Currently CMx supports below languages as part of internationalization and localization efforts, however, the goal is to support all available languages at some point.
if you think a language is missing in below list, let us know at support@sysintellects.com and we will gladly add the language in the next immediate release:
All the emails generated from CMx are by default with an email address named: “noreply@sysintellects.com”
As a CMx administrator who have access to Company Profile and Advanced Configurations, there is an option to change that “noreply@sysintellects.com” to your own company email by following below steps:
Step 1: Request your IT team to Create a new (or use existing email) SMTP email inbox for use by CMx . For example: contract-management@yourcompany.com . Make sure your IT team provides you the configuration description values especially the underlined ones.
Step 2: Add below configurations to Company Profile → Advanced Configurations
In Order to configure custom SMTP email - from address instead of using “noreply@sysintellects.com” , Go to Company Profile → Advanced Configuration and add below configurations with correct values.
Goto Manage Configurations from Logout Menu and then Click on Create New Configuration.
Following account level configurations are supported by CMx.
Contract Stage and Status
Download URL: https://s3.amazonaws.com/cmx-downloads/CMxWordSetup.msi
How to install the Word Plugin
- Once the user logs into the application, by clicking on his username, a user will be able to see a menu option "Download Word Plugin". Clicking on "Download Word Plugin" will download the installer locally which can be installed.
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2. Double Click on the Installer Downloaded to proceed with the installation
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3. Click on the "Next" button.
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4. Click on the "Next" button.
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5. Click on the "Close" button and on opening MS Word, a user should be able to see the CMx plugin.
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6. The user can sign in by Clicking on "Sign-in" option from the menu. Once the user logs in by providing valid credentials, the menu options to search Clause Library, Contract, Templates etc.
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Search for Existing Clauses in the System.
Once the user has successfully signed in, Clicking on "Clause Library" will provide the user with an option to search for the Clauses created for the Organization, based on Clause text or based on Clause Category
By selecting the clause category and clicking on "Search", the application will display the clauses for the selected category
- Search by Clause Category
- Search by Clause Name
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A user can drag and drop the clause from the results to the document pane.
Search for all Existing Clauses list in the System.
Clicking on "Clause Library" will provide the user with an option to search for the Clauses created for the Organization, based on Clause text or based on Clause Category
By clicking on "Search", an application will display the list of all the clauses in the system.
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Search for existing Contracts in the system.
Clicking on "Contract Repository" will provide the user with an option to search for the Contract created for the Organization. The application provided the user to search by Contract Number, Contract Title, Contract Owners, Department, Location, Contracting Party, Contracting Party type etc.
Ex: Search by Contract Number:
Enter Contract Number in the Keyword field and select "Contract Number" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Contract Title:
Enter Contract Title in the Keyword field and select "Contract Title" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Contract Owners
Enter Contract Owners in the Keyword field and select "Contract Owners" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Departments:
Enter Departments in the Keyword field and select "Departments" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Locations
Enter Locations in the Keyword field and select "Locations" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Contracting Party
Enter Contracting Party in the Keyword field and select "Contracting Party" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Contracting Party Type:
Enter Contracting Party Type in the Keyword field and select "Contracting Party Type" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Document Attachment Contents:
Select "Document Attachment Contents" and click on "Search".
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Ex: Search by Document Attachment File Name:
Enter Document name in a keyword, Select "Document Attachment File Name" and click on "Search".
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Search for existing Contract templates in the System
The application provides the user to search for existing Contract templates in the system, which are tied to a Contract type. The user can search for those templates, and modify those templates from the Authoring plugin
Clicking on the Templates, the menu option will provide the user with options to search for Contract types in the system.
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The user can double click on the template document attached and make modifications to the template and save the document.
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CMx Word Plugin Screenshots:
Using Generate Contract function, you can generate word documents from MS Word template embedded with custom field values (When required) with the click of a button and share it internally or externally within CMx.
See Quick Demonstration Video here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VpirdthME1VcClqgOUYCiGRii0kPXrp8/view
Follow below setup for creating a word template and annotating the word template with replaceable values wherever required within the word document:
(1) Creating a Microsoft Word Template Document.
Download Here. (Note: This is a simple .docx file with annotations which is used as a master template document for generating further documents from it)
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Note the annotations within ${}, these are the dynamic fields CMx replaces with actual values when generating the word contract document. For example ${ContractingParty} refers to the party name with whom the contractual obligation is being made.
Reserved Keywords (NOT to use in Custom Field Names)
Annotating Commonly Used Fields
Annotating using Default Main Fields
By default CMx adds below properties into the generated document when embedded within the word template document:
Annotating using Custom Fields
Use below steps to annotate MS Word document using Custom Fields.
- Create Custom Field Form in CMx without any white spaces.
- Use the same exact field name (case sensitive) to annotate similar to default main fields above
- For example, if the field name is: BillingRate, the annotated value in the template will be: ${BillingRate}
Note: Spaces and special characters are NOT allowed in custom field annotations, means no ' and ô or any other special characters.
Supported Additional Template Fields
CMx adds below properties into the generated document when embedded within the word template document:
(3) Generated Contract Document:
And the Contract Generated will have the data in tabular format once annotated correctly.
