# Learn about Template Terms & Contracts

<a href="https://pxa.impact.com/student/activity/1099652?sid=0c0e3e5c-54c9-4435-9bee-ebcdccb7f292&#x26;sid_i=0?utm_source=app.impact.com&#x26;utm_medium=owned-platform&#x26;utm_content=fund-lp-150&#x26;utm_campaign=help-center" class="button primary">Take the PXA course</a>

Template Terms and Contracts (sometimes referred to as *Insertion Orders* or *IO*) are important tools you'll use to establish partnerships with your partners. Read on to learn more about what they are and their differences.

#### Template Terms vs. Contracts

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Template Terms" %}
A Template Term is what you create in impact.com that establishes the terms between you and your partners. When you create a template term, you set the event type you want to pay out for, the default payout, payout adjustments, action locking, and more.

Each brand on impact.com has a **Public Template Term**, which is created during the onboarding process. These serve as your *default* terms, and you can [create customized template terms](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/contracts-and-template-terms/template-terms/configure-public-facing-template-term-visibility) based on them.

You can also add (or upload) your own **Custom Terms** to impact.com, which you can add to your Template Terms.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Contracts" %}
A Contract is an instance of your template terms that is automatically created once you and a partner agree upon the terms you established in a Template Term.

Once you've created a template term, you'll submit it to your partners for them to accept. Once it's accepted, impact.com generates an individual contract between you and the partner with your agreed-upon terms.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

#### Recap

* **Template Terms** are the drafts of your contracts that establish things like payout rates, action locking dates, and all of the details you want to specify to partners. Template Terms can be sent to partners for them to review and accept.
* **Contracts** are an instance of your template terms when a partner agrees to your terms. impact.com creates an individual contract between you and each partner that accepts your terms, with all of the details specified in the template terms.

#### Public & Private Template Terms

During onboarding, you likely created your first set of Template Terms, which are public—these are your default template terms that partners will see when viewing you in the marketplace (if enabled). impact.com requires one set of default public template terms. However, you can have [multiple active sets of public template terms](https://help.impact.com/brand/what-would-you-like-to-learn-about/platform-features/contracts-and-template-terms/template-terms/configure-public-facing-template-term-visibility) at a time.

Private contracts can be entirely new, or they can be based on your public template terms but with different and/or additional terms, such as more favorable payout rates for high-performing partners. Private contracts are useful for offering finely-tuned deals for specific partners or partner groups.
