Your Guide to Contract Management Software

What is contract management software?

Contract management software is a digital tool designed to automate and streamline the entire contract lifecycle, from creation to execution and expiration. It helps businesses manage their contracts more efficiently by providing features such as contract drafting, approval workflows, digital signatures, contract storage, and reporting. The software also helps businesses stay compliant with legal and regulatory requirements by providing alerts for key dates and milestones, and by tracking contract performance and obligations. Overall, contract management software helps businesses save time and money, reduce risk, and improve their overall contract management process.

Use Cases for Contract Management Software

There are various use cases for contract management softwarww that are designed to simpligy and streamline the enture contract lifecycle, from create to execution and beyond.  

• Contract creation, both static & automated: Contract management software helps businesses create contracts more efficiently by providing templates, clause libraries, and contract drafting tools. It also allows businesses to automate the creation of certain types of contracts, such as renewals or amendments, by pre-populating fields and using workflow rules.

• Contract storage and retrieval: Contract management software provides a centralized repository for all contracts, making it easy for businesses to store, organize, and retrieve contracts quickly and securely. It also provides version control, so users can access the latest version of a contract and track changes over time.
• Contract tracking & monitoring: Contract management software helps businesses track the status and performance of contracts, including key dates and milestones, obligations, and deliverables. It provides alerts and notifications for upcoming deadlines and ensures that all parties meet their obligations.
• Contract negotiations: Contract management software enables businesses to collaborate on contract negotiations in real-time, both internally and with external parties. It provides tools for redlining and version control, making it easy to track changes and iterations of a contract.
• Contract compliance: Contract management software helps businesses stay compliant with legal and regulatory requirements by providing alerts for key dates and milestones, and by tracking contract performance and obligations. It ensures that all parties meet their obligations and that the terms of the contract are enforced.
• Contract analysis and reporting: Contract management software provides analytics and reporting tools, enabling businesses to analyze contract data and identify trends, risks, and opportunities. It allows users to generate reports on contract status, performance, and compliance.

• Improved contract visibility: Contract management software provides a single, unified view of all contracts, making it easy for users to access and review contract information. It improves transparency and visibility, enabling businesses to manage contracts more effectively.
• Contract renewal & extension management: Contract management software helps businesses manage contract renewals and extensions by providing alerts for key dates and milestones, and by automating the renewal process. It allows users to track and manage renewals and extensions in one central location.
• Contract collaboration: Contract management software provides tools for collaboration and communication, enabling users to work together on contract-related tasks and documents. It allows for real-time collaboration and feedback, making it easy for teams to work together on complex contracts.
• Contract workflows: Contract management software provides workflow automation tools, enabling businesses to automate the entire contract lifecycle. It allows users to create custom workflows and approval processes, ensuring that contracts are created, reviewed, and executed efficiently and accurately.

What is the difference between CLM & Contract Management Software?

Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) and Contract Management Software (CMS) are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they refer to slightly different concepts.

CLM is a comprehensive approach to managing the entire contract lifecycle, from initial request to contract execution, post-contract obligations, and termination. It involves a combination of people, processes, and technology to manage contracts effectively, including contract creation, negotiation, approval, execution, monitoring, and analysis.

Contract management software, on the other hand, is a technology tool designed to automate and streamline various aspects of the contract management process. It provides features such as contract drafting, approval workflows, digital signatures, contract storage, and reporting, and helps businesses manage their contracts more efficiently.

While contract management software is a critical component of CLM, it is not the only factor. CLM requires a more comprehensive approach that involves people and processes, in addition to technology. It also includes activities such as contract strategy, risk management, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement.

Overall, CLM is a holistic approach to managing the entire contract lifecycle, while contract management software is a tool that supports specific aspects of the contract management process.

Why use a Contract Management Software?

Contract management software is an essential tool for businesses that manage a large number of contracts. It streamlines the entire contract lifecycle, automating routine tasks such as contract creation, approval workflows, and digital signatures. It helps organizations manage contracts more efficiently and effectively, reducing costs, minimizing risks, and increasing visibility. Contract management software improves collaboration, provides analytics and reporting tools, and ensures compliance with contract terms and obligations. By using contract management software, businesses can save time, reduce errors, and gain valuable insights into their contract management process, enabling them to make informed decisions and achieve their business goals.

What to look for in a Contract Management Software?

When choosing a contract management software, there are several key factors to consider:

1. Ease of use: The software should be intuitive and easy to use, with a user-friendly interface that allows users to access and manage contracts quickly and easily.

2. Features: The software should offer a range of features that support the entire contract lifecycle, including contract creation, storage, and retrieval, tracking and monitoring, compliance, collaboration, workflows, and reporting.

3. Customizability: The software should allow users to customize workflows, templates, and reports to meet their specific needs. It should be flexible enough to adapt to different contract types and business processes.

4. Integration: The software should integrate with other systems, such as CRM, ERP, and e-signature tools, to streamline the contract management process and avoid duplicate data entry.

5. Security: The software should have robust security features, including role-based access control, encryption, and data backups, to protect sensitive contract data from unauthorized access.

