Module 5
Renewals, deadlines and money at risk
By the end of this module you can work out the last day to stop an automatic renewal, find the contracts whose window has already closed, size the money locked in, and design a renewal report that someone can act on.
Part 1. The lecture
The deadline is not the end date
An automatically renewing contract does not end on its end date. It renews, unless someone has given notice before a deadline that comes earlier. The last day to give notice is the term end minus the notice period. A contract that ends on 31 March 2027 with 60 days’ notice has a deadline of 30 January 2027. An alert set for 31 March arrives two months too late.
Details that change the deadline
- Calendar days or business days? Sixty business days is about twelve weeks. Record which.
- Calendar months. “Three months before 30 November” is 30 August, not 90 days earlier.
- Given, sent or received? Some clauses need the notice to arrive by the deadline. Record the method and the rule, and allow for delivery time.
- Amendments. A changed term means a changed deadline. Link every amendment to its record.
Missed windows and money at risk
Once the deadline has passed, the contract will renew unless the other side agrees to let it go. The value you are committed to is the annual value times the length of the renewal in years: a $120,000 contract that renews for 24 months commits you to $240,000. Listing contracts whose window has closed, with their value, tells you where to negotiate rather than hope.
Show the calendar, not just the list
- A bar for each month, sized by the value with a deadline in it, shows bunching in advance, so you can plan people’s time.
- Each row of a renewal report should show: counterparty, deadline, value, owner and the decision needed. A deadline with no owner is only a date.
- Contracts that simply end have no notice deadline, but may need a business deadline to agree new terms before they lapse.
Part 2. Lab: Notice Calendar
Today, for this exercise, is 15 Jan 2027. For each auto-renewing contract, the last day to stop the renewal is the end of the term minus the notice days. The chart shows the annual value of contracts whose notice deadline falls in each month of the next year. The table shows the deadlines that have already gone.
Annual value with a notice deadline in each month
- Jan 2027$40,000 (1)
- Feb 2027$180,000 (1)
- Mar 2027$65,000 (2)
- Apr 2027$250,000 (1)
- May 2027$25,000 (1)
- Jun 2027$0 (0)
- Jul 2027$485,000 (2)
- Aug 2027$0 (0)
- Sep 2027$40,000 (1)
- Oct 2027$0 (0)
- Nov 2027$120,000 (1)
- Dec 2027$0 (0)
Figures in brackets are the number of contracts. Each month is scaled to the largest.
Notice deadlines already missed
| ID | Counterparty | Term ends | Notice | Last day for notice | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-004 | Thornby Foods Ltd | 27 Jan 2027 | 30 d | 28 Dec 2026 | $40,000 |
| C-048 | Netherby Estates Ltd | 20 Feb 2027 | 60 d | 22 Dec 2026 | $400,000 |
Read the calendar
Part 3. Check your understanding
Ten questions drawn from a larger pool. In this pilot your score is shown but not saved.
This course teaches how to turn contracts into reliable data, using invented contracts, fictional parties and made-up figures. No real contracts or tools are used, and nothing here is legal advice. Never paste a real client’s confidential contracts into a public tool.