How to build a proposal and agreement

1Start and link the deal

Linking the deal fills in the client's details now, and lets the builder update HubSpot later.

1. In Pull from HubSpot, type the company name and click Find.
2. Click the result that shows the deal name underneath it. Check that Linked to HubSpot deal appears under the search box.
3. Check Client name reads exactly as it should on the agreement, then Signer name and Signer title.
4. Set the Effective date and Initial term — usually 6 or 12 months. The contract end date works itself out below.
5. Click Save this proposal. Save again whenever you've made changes worth keeping.

No deal showing? A result marked "no deal yet" fills in the details but can't link. Create the deal in HubSpot first, then search again. Search matches the start of a word, so "Clear" finds Clear Path but "Path" doesn't.

2Add call notes

Optional, but it's the quickest way to an opening written in the client's own terms.

1. Next to Call transcript, click Add.
2. Paste the transcript or your notes, or use Choose File for a PDF, Word (.docx) or text file. Check the word count underneath — a full call is several thousand words.
3. Click Draft the approach from this.
4. Read The Approach and What we're solving for, and edit them freely. Leave either box empty to use the standard wording instead.

Before it goes out: the proposal may be read by the very people the call was about. Name the gap in how work is set up and what's gained by fixing it — never a team, a role or a person.

Scanned PDF? It has no text to read, so paste the words in instead. Clear empties the box and the file picker.

3Build the scope

Each scope you add becomes a card under In this proposal, in the order it will print.

1. Under Add a scope, click each scope you're proposing. It drops into In this proposal, already open.
2. In each card, set:
   • $ — the price. The library price shows faintly until you type your own.
   • × — the number of leaders or seats, when a scope is priced per person.
   • Starts month and for … months — when the work runs. Monthly work is billed for these months only.
3. Tick Optional add-on for anything offered on top. It's priced separately and left out of the total and the agreement.
4. Tick Sub-section of the one above to tuck a scope in beneath the one before it.
5. Use ▲ ▼ to set the print order. × removes a scope; add it back and its price and timing are remembered.
6. Click a card's title to fold it away once it's done.

Changing the wording

1. A standard scope: click Edit wording. Changes here affect this proposal only. To have it rewritten for this client, paste notes into the box at the top and click Tailor this scope.
2. Something that isn't a standard offer: click Write a custom scope, give it a Name and price, and fill in What it says like this:

   You type	It prints as
   Getting the handbook current	Headline — always the first line
   A sentence or two, written to them.	Paragraph — any plain line
   Includes:	Subline — a line ending in a colon
   - Review against New York requirements	Bullet — a line starting with a dash
   - Rewrite of outdated sections	Bullet
   Deliverables:	Subline
   - An updated employee handbook	Bullet

   Or click Draft it from notes, paste your notes, and click Draft this scope.

Check the total. The Total investment bar sits under the last card. A red warning appears if the work runs past the initial term — lengthen the term or shorten a scope.

4Choose the paperwork

1. Proposal cover and opening — Read · Build for the current model, the PPP cover for older engagements.
2. Agreement template — Partnership Service Agreement for all new work. The Fractional HR agreement is only for renewing clients already on it.
3. Payment structure — click Monthly, Prepaid in full or 50/50, or type your own.
4. Proposal valid for (days) — 14 unless you change it.
5. Click Save changes.

5Send the proposal

1. Set Documents to produce to Proposal only.
2. Read the preview on the right, top to bottom.
3. Click Print / save as PDF. The file name fills itself in, for example 2026-09-21 - Clear Path for Veterans Proposal.
4. In the print window, set Destination to Save as PDF. Under More settings, turn Background graphics on and Headers and footers off.
5. Save it to the shared Drive following the usual procedure, then send it.
6. Optional: in the HubSpot section, set Contract status to Sent and click Update Contract Details in HubSpot.

6Revise after feedback

1. Under Saved proposals, click the client. Anyone on the team can open it and pick up where someone else left off.
2. Make the changes, then click Save changes. Print a new PDF if it's going back out.
3. If they said yes to an optional add-on, open that card and untick Optional add-on. It moves into the total and the agreement.

7File the agreement

1. Set Documents to produce to Agreement only.
2. Check the dates, the total, the payment terms, and the Scope of Work table.
3. Click Print / save as PDF (it's named … Agreement), save it to the Drive, and send it for signature.
4. Once it's signed and filed, copy the file's share link from Drive.
5. In the HubSpot section:
   • paste the link into Contract file
   • set Contract status to Signed
   • leave Also set the deal amount ticked, unless the deal amount should stay as it is
6. Click Update Contract Details in HubSpot. The panel confirms it's linked to the Drive file, and the deal now holds the dates, status, amount and full scope of work.

8Set up the client project

This becomes the project in the Client Service Pipeline, with one task per deliverable.

1. In Client project, choose the Partner. Check the Partner title and Engagement name — both show on the client's dashboard.
2. Click Review the plan. Each deliverable has a month — M1 is the first month after the effective date — and the date beside it is its target. Change any month, and untick anything that shouldn't be its own task.
3. Click Save changes. The project is built from what's saved.
4. When the deal moves to Onboarding in HubSpot, the project appears within 15 minutes. To do it straight away, click Create the client project now.
5. In HubSpot, open the project, add the Dashboard slug, and set Dashboard enabled to Yes. Until then, nothing appears on the client's dashboard.