How to Choose the Best Contract Workflow Software

July 17th, 2023

In today’s fast-paced business world, managing contracts effectively is pivotal for business success. Contract workflow software has become a vital tool for businesses that rely heavily on contracts. It streamlines the contract management process, minimizes administrative tasks, and enhances efficiency and accuracy. 

With contract workflow systems, such as contract management software, businesses can achieve up to an 82% reduction in contract approval time, with a potential improvement in compliance by 55%​. This guide covers key aspects to consider when selecting contract workflow software for your business.

Key Takeaways

• Contract Workflow Software automates and streamlines the contract management process, reducing administrative tasks and enhancing efficiency and accuracy. 
• When selecting a contract workflow solution, businesses must consider factors such as automation, customization, ease of use, integration with other business systems, and the provision of a centralized contract repository. 
• The adoption of automation and AI-based contract analytics in contract workflow software frees legal professionals to focus on tasks that require their expertise.

What Is Contract Workflow Software?

Contract workflow software is a digital tool that automates and streamlines the contract management process. It helps organizations create, track, and manage contracts systematically and efficiently. From drafting and negotiation to approval, signing, and post-contract analysis, these systems guide each contract through its lifecycle, ensuring adherence to predefined workflows. 

Contract workflow software often includes features such as:

• Template creation
• Clause libraries
• Automated reminders for key dates
• Electronic signatures
• Version control

Additionally, contract workflow solutions support compliance by maintaining a complete audit trail of contract changes and actions. By automating repetitive tasks, the software reduces errors, saves time, and frees up resources. Contract workflow platforms should provide centralized storage and facilitate easy access, search, and analysis of contracts. 

Top 6 Attributes to Consider in Contract Workflow Software

Here are six critical features to look for in contract workflow software. 

1. Automation

Automation is a key feature in contract workflow software, helping businesses reduce the time spent on rote, administrative tasks and streamline their processes. With automation, organizations can improve the efficiency and accuracy of critical contract tasks such as:

• Contract creation
• Review
• Approvals
• Renewals 

Automating these tasks reduces the manual effort required by personnel, minimizing the risk of errors and oversights, which could lead to contractual disputes or compliance issues. Recent studies forecast a 50% decrease in manual contract review efforts by 2024, thanks to automation and AI-based contract analytic solutions. 

​By automating repetitive tasks, companies also lower the administrative costs associated with contracts by similar margins. This frees up valuable time for trained legal professionals — who often spend just 31% of their time on billable, client-facing tasks —allowing them to concentrate on expertise-demanding tasks​.

2. Configurability

Every business has unique contract management needs. Consequently, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work when choosing contract workflow software. However, platforms with no-code configuration capabilities allow businesses to tailor software performance to their specific needs, making it a much more effective tool. 

Look for contract workflow systems that allow easily configurable templates, workflows, and rules. These help you align the software with your specific contract processes and revenue requirements. Such flexibility improves efficiency and ensures that the contract process harmonizes with the business’s overall strategy and objectives​. For both customizing contract templates to adhere to specific branding guidelines and setting up workflows to reflect the business’s internal approval process, ease of configurability adds value and relevance to these systems.

3. Ease of Use

Usability is an important consideration when choosing contract workflow solutions. The software must be user-friendly for all parties involved in the contract process. This includes not only internal stakeholders who create, review, and approve contracts but also external parties who need to access and sign these contracts. 

Software that is difficult to navigate or understand can slow down the contract process, leading to avoidable delays and inefficiencies. Prioritize products that feature simplicity and ease of use. This ensures a smooth, hassle-free contract process that can lead to faster approvals and better business outcomes​.

4. Integration

Contract workflow technology is not an isolated tool but a part of the larger business ecosystem. As such, your contract workflow solution, usually part of your contract management software, should integrate seamlessly with other systems and software that your business uses. This could include:

• Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms
• Accounting software
• Other apps like ERP and HRSM

Integration allows for smoother workflows and better data consistency across different platforms. This enhances the functionality of the contract workflow software and ensures that contract data is accessible and consistent across different platforms, resulting in better decision-making processes and business insights​.

5. Centralized Repository

With the high volume of contracts that businesses must manage, keeping contracts organized and easily accessible is crucial. Contract workflow (i.e. contract management) software should provide a centralized repository for storing and easily retrieving all contracts. A centralized repository simplifies contract management and improves visibility and control over contracts. 

6. Vendor Management

A vital aspect of a valuable contract workflow system is its proficiency in managing vendor contracts. Your software should provide tools for monitoring all vendor agreements, enforcing compliance, managing risks, and maintaining productive vendor relationships. This feature ensures that your company gets the maximum benefit from your vendor relationships and helps circumvent potential legal issues.

Optimize Your Contract Management Process with Contract Logix 

The Contract Logix platform enhances efficiency, accelerates contract approval time, and cuts administrative costs. It reduces the time legal professionals spend on non-essential tasks and improves compliance. With a robust, centralized contract repository, prevent losses from poor contract governance and reduce annual costs. 

Start optimizing your contract workflows today.

Looking for more articles about Contract Management? Check out our previous article “What is an Outcome-Based Security Contract?“.

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