Software solutions aim to streamline workflows in order to make it easier for users to perform a task. Many tasks and workflows involve a contract but this step is often not a core piece of the platform. As a result, the contracting process is often expected to happen outside the platform or it is limited to e-signing. Not offering contract management capabilities to users creates friction and legal risk. This article explains the benefits of integrating contract management into your software platform and how you can do this with the Legislate API.
What is contract management software?
Contract management software allows you to create contracts and manage them post-signature. Contract management software solutions tend to propose a contract management process which can help your business process contracts more efficiently and better track contract data. Poor contract management costs a business on average 9% of their annual revenue according to the WCC which is why it's important to use contract management software to manage the entire contract lifecycle of your legal agreements. If your current contracting process does not involve contract management software, consider using a contract management platform or leverage a contract management integration to augment your process.
What are common features of a contract management system?
The best contract management software allows you to focus on high value tasks instead of manual processes. The key contract management features which will allow you to focus on the high value tasks and close deals faster include:
- Contract creation capabilities which build the templates for you based on your specific requirements.
- Contract amendment capabilities which do not require redrafting contracts and starting the process from the beginning.
- Contract tracking to monitor key dates and terms.
- Contract querying so that you can answer specific questions about your contracts.
A contract process which does not have these essential features will make it harder for you to sign contracts and have an audit trail if and when you need to go back to executed agreements.
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What does an integrated contract management and business experience look like?
If your business' operating system is a CRM or internal software platform, it is essential that it has contract management capabilities to create and keep track of contracts. If your CRM does not have integrated contract management capabilities, you risk having potential data discrepancies between your CRM and your contracts. If you use a contract management software, ensure that it communicates with your other tools and systems so that there is no duplication of work or data for synchronising your contracts. Having an integrated contract management process means that your sales team can easily create a non-disclosure agreement and automatically keep legal in the loop thanks to software.
How to turn your software platform into a contract management solution
If your software users need to create contracts as part of a workflow in your software solution then the best approach is to leverage a contract management integration so that you don't need to create templates yourself or create a contract builder with smart fields. Managing contracts is complicated from a technical and legal perspective which is why it is easier to delegate this task to specialised contract software. Legislate's public API allows you to build your own contract management integration so that your customers can create custom contracts directly within your software or ERP system. Legislate's contract templates are lawyer-approved and up-to-date which means that you don't need to worry about legal updates. Legislate also offers a sandbox environment so that you can develop your integration in a safe environment without affecting your existing customers. To get started, read our API documentation and get in touch if you would like to apply for a developer account!