In plain English
This means the parties are still going back and forth over the contract terms. The document may already be a contract or still a proposed one, but the discussion is not finished. A final agreement has not yet been reached.
In context
In this use, it indicates that the contract is still under discussion between the parties and is not yet finally agreed.
- Situation
- Running procurement, vendor review, purchase approval, and contract workflow
- What it communicates
- labels a contract in back-and-forth discussion on terms
Meaning limits
By itself, this status does not say whether the parties will eventually reach agreement.
Examples
“With negotiation in progress, the buyer and seller exchanged a third draft of the sale contract instead of signing a final agreement.”
“Leave the proposed contract as negotiation in progress until both sides accept the revised price.”