Contract versions and what you agreed, round by round

Keep one file per round, named with the date, who made the changes and the round number, and never call anything "Final". Record every point you settle in one open-points table, with the exact wording and the round that settled it. Then check each new version against that table, not against your memory of an email thread.

How do versions get out of hand?

Here is what a negotiation can look like a few rounds in. Say you run Bluefinch Studio and you're negotiating a services contract with a client, Kettleby Outdoor. You have:

• A file called "Kettleby_Agreement_FINAL_v7_KO edits (2).docx", and you're not sure it's newer than v6.
• Two inboxes. You agreed the payment terms with their operations lead, while your business partner discussed the liability cap with their lawyer.
• A memory that "we settled ownership on the call last Tuesday", but nothing in writing that says how.

You can fix most of this yourself with two habits: one name for each file, and one place for what you agreed.

How should you name each version?

Use one pattern for every file in the deal. Rename incoming files to match it as soon as they arrive.

The pattern is deal + date + round + who sent it:

• Deal: a short name that stays the same in every file, such as "Kettleby agreement".
• Date: the day the file was sent, written year-month-day (2026-10-14), so the files sort in order.
• Round: R1 for the first draft, whoever wrote it. The number goes up by one each time a revised draft goes to the other side, so same-day files still sort correctly.
• Who: the side that sent this version.
• Never "Final". One more edit makes a file called "Final" out of date, and "Final_v2" is where the confusion starts. Save "signed" for the copy both sides have actually signed.

Five rounds of the Bluefinch and Kettleby deal look like this:

• Kettleby agreement 2026-10-05 R1 Bluefinch.docx
• Kettleby agreement 2026-10-09 R2 Kettleby.docx
• Kettleby agreement 2026-10-14 R3 Bluefinch.docx
• Kettleby agreement 2026-10-20 R4 Kettleby.docx
• Kettleby agreement 2026-10-23 R5 Bluefinch.docx

If you send a clean copy alongside the tracked one, give it the same name with "clean" at the end. Keep every file for the deal in one folder. Never edit an older round: save a copy under the next round's name first, then edit the copy.

You can't control what the other side calls its files, but you can ask. Put a line like this in the email that carries R1:

Does it matter whether you use Word or Google Docs?

The naming rule works anywhere, but each setup keeps its history differently.

Treat any version history as a backup, not the record. A file you send as an email attachment is a separate copy that sits outside it, and nothing agreed by email or on a call shows up in it.

How do you record what you've agreed?

Keep one open-points table per deal, in a spreadsheet or at the top of your deal notes, and update it every round. Each row is one clause that has come up. The "Agreed wording" column holds the exact words both sides accepted, copied from the file or the confirming email, never a summary.

Use four statuses:

• Open: the two sides are still apart.
• Offered: one side has proposed a middle ground and is waiting. Note the round it went out in.
• Agreed: both sides have accepted the same words in writing, in the file or by email.
• Reopened: a point marked Agreed has changed in a later version. Treat it as open again and ask why.

Add one line above the table that says who has the file and since when, for example: With Kettleby since 2026-10-23 (R5). That line tells you when it's time to follow up. If two people on your side deal with them, both update the same table.

Points settled on a call are easy to lose. Send the words by email the same day and ask them to confirm. Keep the row at Offered until they reply, then mark it Agreed:

What do you do each time a new version arrives?

Run the same five steps every round, in the same order.

1. Save it. Rename the attachment under your rule and put it in the deal folder. Don't edit it yet.
2. See every change. Compare the new file with the version you sent, even if it arrived with tracked changes: once someone turns tracking off, Word stops marking their edits. In Word, Review > Compare > "Compare two versions of a document (legal blackline)" shows the differences in a third, new document. Then go through their tracked changes.
3. Check the agreed rows. For every row marked Agreed, find the clause in the new file and read it against the agreed wording. If the wording or meaning has changed, mark the row Reopened.
4. Decide and edit. Save a copy under the next round's name and turn on Track Changes for everyone. Then accept, reword or push back on each change. For help deciding which ones to resist, see what to push back on when a client redlines your contract.
5. Send and record. Send the file with one email that lists what you accepted, what you changed and what's still open, using the table's clause numbers. Then update the statuses, the rounds and the "with them since" line.

If you share one Google Doc instead of sending files, keep that one file. Name a version at each handoff in place of steps 1 and 4. Make each edit visible to the other side rather than quietly rewriting the text.

Word can lock tracking on with a password, so others can't turn it off. While tracking is locked, though, nobody can accept or reject changes either.

What if they stop replying?

The "with them since" line above your table tells you how long they've had the file. Follow up at a set point: for example, after three working days, then again a week later. That timing is our suggestion, not a rule, so adjust it to the pace the deal has had so far.

Name the file, the date you sent it and what's still open, so they can reply without digging:

What goes wrong between rounds?

Three mistakes can quietly undo what you've agreed.

When should you get a lawyer?

You don't need a lawyer to name files, keep a table or chase a reply. Get one when the content of the contract is the problem:

• A point you had agreed, such as the liability cap or ownership, is reopened late, and the change moves money or risk onto you.
• The other side's lawyer is rewriting whole sections, and you can't tell what the new wording does.
• The versions are so tangled that you can't say which wording both sides accepted, and the contract is large for your business.
• The client is in another country, or the contract uses the law of a state or country you don't know.

When does doing this by hand stop working?

The naming rule and the open-points table hold up well for one deal with one person on each side. They start to slip when you run several deals at once, or when two people on your side edit the same contract. They also slip when every round means another manual compare and another pass through the agreed rows. Past that point, the record is easier to keep in a tool than in your head.

DealMate is an AI contract assistant that takes a deal from first draft to final: describe the deal in a sentence and get a draft built from your templates and clauses; when they send their template, review it from your side and see what's risky; when their redlines come back, compare the versions and see every change and the risk it carries.