How to manage contracts in Google Drive

Step 1: A folder structure that survives other people

Contracts/                              ← a shared drive, not My Drive
├── 01_Active/
│   ├── Software/
│   ├── Services/
│   ├── Facilities/
│   └── People/
├── 02_Expired/
├── 03_Templates/
└── Contract-Register            ← the tracking Sheet, pinned to the top

Step 2: Put the dates in the filename

{signed}_{Counterparty}_{Type}_renewal-{date}_notice-{days}d.pdf

• 2026-03-15_Acme_MSA_renewal-2027-03-15_notice-60d.pdf
• 2026-01-08_Ravelin_SaaS_renewal-2027-01-08_notice-30d.pdf
• 2025-11-30_Northgate_Lease_renewal-2028-11-30_notice-180d.pdf
• 2026-02-02_Beacon_NDA_expires-2029-02-02_notice-none.pdf

What columns should a contract tracking sheet have?

=IF(OR(ISBLANK(D2),ISBLANK(E2)),"",D2-E2)

=IF(ISBLANK(F2),"",F2-TODAY())

Worked example: a contract renewing on 15 March 2027 with a 60-day notice period has a notice deadline of 14 January 2027. Column F returns exactly that. A reminder set for the renewal date would reach you two months after the decision was already made for you.

How do you get Google Drive to remind you about a renewal?

/**
 * Contract renewal reminders from a Google Sheet.
 *
 * Paste into Extensions → Apps Script on the tracking Sheet, set the four
 * CONFIG values, then run setUpDailyTrigger() once. It emails you when a
 * notice deadline is REMINDER_DAYS away or closer, and again the day a
 * deadline passes without the row being marked done.
 *
 * Published on https://lumipact.com/alternatives/google-drive — this file is
 * the source of truth the page renders, so the script on the page and the
 * script in the repo cannot drift apart.
 */

var CONFIG = {
  // Exact name of the tab holding the contracts.
  sheetName: "Contracts",
  // Where to send reminders. A shared alias survives someone leaving.
  notifyEmail: "contracts@example.com",
  // Send a reminder when the notice deadline is this many days away or less.
  reminderDays: 30,
  // First row of data, i.e. the row after the header.
  firstDataRow: 2,
};

// Column positions, 1-indexed, matching the column order in the guide.
var COLUMN = {
  counterparty: 1,
  type: 2,
  owner: 3,
  renewalDate: 4,
  noticeDays: 5,
  noticeDeadline: 6,
  annualValue: 7,
  autoRenews: 8,
  status: 9,
};

/**
 * Run once, by hand, from the Apps Script editor. Creates a trigger that
 * runs checkNoticeDeadlines() every morning. Running it twice would create a
 * second trigger and send every email twice, so it clears its own first.
 */
function setUpDailyTrigger() {
  var existing = ScriptApp.getProjectTriggers();
  for (var i = 0; i < existing.length; i++) {
    if (existing[i].getHandlerFunction() === "checkNoticeDeadlines") {
      ScriptApp.deleteTrigger(existing[i]);
    }
  }
  ScriptApp.newTrigger("checkNoticeDeadlines").timeBased().atHour(7).everyDays(1).create();
}

/** Midnight UTC for a Date or a date-like cell value, so comparisons are whole days. */
function toUtcMidnight(value) {
  var date = value instanceof Date ? value : new Date(value);
  if (isNaN(date.getTime())) return null;
  return Date.UTC(date.getFullYear(), date.getMonth(), date.getDate());
}

/** Whole days from today until the given date. Negative once it has passed. */
function daysUntil(value) {
  var target = toUtcMidnight(value);
  if (target === null) return null;
  var now = new Date();
  var today = Date.UTC(now.getFullYear(), now.getMonth(), now.getDate());
  return Math.round((target - today) / 86400000);
}

/**
 * The notice deadline for a row.
 *
 * Prefers the deadline column when it is filled in, and falls back to
 * computing renewal date minus notice days — the same arithmetic as the
 * sheet formula, so a row with an empty deadline column is still covered.
 */
function noticeDeadlineFor(row) {
  var explicit = row[COLUMN.noticeDeadline - 1];
  if (explicit instanceof Date) return explicit;

  var renewal = row[COLUMN.renewalDate - 1];
  var noticeDays = Number(row[COLUMN.noticeDays - 1]);
  if (!(renewal instanceof Date) || isNaN(noticeDays)) return null;

  var deadline = new Date(renewal.getTime());
  deadline.setDate(deadline.getDate() - noticeDays);
  return deadline;
}

function formatDate(date) {
  return Utilities.formatDate(date, Session.getScriptTimeZone(), "d MMMM yyyy");
}

/** Runs daily. Emails one digest covering every row that needs attention. */
function checkNoticeDeadlines() {
  var sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getSheetByName(CONFIG.sheetName);
  if (!sheet) {
    throw new Error('No sheet named "' + CONFIG.sheetName + '" in this spreadsheet.');
  }

  var lastRow = sheet.getLastRow();
  if (lastRow < CONFIG.firstDataRow) return;

  var values = sheet
    .getRange(CONFIG.firstDataRow, 1, lastRow - CONFIG.firstDataRow + 1, COLUMN.status)
    .getValues();

  var approaching = [];
  var missed = [];

  for (var i = 0; i < values.length; i++) {
    var row = values[i];
    var status = String(row[COLUMN.status - 1] || "").toLowerCase();
    // Rows already dealt with are not reminders any more.
    if (status === "cancelled" || status === "renewed" || status === "done") continue;

    var deadline = noticeDeadlineFor(row);
    if (!deadline) continue;

    var days = daysUntil(deadline);
    if (days === null) continue;

    var line =
      row[COLUMN.counterparty - 1] +
      " — notice deadline " +
      formatDate(deadline) +
      " (" +
      (days < 0 ? Math.abs(days) + " days ago" : "in " + days + " days") +
      "), owner: " +
      (row[COLUMN.owner - 1] || "unassigned");

    if (days < 0) {
      missed.push(line);
    } else if (days <= CONFIG.reminderDays) {
      approaching.push(line);
    }
  }

  if (approaching.length === 0 && missed.length === 0) return;

  var body = "";
  if (missed.length > 0) {
    body += "NOTICE WINDOW CLOSED\n" + missed.join("\n") + "\n\n";
  }
  if (approaching.length > 0) {
    body +=
      "Notice deadline within " +
      CONFIG.reminderDays +
      " days\n" +
      approaching.join("\n") +
      "\n\n";
  }
  body += SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet().getUrl();

  MailApp.sendEmail({
    to: CONFIG.notifyEmail,
    subject:
      "Contract notice deadlines: " +
      approaching.length +
      " approaching, " +
      missed.length +
      " passed",
    body: body,
  });
}

The script is also available as a file if you would rather not copy it out of a web page.

Step 5: Decide who can open what, deliberately

What this setup genuinely gives you

• ✓It is free, and you already pay for it. No new vendor, no procurement conversation, no security review.
• ✓Everyone already knows how to use it. Adoption is the thing that kills most contract tooling, and there is nothing to adopt here.
• ✓There is no migration. The contracts are already in Drive, or one drag away from being there.
• ✓Search genuinely works on filenames and on text Drive can extract, which is why the naming convention earns its keep.
• ✓Version history is automatic, so an overwritten Sheet is recoverable for the retention period on your plan.

How to tell whether it is still working

Where Lumipact fits