What is a Contract?

A Contract represents a formal legal and financial agreement between the Organization and one or more third parties, such as Distributors, Publishers, Artists, Songwriters, Producers, or Business Partners.

In Reprtoir, a Contract is not a passive reference document. It is an active accounting object that governs how money flows through the system and how financial rights and obligations are applied.

A Contract defines:

who pays the Organization and under which conditions
who the Organization pays and how amounts are split
how Incomes and Expenses affect accounting balances
how royalties are calculated, allocated, and reported

Every Contract created in Reprtoir must reflect a real world agreement. Its structure, parties, territories, dates, and splits should mirror the legal and financial reality as closely as possible.

Contracts are therefore a foundational pillar of Royalty Accounting in Reprtoir. Without correctly defined Contracts, Incomes cannot be processed, Expenses cannot be recouped, and royalty calculations cannot be executed reliably.

Contracts Overview

Contracts define the legal, financial, and operational relationships between the Organization and all third parties involved in revenue and cost flows.

In Reprtoir, Contracts act as the connective layer between real world agreements and accounting reality. They determine how money enters the system, how it is distributed, and how balances evolve over time.

A solid understanding of Contracts is required before working with Incomes, Expenses, royalty calculations, recoupments, or payments.

Contracts Explained

The video below provides a high level overview of how Contracts work in Reprtoir, the different contract types available, and how they interact with Assets and royalty processing.

Contracts in Reprtoir

In Reprtoir, Contracts serve three core purposes:

defining who pays the Organization and under which conditions
defining who the Organization pays and how revenues are split
structuring how Incomes and Expenses impact accounting balances over time

Contracts are always grounded in real agreements and must be modeled accordingly. Reprtoir does not invent contractual logic. It enforces and operationalizes the logic defined by your business and legal framework.

Money In and Money Out Contracts

Reprtoir distinguishes Contracts based on the direction of money flow.

Contracts Money In

Money In Contracts define how the Organization collects money from third parties.

They are used to:

identify the Payer of an Income
associate a Client, Distributor, or Partner with incoming revenues
ensure financial traceability and reporting consistency

Money In Contracts are mandatory when creating Incomes.

They are not linked to Assets and do not participate in royalty calculations.

Contracts Money Out

Money Out Contracts define how the Organization distributes money to Rights Holders.

They are used to:

define royalty splits and contractual terms
determine who earns what from each revenue source
calculate balances, recoupments, and payments

Money Out Contracts must be linked to Assets in order to calculate royalties.

They are the backbone of royalty accounting in Reprtoir.

Contract Templates and Asset Scope

Contracts are created using templates that define their scope and behavior.

Reprtoir provides dedicated templates depending on the type of rights involved:

Label Contracts for Audio and Video Assets
Publisher Contracts for Works
Other Contracts for non asset based agreements

Choosing the correct template is critical, as it determines:

which Assets the Contract can be linked to
which Split Types are available
how royalties are calculated and reported

Contracts and Royalty Accounting

Contracts are directly involved in all accounting operations performed by Reprtoir.

They are used to:

associate Incomes with the correct contractual context
apply royalty splits, deductions, and recoupment rules
generate accounting Operations
update Contract Balances and Rights Holder Balances

Without properly configured Contracts, royalty accounting cannot function.

Cross Collateralization

Some agreements allow Advances or Expenses to be recouped across multiple Contracts instead of individually.

Reprtoir supports this through Cross Collateralization, which groups multiple Money Out Contracts together for recoupment purposes.

This mechanism builds on existing Contracts and is documented separately.

Where to go next

This page introduces the core Contract concepts only.

For operational and detailed documentation, refer to:

Contracts Money In
Contracts Money Out
Cross Collateralization

These sections explain how to create, configure, and use Contracts in day to day royalty operations.