Have you ever considered what it takes to streamline your business's contract management processes? Modern contract management solutions are a surefire and smart investment.
You might even recall the last time you forgot to terminate a contract on time and faced costly consequences.
If you haven't yet invested time in contract management, why not start out with DealManager? Efficient and rapid contract management is essential for businesses of all sizes.
Before that, let’s discuss a few contract management solution pointers.
The provider: Does the distributor align well with your business?
While it’s key to find a solution that delivers, it’s equally as important to investigate the service provider itself. While there's no one-size-fits-all answer, facilitate your decision-making process.
- Reliability: Look for financially stable distributors, dedicated to long-term customer satisfaction and development. Requests a product demonstration or customer references to understand their performance and satisfaction levels.
- Size: Does the provider cater to your business size? Do you think they’ll be able to fulfill their obligations, regarding delivering a forthcoming and satisfying solution? Do they differentiate between larger or smaller companies in their implementation procedures?
- Location: From where does the provider operate geographically? Consider aspects such as security and compliance. Ask where your contract data is stored and regulated. Who has access to your data in a worst-case scenario?
- Business sector: Are there any specific demands tailored towards your industry? Most solutions are made for a broader audience and therefore compatible with most businesses. Find out early on if the provider is a good match for your line of work.
Buyer-Side or Seller-Side Focus: Figuring out your needs?
Every software solution has strengths and weaknesses. Consider its capabilities and what your use case will be. Try to involve key personnel from the very beginning. Your needs and belief may be different from others at the company. In what way do others believe that their workflow can be transformed and improved?
A Buyer-side contract management software primarily serves the needs of personnel in procurement departments, contract managers, finance teams, and others involved in expenditure management.
In contrast, supplier-side software is specialized for sales teams, revenue management departments, and stakeholders engaged in the sales of goods and services.
Evaluate which aspects are most critical to your needs and identify any expendable features. Understand the provider's approach to customer feature requests and how responsive they are to incorporating user feedback.
Contract coverage: What you see is what you get!
What features are you looking for? Do you need help creating or managing contracts? Identify which stages of the contracting process are covered by the core features. DealManager excels in managing signed contracts. Determine the functions crucial to your users and assess available features accordingly.
How does the solution handle drafting, reviewing, approving, signing, and storing contracts?
Contract Creation:
- Gather contract details and attachments.
- Adding comments, editing, and tracking comments.
- Obtaining approvals and managing workflows from contract draft to signing.
Digital Signature:
- Sending agreements promptly for signature.
- Authenticating signers with electronic ID.
- Range of signing options.
- Monitoring the signing process.
- Communications with counterparts.
Contract Storage and Data Management:
- Storing, searching, and finding contracts.
- Archiving contracts and tracking revisions.
- Managing contract data and counterparts, etc.
- Managing users and access rights/roles.
- Synchronizing contract management with other platforms.
Dashboard Reporting and Follow-Up:
- Monitoring incomes and expenditures.
- Notifying users about managing contract and performing actions.
- Reporting contract values for accounting and finance purposes.
The implementation: How to get started?
Evaluate how easily your existing contracts can be added and new users onboarded. Does the service provider offer recommendations for getting started? Check if there are training or self-help resources available during startup. Determine if you can scan and import existing contracts yourself or if assistance is needed to do so.
A great service provider should be able to guide you in the right direction.
Cost: What does the pricing tell you?
What is the system worth to you? Are there any hidden costs you should be aware of? A trustworthy solution should have a transparent pricing model. Common pricing structures are based on the number of contracts, users, storage space, digital signatures, and optional add-ons.
Ensure that your most important needs are covered in the price before purchase.
Customer support: When you need help!
When choosing a service provider based on support options, consider availability, response times, and multiple support channels (phone, email, chat). Ensure they are knowledgeable and have clear SLAs outlining response and resolution times. Look for customer reviews and costs relative to its quality and value. Finally, verify that their support services can scale with your business and offer regional and language-specific assistance if needed.