on the MY WORKSPACE page, which gives you immediate access to all of your active requirements, solicitations, awards, agreements, and open tasks.

Under Active Procurements, click between the Requirements, Solicitations, Awards, and Agreements tabs to perform the following:

• Requirements
  • See a list of your active procurement requirements and key details like the requirement status, committed amount, estimated total contract value, and more.
  • Search or filter your Requirements list by status.
  • Take action on a requirement, including starting a contract modification directly from an approved requirement. See Create a modification from a requirement.
• Solicitations
  • See a list of your active solicitations and key details like the solicitation status, assigned team, estimated total contract value, expected award date, and more.
  • Search or filter your solicitations by status, team, or both.
  • Create, update, duplicate, or delete a solicitation.
• Awards
  • See a list view of your active awards and key details like the award status, assigned team, performance period, award amount, and more.
  • Search or filter your awards by item status, team, or program.
  • Create or import a new award.
  • Update, duplicate, or delete an award.
• Agreements
  • See a list of your active Other Transaction Agreements (OTs).
  • Search or filter your agreements by status, performer, or both.
  • Create a new agreement.

Under Active Checklist Items, you can view a list of all of your checklist items and a link to their associated solicitation or award. In addition, you can easily search for a specific checklist item and take action on a single checklist item.

Contract Writing gives you access to this real-time data so you can quickly evaluate where your requirements, solicitations, awards, agreements, and associated checklist items are at any point in the acquisition process.

Procurements

Select the PROCUREMENTS page to see a complete list of all of your organization's solicitations and awards. From this page, you can easily:

• View the status and key details for all solicitations and awards
• Search, and filter the complete solicitations and awards lists
• Create a new award or solicitation
• Export a complete or filtered list

Managing solicitations

Whether you're starting fresh with a new requirement or need to review existing opportunities, CW provides a comprehensive and intuitive experience for managing all phases of your solicitations. This section will guide you through the process of creating new solicitations from scratch and viewing and interacting with existing ones within the solution.

Creating a new solicitation

Creating a new solicitation is one of the first tasks you may need to tackle in your organization's contract writing process. Manually creating a solicitation can be extremely time-consuming. Contract Writing simplifies this process by providing a guided experience that walks you through inputting the solicitation data.

To create a new solicitation:

1. Click CREATE SOLICITATION under Solicitations. A guided configuration walks you through the process of entering the solicitation data required to create a new solicitation record.

   

2. Fill in the following details in the guided configuration window:
   • Key Details: Important key information about your solicitation such as number, title, solicitation method, and format type.
   • Office Information: Who the solicitation is issued by, administered by, paid for by, and additional team information.
   • Response Collection: Response information such as due date, timezone, and contact details.
   • Additional Details: Additional solicitation information such as expected award date, period of performance (POP) start and end date, and Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) rating.
   • Codes: Any Product Service Code (PSC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes associated with the solicitation.
3. Click CREATE to create the solicitation.

When you've finished creating a new solicitation, the Solicitation Confirmation dialog provides a link that allows you to go directly to the solicitation Summary view and confirm the solicitation data you entered.

Select SF1447 as the form type

Contract Writing supports the Standard Form 1447 (SF1447) for solicitations. When you select Standard Form as the Format Type in the Key Details step, the Form Type dropdown includes SF1447 as an option.

When you select SF1447, Contract Writing maps and pre-populates the SF1447 form fields from existing procurement data based on the defined field mapping. Pre-populated fields reduce manual entry and ensure data consistency between your solicitation record and the generated SF1447 document.

SF1447 is available for both RFP and RFQ solicitation methods.

Viewing solicitations

You can take a closer look at your solicitations by clicking on the Solicitations tab to access a complete list of your active solicitations. You can also search and filter awards from the list to display the solicitations you want to see.

Want to see more details about a specific solicitation? Simply click a solicitation link from the list to access additional information, including the status, description, duration, line items, assigned team members, and much more.

Quickly take action on a solicitation, like assigning a checklist item, initiating a review process, creating an amendment, or creating an award.

Line Items

Under Line items, you can see the breakdown of line items for the solicitation. Here you can search, filter for, and drill down to each line item to view more information. If the solicitation is in draft status, you can update, add, or delete line items from the solicitation from this view.

Contract Text

The Contract Text section displays the contracts related to the solicitation. If the solicitation is in draft status, you can select a contract and click +ADD TEXT to add contract information. You can enter text manually or you can choose Use AI assistance to generate content automatically based on a prompt.

