Documentation

Contracts

Define royalty terms with flexible contracts. From simple percentage splits to tiered structures based on units sold or revenue.

Contracts are where you define how royalties are calculated and split. Every rights holder needs at least one contract, and Royalties HQ gives you the flexibility to model anything from a simple flat percentage to complex tiered structures with multiple conditions.

How contracts work

Contracts use a three-level structure:

  • Contract: the top-level agreement linked to a rights holder and one or more titles.
  • Rules: each contract contains one or more rules that define what gets paid and when.
  • Conditions and actions: within each rule, conditions filter which sales apply (by country, discount rate, date range, or units sold), and actions define the royalty calculation.

This layered approach means a single contract can handle different rates for different territories, formats, or sales thresholds, all in one place.

Shared templates vs custom contracts

If multiple rights holders share the same terms, create a shared contract template and apply it across your catalogue. When terms differ (a unique advance, a special rate for one author), create a custom contract for that specific rights holder. Templates save time; custom contracts handle the exceptions.

Royalty models

Royalties HQ supports several calculation methods to match real-world publishing agreements:

  • Percentage of net receipts: a percentage of the income you actually received.
  • Percentage of list price: a percentage of the title’s published retail price.
  • Percentage of list price minus discount: accounts for the discount given to retailers before calculating the royalty.
  • Fixed price per unit: a flat monetary amount for every copy sold.

Tiered royalties

Many contracts include escalating rates. For example, 10% on the first 5,000 copies and 12.5% thereafter. Royalties HQ supports tiered structures based on cumulative units sold or cumulative revenue, automatically stepping up the rate as each threshold is reached during a royalty run.

Conditions

Conditions let you target specific scenarios within a rule. You can filter by country or territory, discount rate band, date range, or units sold. This means a single contract can pay different rates for domestic vs export sales or apply promotional terms only during a defined window.

Step-by-step guides are available inside Royalties HQ. Look for the ? icon top-right.