Contract management is key in every organization. It's an essential function administered by all parties involved that manage customer and supplier expectations and relationships, control risks and costs and contribute to the success of an organization. Effective contract management significantly influences an organization's budget, business processes, customer service and image to the public.

Whether you're deciding to get into contract management as a career, just needing to brush up with continuing education with certification programs, or wanting to offer more advanced career options to your employees, there are many solutions available. When looking at training for contract management, consider several options:

1. Look to known colleges and universities when considering a degree in contract management.

2. Utilize online schools to obtain continuing education or certification for contract management solutions.

3. Consider other online contract management tools and instruction to enhance professional growth within your organization.

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Enhance your career with a degree in contract management

There's a significant need for contract management services in the marketplace and, with this need, a demand for experienced contract management professionals. If you're looking to get into this field, or you would like to earn a more advanced degree in contract management, look to accredited universities to advance your career path.

I recommend: Strayer University offers a Bachelors of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Acquisitions and Contract Management. Choose to work the courses online or find a local campus if you prefer a classroom setting. View their online demo for more information. Bellevue University offers in-class and online instruction for a Masters of Science in Acquisition and Contract Management. Review the degree plan in more detail.

Get certified in contract management and boost your professional growth

Certification in contract management allows individuals to enhance their professional growth. It's a great tool for employers, if they are looking to promote from within the organization, by saving on recruitment and hiring costs and increasing employee satisfaction.

I recommend: Villanova University offers several certificate programs in contract management including commercial and government contract management certification. Learn more or register online to get started. ESI International offers more than 50 two- and five-day contract management courses, which a business professional can take individually or apply toward a course study for a masters certificate from George Washington University. The University of California Irvine Extension offers courses to obtain a certificate that will prepare individuals for the advanced professional National Contract Management Association (NCMA) certification exams or earn advanced continuing professional education (CPE) credit for NCMA recertification. Earn online certification by completing four contract management courses offered through the Sacramento State College of Continuing Education.

Look to other business contract management training to advance industry knowledge

In any business, it's critical to minimize risk and maximize profit. It may not be in the budget to offer career benefits like certification or additional schooling to employees, but you can still provide contract manager training through seminars, workshops and conferences, protecting your company from poor contract management.

I recommend: The National Contract Management Association offers many audio seminars, conferences and workshops for additional professional growth within this field. Boost your employees professional growth and knowledge and offer on-site training through International Computer Negotiations (ICN). ICN offers a variety of courses including request for proposal (RFP), procurement, total vendor management and other contract management systems training.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Managing company contracts is simplified with the use of contract management software. Make sure to check with contracts management vendors for training on specific contract management solutions and software.

Almost every business handles contracts, which can create reams of paperwork. Enter contract management software: estimated to be a $20 billion industry. This software can help create, track and control contracts, making sure that you and your suppliers meet contractual obligations.

Finding and implementing the right contract management solution requires due diligence, though. As with many software choices these days, the players — and functionality — are changing rapidly. Key benefits of contract management software include:

1. Efficiently tracks the contract process
2. Usually user friendly
3. Assesses profitability of each contract
4. Automatically flags expiring contracts

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Let software help with contract creation

Sending a draft of a proposed contract to others within your organization for edits can lead to contract chaos. Software solutions can simplify the integration of your team's comments, suggestions and changes to produce a clear, concise document.

I recommend: Look for contract management software that includes a document collaboration feature, such as NextPage 2.

Software can help store your contract records

A software program or service provides electronic storage of your contracts to minimize the risk of misplacing documents and to provide easy retrieval.

I recommend: ContractAssistant is designed especially for small- to mid-sized businesses and provides complete electronic records of all contracts with easy-to-use sorting and searching features.

Make sure all parties adhere to the terms

Contract management software helps you meet all the obligations specified in an agreement, making sure that you hit all milestones, make all necessary payments on time and follow all the proper approval processes. It also keeps you informed of your contract partner's adherence to the terms of the agreement.

I recommend: Request a demo of IntelliContract, which offers complete contract tracking capabilities and is geared to single users and small businesses.

Reduce costs and maximize productivity

The right software can help keep your employees focused on their jobs rather than spending time manually tracking compliance with terms and reporting progress. It can also cut costs associated with contract management by reducing data redundancy and duplication of work.

I recommend: Contract Management Software (CMTS) provides cost-cutting solutions designed for smaller businesses with up to 10 users.

Generate reports on actions taken

Reporting is essential to effective contract management. It allows you to review summaries of actions taken, key dates and more. Look for software that offers report templates and customizable reports.

I recommend: ARM Group's Departmental Product offers pre-formatted reports that can be exported to Word, Excel, XML and other formats.

Get Web-based contract management support

Web-based contract management services generally save time and money over traditional software packages. They can be up and running within a few days, and upgrading is included in the cost.

