Tool Gate · How it works
How the Inbound Contract & SOW Risk Gate gate works
How the Inbound Contract & SOW Risk Gate grades a contract: six weighted clauses and a deal-breaker gate where uncapped liability or a full pre-existing-IP grab forces DO NOT SIGN — which is how a clean-looking 76 still shouldn't be signed.
How the gate works
This tool grades an inbound contract or SOW against the deal-breaker clauses. Each control is marked from your own evidence and weighted into a 0–100 score — and then the score is run past a gate that can only make the verdict worse.
The 6 weighted controls
| Signal | Weight |
|---|---|
| Limitation of liability | 24 |
| IP assignment / ownership | 22 |
| Indemnification scope | 18 |
| Auto-renewal & termination | 16 |
| Payment terms | 12 |
| Scope & deliverable clarity | 8 |
| Total | 100 |
The verdict bands
Uncapped liability or a full pre-existing-IP assignment is existential, uncapped exposure — it forces DO NOT SIGN regardless of the score. Narrow either and the same contract releases.
In the worked sample it scores 76 out of 100 and still reads DO NOT SIGN — Every other clause is clean, but liability is uncapped — a deal-breaker — so the contract reads DO NOT SIGN even though the six-clause math lands at 76 (NEGOTIATE if the cap were merely partial). The one thing to fix first: Limitation of liability — cap it before anything else. An uncapped clause is existential exposure no other clause offsets..
Common questions
Can something score well on the Inbound Contract & SOW Risk Gate and still fail?
Yes. The weighted score is run past a worsen-only gate — the Deal-breaker gate — that can only make the verdict worse. In the worked sample it scores 76 out of 100 and still reads DO NOT SIGN, because every other clause is clean, but liability is uncapped — a deal-breaker — so the contract reads DO NOT SIGN even though the six-clause math lands at 76 (NEGOTIATE if the cap were merely partial).
What is a worsen-only gate?
A dispositive rule that can only lower a verdict, never raise it. One fatal flaw overrides an otherwise-good score, because a single disqualifying gap shouldn't hide behind a high average. The tool also names the one thing to fix first — here, "Limitation of liability — cap it before anything else. An uncapped clause is existential exposure no other clause offsets.".
Grades the document's risk surface from your marks, not your legal rights. Not legal advice.
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<iframe src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/inbound-contract-sow-risk-gate.html" title="How the Inbound Contract & SOW Risk Gate gate works — RedHub AI" width="760" height="1590" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/inbound-contract-sow-risk-gate">How the Inbound Contract & SOW Risk Gate gate works</a> — by <a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a>, the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>Image + link — a static picture for any blog
<a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/inbound-contract-sow-risk-gate"><img src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/inbound-contract-sow-risk-gate-share.png" alt="Diagram of the Inbound Contract & SOW Risk Gate: six weighted clauses, a deal-breaker gate, and a sample scoring 76 that still reads DO NOT SIGN." width="760" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:16px"></a>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a> — the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>
This is how Inbound Contract & SOW Risk Gate works. More diagrams in the Visual Field Guide.