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Are you still creating and fulfilling your contracts the old-fashioned way? Maybe you're still keeping those contracts in shared files or even filing cabinets to store and organize. If that is the case Should you think about implementing contract management software.
But let's be honest: In the modern business world It can be a challenge to find the right contract management system for your company. It can be a hassle to get to grips with the latest features, especially if you're busy working on a daily basis.
To help you better understand the contract management market, we have a definitive guide with everything you need to know about this topic creates. The checklist below will help you make an informed decision about the best contract management software for your needs.
How to Create Your Own Checklist of Requirements
Define your goals and expectations
When looking for the ideal CLM solution It is important for your company to set two or three main goals that you want to achieve. These could be your biggest weaknesses, the areas where you want to achieve the most in order to stand out from the competition, or a combination of both.
Once you've set your top priorities, it's important to discuss the details of your processes. What is the process? Which processes should be maintained, which should be improved or abolished?
Evaluate your existing contract management process
By implementing a contract management system, you can restructure and optimize the systems and procedures associated with contracts. However, you should first write down the processes that you are already using. These processes include:
- The range of documents affected
- Current issues with your contract process
- Roles and participants
- Meeting compliance and regulatory requirements
Now that you know this, you can start your search for a reliable contract management software provider that is committed to resolving any issues you may have with your current contract award procedures.
Identify stakeholders
It is important to identify exactly who is involved in the execution of each contract, taking into account all processes and activities in the life cycle of the contract. For example, each contract involves different departments of your company, which support you and provide their expertise throughout the contract cycle. These divisions may consist of the following areas:
- Legal
- Financing
- Human resources
- Sourcing
Determine the areas where there is a need based on input from each department before you set the specifications for your new system. As you progress, identify areas in which contract management software functions could be optimized by asking your employees across departments for their thoughts and suggestions.
Checklist: 6 Key Features That Every CLM Software Should Have
When choosing a contract management system, you should keep an eye on your organization's goals. To help you with that, We have compiled a list of the six most important functions that a contract management system must have in order to work.
- Centralized contract filing: All documents should be stored centrally in a secure location within the contract life cycle management system to enable continuous access and avoid data clutter. Similar to creating different versions of the same document or confusing the phases of the contract life cycle.
- Contract editor: It takes time to create documents from scratch. To make sure you haven't overlooked any errors or issues in the contracts, you need to go through them carefully. Your company should therefore look for a contract management system that can do this work for you. Your company can benefit greatly from a contract system that makes it easy to create and use contract templates.
- Notifications and alerts: You and your team must be aware of any important changes to your contracts. This includes important details such as commitments or expiration dates. It is therefore important that you find a contract management system that informs your users about important times and dates. This reduces the chance that you'll run into compliance issues because you either don't fulfill a duty or aren't prepared before a contract expires.
- Collaboration: The process of contract negotiation and review must be streamlined through well-functioning systems for managing the contract life cycle. As far as functions are concerned, the system should have comprehensive monitoring and approval functions, automated communication and collaboration tools such as comments and chats, and the ability to share documents both within and outside the system.
- Permission: Pay attention to adapting the system for safety tasks. It's much safer to implement security based on your organizational structure and impose user restrictions based on individual users' accountability for specific contracts.
- Electronic signatures: The traditional way of obtaining permits and signatures is inefficient. They need a system that allows CEOs and executives to easily sign contracts and important papers. Because electronic signatures eliminate the need to print, physically sign, and scan papers and require just one click, your business saves money and time.
