Contract management software automates the creation, tracking, and monitoring of contracts. Professionals, such as salespeople or account representatives, who are involved in the negotiation aspect of contracting are tasked with defining terms and service level agreements, amending agreements, and executing contracts. Legal departments on both sides of a deal participate in the contracting process to ensure compliance with laws and regulations as well as with internal company rules.
Contract management software simplifies these processes by allowing users to create, store, manage, redline, and share complex business contracts. This type of software helps eliminate bottlenecks within the contract negotiation process by enabling organizations to streamline sales operations and collaborate during contract creation. The best contract management software typically fits into a portfolio of tools used to handle overall vendor or contractor relationships and commonly integrates with CRM software, proposal software, accounting software, and e-signature software.
To qualify for inclusion in the Contract Management category, a product must:
Include a repository of documents which can be stored in different categories for each type of contract
Offer templates which can be customized by the users involved in the creation of business contracts
Provide the ability to easily create, edit, share, and collaborate on contracts internally (with other employees) and externally (with customers or partners)
Enable users to send notifications for significant milestones, like contract expiry or renewal
Comply with business legal requirements as well as with the internal business rules of the parties involved in the contract
