Have elaborate workflows to follow for your organization’s contracts? A maze of people and tasks can be mindboggling for anyone. Needing to make sure all parties involved know where the contract is supposed to go, who is supposed to sign, and what triggers the flow is time consuming and leaves room for human error.
Let’s be honest, most days when we enter the office our schedules are already jam packed on top of any surprises that may pop up during the day. Technology has dramatically improved the workplace by making it more efficient. Technology has organized and helped streamline the business process surrounding contract and risk management. It is time to take your organization’s workflows and automate them in a contract management software system. No more running contracts from desk to desk to complete the process. Let an automated workflow built on your organization’s contract lifecycle management system software do the work for you.
Workflows Triggered by Contract Specific Details
Workflow, the sequence of processes through which a contract passes from initiation to completion, is essential to any company. Creating a workflow in contract management system software allows you to create multiple workflows that can be triggered by any number of data fields in a contract. Do you have a workflow that is triggered by a contract amount over $50k? What about based on the type of contracts entered? Any combination of fields in the contract can be used to create and trigger a workflow approval process. The guesswork is taken out for contracts entered after the workflow is created from there on out.
Audit Trails
Audit trails are essential for contract approval accountability. With advanced contract management software workflow can log each step along the way. Information such as who did what and when is updated immediately. The software takes notes of these actions and can be viewed to eliminate any confusion. For instance, the General Counsel can look up any contract and view the history for its lifecycle to know who approved or signed what without having to ask. Keep in mind, this feature also may be integral if litigation or dispute arises from a contract. Audit log reporting can easily determine who approved the terms of the agreement.
Efficiency
Automated workflows meet the high paced work demand companies have today. Rather than having to remember each specific contract type process, an advanced contract management system can accept the request, then automatically route it to the appropriate reviewers. No more walking down to a colleague’s office with request in hand. What is the best part with an automated workflow in contract management software? You do not need to stress where the contract went after your task is completed. For our example of putting in the request the program knew it should which approver was required and the additional following steps.
No Need for IT
The thought of creating workflow criteria in a contract management system often sounds daunting. Some of the first questions new users ask is if it requires the IT resources to build the workflow? The answer is no. Leading CLM solutions allow for workflow to be built within the user interface by a system administrator with a user-friendly management screen. Workflow processes should be completely configurable for the user to create and use as seen fit for the organization. With minimal training and limited time, your team can build unlimited contract workflows to ensure your contracts are reviewed by the necessary resources moving forward.
Automated contract management software workflow is a must for leading organizations. Rules-based approvals save employee’s time as well as definite headaches. Companies all over the world have been making the switch from manual contract routing to contract lifecycle software to streamline contracts, workflows, and tasks. Automated workflows lighten the load, allow for greater volume and help the important processes of your contracts while minimizing human errors all while keeping up with today’s legal standards.
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- Benefits of Automated Workflow in Contract Management Software - February 21, 2017