Managing awards

The following section guides you through the process of managing awards within CW, covering the creation of new awards and the viewing and interaction with existing ones. Whether you're initiating a new award from scratch or reviewing existing contracts, CW offers a comprehensive and intuitive experience to streamline your award management process.

Creating a new award

Once the contract is finalized, an award can be created and awarded to the vendor. CW simplifies this process by providing a guided experience that walks you through inputting the award data.

To create a new award:

1. Click CREATE AWARD under Awards. A guided configuration walks you through the process of entering the award data required to create a new award record.

   

2. Fill in the following details in the guided configuration window:
   • Award Details: Important key information about your award such as title, contract period, instrument type, and description.
   • Codes: Any PSC and NAICS codes associated with the award.
   • Office Information: Who the award is issued by, administered by, paid for by, and additional team information.
   • Vendor Information: The vendor's name, details, and point of contact.
   • Team Members: The Contracting Officer, Contract Specialist, and Contracting Officer Representative from the agency side.
3. Click CREATE to create the award.

An award can also be created directly from the solicitation summary view. To create an award, go to the summary view of a solicitation, click on the … icon, and click Create Award. Some award information will be populated based on the solicitation.

Create an award from a solicitation with SF1447

When you create an award from a solicitation that uses the SF1447 form type, Contract Writing carries forward all SF1447 solicitation data to the award automatically. The SF1447 form fields that were populated during solicitation creation are pre-populated on the award, reducing duplicate data entry.

If a form field exists on both the solicitation and the award with different values, the award value takes precedence as the newer information.

The SF1447 serves as the contract document sent to the vendor for signature. When releasing an award with SF1447, the Release Award form defaults to Bilateral release.

You can also select SF1447 for ad-hoc awards that are not created from a solicitation. In this case, solicitation-related fields are left blank and you manually provide the values.

Viewing awards

From the Awards tab, you can view a complete list of your organization's awards. Use the Search box, filters, or both to narrow down the list and display only the awards you want to see.

From the Awards list, you can drill down into a specific award to access its Summary page by clicking the award link. From here, you can quickly see the award details such as total amount, vendor, line item, and contract text

You can also take action from the summary page to upload documents, add checklist items, or update the award.

From the Awards grid, contract managers can also create mass modifications to add, remove, or replace clauses across multiple released awards at once. See Create mass modifications.

Funding

From the Funding tab, you can enter and manage the details of the Funding Sources used for the Award. You can add funding to an award if it is in draft status. To add funding, click +ADD and capture the details of the fund.

Adding a funding source makes it available to obligate on the line items for that Award. The Obligated Amount and the Available Amount are automatically calculated based on obligations you make at the line item level.

Line Items

Under Line items, you can see the breakdown of line items for the award. Here you can search, filter, and drill down to each line item to view more information. If the award is in draft status, you can update, add, delete, duplicate, and obligate funding for your line item. Contracting personnel can create subline items (SLINs) underneath contract line items (CLINS), which provides more flexibility and granularity in tracking the goods or services expected to be delivered as part of the award.

You can also generate line items with AI from a prompt or a document, then review and refine them before adding them to the award. See Generate line items with AI.

To create many line items at once, you can import them from an Excel template, or export AI-generated line items to edit in Excel and import them back. See Export and import line items.

Funding sources that are added to the Funding tab are made available to obligate at the line item level. When an award is in draft, you can obligate these funds by selecting the line item you want to update and clicking on UPDATE. You can also click +ADD from the Funding section on the line item summary.

Simply enter the amount you wish to obligate from each funding source and click UPDATE. Funding sources without an amount entered will not be obligated. Once added, the solution will update the balance of the total Obligated Amount and total Available amount for that funding source.

Contract Text

The Contract Text section displays any custom contract text to be included in the generated award documentation. If the award is in draft status, you can select a contract text section and click +ADD TEXT to enter the text. You can enter text manually or you can choose Use AI assistance to generate content automatically based on a prompt.

Managing agreements

Other Transaction Agreements (OTs) are special contractual agreements between government agencies and non-traditional contractors. CW provides a guided experience for creating and managing agreements, similar to the solicitation and award workflows.

Creating a new agreement

CW simplifies the agreement creation process by providing a guided experience that walks you through inputting the agreement data.

To create a new agreement:

1. Click CREATE AGREEMENT under Agreements. A guided configuration walks you through the process of entering the agreement data required to create a new agreement record.

