Onboarding Import: Contracts

Part of the Onboarding Import series.

The Contracts sheet is the most complex of the five sheets. Read this page carefully before you begin. Each contract is represented by one or more rows, structured in a specific hierarchy.

How the Sheet Is Structured

You build the contract list from the top down, row by row. The Element column (column A) determines how each row is interpreted. The order of contracts does not matter, but it is essential that rows belonging to a contract are kept together, immediately below their Contract/Clause row, without any gap.

Do not enter data in rows with a dark grey shade — that data will be ignored. Fields are colour-coded by element type to indicate what kind of data to enter.

Element Types

The Element column defines what each row represents:

• Contract/Clause — The first row of each contract. Columns C–T contain data covering the entire contract, plus the data for the first clause (usually the print edition clause).
• Clause — Additional clauses on the contract above. One row per additional clause.
• Right — A subsidiary right associated with the contract above.

Columns for the Entire Contract

Contract Holder Name

The entity who signed the contract — generally an author, but could be a translator or an organization (in the case of a publisher sub-licencing a title).

MATCH WARNING: Names must exactly match those on the Contacts or Organizations sheet, as applicable.

For multiple contract holders on a single contract (i.e., the same terms apply to all signatories, and they will receive one combined royalty payment), separate names with a semicolon. Each named person will receive a copy of the royalty statement with all names listed.

For individual contracts (one per contributor, different terms for each), enter each as a separate Contract/Clause row.

Contract Holder Type

Enter either:

• Contact — the holder is a person (with a record on the Contacts sheet)
• Org — the holder is an organization

Role

If a title has multiple contracts (e.g., one for the author, one for the translator), enter each as a separate Contract/Clause row and be sure to indicate the Role for each (e.g., Author, Translator).

Advance and Advance Remaining

If you have entered an Advance amount, always also enter the Advance Remaining, even if it is $0.

Languages Included

Leave blank (or enter All) if the contract covers all languages. If the contract covers specific languages only, list them here, separated by a semicolon.

Languages Excluded

Enter languages here only if the contract specifically excludes them. Separate multiple entries with a semicolon.

Columns for Clauses

Each clause row represents the terms for a specific edition format or royalty group on this contract.

Royalty Group or Edition Format

Enter one of the following. Royalty Groups (bold) are most commonly used; use the specific Edition Format (italics) only if you have different terms for, e.g., Paperback vs Hardcover:

• Print
• Electronic
• Audio
• Paperback
• Hardcover
• ePub
• PDF
• MOBI
• Audiobook

Region

Indicate one region per clause row, using the exact names below.

Pre-defined continents (countries per the seven-continent model):

• Africa
• Asia
• Europe
• North America
• South America
• World (all countries)

Pre-defined special regions:

• CA Foreign — all countries except Canada
• Canada
• Canada & US
• United States
• US Foreign — all countries except the United States

Custom regions: You may define your own regions using unique names not listed above, assembled from any combination of countries. Let us know about any custom regions before import so we can define them in your PubGizmo instance. Countries use their official ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 two-letter code.

If your press uses unconventional definitions for the pre-defined regions above (e.g., your "North America" means CA and US only), please let us know before import so we can adjust accordingly.

Rate and Escalation Tiers

Enter the base rate in the Rate column. If the clause includes escalation, fill in each additional tier with the "starts at" unit count (the number of sales at which the rate escalates) and the rate for that tier. Fill in only as many tier columns as your contract requires.

Esc Count Sales from Region

Fill in only if the clause includes escalation. Enter a region name (from the list above) to indicate which region's sales will be counted toward the escalation threshold. Most presses use World.

Esc Count Sales of Royalty Group or Edition Format

Fill in only if the clause includes escalation. Enter a royalty group name from the list in the Royalty Group or Edition Format section above.

End Date for Pre-PubGizmo Royalties

The last day for which royalties on this clause were completed outside of PubGizmo — in other words, the final day of the last statement period handled before onboarding. PubGizmo inherits the carry-forward values (units sold and net sales to last statement, as entered on the Editions sheet) for this clause, and begins its own royalty tracking on the day immediately following this date.

Format: YYYY-MM-DD. Leave blank if there are no pre-existing royalty totals to carry forward for this clause.

Columns for Subsidiary Rights

Add a Right row below a contract to record a subsidiary right on that contract.

Subsidiary Right Type

The name of the right, e.g., Audio Rights, Book Clubs, Serialization. Be consistent with spelling — these values will populate your subsidiary rights selector in PubGizmo.

Rate

The percentage of the sale amount the contractee receives when this right is exercised. For example, if Audio Rights are sold for $1,000 and the rate is 50%, the contractee receives $500 on their next statement.

Be careful that the combined rates across all contractees for a title do not exceed 100%.

Informational Columns (not yet calculated)

The following columns are currently informational only. PubGizmo does not yet factor these into rights-share calculations on royalty statements, but they will be incorporated in a future release:

• Countries Include — ISO alpha-2 codes, semicolon-separated; fill only if the right is limited to specific countries.
• Countries Exclude — ISO alpha-2 codes, semicolon-separated; fill only if the right excludes specific countries.
• Languages Include — fill only if the right is limited to specific languages.
• Languages Exclude — fill only if the right excludes specific languages.
• Status (Held/Sold) — PubGizmo will assume Held if blank.
• If Sold, Org sold to — name of the organization holding this right; MATCH WARNING: must exactly match an organization name on the Organizations sheet.
• Expires (date) — optional expiry date, format YYYY-MM-DD.
• If Expires, enter "1" if renewable — fill in if the right can be renewed after expiry.