In today’s era, it is difficult to manage contracts and contract-related activities manually. Technology-aided software has accelerated the process of managing software and has reduced the operational costs involved in managing hundreds of contacts efficiently. Although there are several software available in the market, the features often differ hence it is essential to choose a software that fits your industry and business. We’ve compiled a list of crucial features that a robust contract lifecycle management software must possess. Check whether the software of your choice fulfills the criteria.
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Centralized Repository
One of the major challenges that companies faced before the advent of contract management software was the problem of storing contracts. Contracts being physical documents needed a secure space for storage, which further required the assistance of skilled experts in managing them. It cost the company quite a lot in terms of finance, storage space, time, effort, and manpower to manage contracts. When companies migrated to a more efficient digital system, the contracts remained unorganized and dispersed. Contract lifecycle management tools enabled users to organize and categorize their documents effectively!
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Notifications
What’s the point of choosing software that doesn’t have automated alerts? Although this feature is inherent to most of the software available today, it’s better to check and establish facts. The notification feature enables users to be ahead of contractual deadlines and important events. It empowers the team to track contracts throughout its lifecycle thereby increasing the productivity of the team.
Click here to read How Contract Automation is changing the Business World?
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Security
Contracts being documents with sensitive information, it is of utmost importance to protect the details of the contracts to avoid legal implications. Check whether the software your choice has sound security features. Notably, some of the exemplary security features seen include internal authorization levels, where only executives with a higher scope can be given access to documents. Further, security can be enforced with contract management software from a micro-level, which gives more control to the contract managing team.
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Addendums
Making corrections to an existing contract is a tedious job, which if done incorrectly could result in issues for the company. While some software allows you to add addendums directly to the original contract, others require it to be saved in another database. Choose a software that fits your way of business when it comes to creating and saving addendums.
Click here to read Best Practices in Managing Contract Amendments
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Cloud Storage
As a technology-driven society, we are fastly moving towards a cloud-based working system, which enables the entire team to stay in the loop without glitches. Especially, the onset of the pandemic has proved how cloud storage can be leveraged effectively in continuing the regular contract duties. Storing contracts in the cloud enables the entire team to access the documents remotely and complete their contract duties.
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eSignature
If your enterprise contract management software choice doesn’t possess the eSignature feature, is it even worth choosing? The eSignature feature allows the contract parties to review the document online and execute instantly with eSignature. It greatly overcomes the challenge of sending the document back and forth, which increases several risks. With the eSignature, the involved parties can save time and effort involved in executing contracts.
Click here to read Maximize Contract Productivity with eSignature Feature
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Real-Time Collaboration
We have entered into a digital era, where we can ring up and talk with our loved ones across the globe at the click of a button. However, there are a few who still choose to send contracts back and forth for negotiations, while there is a simpler way to get the job down. With contract lifecycle management software, the contract creation team, the legal team and the involved parties can collaborate in real-time and make negotiations go smoothly. Instead of mailing redlined documents back and forth, the involved parties can simply collaborate and fix the terms and conditions of the contract.
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Metrics
Another key feature that makes the software a must-have for organizations of all sizes is the metrics feature. The metrics feature enables the management to keep an active track of the contracts, the performance over time, the productivity of the team, and the results of the contract. The metrics facilitate the team to evaluate the value of the contract and the benefit/cost that it brings to the company.
Click here to read How To Improve Procurement Efficiency And Speed With Contract Lifecycle Management Solution
Apart from these, there are several other unique features that make contract management software an asset to the organization. Choose software that suits your nature of business, user simplicity and the value it offers in the long run.
DocuCollab is one of the leading contract management software that overcomes several challenges in the process of managing contracts. Click here to learn more.