Contract management software empowers businesses of any size to gain better insights into its contract lifecycle processes. The use of a refined tool simplifies contract administration, data entry, reporting, searching, tracking, document management, renewals, and much more.
Unfortunately, most small- and mid-sized business are missing out these important benefits because they choose using only Word and Excel for their contract management processes. Like PowerPoint, Word and Excel are the standard programs for doing businesses around the world. In offices that lack a formal contract management system, these two software become the tools of the trade. But both Word and Excel have significant contract management limitations, which become apparent when compared to professional grade solutions.
1. Avoid High Opportunity Cost
The allure of relying on Excel as the default contract management software solution is understandable. It is a sunk cost. Excel is installed on nearly every single desktop and laptop, no matter the operation system, and even on some mobile devices. While Excel easily accomplishes tasks such as calculating, presenting, and displaying numerical data at no additional cost, the program is not capable of consistently recognizing events that trigger crucial actions.
For example, Excel is not capable of sending the appropriate sales rep an email reminder about an approaching contract renewal date. Suddenly the “no cost” solution creates a cash flow problem as your company was not able to meet the strict fiscal year deadline from a client. On the other hand, contract management software ensures that you never miss an important contract date or milestone.
2. Enforce Accountability and Compliance
Let’s switch now to Word. Have you ever played the “find the most up to date contract template game”? As companies grow in size due to their success, they tend to overlook important details such as making sure that staff is clear on where to find the latest revisions of several documents. Have you ever used a Word file that included the company letterhead from two years ago? While that may not be such a big deal, imagine that instead you used the contract template from two years ago that your legal department revised just two months ago for lacking important legal safeguards? Are you ready to take that risk?
The lack of accountability stems from the lack of author tracking capabilities from Word. On the other hand, an enterprise contract management system provides you with audit trail and document history to help maintain compliance and accountability. A professional tool prevents the problems from uncoordinated contract templates. Through a central repository for all your legally approved contract templates and clauses, you will make sure that your entire company is using the most up to date versions.
3. Implement Automation Effectively
Excel and Word power users often argue that they do not need additional software because they can track of documents through advanced features. This would be certainly true as long as two things are guaranteed to happen at companies. First, that everybody at the company is both an Excel and Word power user. Second, that everybody at the company religiously only uses official spreadsheets and documents that contain the correct macros and formulas at all times. Does this sound realistic to you?
On the other hand, contract management software already has these power features integrated and ready for your company to use. Your company is able to implement repeatable processes through a standard tool. Considering how frequently human error and improper data entry can occur, it is key to have a tool that makes automation a reality. Your employees will be able to work on contracts without neither having to double check whether or not the right macro is in place, nor having to worry about other documents not getting synchronized.
Take Contract Management to the Next Level
Poor contract management leads to many problems, especially in heavily regulated industries that must adhere to strict compliance legislation. A professional grade contract management system is superior solution that will consistently yield high-quality contracts and data. Contract management software provides critical alerts, flags revenue opportunities, minimizes labor, keeps data always up-to-date, and offers fail-safes to prevent human error.
When it comes to managing contracts most efficiently, it’s time to embrace software that is specifically designed for that purpose. Learn how to take your contact management level to the next level at https://www.ContractLogix.com.
