Contracts are a significant part of any business and when they’re handled inefficiently, the consequences can be costly. Getting contracts right is vital to save time, reduce risk and avoid expensive legal hang-ups.

CLM software can streamline your contract management process, delivering benefits like: -All of the functionality teams need in one platform. This eliminates the need to switch between tools and cuts out routine contract admin tasks.

Tracking Customer Interactions

Contracts impact business well before and after they’re signed, so it makes sense that modern businesses are adopting CLM software. It’s a way to automate contract management processes, reduce risk and increase visibility in the business.

The best CLM software will also have an easy-to-use interface that allows users to track their contracts through a dashboard. This will save time and effort, as employees won’t have to rely on email to track the status of agreements.

In addition, a robust CLM solution will allow teams to collaborate on contracts digitally and asynchronously. For example, a law office on the East Coast can make changes to a contract that can be instantly viewed and edited by a team in Germany, saving time and effort.

For sales teams, speeding up the contracting process is critical. An inefficient contracting process can cause delays that affect time-to-sale. A robust CLM solution like Juro’s contract management platform contains a Salesforce integration and offers an eSignature solution that streamlines the contracting process and accelerates time-to-sale. This means more deals can be closed and revenue generated.

Customer Profile Management

Whether you’re dealing with a high volume of contracts or a small number of agreements, CLM can help your business improve contract outcomes and ensure that all deliverables are managed and paid for in accordance with the agreed terms. With automation and streamlined workflows, you can shave days or even weeks off your average contract execution timeline.

CLM software also helps you make sense of customer profile data. It can provide insights into the types of products and services that your customers need, what their expectations are and how best to meet them. This information is invaluable in transforming a prospect into a loyal customer.

The right CLM platform should offer a 360-degree view of each customer’s journey and give you the tools to use it to personalize experiences and target new customers. Moreover, it should offer full visibility into your contract portfolio to support compliance with SOX, ISDA, and other regulatory requirements. It should also enable you to identify potential risk elements embedded within existing contractual language and take corrective action. It should also enable you to track and manage contract performance metrics.

Automated Negotiations

Recent studies indicate that computer software programs are able to reach more efficient outcomes in one-time negotiations than human negotiators can achieve on their own. Contract Lifecycle Management tools take advantage of these findings by providing businesses with a platform that automates the negotiation process — allowing legal and contract management teams to spend more time on higher-value tasks.

This approach also helps companies mitigate risk. Teams can easily run reports on their contractual terms, identifying clauses that may violate current regulations or identify potential liability. This data can be used to alert teams when the company has crossed a line that could cause a significant financial impact, and allow them to quickly and efficiently correct these risks.

Many leading CLM solutions also provide features that make it easy to collaborate with team members, allowing non-legal professionals to generate transaction-ready contracts from pre-approved templates and clauses in a few clicks. These Contract Lifecycle Management tools offer built-in or easy integration with e-sign tools, eliminating the need to send attachments back and forth by email and ensuring that contract documents are always up-to-date.

Cost-Effectiveness

Many CLM platforms offer an a la carte pricing model. This allows businesses to pick and choose the functionality they need, saving them money. This flexibility is especially important for companies that want to scale their CLM.

Increasingly, contract management is becoming a key business process. A poor contracting process not only costs a company time and money but it also erodes the customer experience, which can ultimately sink NPS scores. The right CLM solution helps a business get the most value from its contracts by automating contract processing and streamlining negotiation.

In addition, a good CLM system can help reduce the risk of costly mistakes by ensuring all parties are aware of the terms and conditions in place. This is a great benefit for both buyers and sellers of goods or services. The system also helps reduce manual errors by establishing alerts and reminders of upcoming events. This includes renewals, expiries and other milestones. The platform can even provide e-sign integrations to allow for fast, easy contract signing. This can save weeks of waiting for wet signatures and avoidable delays.

Flexibility

With a wide range of vendors in the CLM market, it can be overwhelming for teams to choose one that will work for their specific needs. A flexible user interface makes it easy for non-legal team members to adopt the tool. Juro, for example, integrates with existing productivity tools like Word, Slack, and Teams to provide a seamless experience for everyone involved in the contract process.

Admins can stay on top of contract activities with digital CLM software that tracks touch times and users for greater accountability. Analytical capabilities allow legal teams to glean precious business insights from contract data, so they can fine-tune processes and arrive at better strategies.

Contracting is a hands-on process that requires careful attention to detail. While CLM software can help with certain steps, such as automating contract creation and streamlining drafting processes, negotiating and overseeing performance require the expert touch of a skilled professional. Nevertheless, with the right CLM solution, businesses can streamline their contracting processes and free up staff to focus on delighting the new customer. It’s an invaluable tool for any business.