   

2. Fill in the following details in the guided configuration window:
   • Agreement Details: Important key information about your agreement such as title, agreement type, period of performance, and description.
   • Codes: Any PSC and NAICS codes associated with the agreement.
   • Office Information: Who the agreement is issued by, administered by, and additional team information.
   • Performer Information: The performer's name, details, and point of contact.
   • Team Members: The agreements officer and other team members from the agency side.
3. Click CREATE to create the agreement.

When you've finished creating a new agreement, the confirmation dialog provides a link that allows you to go directly to the agreement summary view and confirm the data you entered.

Viewing agreements

From the Agreements tab, you can view a complete list of your organization's agreements. Use the search box, filters, or both to narrow down the list and display only the agreements you want to see.

From the agreements list, you can drill down into a specific agreement to access its summary page by clicking the agreement link. From here, you can quickly see the agreement details such as status, performer, period of performance, and agreement amount.

You can also take action from the summary page to upload documents, add checklist items, or update the agreement.

Line items

Under Line items, you can see the breakdown of line items for the agreement. Here you can search, filter, and drill down to each line item to view more information. If the agreement is in draft status, you can update, add, or delete line items.

Agreement text

The Agreement Text section displays any custom text to be included in the generated agreement documentation. If the agreement is in draft status, you can select a section and click +ADD TEXT to enter the text. You can enter text manually or you can choose Use AI assistance to generate content automatically based on a prompt.

Create a contract action report for an IDV modification

A contract action report (CAR) is the document used to report a contract action to the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG).

The FPDS-NG integration with CW supports data flow between the two systems, allowing you to create and manage a CAR for an indefinite delivery vehicle (IDV) and its modifications directly from CW. The information from the Award record is automatically used to create and pre-populate the CAR in FPDS-NG, making it faster and easier for you to validate and finalize the CAR.

The following section guides you through the process of creating an FPDS-NG IDV modification CAR. Before you begin, ensure a CAR for the parent IDV has been created and finalized in FPDS-NG. You cannot create a modification CAR without a completed parent IDV CAR.

To create an FPDS-NG IDV modification CAR:

1. Sign in to the target environment as the system admin.

2. Navigate to the Contract Writings Settings site and select Integrations.

   

3. Enable the FPDS-NG toggle.

   

4. Navigate to Contract Writing site and select the Procurements tab.
5. Select the Awards tab, then search for and open an IDV award that already has a finalized parent IDV CAR associated with it.
6. From the Summary tab, locate the FPDS-NG integration and click Create.
7. Click CREATE CAR.

After the CAR is created, CW confirms the CAR was successfully created in FPDS-NG, provides a link to the Award record, and the ability to navigate to the CAR record in FPDS-NG.

Clauses

If you also have purchased Government Clause Automation Solution (GCA) in addition to Contract Writing, the Clauses tab will appear on both your Solicitation and Award records.

From this tab, you can conveniently access the full power of our Clause Automation solution from within Contract Writing. This includes the ability to quickly create, validate and manage clause sets. Clauses added in your clause set are automatically included in your system-generated contract documentation.

Creating a document from a template

With the AI Doc Builder module, contracting personnel can generate supplemental procurement documents directly within Contract Writing using templates managed by administrators in the Contract Writing Settings site.

The Create Document action is available in the contract file and on the summary menu for the following record types:

• Solicitations/amendments
• Awards/modifications
• Agreements

Using the document builder wizard

The document builder guided wizard walks you through three steps to create a new document from a template.

To create a document:

1. From the summary view of a solicitation, award, or agreement, click the … menu and select Create Document. You can also access this action from the Contract File tab.

2. In step 1, select how you want to create your document. You can choose from a published master template, an ad hoc reference document, or start from scratch.

3. In step 2, configure the document content based on your selected template or reference.

4. In step 3, review and finalize the document.

5. Click CREATE to generate the document.

After the document is created, you can edit it directly from the document link without needing to search for it again.

Smart search

Contract Writing (CW) includes smart search capabilities that allow you to search across record data using natural language queries instead of exact keyword matches. Smart search evaluates text-heavy fields and returns results based on meaning and intent, helping you find relevant records more efficiently.

CW extends smart search to document content. For document search capabilities, see Search documents with the Smart Search tab.

Using smart search on record grids

Smart search is available on the following record grids:

• Solicitations/amendments: Evaluates title, description, and PSC/NAICS descriptions or referenced IDV title.
• Awards/modifications: Evaluates title, description, and PSC/NAICS descriptions or referenced IDV title.
• Agreements: Evaluates title, description, and PSC/NAICS descriptions.

