Competition within the automated contract management space is extremely fierce today. With innumerable options at their disposal, how can organizations choose the right one for the job? It is important for managers to consider the needs of their organization, as we examine the things you should consider within a contract management system before finalizing your decision.
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What Is a Contract Management System
A contract management system allows organizations to automate the contract management process. In the fast paced world of today, organizations have multiple contracts running with vendors, employees, partners and other stakeholders. This system helps electronically manage the process, making it faster to create, sign and receive contracts from anyone and anywhere.
There is a reason why automated contract management solutions are currently considered mainstream. Organizations can literally transform their management procedures through the right software. If you seek the perfect contract management software for your organization, then here are some key factors you should consider:
Ease of Use
No organization wants to use a system that further complicates the contract management procedure. Most businesses today follow the traditional methods of contract storage and filing, where a dedicated filing room is used for storing and accessing all contracts in one place. A decent contract management system should work as an upgrade to these legacy solutions.
The ease of use on a contract management software rests on multiple factors, but it all comes down to just how easy it is for your team members to understand and start using the platform. Ease of use, interesting UI and convenience will make it easier for your team members to learn the key processes on the platform and to incorporate it within their day to day operations. Besides the early adoption procedure, the ease of use and convenience can especially make it easy for your team to implement it on a long-term basis.
Whichever system you select should be easy for your team and should ideally be compatible with any and all tools you currently have in place within your organization. When the implementation process is simple, your operations would not be hindered and productivity would remain the same. On the contrary, a major disruption can stymie operations and lead to significant losses.
Ease of use can be guaranteed if the contract management software you choose has accurate, error-free templates for creating and storing contracts. The system should also have a common repository to store and access contracts. The repository should be accessible to employees with permission to do so.
Collaboration, Sharing and Amendment Capabilities
The perfect contract management system allows organizations to create, collaborate, share, assign and execute contracts within a matter of minutes – not hours, days or even weeks. Automation in collaboration, sharing and amendment can benefit organizations in the following ways:
- Secure Business Transactions: When key contracts are being shared, you are potentially sharing a ton of confidential data externally and internally. It is imperative that your contract management system ensure the security of all data and protect the contracts from external attacks. A secure system reduces risk and enhances peace of mind.
- Simplified Signature System: Faxing signed contracts is now a thing of the past. In today’s world, businesses depend on secure and legally binding signatures done online. The software should include a high-quality signature service for signing contracts in the process.
- Accelerated Turnaround Time: Most contracts come with a nondisclosure agreement. And, for that nondisclosure agreement to be validated, you should send your sealed and signed contract over in a matter of minutes. A good contract management system should help you do that.
- Access for All Stakeholders: The search and access feature should make it easy for stakeholders to identify and take out contracts that are relevant to them.
Risk Management Ability
A contract is only as good as the verbiage and data that has been inputted. When contracts contain intentional or unintentional errors, the organization is left vulnerable to a wide array of damages. The right contract management system gives organizations insight into the possible risks they are being exposed to, through a glitch in their contract. Once this information surfaces, businesses can take preventive measures to improve the contract and remove all vulnerabilities from it.
Customization Potential
The right contract management system should fit your business rather than the other way around. The contract management system you opt for should allow users the customization options they require. A customizable contract management platform should allow users to:
- Gather Insights on Processes: Your organization should be able to see what is working and what is not working. This can help them speed up the contracting process.
- Identify and Manage Risks: The software should identify instances where the verbiage could be changed or improved to prevent future risks and damages to your firm.
- Track Contracts: The system should track contracts in real time and generate updates over time.
- Secure Delivery and Storage Option
Finally, the contract management system of your choice should provide secure delivery and storage. The system should significantly reduce delays in the manual contract management process and give customers the ability to sign and view contracts safely online or in person. It is time for businesses to upgrade from the unsecure and troublesome method of storing contracts in filing rooms. With the data and digital transformation all around us, the security of contract management software is what you need to remain up to date with through the changing times.
The best contract management software in 2020 will meet all the factors and considerations we have discussed in this article. If you want a long-term solution, then it is necessary that you settle for nothing less than the best.
