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Table of Contents

• What is Contract Management Software?
• What are the common features of Contract Management Software?
• What are the benefits of Contract Management Software?
• How much does Contract Management Software cost?
• Key considerations when purchasing Contract Management Software

What is Contract Management Software?

Contract management software, or contract lifecycle management software, automates contract creation, negotiation, tracking, monitoring, and contract renewal. Users can draft contracts from templates or customize existing contracts for specific clauses. All contracts and related documents are stored in a centralized digital repository.

Contract management software manages contract approval processes with automated workflows. Users can set up approval chains and notifications to move contracts through various stages, including reviews, edits, and finalization.

The tool allows users to work on a contract simultaneously, facilitating comments and redlining. This improves contract negotiation and speeds up processing.

What are the common features of Contract Management Software?

• Contract drafting: Create, edit, and customize predefined templates from the contract repository, including sales agreements, vendor contracts, or service-level agreements. Users get a built-in document editor to edit clauses, add or remove provisions, and tailor the language to align with the terms and conditions of the contract.
• Document management: Store, organize, and manage contacts and supporting documents, such as attachments and amendments, in a centralized contract repository. To facilitate search and filtering, documents are typically indexed and tagged with metadata, including contract type, parties involved, contract value, effective date, and other factors.
• Completion tracking: Monitor and manage the process and fulfillment of contractual obligations. Users can define and record specific tasks, milestones, or obligations associated with a contract. These tasks can be linked to key dates, deadlines, or deliverables outlined. The feature includes sending automated notifications to relevant parties when the task status changes.
• Contact management: Store and manage contact profiles for parties involved in the contract. This includes names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and other relevant information. These profiles may include links to projects, communication history, calls, emails, and meeting notes.
• Digital signature: Facilitate the electronic signing of digital contracts and verify the identity of signatories using biometrics or password authentication sent to their email or mobile device. The feature also maintains an audit trail to record who signed the document along with the time stamp.

What are the benefits of Contract Management Software?

• Ensures contract compliance: Contract lifecycle management software offer pre-approved contract templates that contain compliant language, reducing the risk of non-compliance with the legal and regulatory requirements. Besides, the tool allows for setting up automated compliance checks for specific legal clauses, industry standards, and internal policies. Users can generate compliance reports that provide an overview of the organization’s adherence to the contract terms. These reports can be used for internal audits and external compliance assessments.
• Increases contract visibility: A contract management solution stores all contracts and related documents in a centralized digital repository accessible to authorized users. They can view, search, and retrieve contracts at any lifecycle stage. Users can also track the real-time status of each contract, highlighting the start and end dates, renewal dates, and contract performance milestones. Email and in-app alerts and notifications are often generated to remind users of upcoming contract events.
• Speeds up contract approval workflow: Contract management software allows designing and implementing automated approval workflows with specific stages, approvers, and their approval conditions. Contracts are automatically routed to the appropriate contract review team members, eliminating the need for manual distribution and tracking. In the case of multiple approvers, the software facilitates a parallel contract process to prevent further sequential delays and expedite the approval.

How much does contract management software cost?

Most contract management software products on the market are priced “per month,” their entry-level pricing plan ranges from $7 to $700+*. An enterprise product that’s priced higher may include additional features such as document tagging, contract outline, bulk document sharing, and custom branding.

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offerings found on vendor websites as of October 12, 2023.

Key considerations when purchasing Contract Management Software

• Assess the contract status tracking features: Look for a contract management dashboard to provide real-time visibility into the contract lifecycle. Also, see if the software alerts relevant stakeholders for upcoming drafting, approvals, or other contract events. This helps take prompt action and prevent contractual lapses and disputes.
• Opt for a contract template library: Ensure the contract management system offers diverse templates covering different contracts and industries. Look for common contracts, including vendor contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and service-level agreements. For client-specific contracts, check if the software allows customizing the existing templates for unique contract terms, clauses, branding, and other legal standards.
• Consider the eSigning feature: Verify that the eSigning feature complies with the legal requirements of the client’s or organization’s country or region. The software should adhere to regulations, such as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) in the United States or the Electronic Identification and Trust Service (eIDAS) regulations in the European Union. Additionally, the signatures generated by the software should be legally binding and enforceable.