RunMags journal
How to Manage Publishing Advertising Contracts
A contract record should connect the signed agreement to the issue, placement, deadlines and billing terms it governs. Storing a PDF is useful evidence, but staff also need searchable operational details.
Capture the commitment
Record advertiser and contracting entity, publication, product, issue or flight, agreed price, billing schedule, material specifications and renewal or end date. Link each deliverable to its inventory reservation. Preserve the approved proposal and document version.
Track milestones separately
Show preparation, internal review, sent for signature, signed, amended, canceled and completed states with dated evidence. Keep creative readiness, fulfillment and invoice status in their own linked records. A signed agreement may still have missing artwork or an unpaid invoice. With publisher contract management in RunMags, each contract holds order lines per channel and issue, and invoices are created from the same order lines.
Use signature tools with clear responsibilities
In RunMags, the advertiser accepts the contract in the advertiser portal, and the contract is marked as signed. Review the current implementation and plan with your team before relying on a particular configuration. Whichever tool you use, decide where signer, version and completion evidence is retained; use legal review for terms or jurisdiction-specific requirements.
Control amendments and handoffs
A changed placement or issue date should trigger review of inventory, production and billing. Keep the original agreement and link the authorized amendment instead of silently replacing the historical record. At close, reconcile delivered items with commitments and identify renewals that require a new commercial decision.
A practical worksheet
A contract worksheet should connect the document version to advertiser, signing entity, publication, insertion or flight, price, billing trigger, material deadline, renewal date and owner. For an illustrative amendment moving an ad to a later issue, retain the original agreement and record the authorized change. Review the reservation, artwork task, production plan and invoice schedule together. A contract-status dashboard should expose unsigned documents and unresolved amendments without suggesting that signed automatically means delivered or paid. Confirm any plan-specific signature entitlement against the current offer before implementation.
Review checklist
- Link signed terms to actual reserved deliverables.
- Keep contract, creative and financial status distinct.
- Preserve approved amendments and their downstream changes.
Reference documentation, reviewed October 2, 2026: RunMags advertiser contract eSign.