6. Customer support: The software provider should offer excellent customer support, including training, implementation, and ongoing support, to ensure that users can maximize the benefits of the software.

7. Pricing: The software should offer a pricing model that is transparent, predictable, and scalable, based on the number of users and contracts managed.

What are the benefits of a contract management software to the organization?

There are several compelling reasons why businesses should consider using a contract management software:

• Improved efficiency: Contract management software automates and streamlines various aspects of the contract management process, reducing the time and effort required to manage contracts. It provides tools for contract drafting, approval workflows, digital signatures, contract storage, and reporting, making it easier to manage contracts efficiently.
• Cost savings: By reducing the time and effort required to manage contracts, contract management software can help businesses save money. It can also help reduce the risk of non-compliance or missed deadlines, which can lead to costly legal disputes or penalties.
• Reduced risk: Contract management software provides alerts and notifications for upcoming deadlines, ensures that all parties meet their obligations, and tracks contract performance and obligations. This reduces the risk of non-compliance or missed deadlines, and ensures that the terms of the contract are enforced.
• Increased visibility: Contract management software provides a centralized repository for all contracts, making it easy for users to access and review contract information. It improves transparency and visibility, enabling businesses to manage contracts more effectively.
• Better collaboration: Contract management software provides tools for collaboration and communication, enabling users to work together on contract-related tasks and documents. It allows for real-time collaboration and feedback, making it easy for teams to work together on complex contracts.
• Analytics and reporting: Contract management software provides analytics and reporting tools, enabling businesses to analyze contract data and identify trends, risks, and opportunities. It allows users to generate reports on contract status, performance, and compliance, providing valuable insights that can inform decision-making.

How to choose a Contract Management Software?

When choosing a contract management software for your organization, it's important to follow a structured process:

1. Define your requirements: Identify the specific requirements for your contract management process, including the number of contracts managed, the types of contracts, the workflows and approval processes, and reporting needs.

2. Research potential solutions: Research potential contract management software solutions and evaluate them against your requirements. Look for solutions that offer the features and integrations you need, as well as the scalability and flexibility to meet your future needs.

3. Request demos: Request demos from the top solutions on your list, and have key stakeholders evaluate them. This will allow you to see the software in action and determine how easy it is to use and whether it meets your requirements.

4. Check references: Ask for references from the software providers and contact other customers to learn about their experience with the software. This will help you evaluate the software's reliability, support, and overall customer experience.

5. Evaluate pricing: Evaluate the pricing model of each solution and ensure it aligns with your budget and business needs.

6. Plan for implementation: Plan for the implementation of the software, including data migration, user training, and integration with other systems.

7. Pilot and evaluate: After implementation, pilot the software with a small group of users to evaluate its effectiveness and identify any issues. Use their feedback to refine the software and ensure it meets the needs of the entire organization.

By following this process, you can choose a contract management software that meets your organization's specific needs and helps you manage contracts more efficiently and effectively.

Common Contract Management Software Features to Look For

1. Contract creation: The ability to create new contracts from templates or from scratch and store them in a centralized repository.

2. Contract storage and retrieval: The ability to store contracts in a centralized repository, organize them by category or tag, and retrieve them quickly.

3. Contract tracking and monitoring: The ability to track key contract milestones and deadlines, receive alerts for upcoming events, and monitor contract performance.

4. Contract negotiation: The ability to collaborate with other parties, negotiate contract terms, and track changes.

5. Contract compliance: The ability to ensure that all parties are complying with the terms of the contract and meeting their obligations.

6. Contract analysis and reporting: The ability to generate reports on contract status, performance, and compliance, and identify trends and risks.

7. Improved contract visibility: The ability to provide a centralized repository for all contracts, making it easy for users to access and review contract information.

8. Contract renewal and extension management: The ability to manage contract renewals and extensions, and track changes to contract terms.

9. Contract collaboration: The ability to collaborate with other parties on contract-related tasks and documents.

10. Contract workflows: The ability to automate contract workflows, such as approval processes and digital signatures.

11. Security and access controls: The ability to ensure that contracts are stored securely and access is limited to authorized users.

Other key features to look for include:

Where does Checkbox fit into all this?

Checkbox solves for contract management software by providing a comprehensive no-code automation platform that enables businesses to streamline and automate their contract management process.

With Checkbox, users can create contracts from templates or from scratch, ensuring that all relevant contract terms are included. Checkbox also provides a centralized repository for all contracts, making it easy for users to store, organize, and retrieve contract information.

Checkbox also enables users to track key contract milestones and deadlines, receive alerts for upcoming events, and monitor contract performance. Users can collaborate with other parties on contract-related tasks and documents, negotiate contract terms, and track changes.

Checkbox also provides powerful reporting and analytics capabilities, enabling users to generate reports on contract status, performance, and compliance, and identify trends and risks. Checkbox also provides a range of security and access controls, ensuring that contracts are stored securely and access is limited to authorized users.

Overall, Checkbox's no-code automation platform provides a flexible and scalable solution for businesses of all sizes to manage their contract management process more efficiently and effectively.  

Curious to learn more about how our platform can transform your contracting capabilities? Book a call with one of our technology consultants to learn more.