To get the maximum value out of every agreement, contract lifecycle management requires repetition and standardisation. However, handling contracts poses some very standard problems for the majority of companies and organisations. Numerous unnecessary obstacles and frustrations with handling modern contracts are the results of poor contract administration.
Your legal, sales and procurement teams must operate efficiently at all times to meet the demands of the contract lifecycle management (CLM) process. You're probably leaving money on the table during difficult talks or running the danger of receiving disadvantageous terms if you don't have feature-rich, simple-to-use tools that encourage teamwork. If your business faces any of these issues, it's time to reevaluate your platforms and procedures in order to prevent slow, drawn-out workflows and bottlenecks.
One of the main motives behind businesses implementing a contract management solution is risk management. The risk of a financial, legal, or operational error is considerably reduced for an organisation thanks to the transparency and accountability of automated software. But what about the dangers of using the incorrect contract lifecycle management (CLM) tool? It's possible that decision makers who are putting a solution into practise for the first time are unaware of the process's potential difficulties.
➔ Panorama view of all Contracts
You will undoubtedly lose out on closing a few deals if it takes too long to access crucial contract information when you need it most. For example, retrieving crucial information during discussions becomes time-consuming if your contracts are kept in the previously mentioned manual contract storage method. A very, very tiny contract portfolio might be serviced using a manual contract filing system. However, this does not imply that your contracts will be simple to locate or even very safe. Your digital contract repository serves as a safe, searchable contract file system that will streamline access while improving organisation of your contract administration.
Finding common contract kinds is relatively simple with your contract management system's text-based search and customised, savable search filters. Contracts stored manually are frequently spread out over different locations, making it challenging to identify specific contract data (such as important dates and obligations), terms, and contracts themselves. They then do away with manual contract filing and storage to make it simple to locate your contracts whenever you need them. For the quickest contract retrieval possible, use a digitised, secure contract repository with Manucontract.
A lack of visibility and openness regarding the terms, obligations, and value of contracts is another issue that frequently arises in contract administration. Solutions for managing the contract lifecycle strike a fair balance between maximal shareability and security. The level of security on contracts gives Saas solutions for CLM an advantage over emailing contracts alone. That implies that the contract's content is only visible to those who need to see it. Although people can share contracts more easily and grant access to those who need to understand the contract terms and values, even with greater security precautions. Software for contract administration can frequently be smoothly integrated with accounting and legal teams' financial reporting and decision-making processes.
➔ Missing out on important dates
Every business management textbook emphasises the value of picking the easiest fruit to reach. Despite how often authors mention this idea, businesses never actually put it into practise. Every year, the same thing happens: the client sends a last-minute email requesting an updated statement of work by the end of the day so they can still budget for this year. Resultantly, the company staff rushes to meet the deadline and prevent a cash flow problem, and has no time to double-check anything, and sends back an improvised contract. An automatic reminder system might easily prevent this squandered opportunity.
Contracts contain a number of important dates and deadlines that, if not carefully monitored, can easily be missed. When there are so many other time-sensitive contract duties that demand your immediate attention, keeping track of contract dates can be incredibly challenging. You lose out on the chance to configure automated reminders to be shared and delivered to your staff on a scheduled basis in order to keep everyone informed of impending contract expiry dates and auto-renewals without a user-friendly, intuitive contract management system.
Key contract dates and deadlines should never be managed using a calendar as these are subject to human mistakes and inaccuracy. Reminders that you can customise will be supported by contract management software.
Given that all of these problems are the result of deficient contract management procedures and software, it's understandable why businesses are upset that these errors are harming their bottom lines. Fortunately, a CLM system with reminder notifications for renewals and other crucial dates will change everything for your company. Your team will be able to monitor impending renewals and get ready for potential renegotiations in this way. Your legal and procurement teams' new best friends will be a CLM platform that automatically tracks renewals and other crucial dates and terms.
➔ Contract Organisation
It is a challenging stage that determines how the entire cycle will be managed moving forward. It involves the transfer of contract management technology and practises from departing to entering staff members. Additionally, the time lags that frequently occur during a transition might seriously impede a manual contract administration procedure. Make sure that prior to a transfer, several steps, such as renewal dates, delivery deadlines, and KPIs, are discussed and accepted in order to keep your personnel prepared. This will build trust, which is more likely to last throughout the entire procedure. After all, the transitional period ought to be an opportunity to set high standards and outline best practises rather than a challenge.
Nevertheless, with the correct contract management software, your team will always be able to locate pertinent contracts and data. You can upload all of your contracts into a single, searchable database using a CLM platform that has a searchable contract repository. You have total control over the information in your contracts thanks to this tool. In addition to finding the appropriate documents exactly when needed, your team may reduce risks by:
To sum up,
Understanding the typical issues that others have run into should light the way and aid in making sure that your CLM software satisfies all of your present and future requirements. Let's go over how to avoid each of these five traps:
Get on top of your Contracts
A company is prepared to transition from reactive to proactive decision-making — from putting out fires to building the groundwork for scalability — when it recognises the need for CLM automation. In light of this, it is crucial that the procurers invest the time necessary to elevate their selection procedure from finding a temporary fix to finding a solution that will actually drive efficiency and simplify operations for years to come. Manucontract specialises in automating processes that are too complex for competing providers. Our best practice templates and adaptable technology ensure rapid deployment and a fully extensible system. For more information, visit https://www.manucontract.com/
