4+ Contract Summary Templates – PDF, DOC
Agreements exist to organize our daily lives. However, most formal agreement letters can be so long and full of legal jargon that it can be difficult to understand them. In cases like this, using a document like a contract summary will allow different parties to easily understand any given contract and avoid being scammed.
So if you are looking for this type of document, you have come to the right corner of the internet. In this article, we provide examples of downloadable contract summary templates that anyone can use. Also included are a few tips on how to create one for your own use. You may also see marketing plan executive summary.
What are Contract Summaries?
A contract summary is an outline or an abridgment of an existing contract or agreement. There are different types of contracts and a corresponding contract summary can be created for each of them. For example, there are employee contracts, lease contracts, purchase agreements, real estate contracts, and a lot more. If you wish to have a better and more concise understanding of these contracts, you can have a contract summary created for each of this type of document.
Creating a contract summary may be done manually or by rote. This means that after a person reads the entire contract, he or she then proceeds to rewrite what he or she has understood about the contract. This method of summarizing any piece of content can be faulty since it relies on a person’s memory skills and reading comprehension level. You may also see executive summary templates.
A more reliable way for creating a simple contract summary is through the use of a contract summary template. This is a pre-made and pre-formatted digital document that will serve as the backbone of your contract summary. A summary template will often include key talking points and questions that you have to answer so that you can create a consistent and accurate summation of what the source contract or agreement states.
Contract Summary Sheet Template
cityofchicago.org
Contract Summary Form Template
boarddocs.com
Guidelines for Writing A Contract Summary
Creating any kind of formal summary of an official document can be difficult especially if you do not know what you are doing. To help you in this matter, we have compiled a few tips on how to create a sample contract summary template for your business. Read on…
1. Read and understand the source document or contract well.
A cardinal rule in creating any kind of summary is to read a source document well. If you are going to create a contract summary, you would most likely need to read pages and pages of legal contracts and agreements. It will also help to have a legal background if you want to create a good contract summary. Relevant experience in the specific industry where the kind of contract is being used will also help anyone create a good contract summary.
For example, if a person has been in the real estate field for more than a decade, he or she is likely to have sufficient knowledge of the field. He or she may then be able to summarize pieces of information that are usually included in real estate purchase agreements and contracts.
Whatever field or industry you are in, always remember to get a good grasp on the actual contract or source material before attempting to summarize it. Some basic contract summaries may be used in legal actions or actions and your summary needs to be as truthful and accurate as possible. You may also see executive summary samples.
2. Use the guide questions or pointers indicated on the contract summary template.
Another useful tip that anyone creating a contract summary should follow is to use a contract summary template. Doing this will help simplify your job. Reading contracts can already take up a lot of your time. Moreover, condensing all the things you have learned from the contract will take up even more brain power. You may also see project summary templates in word.
Contract summary templates will serve as your guideposts when writing the actual contract summary. They will offer you hints and pointers on what specific piece of information to include in the contract summary. In most cases, contract summary templates will have a fill-in-the-blanks format and you will only have to fill out the necessary information. Check out this article on how to write an investment summary.
To illustrate, if you are going to summarize a lease agreement, a contract summary template will only ask you to fill out key information like the buyer and seller’s names, type of property, amount of property, lease amount, and the duration of the entire agreement. All these information can easily be obtained from the lease contract itself. But since most contracts are long and filled with legal jargon, the average person will have a difficult time parsing the information they needed to take note of from reading the contract alone.
3. Keep your summary short.
Of course, summaries should be short. There is no standard length or number of pages that a contract summary should be in. But for maximum effect, a one page summary for a relatively short contract will suffice. A contract summary template may become slightly longer if the source document is also lengthy or has a lot of provisions and stipulations. You may also see summary report examples.
As mentioned earlier, some contract summary templates will follow a tabular format. If you are using this summary format, make sure to only write the most relevant piece of information on the specified blanks or boxes. This type of summary format can be effective for those who prefer to skim over content. Creating contract summary templates like this is a good idea if the person/s who will read your contract summaries are busy business persons or entrepreneurs. You may also see executive summary in word examples.
4. Avoid using jargon.
Another important tip when writing a contract summary template is to avoid using jargon or using specialized language that is only mainly understood by those in the same industry or group. To illustrate, most contract format will contain words and phrases that are only commonly understood by lawyers or those in the legal profession. This is what you call jargon. Using them repeatedly on your contract summaries will leave anyone reading your summary more confused.
If you are writing a contract summary for a client or anyone else who is not a lawyer, it is best to avoid using the same legal terms used in the contract. Substitute all the legalese with words that can easily be understood by an average person. Remember, the main purpose of a contract summary is to simplify the contents of a contract or agreement. When you repeatedly use jargon, you are not simplifying the contract at all. You may also see article summary templates.
5. Have a target reader or audience in mind.
When creating or writing a contract summary, it can also help if you have a target reader or audience in mind. This allows you to create a contract summary that is tailored for that specific set of audience and, hopefully, will be more effective in helping them understand a contract or agreement layout. You may also see project summary templates.
To illustrate, if you are creating an employment contract summary, you may picture an ideal employee for a specific business. You can choose to highlight specific terms of the contract that will interest the employee and also provide more explanation of things stipulated in the contract that may confuse them or things that are new to them.
By doing this, you are not only creating a contract summary, you are also helping the employee gain a better understanding of his or her job contract and his or her job – something that all contract summaries should implicitly do.
6. Add your own business branding elements to the contract summary element.
If you are a business owner or manager who wants to create contract summaries for all the transactions that your business participates in, you should also use this opportunity to showcase your business branding designs on the printed contract summaries that you have created. This way the readers of each contract summary will have an idea who the printed summary template is from. You may also see discharge summary templates.
In the same vein, adding your own business logo designs on the contract summary’s letterhead design will also help you increase recognition of your brand. This is especially important if you are creating contract summaries that will be read by potential customers or investors to your business.
Take note of the different guidelines that we have shared above and make sure to apply them when you create your own contract summaries. Do not hesitate to add more information to your contract summaries if you think this will let your readers get a better grasp of the contract’s terms and stipulations. You may also see bid summary templates in google docs.
Sample Contract Summary Template
hfma-nca.org
Simple Contract Brief or Summary Template
boeingsuppliers.com
Choose a Contract Summary Template
Use the few examples of contract summary templates embedded above as a guide to creating your own contract summaries. But know that you still need to thoroughly read the source document or contract before you can accurately summarize it. The different summary templates we have featured above will make your summary writing process easier and quicker since you will already be familiar with the different pieces of information that you need to take note of when reading the source document. You may also see sample executive summary templates in google docs.
And if you found this article extremely helpful for completing a task for work or school, do not hesitate to share it with your friends and colleagues using social media or by emailing this article to them.
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