Managing contracts shouldn’t feel like a juggling act yet, without having contract reminder software in place, it can be all too easy to drop the ball on a critical agreement.
Missed auto-renewals, expired documentation and unidentified risks are caused by poor contract visibility and limited knowledge of what’s occurring throughout your business's portfolio.
The resulting revenue leaks, non-compliance and operational vulnerabilities can have serious consequences for your business. Missed events also create additional stress for contract owners who not only need to explain what's happened but may also be responsible for firefighting the new issues at hand.
Businesses that manage contracts through Excel, email, shared drives or a problematic combination of different platforms will benefit most from contract reminder software."
This article outlines what contract reminder software is, the benefits it offers and how it helps stakeholders to take greater control of contract deadlines and key milestones.
What is contract reminder software?
Contract reminder software is a digital solution that automates management around contract deadlines and simplifies contract tracking. It sends notifications to contract owners and third parties when a deadline, expiry or milestone is due. It can also be used to continuously alert relevant parties that action is required if a key date has already passed.
Automated reminders are also an important feature of contract management solutions such as ContractNow.'
With this software in place, businesses evolve their maturity from storing key dates to strategising them. By using dates to trigger actions, businesses can take control of their contract renewal management, stay ahead of compliance and track the contract outcomes being achieved.
The importance of automating contract tracking
If your business is using manual contract storage solutions, chances are that your agreements are filed away and rarely looked at again unless there's an issue. That's because manual contract tracking methods lend themselves to high volumes of low-value work.
Using contract reminder software to automate tracking brings key dates and obligations to the forefront of any business activity and decision-making."
Contract visibility is immediately improved, teams can prioritise their workload and stakeholders can continue to add strategic value rather than be stuck in the weeds of locating information.
Tracking contracts with software allows stakeholders within your business to:
- Proactively manage their renewals so they can negotiate better terms, and conditions and avoid unwanted auto-renewals
- Safeguard compliance by ensuring third-party data is kept up-to-date and security certificates don't expire
- Build-in time for performance, spend and risk reviews to help ensure expected outcomes are being realised
- Improve cross-team collaboration and accountability as notifications are sent to a named contract owner or stakeholder
- Eliminate the manual burden of contract tracking and give stakeholders more time to make informed business decisions
Benefits of using contract reminder software
Increased efficiency and productivity
Contract reminder software alleviates the necessity to maintain and consult tracking spreadsheets, recheck emails, chase colleagues or spend time searching for a specific obligation or date. It's designed to streamline contract management processes, sending reminders automatically to relevant stakeholders and contract owners.
The value of contract reminder software is in the hours saved that would have otherwise been spent on low-value tasks. With accurate information available everyone can organise their workload and double-down on priorities."
Whether it's preparing to negotiate for a renewal, reaching out to third parties to update their documentation or collaborating with vendors to improve poor performance, day-to-day work becomes more meaningful and productive.
Improved data accuracy
If your business is working from multiple versions of the same agreement, the accuracy of the data being used to drive business decisions comes into question. Different teams may be making decisions based on different versions of the truth. Data may be incorrect or missing - meaning that no strategy can be built around key dates.
Contract reminder software uses key metadata that has been automatically extracted from agreements and stored in a central repository. The potential for human risk involved in manual data entry is minimised."
Automated notifications are triggered by the latest dates and clauses, so businesses can strategise accurately and make informed business decisions.
Defined contract responsibilities
Contract reminder software can help businesses improve accountability for contract outcomes by automatically tracking and reminding parties about contractual obligations and deadlines. Alerts ensure that every stakeholder is taking a proactive approach to contract management rather than letting key milestones pass them by.
Contract reminder software can generate notifications, send email reminders, and even prompt action from third-parties to ensure everyone is taking responsibility for compliance."
The likelihood that an event passes by unnoticed is drastically reduced in comparison to manual methods of storage and management. By implementing contract reminder software, businesses can increase accountability and transparency, ultimately leading to better contract outcomes
Improved renewals management
When your business digitises its contract management approach - using the powerful combination of a repository and reminders - key dates are no longer hidden from view. Instead, key dates become strategic levers that prompt contract owners and stakeholders to be proactive and assess contract performance ahead of time.
Contract reminder software can be used to minimise unwanted auto-renewals. Teams can see when agreements are due for renewal and spend time assessing the outcomes delivered so far. Renewals management then include review, discussions, negotiations for better terms or consolidation decisions where required.
Businesses can better prepare for a potentially turbulent year by staying one step ahead of deadlines and key milestones. Contract reminder software helps stakeholders to keep revenue and renewals front of mind."
If you're ready to improve your approach to contract management, get in touch with us today to discover how contract reminder software can help.
