# Nonstandard contract approval system map | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/guides/nonstandard-contract-approval-records-across-systems
Last updated: 2026-10-18

Reconstructing a nonstandard contract approval takes five links across four to six systems: opportunity to quote version, quote version to its approval steps, quote version to the contract redline, redline to the executed order, and order to the outcome record. The quote version is the hinge, because every other record should point to it. If any link depends on matching customer names and dates, the trail can still be read, but the approval in one system no longer provably belongs to the redline in another.

This map belongs to the [nonstandard contract approval guide](/guides/workflow-nonstandard-contract-approval). The [worked case](/guides/nonstandard-contract-approval-exception-examples) follows one deal as a story of decisions; this page is the wiring under it: which system holds each record, which key it passes on, and who administers it.

## Six records, five links

Each system answers one question about a nonstandard deal, and none answers all of them.

- **CRM opportunity: what was being sold.** Account, deal type, stage history. It points to one or more quote IDs, often with no flag for the version that was finally signed.
- **CPQ quote version: what was offered.** Discount, payment terms, product lines and nonstandard clauses. It is the record the approval process acts on, and the one the order should be booked from.
- **Approval steps: who said yes, and with what condition.** On Salesforce, the ProcessInstanceHistory object shows all steps and pending requests associated with an approval process. The steps belong to the quote record they describe.
- **CLM redline history: how the paper changed.** Versions of the agreement with clause edits and authors. It carries an agreement ID and, in better setups, the quote ID.
- **Executed order: what was booked.** In the CRM or ERP, referencing the quote version and the agreement.
- **Outcome note: whether the commitment held.** In a customer success tool or on the account, often the weakest link because commitments are tracked in email.

## System map: record, home system, linking key and owner

Read across a row to see where each record lives, which key leaves it and the gap that most often breaks the join.

| Record | Usually lives in | Linking key it carries | Administered by | Typical gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opportunity | CRM | Quote IDs | CRM administrator | Several quotes, no signed flag |
| Quote version | CPQ | Quote ID plus version number | Revenue operations | Old versions overwritten |
| Approval steps and comments | CPQ or CRM approval process | Quote ID, approver, step date | Deal desk lead | Tied to objects a migration retires |
| Redline history | CLM | Agreement ID, sometimes quote ID | Legal operations | No shared ID before a given year |
| Executed order | CRM or ERP | Quote version and agreement ID | Finance systems | Booked from a later version than the approved one |
| Outcome note | Customer success tool or CRM | Account and commitment reference | Customer success lead | Commitment tracked in email only |

Two keys are entered by people rather than generated by the platform: the quote ID on the contract record and the commitment reference on the outcome note. Those are where joins usually fail, so ask about them first.

## One fully joined deal (Illustrative)

Illustrative and invented for this page. A fictional 340-person HR software company closes a new-business deal in which the customer asks for a liability cap above the standard playbook.

| Key | Value | Found in | Joins to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opportunity ID | OPP-5310 | CRM | Quotes Q-2231 v1 to v3 |
| Quote version | Q-2231 v3, 22% discount, raised liability cap | CPQ | Approval steps; order |
| Approval steps | CFO (discount) and general counsel (cap), both with comments | Approval history on Q-2231 v3 | Redline AGR-0874 v4 |
| Agreement and redline | AGR-0874 v4, cap clause edited by legal | CLM, with quote ID stored | Order ORD-19022 |
| Executed order | ORD-19022, booked from Q-2231 v3 | ERP | Account ACC-118 |
| Outcome note | Renewal review notes no liability claim in year one | Customer success tool | Account ACC-118 |

Read top to bottom: the deal was offered on version 3, two approvers outside the deal desk signed off with recorded reasons, legal's redline matches that version, the order was booked from it, and a year later the account shows how the term played out. If the order had been booked from version 4 instead, the approval would describe terms the customer never signed.

## Retention windows that decide which links survive

Links are only as durable as the records at each end. Three platform facts shape what a company still has:

- **Field history is short by default.** Without Field Audit Trail, Salesforce retains field history for up to 18 months, and up to 24 months via the API. Changes to discount or term fields on older quotes may survive only as final values.
- **Longer retention is opt-in.** Field Audit Trail archives field history in a separate object under a retention policy the company sets. Whether it was ever enabled is a one-line answer worth recording.
- **Approval steps follow their records.** If a CPQ migration retires the old quote objects, the approval history attached to them goes with them unless someone plans otherwise.

The [CLM migration guide](/guides/clm-migration) covers keeping the contract side intact, and the [CPQ replacement guide](/guides/moment-cpq-replacement-revops-consultants) times the conversation against these windows. Contract export rights in the vendor agreement are covered in the [SaaS export rights guide](/guides/saas-data-export-rights-contract).

## Testing each link with the revenue operations head

One question per link, answered from configuration knowledge, not by opening deals:

1. **Opportunity to quote.** "Is the signed quote flagged as primary, or do we infer it from the order?"
2. **Quote to approvals.** "When a quote is recalled and resubmitted, do earlier approval steps stay attached to the old version?"
3. **Quote to redline.** "From which year does the contract tool store the quote ID?"
4. **Redline to order.** "Is the order always booked from the approved version, or can sales book a later one?"
5. **Order to outcome.** "Where are product or service commitments tracked after signing?"

Record the answers as metadata: years per link, rough volume of nonstandard quotes, which keys hold. The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Approval records quote customer terms, which also shows up in deal diligence (see the [material contracts disclosure guide](/guides/disclosure-schedule-material-contracts-m)), so what can be licensed stays unknown until SourceX's rights review. For the introduction note, use the [referral brief template](/resources/nonstandard-contract-approval-referral-brief-template).

## Next step

> **Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000.** Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

If most of the five links hold and the old quote objects are about to be retired, [register as a partner](/register), check the company against [who qualifies](/who-qualifies), and read the [program terms](/terms) before you make the introduction.

## Sources

- https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_processinstancehistory.htm
- https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.securityImplGuide.meta/securityImplGuide/tracking_field_history.htm
- https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.field_history_retention.meta/field_history_retention/field_audit_trail.htm
- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms