Overview
Location: Main Settings > General Settings > HR Management, in the Employment Contracts group.
What This Setting Does
This setting lets the institution define a template so that every new Employment Contract automatically receives a generated Contract Number, instead of staff typing one in manually each time.
The template can combine a running sequence number, the _Teacher_’s code, and the contract creation date or year, so that generated numbers stay unique and follow a consistent pattern.
Where It Is Used
- Teacher > Teacher profile > Contracts tab > Add Contract, where the Contract Number field is filled in automatically when a template is configured here.
Business Logic / Behavior
- If this setting is left empty, staff must type the Contract Number by hand when creating a new Employment Contract.
- If a template is entered, Classter builds the Contract Number automatically as soon as the new contract is saved, replacing the placeholders in the template with real values.
- The template supports a running Incremental Number, the _Teacher_’s Teacher Code, the contract creation Date, and the contract creation Year, which can be combined and, for the Incremental Number, padded with leading zeros to a fixed length.
- The generated number is applied only when the contract is first created, not when it is later edited.
Examples
Alpha Institute configures the template to combine the contract year with a five-digit running number. When _Teacher_ Julia N.’s contract is created in 2026, Classter generates a Contract Number such as 2026-00147 automatically.
Beta College leaves the setting empty. When HR creates a new Employment Contract for _Teacher_ Peter A., they type the Contract Number in by hand, for example HR-2026-Adams-01.
When to Use
This is a free-text template rather than an on/off switch. Configure it when the institution wants consistent, automatically generated Employment Contract numbers, and leave it empty when contract numbers should always be entered manually.
Notes
- Prerequisites: none beyond having the Employment Contracts feature available.
- Related settings: Add protocol entry upon contract creation (Add_Protocol_Entry_Upon_Contract_Creation in HR Management > Employment Contracts).
- Related settings: Show employment data info under (Show_Employment_Data_Info_Under in HR Management > Employment Contracts).
K-12 vs Higher Education: this setting behaves the same regardless of institution type.