I recommend: Costs are significantly lower with UpsideSoft.com's ContractBuddy, a hosted solution that's geared to organizations that don't have the infrastructure or resources to support a complex software system. Ketera will set you up with a free 24-hour trial account so you can test how their contract management solution will work for you.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't forget to factor service packages, training and implementation costs into the total cost of software ownership.
• •  Consider future technology needs when opting for software, since upgrades are costly.
• •  Look for a program that provides a variety of options for sorting and searching contracts.
• •  If regulatory compliance is a concern, note that many programs contain this feature.

Contract management, or contract administration as sometimes called, is easily defined as the management of contracts made with employees, clients, partners and vendors. The process includes negotiating terms and conditions presented in the contract and ensuring compliance with these terms and conditions, as well as noting and agreeing on any changes made in the negotiation process. Business contract management is key for companies as it maximizes operational and financial performance and minimizes risk in the contract process.

There are a variety of contract management tools and resources available for companies to successfully manage contracts. Most of the tools and solutions involve using a contract management software to effectively organize, administer and update contracts easily. Other resources can include a provider to do it all—from designing the plan to implementing the process. To understand contract management basics:

1. Look to contract management to protect you from frivolous lawsuits with clients, vendors, partners and employees.

2. Familiarize yourself with the contract management software available on the market before purchasing.

3. Consider providers of contract management solutions to implement an effective contract management system within your company.

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Understand the purpose of business contract management

With so many companies outsourcing everything from employees to business operations, effective contract management services (everything from processes to technology) are vital as they protect businesses from the legal and financial risks of poorly negotiated, written or implemented contracts.

I recommend: Read up on why effective contract management is key to minimizing and managing business risk at I-Many. Find out more by viewing its webcast. Review a white paper at TechRepublic on how contract management can be a strategic asset for any business. In addition, review some of the additional white papers on its site, from what contract administrators must know to understanding and improving the contracting process to the five myths about contract administration. Moxy Media's Capital.com site offers valuable tips on how to negotiate contracts.

Utilize contract management tools to effectively administer your company's contracts

Contract administration wouldn't be effective without the right software. Contracts management vendors are a dime a dozen, so it's important to evaluate programs offered by different vendors, examining the product specifications and features in detail to see what software will fit your needs best.

I recommend: BlueRidge Software's ContractAssistant simplifies the administration and managing of contracts. Review product specs, view a demonstration or sign up for a free trial. Upside Software offers online contract management software, minimizing the paper trail and hassle of storing, filing and maintaining paper contracts. Review some basic facts to see if its features are right for you. Examine the features Contract Logix's contract management software offers as well. TechRepublic offers a webcast on "Understanding Solution Options for Contract Management."

Maximize contract management systems to their full potential

With so many things being outsourced these days, why not outsource one more need? If your business deals with lots of contracts, it might be time to look past the software and go with a vendor that can handle every detail of the contract management process for you, from start to finish.

I recommend: Learn more about Emptoris' complete contract management system solutions through several webcasts and white papers offered on its site. With over 40 years experience in drafting, negotiating, licensing and distribution, and procurement of agreements for the IT and Internet industry, Pangea3 can meet all your contract administration needs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Contract management is only as good as the processes and resources you already have in place. Make sure to line up the contract administration services you research with your company's business plan so the process you choose is as effective as possible.

Contract management tools allow for more automation in a contractual process: contractors can get paid faster, projects get done quicker and more documentation in databases leads to a better oversight. Learning about some of the key terms for contract management will help businesses utilize this kind of solution for daily operations.

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Contract profitability

Contract profitability is the amount of revenue that businesses can expect from their contracts. Not surprisingly, estimating how profitable a contract will be for a company is central to most contract management tools.

I recommend: See examples of contract profitability tools for health care contracts at Concuity.

Document collaboration

This term refers to the collective input of parties into a single document or process. Various contract management tools help organize document collaboration into a formal, search-friendly context so that the input a party contributed is visible later.

I recommend: See more on document collaboration tools for contract management at InfoRouter.

Automated contract tracking

One feature of many contract management systems is automated contract tracking. Automated tracking features include built-in documentation for contracts which allow for less human oversight.

I recommend: See more on automated contract tracking in the construction industry on this page from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

User friendly software

'User friendly' defines how easy a software product is to use. Businesses should make sure that the contract management solution they purchase can be easily used by employees with differing levels of computer awareness.

I recommend: Get the definition of user friendly from Webopedia. Get options for user friendly contract management through the Project Management Software Directory online.

Compliance

One major role of any CM solution is to help a business adhere to the terms of the contract. Advanced features for contract compliance help companies avoid big liabilities.

I recommend: Read up on contract management for compliance with terms at AllBusiness.

Web based contract management software

Another very popular option is web based CM software. There are no boxes, no registrations and no installs. It is very handy for small businesses that are looking for a quick fix to contract problems.

I recommend: Learn more about web based software at Paul Graham.