In the past, contract managers often kept all their documents in physical filing cabinets and kept lists or spreadsheets of a company`s various agreements, noting certain important conditions and dates. Recognize and import important terms and clauses such as contract amount, compensation, and renewal date from scanned or digital documents using the predefined AI functionality available in our Agiloft Contract Assistant for Microsoft Word. Obtaining signatures manually and/or in person can be extremely challenging, especially if employees with signature authorization are not available. Signing is arguably the most important aspect of contract management, but manual signing processes are outdated and slow, and hinder an optimized experience for both internal and external parties. Direct and indirect costs resulting from paper-based processes, lost administrative time and shipping costs can be inflated. Ultimately, manual signing practices can put your business at risk, and the lack of a streamlined signing process can tarnish its reputation. Contract and document management, structured around outdated processes that require paper, printing, sending, wet signatures and constant monitoring, can delay contract execution. Most business relationships begin with a contract that determines how business is done. This can be a formal contract, as drafted by a team of lawyers, or an informal contract, such as the agreement between a client and an e-commerce retailer.
The contracts set out how the revenue will be generated and what each party`s recourse will look like if the expected results do not materialize. Yet even though contracts are so important, it`s still surprising how many companies manage their contract processes with an awkward combination of email and printed materials. The files can all have different document formats or even be stored in multiple locations, many of which are known only to those directly involved in the business relationship. Use pre-built integrations with ERP systems or integrate them via api and external system adapter technology for seamless budgeting, expense analysis, and vendor management. Finance leaders can improve their organization`s performance by avoiding four common contract mistakes: revenue contracts expire unintentionally, expense contracts automatically renew without review, contracts fail due to compliance reviews, and legal risks remain unidentified and unmanaged. Contract management software can solve these problems and generate a significant return on investment. It is often these basic functionalities that determine the characteristics of the different contract management systems on the market. Almost all systems offer a complete repository that contains copies of contracts (often remotely) in virtual workbooks, so documents can never be lost. Systems often offer the ability to enter contract-related data into tags and keywords, so the information can be quickly detected and alerts can be set to warn handlers of impending and important events. Data added to the system for tracking purposes usually also serves an additional purpose: to facilitate the discovery of certain contracts or groups of contracts that meet certain criteria. Finally, this contract data can be aggregated in a variety of ways to get an overview of the status of the company`s contracts. All contract management systems help departments involved in their enterprise resource planning (ERP) operations manage agreements with third parties.
A company`s HUMAN RESOURCES department can integrate its HR information system (HRIS) with a contract management platform to automatically process employment contracts, redundancies and employment and performance agreements. The use cases keep going on and on. Contract management is useful almost everywhere in a company. Take control in 2020 by moving from an outdated and inefficient signing process to electronic signatures with leading contract management software. Watch the video below to see how CobbleStone`s e-signature software can help you do more in 2020! Learn how to become the top-level contract manager of tomorrow – today with a free demo! From electronic signatures to a complete CLM system, DocuSign gives small businesses access to cost-effective contract management solutions. There are a number of contract management solutions that offer highly customizable and feature-rich systems. Some of these systems can adapt to smaller groups, but they offer systems and features that can be better used by larger units. Not to mention that the price that will probably be associated with it can often be better managed by groups with deeper financial pockets. On the other side of the contract management market, there are solutions that are refined in the services they offer. These options often address a specific problem that contract management faces.
In general, these systems often have a more manageable cost for small groups with fewer users. Its code-free configurations allow you to assemble custom workflows, routing processes, reports, and even a custom dashboard to track your key performance indicators (KPIs) and alerts. Agiloft integrates with Google and Microsoft to quickly upload documents using the software you already use in your business. This guide can help potential buyers find the best contract management solution for their needs. Here`s what we`re going to cover: The five tools mentioned above can streamline contract management. With unlimited and secure file storage, intelligent workflow, contract lifecycle automation, enhanced tracking and search tools, and easy-to-use electronic signatures, CobbleStone`s leading contract management software offers everything you need for the coming year on a single platform. Watch the video below to learn how to take control of your contracts with CobbleStone! Topics: Contract Management Software Strategic Contract Management Contract Management Software Equipped with contract management tools Basically, contract management often focuses on four key functions: contracts must be stored, important provisions must be followed, a system must be in place to find a contract based on certain criteria, and the information contained in or contained in the contracts must be comprehensible or reportable. .