Term Type

Term type is a metadata field assigned to a contract that describes the nature of its duration and how it is scheduled to conclude. It tells you at a glance whether a contract has a fixed end date, renews automatically, continues indefinitely, or has been terminated. Term type is one of the most important fields for proactive contract management because it determines what action, if any, is required before a contract reaches its end date.

Why It Matters Not all contracts end the same way, and treating them as if they do is one of the most common sources of missed renewal windows and unplanned spend. A fixed term contract simply expires on its end date. An auto-renewing contract commits you to another term unless you act within a specified notice window. An evergreen contract continues indefinitely until terminated. Without clear visibility into term type across your entire contract portfolio, it is easy to miss the distinctions that determine whether a contract requires immediate attention or can be monitored passively. For organizations managing a large number of vendor agreements, filtering by term type is often the starting point for any renewal management workflow.

In Practice A procurement team runs a quarterly contract review and uses term type as their primary filter. They identify all auto-renewing contracts expiring in the next 60 days and begin evaluating each vendor relationship to decide whether to renew, renegotiate, or cancel. By filtering specifically by term type rather than reviewing every contract in the portfolio, the team reduces their review time significantly and ensures no renewal window is missed.