How to Stay Organized when Managing your Business Contracts

Organization is critical when it applies to contract management.  Contracts are usually large, complex documents that have various types of attached documents such as tables, charts, amendments, and glossaries.  A contract also has a life-cycle and contains many moving parts.  The contract repository needs to be able to follow a contract throughout its life-cycle, and often across various platforms.  Keeping up with all the aspects of a deal, and making it available to all team members who need to be able to access it can be a challenge.

Cloud-based platforms have become popular in recent years,  the advantage being that they keep contracts accessible to various team members and at any time and place.  It allows the ability to update, modify and track the changes in real-time from anywhere.  The largest concern in cloud-based systems is data security.  Just make sure your provider has stringent data security measures in place and a great reputation for upholding these measures.

Within cloud-based platforms, the document management solutions vary wildly from basic file storage to AI-driven contract management software that understands the contract and automatically files in according to pre-determined parameters in accordance with how a business manages files. One may ask what is contract management? Contract management is the business procedure of managing the company’s contracts to ensure that the company forms beneficial partnerships with other companies. Some of these AI platforms are fairly popular and have even been profiled in Forbes and Business Wire. Deciding what your company needs depends heavily on the volume and complexity of the contracts involved.  Another variable to consider is accessibility. Do the contracts need to be available on a company-wide basis or only available to a few key people?  Also take some time to evaluate where you see your company in a few years. Experts recommend buying a system capable of handling not only your current needs but your projected future needs as well.  Once you have established what your needs are, there is a system out there to fit your needs.

Upgrading your document management system is also a good time to archive outdated contracts and associated documents that are no longer of use to your company.  There is no reason to clutter up your contract management system with agreements that no longer contain information relevant to your current business.  Just make sure you are properly handling the archiving of personal information, and that clients’ information is being protected.

Contract lifecycle management (CLM) software is often under-utilized by companies who purchase it.  They use the storage function, but fail to utilize the other significant benefits of the software such as compliance, collaboration and search functionality features.  To help avoid this pitfall, invest in companywide training to get the most out of your new CLM software.  Providing training to all employees who will use the software will increase productivity and expand their knowledge and efficiency in using the software.  This will help make sure you get the full return on your investment.

There are a few key features you should look for in any contract management software.  It should include a central repository capable of handling whatever volume of data you require.  The software should have some level of custom reporting and tracking.  It should offer risk mitigation by utilizing artificial intelligence to flag non-compliance issues.  It should have a stellar reputation for the accuracy of the data generated.  Not all CLM software is created equal and some have far superior capabilities regarding the accuracy of the data produced.

The premier software capable of doing all the above is Evisort.  Evisort is pioneering AI-assisted contract management solutions.  Evisort provides advanced contract analytics allowing life-cycle management through a single platform.  Custom report functions make it easy to find mission-critical data across your entire contract database.  They completely remove the tedious and time-consuming task of entering contract data. They remove the element of human error, thereby mitigating risk.