Spreadsheet-driven contract management processes are error-prone, inefficient, disorganised and insecure.  Make the most of 2020 with practical, centralised, user-friendly and scalable contract lifecycle management solutions.

Spreadsheets are low cost, low value, high risk contract management

Low-cost contract management using spreadsheets may seem like a good idea at first, as it provides a basic level of control and is cost-effective for organisations with a small number of contracts.  However, once the number of contracts exceeds 100 or more, many businesses reach a point at which spreadsheet-based contract management no longer suffices. Hanging on to this out-dated method can have detrimental consequences with regard to transparency, security, compliance, productivity and accountability.

Next-level contract management

Although investment in intelligent contract management software may initially seem steep, the long-term positive effect on companies like yours discredits spreadsheet contract management – it turns out to bemuch more costly in the long run. So it’s time to embrace contract management software that reduces cost, unifies and secures contracts, streamlines operations, expedites compliance and saves you valuable time.

Optimised workflow

Contract workflow management involving spreadsheets necessitates contract managers to oversee every stage of the contract lifecycle to verify that all involved parties are completing their assigned tasks.  If anyone delays task completion, contract lifecycle workflow can come to a screeching halt and force entire teams to wait for their colleagues to play catch up.

Additionally, overseeing contract changes, key dates, milestones and employee task performance via a shared spreadsheet leaves a lot of room for data entry mistakes, which can result in error-filled contracts and a lack of employee accountability.

Intelligent workflow management 

Software that supports automated contract workflow reduces contract lifecycle delays because it engages the right people at the right time, using features such as automatic alerts, unlimited contract notifications and task reminders.  With intelligent workflow automation, you can leverage user-defined fields, contract process management, audit trails, reporting and analytics etc. 

Your contract management professionals can easily keep track of the entire contract lifecycle with features such as contract collaboration, negotiation and approvals.  Automatic alerts assist contract management teams and legal teams in meeting key dates and milestones, up to and including contract renewals.  And documented audit trail history delivers a comprehensive, up-to-date record of contract changes. You’ll reduce contract approval cycle time by overcoming bottlenecks, centralising contract lifecycle management, and promoting accountability with intelligent automated contract workflow.

Improve your tracking

  • task alerts
  • alerts on issues with contract language or terms
  • alerts concerning up-sell, cross-sell, pricing or discount opportunities
  • fast approvals and routing for signatures
  • a unified version tracking system.

Manual contract tracking using spreadsheets can obstruct your business’s ability to achieve its financial goals. It also lacks proper security and leaves you open to operational and regulatory risk.  Manual spreadsheet contract management doesn’t support:

Spreadsheet contract tracking can result in changes to contract-close timelines, disorganisation and unaccountability, substandard audit trails and the need for rescheduling arises – leading to contract lifecycle bottlenecks and wasted time.

Intelligent contract tracking 

Intelligent contract management software gives contract management professionals advanced contract tracking features such as approved clause libraries and templates for streamlined contract drafting, a secure contract repository, enhanced collaboration, performance insight and complete audit trails. It also helps you close contracts faster.  Creditable systems that support end-to-end contract lifecycle management are easy to use and allow mass adoption by users and stakeholders.

If your organisation is contemplating investing in contract management software for intelligent contract tracking, look for the following features:

  • version tracking
  • a secure and unified document repository with unlimited storage
  • tracking for various attachment types – including contracts, purchase orders, invoices, supporting documents etc.
  • pre- and post-award tracking
  • contract record audit tracking and logging
  • vendor compliance tracking.

Contract Insight from Four Business Solutions

Start 2020 with award-winning contract management software.  Contract Insight can help you manage an entire contract portfolio with intelligent workflow, automated alerts, AI-based contract management, data extraction, audit trails, contract reporting and analytics.

About Four 

Four helps small and multi-national organisations enrich the way they work. From supply chain to procurement and contract management, we have decades of experience helping companies forge ahead in the global market. If you’d like a demo of Contract Insight or simply to find out more about what we do, please call John O’Brien at Four Business Solutions on 0800 6250 025.

John O’Brien is the CEO at Four Business Solutions, global business consultants and software integrators providing business processes improvements in Finance, Supply Chain and Operations, across a broad range of industries.