How do I add documents to an existing contract?

The screenshots in this article show the German interface. The English label is given first, with the German label in brackets.


You've created a contract in ContractHero and want to file further material against it afterwards — amendments, invoices, correspondence? The Documents area lets you add extra files in seconds, without re-uploading the contract. Any number of files can sit on one contract record.


What's in it for you


Contract-related paperwork scatters fast across inboxes, SharePoint and local folders. Anyone looking for a particular file later has to search several tools. The Documents area bundles everything in one place — visible to everyone with permission, searchable via OCR, and always attached to the main contract.


It also keeps your contract list readable: one contract = one row, even when three documents hang off it. That saves time in audits, handovers and renewals.


Before you start


  • You need at least write access to the contract category — read access is not enough to upload.
  • The files you want to upload must be available on your computer or a connected storage location.


How it works


1. Open the contract overview and click the contract you want.




2. Switch to the "Documents" tab („Dokumente") in the right-hand sidebar. It is selected by default when you open a contract. The "All documents" („Alle Dokumente") breadcrumb above the PDF takes you to the list of every document on this contract.



3. Click the plus icon "Add document" („Dokument hinzufügen") to the right of the document list.



4. Pick the files — by drag and drop or through the file browser. If your document uses a non-Latin script (Cyrillic, Chinese, Arabic), choose the matching text-recognition language at the top of the dialog.




5. Confirm with "Import" („Importieren"). The file is attached to the contract immediately and appears in the document list.



Document or attachment — what's the difference?


This is the decision people get wrong most often, so here it is spelled out:


  • Documents belong to the same contract record. They share the contract's category, fields, master data and permissions. Right for supporting material: correspondence, invoices, notes, signed scans.
  • An attachment (sub-contract) is a separate contract record with its own fields, its own term and its own notice period, linked to the main contract. Right when the content is a contract in its own right — a renewal, a side agreement, separate terms.


Rule of thumb: if the attachment needs its own dates or data fields, create it as an attachment. Otherwise it belongs in the Documents area. Links are managed in the "Linked" („Verknüpft") tab on the contract.


Common questions


Which file types can I upload?


PDF, Word, Excel, images and PowerPoint. Up to 50 files per upload, 256 MB in total. The Documents area is in fact the only place in ContractHero where you can upload non-PDF files.


Does the AI read uploaded documents?


Yes — but not in the same way as the main document. Two things to separate:


  • A document does not get its own record with its own AI-extracted fields. Fields always sit on the contract, not on the individual file.
  • The content is still evaluated. Every document is made searchable via OCR, and when an AI re-analysis runs, the AI searches the contract PDFs and every attached document for values to fill empty fields.


In practice: if the information you need only appears in a document you added later, a re-analysis can still pull it into the contract field. If the attachment should have its own dates and fields, create it as an attachment instead.


Can I upload several files at once?


Yes. Drag several files into the upload window at the same time, or multi-select them in the file browser.


Is there a limit per contract?


Technically a contract can hold a great many documents. From around 20 attachments onwards, though, it's worth asking whether a contract hierarchy with sub-contracts would be the cleaner structure.


Who can add documents?


Members with write access or full access to the contract category. Plain read access is not enough to upload.


Who can see the documents I add?


Visibility follows the contract: anyone who can't see the contract can't see the documents attached to it either. There is no separate per-document sharing.


Good to know


  • Descriptive file names save searching later. "Order_confirmation_2026-03_v2.pdf" is findable, "Document3.pdf" is not. Name the file before you upload it.
  • Everything lands in the activity log. Uploads, deletions and previews are recorded in the "Activity" („Aktivität") tab with the person and a timestamp — useful when an audit asks who attached what and when.
  • Upload date and uploader are in the list. For every file, the document list shows when it was added and by whom.
  • Non-Latin scripts need the right language. For Cyrillic, Chinese or Arabic, switch the text-recognition language in the upload dialog — it can't be changed afterwards.



Updated on: 09/17/2026

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