(2) Create Contract Template in CMx with the MS Word document annotated in Step 1.
Click on Contract Templates from the left navigation menu and then on Create Contract Template.
Enter a name and description for the contract template and browse for the MS Word document template created in Step1 and click on Create button.
Verify that the Contract Template is created successfully in the Manage Contract Template screen.
(3) Create Custom Field Form in CMx if there are any custom field values that are required in the generated Contract Word Document. (OPTIONAL STEP)
Click on Custom Field form on the left navigation menu.
Provide and name, description for the custom field form. Drag and drop required custom fields.
(NOTE: White spaces are not supported in custom field names for generate contract annotations. For example: "Billing Rate" is not supported. The correct field name is: "BillingRate")
Drag and drop a single line text from right to left section.
The new field will appear like above with label as "New text".
Click on the second icon pointed by the red arrow and it will bring up the Options dialog screen.
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Provide Label name without numbers or special characters or white spaces as above and click on Okay button.
Provided Label name should be visible above the custom field text as similar to below.
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Add all the required single line text fields that you need following above steps.
Once done, Scroll all the way down and click on Create or Update button to save the custom field form.
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(3) Create a Contract Type and attach the Contract Template and Custom Field Form created in step 1 and 2 above.
Click on Contract Types from the left navigation menu and click on create contract type.
Provide Name and description and select the contract template created in step 1 above and custom field form in step 2.
Click on Create/Update.
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Verify in Manage Contract Types screen that a record exists with the details of updates that you made above.
Admin User can assign permissions to the newly created and existing roles. business users can Manage and Create Permission Schemes.
Manage Permission Schemes screen displays the list of all existing Permission Schemes. To view the manage screen, click on Permission Schemes link in the menu under Administration.
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In the Manage Permission Schemes screen, click on Create button to create a new Permission Schemes, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Click here: 3. Permission Schemes for knowing more on how to Manage Permission schemes...
CMx provides ample feature for specifying Roles to different users based on the tasks they need to perform.
Admin User can Manage details of each Role. In Role business, users can Manage and Create Role.
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Manage Role screen displays the list of all existing Role. To view the manage screen, click on Role link in the menu under Administration. In the Manage Role screen, click on Create button to create a new Role, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
For more Information on how to do the Create/Update/Delete Role click here: 4. Role
Users are the inevitable part of any Contract Management systems.
Admin User can Manage User details. Business users can Manage and Create User.
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Manage User screen displays the list of all existing User. To view the manage screen, click on User link in the menu under Administration. In the Manage User screen, click on Create button to create a new User, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on Reset Password button to reset the password for that particular record.
For more information on how to setup a user click here: 5. User
Admin User can Manage Company Location details.
In Location business, users can Manage and Create Location and these locations will be associated with different Departments.
Manage Location screen displays the list of all existing Location. To view the manage screen, click on Location link in the menu under Administration.
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Note: The Location associated with specific Department, if that Department is associated with particular Contract, then the Location cannot be deleted.
For information on how to do the Create/Update/Delete Location click here... 2. Location
Department is a specialized functional area within an organization or a division, such as accounting, marketing, planning, etc. where the admin user can manage company’s department details.
Admin user can manage Company department details. In Department, business users can Manage and Create departments.
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Each department is assigned to locations and Location cannot be deleted unless that department is used in any of contracts...
For more details click here....: 1. Department
Contract Clause Category concerns with specific clauses.
Clause Category conceptualize the idea of grouping clauses of specific category or buckets so that it makes organizing clauses easier.
For example, all the Legal clauses can be categorized into Legal Clause.
Click here: 2. Clause Category to know more about how to Create/Edit/Delete actions are done in Clause Category.
Special Terms and Conditions for the Contracts are stored in Clause Library.
Clause Library is the central storage area where all of your organization's clause text's are stored so that they can be reused again in new or existing contracts.
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For knowing more about how to implement Create/Edit/Delete on Clause Library, click here: 1. Clause Library
These are Standard forms of contract which is usually a pre-printed contract containing set clauses.
This feature provides user to manage contract templates which can contain user-defined custom fields.
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Contract Template is the centralized area where all the template documents across the company can be stored and updated. A contract template is used in Generating Contract using CMx.
In this feature, the user can Manage and Create a Contract template.
Go to Contract Template from menu, Displays Manage contract Template page, where a user can see following columns in a grid.
1.Template Name
2. Description
3.Status
4.Action
For more details on how to work on Contract Template, click here: g. Contract Templates
Contracting Party type refers to the various types/buckets contracting party can be categorized.
This feature provides user to manage contracting party type.
For more details on how to Create/Update/Delete, Contracting Party clicks on the link : i. Contracting Party Type
Contracting Party is the business entity that enters into a legally binding contract with the current organization who creates the contract.
This feature provides user to manage contracting party details.
While creating Contracting Party user need to provide details of all the entities in the Contracting Party form along with Contact details.
Click: h. Contracting Party for more details on how to implement Contracting Party[Create/Update/Delete].
Custom Field Form is a user-defined form with multiple control definitions using a designer and a name.
Click on Custom Field Form from the menu, Manage Custom Field Form Page displays with following columns in the grid.
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Custom filed form feature helps the CMx user to customize the forms as per the user needs in an effective and easy manner.
For how to Process Custom Field Form details click here: f. Custom Field Form
Contract Types are used to classify a contract based on the functional context.
Manage contract type screen displays the list of all existing contract types. To view the manage screen, click on Contract Type link in the menu.
In the Manage contract type screen, click on Create Contract Type button to create a new contract type, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
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For the step by step procedure to How to Create/Edit/Delete, Contract Type click here: e. Contract Types
Workflow is a Progression of steps /tasks that comprise a work process, involve two or more persons.
This Provides user to define a workflow for contract approvals.
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For more info on how to work with Approval Workflow, click on the link: k. Approval Workflow
Once a contract has been created in the system, contract owner can send the contract for Review as per the workflow configured for the contract
Pre-requisite: A workflow should be created in the system and the same should be assigned to Contract.
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For sending a contract for internal review click here to follow the steps involved: f. Sent For Internal Review
CMx provides options to restrict view and edit access at the contract level.
To access this feature goto Create or Edit Contract which you want to restrict access to and Click on the Lock Icon towards the top right of the Contract Screen.
This user action will bring up the Restrictions Pop Up where the user can select the user(s) and/or group(s) with whom the access of the contract is to be restricted.
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Once the User(s) and/or Group(s) are selected, click on Save Changes to finalize the changes. This action enables the contract to be visible or editable or both for the set of user(s) and/or Group(s).
CMx user can export the contracts that he has access to.
- Click on Export Contracts link from the left navigation menu and then again click on Export Contracts, page displays with existing contracts in the system.
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- Choose the contracts by checking the checkbox, which has to be exported.
- On selecting the contracts, click on "Export" tab on the extreme right side of the export screen.
- All metadata goes in as a single excel file, with all contract details.
- Each individual folder named with contract number-contract title format.
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The extracted excel file :
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CMx provides a distinguished feature to Import external Contracts and Contracting Party into the system.
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There are two options to fulfill the Import actions.
a. Basic Import
b. Import by Contracting Party
While importing Contracts user needs to correct the errors in Pre-validation Grid and Click on Import button on right side corner to import the validated contracts.
The imported actions can be viewed in Import Status Tab.
For more details on how to import a Contract or Contracting Party, click on the Link: l. Import Contracts
CMx provides ample feature for searching any type of data in CMx both text type content in text documents and from image files as well.
Advanced Search facility can be utilized by users to accomplish all the searches in CMx by both Filtered Search and Full-Text Search, thereby searching any content in contracts of CMx.
The Advanced Search Menu is linked to the Contract Repository and user can select that option to do the searching in CMx
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For more details on How to do Advanced Search, click here: b. Advanced Search
Users who have permission to delete a contract already existed in manage contacts list can be purged by the user.
The Purge Contract option is attached to Contract Number submenu in manage contract as well as in Advance search Filtered Search- Contract Number link
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Click on the following link to get more information on How to Delete a contract: j. Purge Contract
Contract Creation is one of the most important activities in Contract Management system.
Any user who have to create permission assigned to creating a contract can create a new contract by adding documents, Clauses, Milestones, Notes, Restrictions etc...
For Creating a contract user can either click on the Create Contract Button in the Manage Contract Page or can choose the direct link in Contract Repository submenu.
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For Detailed information on how to Create a Contract, click here: d. Create Contract
Manage contracts screen displays the list of all existing contracts in a centralized Grid with many features added to it for accomplishing different purposes on each contract.
To view the manage screen, click on Manage Contracts link in the menu.
In the Manage contracts screen, the user can notice different options, one to Create contract button to create a new contract, click on Contract number drop-down, where you can see different actions and Contract Settings Button to set values on contracts while create/update.
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For more information on How does Manage Contract Works, click here: c. Manage Contracts
Getting Started
This session gives the User hints on how to accomplish each action on CMx.
a. How to work on Manage Contracts in CMx?
b. How to Create Contract in CMx?
d. How to do Advanced Search in CMx?
e. How to Import Contracts to CMx?
f. How to Export Contracts from CMx?
g. How to Restrict Access At Contract Level?
h. How to Sent a Contract for Internal Review?
i. How to Create/Update/Delete Approval Workflow?
j. How to Create/Edit/Delete Contract Types?
k. How to Create/Edit/Delete Custom Field Form?
l. How to Add/Edit/Delete Contracting Party?
m. How to set up Contracting Party Type in CMx?
n. How to Set up a Contract Template in CMx?
o.How to Access Clause Library?
p. How to work on Clause Category?
q. How to Create/Update/Delete a Department?
r. How To Create/Update/Delete Locations in CMx?
s. How to Setup a new user in CMx?
t. How to set Roles for Users?
u. How to Manage Permission Schemes in CMx?
Email notifications in CMx may be configured with custom email formats in html or plain text. Please use Manage Configurations to create configuration name and description described below for customizing various email template formats:
Approval and Sign notifications:
Configuration Name:
Mandatory variables in email template (Must be available):
Example:
Configuration description:
Contract Expire notification:
Configuration:
Mandatory variables in email template (Must be available):
Share Document notification:
Configuration:
Example:
Milestone Expired notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Request Creation Successful:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
New User Invite notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Sign Request notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Sign Complete notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
The final signed PDF document will be attached to email message.
Send Contract to External Review notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Send notification on complete the Manual signature:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Contract Send for Approval notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Contract Requested Changes notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Workflow Step approval notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Task Reminder notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
Report notification:
Configuration:
Possible variables:
HTML Sample
This section provides details about the various email notifications and other types of alerts generated by CMx.
Contract Expiry Email
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Contract Review Request Email
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Approval Workflow Step
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Shared Document Notification Mail
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Milestone Review Notification Email
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Contract Sign Request Email
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Signature Completed Email
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CMx Contract Experience product is available in two versions:
(1) Cloud Contract Management Software
(2) On-Premises/ In-Office Contract Management Software
CMx provides product support for all its features and users can ask queries and sent feedback to:
Email support@contractexperience.com
Thank You!
In order to configure custom email sender address, below steps needs to be done and confirmed by someone from your IT team so that CMx can use your preferred verified sender email:
(1) Create a new email address inbox, which will be used to send automatic notification emails from Contract Management System (CMx). We do not need access to this email inbox and only you will have access.
Examples:
contracts@yourdomain.com
notifications@yourdomain.com
cmx@yourdomain.com
This shall be a “noreply” kind of email. for which you can be the “owner” of this address.
(2) “n order to configure the sender email in CMx instance, there are few steps that need to be done by your IT or someone who can access to your domain (yourdomain.com) DNS records:
The steps include verification of the domain, DKIM and SPF settings of the sender domain which is explained in detail in below URL , so the person should have access to make additions (adding TXT records) to the existing DNS records.
Below is a sample of our current configuration for "noreply@sysintellects.com" for which you can see that it is verified (all green checks) , DKIM Valid and SPF Valid.
(3) Once above 2 steps are done please confirm back to us at : support@sysintellects.com and we will check and make sure it shows green and do the rest of the configuration.
For best user experience with CMx, enabling below browser setting is recommended:
- Add your CMx URL to trusted sites in your Browser.
For example if you are using Chrome or Fiefox or Safari or IE , follow below steps (Note: In different browsers , this setting will be usually in Browser Options or Browser Preferences)
In IE 11, Click on the Tools Settings icon → Internet Options → Security Tab → Trusted Sites → Click sites button
This section covers all best practices, standard operating procedures, and troubleshooting for specific issues in CMx Contract Experience Platform.
Contact: support@sysintellects.com in case if you are not able to find a resolution for your specific problem here.
Browser Support:
By default, CMx Supports all modern browsers such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Opera. However, due to the differences in browser implementations, there may be a need to change few settings in some of the browsers and this knowledge base captures them all.
Only Admin can View and update the company details in Company Profile page.
How to View and Update Company Profile page:
- Click on the Company profile link from menu under Organization Setting
2.Company Profile Page displays with the Following sections-
a. Organization Details
b. Primary Contact Details
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Organization Details:
Under organization detail we have following Default entry fields.
- Name
- Company Website
- Address Line 1
- Portal URL Short Name
- Address Line 2
- Select Industry Type
- Select the Country
- Select State
- Company Phone
- City
- Zip Code
- Primary Contact Details:
- Under primary Contact Details we have following Fields
- Primary Contact’s First Name
- Primary Contact’s Last Name
- Primary Phone
- Alternate Phone - This is not a mandatory field, however alternate phone and primary phone cannot be the same.
- Logo : There is a logo section in company profile, click on "Choose file" where company administrator can update the cropped company logo . This logo is visible in the custom account login page.
Company logo is saved .
All the above fields are default entries,you can view and update the changes and Click on "Submit" button.
If there are no changes,and get back to the Dashboard page click on "Cancel" button.
Admin User can Manage details of each Group.
Different Users can be assigned to groups for specific activities.
Manage Group
Manage Group screen displays the list of all existing available groups.
To view the manage screen, click on Group link in the menu under Organization Settings.
In the Manage Role screen, click on Create button to create a new Group, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Group
To Create a new Group
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- Enter the Name and Description
- Select Group Type.
- Check/Unchecked Is Active button.
- Click on Create button
- New Group is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Group.
Edit Group
To edit an existing Group:
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- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Update Group screen is displayed
- Edit the Name, Description, or GroupType.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Group are updated in the system
Delete Group
To delete an existing Group:
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- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Group record is deleted in the system.
Admin User can Manage User details.
Business users can Manage and Create User.
Manage User:
Manage User screen displays the list of all existing User. To view the manage screen, click on User link in the menu under Administration.
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In the Manage User screen, click on Create button to create a new User, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on Reset Password to reset password.
Create User:
To create a new User:
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- Enter the First Name,Last Name,Email and Primary Contact Number.
- Select Location,Department and Role.
- Click on Create button
- New User is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created User.
- Once user is created successfully in the system an email is sent to the user containing CMx URL and Email along with a temporary password.
- when the user clicks on the CMx URL and login using Email and temporary password ,“Terms Of Use” page and change password screen is displayed.
- On changing the password successfully , a message is displayed and the user is navigated to the Dashboard.
Edit User
To edit a existing User:
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- User edit screen is displayed
- Edit the required field.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the User are updated in the system
Reset Password
Admin can reset password for existent users.
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- Click on Reset Password button in Manage screen
- System generated user password will be reset and "Successful" alert will be displayed.
Admin User can Manage details of each Role.
In Role business users can Manage and Create Role.
Manage Role:
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Manage Role screen displays the list of all existing Role. To view the manage screen, click on Role link in the menu under Administration. In the Manage Role screen, click on Create button to create a new Role, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Role:
To create a new Role:
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- Enter the Name and Description
- Select Permission scheme.
- Click on Create button
- New Role is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Role.
Edit Role
To edit a existing Role:
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- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Role edit screen is displayed
- Edit the Name, Description,or Permission scheme.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Role are updated in the system
Delete Role
To delete a existing Role:
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- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Role record is deleted in the system.
Admin User can assign permissions to the newly created and existing roles. business users can Manage and Create Permission Schemes.
Manage Permission Schemes:
Manage Permission Schemes screen displays the list of all existing Permission Schemes. To view the manage screen, click on Permission Schemes link in the menu under Administration.
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In the Manage Permission Schemes screen, click on Create button to create a new Permission Schemes, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Permission Schemes:
To create a new Permission Schemes:
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- Enter the Name and Description
- Assign the permissions for each Scheme.
- Click on Create button
- New Permission Schemes is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Permission Schemes.
Edit Permission Schemes
To edit a existing Permission Schemes:
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- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Permission Schemes edit screen is displayed
- Edit the Name, Description,or Permissions.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Permission Schemes are updated in the system
Delete Permission Schemes
To delete a existing Permission Schemes:
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Permission Schemes record is deleted in the system.
Admin User can Manage Company Location details.In Location business users can Manage and Create Location.
Manage Location:
Manage Location screen displays the list of all existing Location.
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To view the manage screen, click on Location link in the menu under Administration. In the Manage Location screen, click on Create button to create a new Location, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Location:
To create a new Location:
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- Enter the Name ,Description,Address 1(Mandatory),Address 2(Optional ).
- Select Country and State.
- Enter City and Zip code.
- Click on Create button
- New Location is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Location.
Edit Location
To edit a existing Location:
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- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Location edit screen is displayed
- Edit the required field.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Location are updated in the system
Delete Location
To delete a existing Location:
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- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Location record is deleted in the system.
Note:The Location associated with specific Department,if that Department is associated with particular Contract,then the Location cannot be deleted.
Admin User can Manage Company department details.In Department business users can Manage and Create departments.
Manage Department:
Manage Department screen displays the list of all existing Department.
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To view the manage screen, click on Department link in the menu under Administration. In the Manage Department screen, click on Create button to create a new Department, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Department:
To create a new Department:
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- Enter the Name and Description
- Select Location.
- Click on Create button
- New Department is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Department.
Edit Department
To edit a existing Department:
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- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Department edit screen is displayed
- Edit the Name, Description,or Location.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Department are updated in the system
Delete Department
To delete a existing Department:
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- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Department record is deleted in the system.
CMx ElectroSign provides inbuilt Signature support, follow the below process to send documents for signature:
Note: cmx.electrosign.sendsigneddoc = true in advanced configuration is required to send the final signed pdf to multiple recipients
Terminologies
Package: A Signature Package is a set of documents sent to one or more recipients for electronic signature.
Status: Prior to the signature, the status of a document is either created or pending. After Signature it becomes Signed or Executed.
Electronic Signature Security
By default CMx Electronic/Digital Signature offers below forms of security to make sure it's validity across different geographies and global laws. In United States, this process follows the e-sign act :
Pre-Signature Security Considerations
- In addition to sending links in emails for signature, there are many other multi-factor authentication mechanisms can be configured with CMx including below:
- Sending a unique code of very short validation prior to signing to make sure the signing code is retrieved from the user email ( whose email is secured by a password) and it is applied before signing.
- Requesting a unique code from MFA (Multi-factor authentication) mechanisms like Google Authenticator prior to signing.
- Text or SMS to the users mobile number prior to signature. This depends on which part of the world the user is located.
- Terms and conditions for each contract type can be customized and displayed to the user prior to using CMx electronic signature.(Default Behavior)
- Request a unique verification code from email prior to signing. So when first time if the user is external, the external user has to sign up first time, create an external user account with CMx providing basic details like useremail,password , validation of verification code and 2 security questions in case if the user forgets the password. After first time, the user can login to the CMx system every time they want to do electronic signature and every time when they sign a unique verification code needs to be entered after successful login and prior to the signing electronically..(Default Behavior)
Post-Signature Security Considerations
- CMx ElectroSign is based on public/private key pair of signatures based on PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) which ensures the signed document cannot be forged or changed after it is signed.
- Signed documents are sent to the emails of relevant parties and kept in safe records storage for future reference.
Manage Signature Packages
From the left navigation menu, click on Signature menu option to start the send signature process.
All the packages that have already sent for signature by the user are listed in this screen. This page also displays the status of each package, the date sent for signature and the recipients who are signers of the documents in the package.
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Starting Signature Process
From the top right section, click on New button to send a new PDF document for signature. In the first screen of prepare for signature, select the PDF document that should be sent for signature by clicking on the Choose button. Once the selection of the document is made, Click on Upload button so that the document is uploaded to the server. In the next step, add the recipients who should be signing the document.
You can add one or more recipients for signature process.
- Once both the document and the recipients are entered, click on Next button in the top right section of the screen.
- Next step is to prepare the document for the Signature process by marking the places where the signature should be placed.
- Drag and drop the icon with pen in the document where it should be signed by the recipient. (See below screenshot).
- You can navigate to any page in the document by clicking on the Previous or Next Button in the document bar and place the Sign Here tab.
Once the document is prepared for signature by placing the Sign Here tabs, click on the Send Button on the top right section. This completes the process of sending for Signature by CMx and all the recipients receive an email with a unique URL requesting for signature.
A new signature package record is created and should be visible in the Manage Signature Packages screen:
Signing Ceremony by Recipients
Each recipient receives an email which looks similar to below:
The recipient clicks on the unique signature URL in the email which takes them to the Signing page in CMx:
On clicking Sign Here, the recipient can affix the electronic signature.
Finalize the Signature Process by clicking on the Save button, accepting the terms and conditions checkbox and clicking on the Complete Signature button.
Once the signature is finalized by the recipient, the document status is changed to Executed and the signing process is complete.
Exiting User can Change the password using Change Password Link.
How to Change the Password:
- Click on Change Password link from the menu.
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- Page displays with "Enter Old Password", "Enter New password", "Re-Enter New password" fields.
- Enter old Password, New password, Re-enter New Password.
- Click on "change password" button.
- The old password will be updated with a new password.
To delete and go back to Dashboard page click on "Cancel" button.
Audit Report -
- Displays all user activities that is done using CMx.
- Makes the life of auditors or users with audit role easier.
- All functionalities like User Login, Contract creation, Updation, Deletion and every detail of user activities are recorded in the Audit Trail List with time and date specified.
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CMx provides ability to combine or merge multiple word documents (Note: PDFs are not supported) and create an amended document as a result.
Follow below steps for creating an amendment:
From any contract which already has two word documents (docx files) ,from the contract number menu , click on : Create Amendment option and select any 2 documents:
Once the documents are merged , the combined document is generated and displayed in a window:
Export Metadata
All metadata from CMx contract records including custom field values can be exported from CMx from the Export page and clicking on the Export Metadata button.
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Export contracts
CMx user can export the contracts that he has access to.
- Click on Export Contracts link from the menu, page displays with existing contracts in the system.
- Choose the contracts by checking the checkbox, which has to be exported.
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- On selecting the contracts, click on "Export" tab on the extreme right side of the export screen.
- All metadata goes in as a single excel file, with all contract details.
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- Each individual folder named with contract number-contract title format.
Once the import is submitted, a message is displayed to the user stating "Import Job is successfully scheduled"
- Click on the import Status option from left side menu , "Import Status" screen is displayed to the user.with below columns:
- Import Job Number
- Import Date : (Date and Time Stamp) - Most recent first.
- Contract Metadata Excel File Name
- Successfully Import Record Count
Displays the number of records that was successfully imported. - Failed Import Record Count
Displays number of records that failed was failed in the import.
Import Status Tab
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CMx user can import the Contracting Party lists either bulk or single lists that he has access to.
- User clicks on Import contracts link from Menu and then click on Basic Import
- File drop zone area page displays.
- Drag and drop the excel file into the drop zone area or click on the arrow icon, select the file and open.
- Only one excel file can be dropped into drop zone on each import. Error displayed to the user If there are more than one excel file dropped.
- Also, the template of the excel file should be same as in download sample template and otherwise it will result in import error.
NOTE : When importing Contracting Party using metadata excel, keep only Contracting Party sheet in the metadata excel and remove/delete the Contracts sheet.
If this step is not completed, then an error will be displayed in Import pre-validation grid which will prevent the import of contracting parties.
Downloaded Import Sample Template
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- After clicking on Import button on right top of the page a confirmation alert message is displayed and the user can confirm "Start import Job" action button.
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- Once the contracting party list is imported successfully, the user can view the imported list in the Manage Contracting Party Grid.
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CMx user can import the contracts that he has access to.
- Click on Import contracts link from Menu,
- Download the sample template by clicking on the "click here" link and extract the contents to a new folder.
- Extracting to a new folder is important since we have found that without that and dragging and dropping directly from compressed zip file does not show the files in the import zone sometimes.
- Also, note that the metadata file has to be named: cmx-metadata.xlsx
- File drop zone area page displays.
- Drag and drop the excel file and all attachment documents into the drop zone area.
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- Wait for the pre-validation grid to show records
- correct all red cells.
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- click on Import button on the right corner to view the list of imported contracts in the Import Status page.
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- After Importing the imported contracts will be get displayed in the Import Status Tab
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- By clicking on the "+" link, the user can see the Contract Number, Contract Title, Attached documents name and Status of import.
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Workflow is the series of activities that are necessary to complete a task. Both Simple and Complex Workflows can be configured within CMx Approval Workflow:
Complex workflow approvals , for example like the one below between multiple departments and external reviewers can be automated using Approval Workflow.
Manage Workflow :
Manage Workflow screen displays the list of all existing Workflows .
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To view the manage screen, click on Workflow link in the menu. In the Manage contract type Workflow screen, click on Create button to create a new Workflow , click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Workflow
To create a new Workflow :
- Enter the Name and Description
- Select Contract Approver name or Role and click on "Add Workflow Step".
- Add Approver steps with or without delegate option as needed.. Either User Step or Role Step can be added, if role step is added all users of that role with "Is Approver" option selected in User will be notified for review.
Department Review:
If Role Step is "Department" based , meaning if CMx has to automatically find the department based on Contract Record-> Department field value , Create a new Role with word "Department" in it and it as a Workflow Step wherever required. For example create a new Role with a permission scheme that provides no permissions and name that Role as "Department Reviewer" , add the "Department Review" as the Workflow Step.
External Review:
For External review workflow step, create a new Role with word "External" in it. For Example : "External Review". And if the Contract Record has Contracting Party added, CMx will send the contract for review to all the external party contacts for the selected contracting party.
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- Once the required workflow steps are added , click on create workflow button.
Note: The Roles with names "Department" or " External" are dynamic system roles. So these roles are special roles and MUST NOT be directly assigned to any user and their use is limited only in the workflow steps.
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- New Workflow is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Workflow.
Edit Workflow
To edit a existing Workflow :
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Workflow edit screen is displayed. Change Name and/or description as necessary.
- For Adding Workflow Steps, note down existing workflow steps and click on Clear Steps button, add the workflow steps back again before clicking update button.
- Add Approver steps with or without delegate option as needed.. Either User Step or Role Step can be added, if role step is added all users of that role with "Is Approver" option selected in User will be notified for review.
Department Review:
If Role Step is "Department" based , meaning if CMx has to automatically find the department based on Contract Record-> Department field value , Create a new Role with word "Department" in it and it as a Workflow Step wherever required. For example create a new Role with a permission scheme that provides no permissions and name that Role as "Department Reviewer" , add the "Department Review" as the Workflow Step.
External Review:
For External review workflow step, create a new Role with word "External" in it. For Example : "External Review". And if the Contract Record has Contracting Party added, CMx will send the contract for review to all the external party contacts for the selected contracting party.
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- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Workflow are updated in the syste
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Delete Workflow
To delete a existing Workflow :
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
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- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Workflow record is deleted in the system
Contract clause category helps to group clauses into specific category or buckets so that it makes organising clauses easier.
For example: All Financial clauses can be grouped under clause category named "Finance".
Manage Clause Category:
Manage contract type screen displays the list of all existing contract types. To view the manage screen, click on Contract Type link in the menu.
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In the Manage contract type screen, click on Create button to create a new contract type, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Clause Category
To create a new Clause Category:
- Enter the Name and Description
- Click on Create button
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New Clause Category is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Clause Category.
Edit Clause Category
To edit a existing Clause Category:
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Clause Category edit screen is displayed
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- Edit the Name or Description,
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Clause Category are updated in the system
Delete Clause Category
To delete a existing Clause Category:
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
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- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Clause Category record is deleted in the system
Clause Library is the central storage area where all of your organizations clause text's are stored so that they can be reused again in new or existing contracts.
Manage Clause Library:
Manage Clause Library screen displays the list of all existing Clause Library.To view the manage screen, click on Clause Library link in the menu.
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In the Manage Clause Library screen, click on Create button to create a new Clause Library, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Clause
To create a new Clause:
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- Enter the Clause Name and Text.
- Select Clause Category
- Click on Create button
- New Clause Library is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Clause Library.
Edit Clause
To edit a existing Clause:
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Clause Library edit screen is displayed
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- Edit the required field.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Clause Library are updated in the system.
Delete Clause
To delete a existing Clause
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen.
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action.
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- Click the OK button in the displayed message box.
- Clause Library record is deleted in the system.
Electro Sign Terms and Conditions Conventions:
For signing with electronic signatures, Terms and conditions are displayed to the user who is signing. This terms and conditions can be customized for each contract type by following below conventions and CMx automatically displays the correct terms and conditions for each contract type.
"Contract Type" appended with text " Terms"
For example:
if the contract type is "Fixed Contract" , naming a clause as : "Fixed Price Terms" will set the electrosign terms and condition automatically.
Contracting Party type refers to the various types/ buckets contracting party can be categorized.
Manage Contracting Party type:
Manage the Contracting Party type screen displays the list of all existing Contracting Party type. To view the manage screen, click on Contracting Party type link in the menu. In the Manage Contracting Party type screen, click on Create button to create a new Contracting Party type, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Contracting Party type
To create a new Contracting Party type:
- Enter the Name and Description
- Click on Create button
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- New Contracting Party type is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Contracting Party type.
Edit Contracting Party type
To edit an existing Contracting Party type:
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
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- Contracting Party type edit screen is displayed
- Edit the Name or Description.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Contracting Party type are updated in the system.
