Contract Management Software and Services

Perform technology audits first. Then identify pay-backs early on.

By Constance Gustke

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:

Efficiently tracks the contract process
Usually user friendly
Assesses profitability of each contract
Automatically flags expiring contracts

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.
Try: 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.
Try: 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.
Try: 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.
Try: 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.
Try: 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.
Try: 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.

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.