To use smart search on a record grid:

1. Navigate to the record grid for solicitations, awards, or agreements.
2. Enter a natural language query in the search field. For example, instead of searching for an exact title, you can search for a concept like "cybersecurity consulting services."
3. Review the results returned by the search.

Interpreting search results

Smart search results include two key indicators to help you evaluate relevance:

• Similarity score: A score indicating how closely the record matches your search query. Results are sorted in descending order, with the highest similarity first.
• Matched field indicators: Labels showing which fields on the record contained the text that matched your query, such as title, description, or PSC/NAICS descriptions.

You can still view the original column headers of the record grid alongside the search results for additional context.

Smart search on CLINs and sub-CLINs

Smart search is also available on contract line items (CLINs) and sub-CLINs. The search evaluates the following fields:

• Title
• Description
• PSC/NAICS descriptions

When searching at the CLIN level, the search also evaluates associated sub-CLIN fields. Results indicate if sub-CLIN fields matched the search query.

Smart search on contract text

Smart search can be used to search across contract text for solicitations and awards. The search evaluates the entirety of the contract text across all sections. Results indicate which section contained the text that matched the search query.

Smart search on tasks

Smart search is available on tasks associated with your procurements. The search evaluates the following fields:

• Name
• Description
• Attached document file name

Search limitations

Smart search supports up to 325,000 rows per record type. For most organizations, this limit is well within the range of active records.

Smart Search tab

Contract Writing (CW) includes the Smart Search tab, a dedicated search interface accessible from the CW main menu. The Smart Search tab gives you the ability to search across document content, record data, or both using natural language queries.

Search modes on the Smart Search tab

The Smart Search tab provides three search modes:

• Documents: Search the content of all documents in Contract Writing. CW evaluates the full text of documents across all records and returns results sorted by relevance score. Each result displays the document name and a snippet of the matching content.
• Record Data: Search only the procurement record data. You can filter results by record type, including solicitations, awards, agreements, and Other Transaction Agreements (OTs). Record Data mode retains the same smart search behavior available on record grids.
• Documents & Record Data: Search both document content and procurement record data in a single query. Results clearly indicate whether the match came from a document or a record field.

To search documents from the Smart Search tab:

1. Select the Smart Search tab from the CW main menu.
2. Select Documents from the search mode options.
3. Enter a natural language query in the search field. For example, enter "cybersecurity threat assessment" to find documents containing related content.
4. Review the results. Each result displays the document name, a relevance score, and a snippet of the matching content.
5. Click a document name to open the document directly from the results list.

Chat with multiple documents using AI

Contract Writing (CW) gives you the ability to chat with multiple documents at once using the AI Chat capability on the Smart Search tab. AI Chat with multiple documents lets you ask questions across all documents returned from a Document Smart Search, expanding the scope of AI-assisted research beyond individual documents.

Prerequisites for AI Chat with multiple documents

• AI Document Builder toggle: The AI Document Builder toggle must be enabled in the CW Settings Site. If the AI Document Builder toggle is off, the Ask AI option does not appear on the Smart Search tab.
• Documents search mode: AI Chat with multiple documents is only available when the Documents search mode is selected. The Ask AI option does not appear on the Record Data or Documents & Record Data search modes.

Ask AI from Document Smart Search results

To chat with multiple documents:

1. Select the Smart Search tab from the CW main menu.
2. Select Documents from the search mode options.
3. Enter a natural language query to search for relevant documents.
4. Review the document results returned by the search.
5. Click Ask AI to start a conversation across the returned documents.
6. Enter a question in the AI Chat interface. The AI evaluates the content of all matching documents to answer the query.
7. Review the AI response. Each response cites the specific document or documents that the answer was drawn from.

For more information about AI capabilities in Contract Writing, see Procurement AI Copilot Module Overview.

Directory

Select the DIRECTORY page to view a complete list of all of your organization's vendors, consortia, institution, program, office, contact, and user records.

• Search your organization's vendors, consortia, institutions, programs, offices, contacts, and users.
• Access the Summary view for detailed information about a specific item.
• Create a new item in your directory.
• Export the directory.

Procurement Copilot

Select the PROCUREMENT COPILOT page to access the Procurement AI Copilot. With the Procurement AI Copilot, you can leverage the power of AI to streamline your contract writing processes.

For more information see the Procurement AI Copilot Overview and Installing Procurement AI Copilot for more information on installing and using this integration with your Contract Writing solution.

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