Delete Contracting Party type
To delete an existing contract type:
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
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- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Contracting Party type record is deleted in the system
Contracting party is the business entity that enters into a legally binding contract with the current organization who creates the contract. where the user can manage contracting party details.
Manage Contracting Party:
Manage the Contracting Party screen displays the list of all existing contracting Party. To view the manage screen, click on contracting Party link in the menu under External Parties.
In the Manage contracting Party screen, click on Create button to create a new contracting Party, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
Create Contracting Party
To create a new Contracting Party enter the following fields.
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- Contracting Party Name*
- Select Contracting Party Type from the drop-down.
- Description*
- Address Line 1*
- Address Line 2
- Select Country from Dropdown.*
- Select State*from Dropdown.
- City*
- Zip Code*
- Primary Contact :
- Email ID*
- First Name*
- Last Name*
- Business Phone
- Mobile Phone
- Active (Y/N)
- Click on Create button
- New Contracting Party is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created Contracting Party.
Edit Contracting Party
To edit an existing Contracting Party:
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- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Contracting Party edit screen is displayed
- Edit the required field.
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Contracting Party are updated in the system
Delete Contracting Party
To delete an existing Contracting Party
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- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Contracting Party record is deleted in the system.
Contract Template is the centralized area where all the template documents across the company can be stored and updated. The contract template is used in Generating Contract using CMx.
In this feature, a user can Manage and Create a Contract template.
Go to Contract Template from menu, Displays Manage contract Template page, where a user can see the following columns in a grid.
1.Template Name
2. Description
3.Status
4.Action
The user can see a Live Editor Icon, Update Icon Button, Delete action Button in the Manage Contract Template Page.
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On click of "Create Contract Template" page displays with following fields, where the user must input values to create a new Contract template.
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1.Contract Template name
2.Description
3.Template Document attachment field
Input values in the above fields and click on "Create" button, Contract Template creates successfully and displays in Manage contract Template grid.
Example Contract Template Creation Steps
Click on Contract Templates from the left navigation menu and then on Create Contract Template.
Enter a name and description for the contract template and browse for the MS Word document template created in Step1 and click on Create button.
Verify that the Contract Template is created successfully in the Manage Contract Template screen.
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Custom Field Form is a user defined form with multiple control definitions using a designer and a name.
Click on Custom Field Form from menu,Manage Custom Field Form Page displays with following columns in the grid.
Manage Custom Field Form
Search Field and show entries drop down on top of grid where user can input the custom field name and search.
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- Custom field name
- Description
- Status
- Action(Edit/Delete)
In Manage custom Field Form admin users can view, edit, delete all the existing custom field form and also create new custom field forms.
Create Custom Field Form
Click on Create custom Field Form in the manage Custom Field Form page.Screen displays with following fields.
- Custom Field Form Name *
- Description
- Custom Schema- with below section with 3 tabs: Designer , View and Code .
Custom Field Form Designer with below Types in right most section
Number
Single line text or String
Multi line text
Drop Down Select
Check box
Radio Group Field
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To Create new Custom Field Form:
- User enters custom field form name
- Drags and drops and designs the required custom field form.
- Clicks on settings of each control for further control level functions such as required field or not required field , field name etc. Saving the custom field form generates the json schema and saves it in db.
- User selects the contract types, for those selected contract types,the custom field forms will be displayed in the contract create/edit screen
- On Submit, custom field form is created in the system and displayed in the Manage Custom Fields Form grid.
Edit Custom Fields Form
To edit a existing Custom Fields Form
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Custom Fields Form edit screen is displayed
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- Edit the required Filed
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Custom Fields Form are updated in the system
Delete Custom Fields Form
To delete a existing Custom Fields Form:
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
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- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Custom Fields Form record is deleted in the system
Example Custom Field Creation Steps
Click on Custom Field form on the left navigation menu.
Provide and name, description for the custom field form. Drag and drop required custom fields.
(NOTE: White spaces are not supported in custom field names for generate contract annotations. For example : "Billing Rate" is not supported. Correct field name is: "BillingRate")
Drag and drop a single line text from right to left section.
The new field will appear like above with label as "New text". Click on the second icon pointed by the red arrow and it will bring up the Options dialog screen.
Provide Label name without numbers or special characters or white spaces as above and click on Okay button.
Provided Label name should be visible above the custom field text as similar to below.
Add all the required single line text fields that you need following above steps.
Once done , Scroll all the way down and click on Create or Update button to save the custom field form.
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Contract Types are used to classify a contract based on the functional context.
Manage Contract Type:
Manage contract type screen displays the list of all existing contract types. To view the manage screen, click on Contract Type link in the menu. In the Manage contract type screen, click on Create button to create a new contract type, click on Edit button to update an existing record, click on delete button to delete the record.
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Create Contract Type
To create a new contract Type:
- Enter the Name and Description
- Select Contract Template and Custom Field Form
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- Click on Create button
- New Contract Type is created in the system and navigates to the Manage screen, displaying the newly created contract type
Edit Contract Type
To edit a existing contract type:
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Contract type edit screen is displayed
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- