# How contract templates work

> One text written once, with blanks the system fills at every enrolment — and a frozen copy for each student.

## What you will get

The idea, before you touch the form. It is simple and settles the block's biggest
question:

**You write the contract once, with blanks.** At every enrolment, the system
fills the blanks with that student's details and stores a frozen copy.

The path is **Contracts › Contract Templates**. **Only the school owner works
here.**

## The blanks are called variables

In the text, you write `%student_name%` where the student's name belongs. At
enrolment time, that becomes *Marina Duarte Lopes*.

There are 37 variables in six groups, and the form shows them all with a click to
insert into the text.

![Available variables panel, split into student, institution, enrolment, financial, contract and signature](/Apps/edupay/ajuda/contrato-variaveis.png)
*Clicking any of them inserts the code where the cursor is. There is nothing to memorise and nothing to type by hand.*

## What happens at every enrolment

When you save an enrolment that uses a template, the system:

1. **Reads the template's text.**
2. **Swaps each variable** for that student's, that course's, that plan's value.
3. **Stores the result as that enrolment's own copy.**

Step three is what gives legal safety: the student's contract is not a link to
the template, it is frozen text. Touching the template later does not touch it.

## The three signature methods

Each template picks one:

| Method | How the student signs |
|---|---|
| **Electronic acceptance** | Clicks a button in the portal; the system records date, time and where the access came from |
| **Digital signature** | Draws or types their name in the portal |
| **Physical signature** | Prints it, signs on paper and sends it back through the portal |

![Contract templates list showing the three signature methods and one deactivated template](/Apps/edupay/ajuda/contratos-lista.png)
*The middle column shows each template's method, and the number in brackets is the deadline in days to sign.*

## Requiring a signature changes the enrolment's course

The **Require student signature** box has a direct effect, spelled out by the
hint beneath it: *"When enabled, enrollment is only confirmed after the student
signs."*

In practice, the enrolment is born waiting for the contract and only then moves
on to payment. Unticked, the enrolment is born cleared.

## How you know it worked

> [certo]
> You can explain the difference between **template** and **contract**: the
> template is the text with blanks, kept under Contracts; the contract is the
> filled-in, frozen copy, kept inside each student's enrolment.

## If something goes wrong

> [erro]
> **The template does not show up when enrolling.** Only templates with the
> status **Active** are offered.
>
> **You do not know how many templates to create.** One is usually enough. Create
> another only when the text genuinely changes — by course type, by year, or by
> signature method.
>
> **You want to use the contract your school already has in Word.** You can:
> paste the text into the editor and swap the variable parts for the codes. It is
> the fastest route.


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https://edupay.estudiosite.com/en/ajuda/getting-started/how-contract-templates-work
2026-08-05