Contract management is a vital process for a company that deals with a lot of contracts. And just about every business deals with contracts in just about all aspects of their business. It is therefore very important to keep all the contacts in an orderly fashion and be able to know which contracts are signed, which ones are due to be signed and those that are due to be renewed. In this article, we look at the broader aspect of contract management and how to ensure you do it effectively.
Part 1 An Introduction to Contract Management
Contract management refers to the process of managing contracts from partners, vendors, customers and employees. The process supports any process that contributes, create and utilizes contract data. Depending on how it's done, contract management can be an asset or a liability to a company. The level of success for any contract management process is in how integrated and digitalized the process is.
It can therefore involve certain infrastructure like self-service portals, the availability of pre-approved templates, electronic signatures and even legal playbooks. This is the type of infrastructure that makes the process more manageable and easy to maintain.
Part 2 Contract Management Process
The following is a description of a typical contract management process.
1. Request
This is the actual creation of a contract which can involve templates if a company is using the latest digital contract management system.
2. Negotiate
Negotiations are the next step. This is where the terms and conditions that are in the final contract are determined.
3. Approval
This where the contract is sent to legal for approval before it can be signed by the stakeholders. Once it has been approved and signed, the contract's terms and conditions are set into effect and stored.
4. Search and Report
Occasionally a contract will be required. If you use the traditional filing cabinet form of storage, the contract usually can't be located which leads to the manual analysis of a contract which can lead to human error.
5. Comply/ Amend
It is also likely that sometimes you may need to check if both parties are holding up their end of the deal. This can take some time when all transactions need to be reviewed manually. If the contract period comes to an end, the terms may need to be renegotiated. Unless there is proper contract management, this period can pass without notice.
Part 3 5 of the Best Contract Management Software
Using software is one of the ways to ensure that the contract management process goes off without a hitch. The following are just some of the best contract management software in the business.
1. Agiloft
It is one of the best and most customizable contract management programs in the business. At a price point of $3900, it may be out of reach for most small businesses but for those who can afford to pay the hefty fee, it is a tool worth the price. It can be deployed on premises or as a cloud service and offers features that can scale any workload.
Pros:
- Easy to use wizards provide unlimited customizations
- Its many features support business automation practices
Cons:
- The unlimited customizations can be a little bit complicated
- The price point is a little high
2. CobbleStone Systems Contract Insights
Also available as an on-premise or cloud solution, CobbleStone Systems also provides a highly customizable solution for contract management at just the fraction of the cost of Agiloft. It also comes with great features that make the whole process quite easy.
Pros:
- A highly customizable and feature-rich solution
- Has a full-featured free trial
Cons:
- Numerous customization can make the program quite complex especially for the beginner
3. Mitratech Getting Contracts Done
Designed primarily for small and medium-sized businesses, Mitratech Getting Contracts Done offers a balance of customizations and ease of use with great features. It provides the most critical contract management options to make the contract management easy and effective.
Pros:
- A very user-friendly UI
- It is easy to learn and also offers detailed guides
- Core functionality to manage a contract available
Cons:
- The cloud-based system lacks unlimited storage at all levels of service
4. Contractually
This is a contract creation and contract management tool that comes with all the basic management tools. Contractually does however lack some of the more advanced features that some of the other programs we've seen have.
Pros:
- Their cloud service is easy and quick to implement
- User friendly interface with a unique feel
Cons:
- Lacks some of the more advanced features that other programs have
5. Gimmal Contract Management
This is a highly customizable program that comes with a wide-level of features that users can tailor to suit their businesses. It is however one of the most expensive contract management services at $20,000.
Pros:
- It is easily navigable and highly customizable
- It also comes with a lot of extra features that allows for customization and business process automation
Cons:
- There is no free trial
- Its cost makes it out of reach of smaller businesses
Part 4 The Tool to Sign Contract Paperless
One of the best ways to reduce the paper trail and keep the contract management process digital is to use an e-signature service to sign the contracts. An e-signature service like SignX can help reduce the amount of filing you have to do. The service allows users to sign documents such as contracts and send them to others for signing. So, regardless of how many people require to sign the document, you can just add their email addresses and SignX will send the contract to them. It will even help you keep track of those who have signed the document and those who haven't, going a step further to send them reminders.
Document management with SignX is also just as simple. You are able to keep track of what contracts have been signed and the ones that are awaiting signature. And even more importantly, all the signatures you use with SignX are legally binding and enforceable.
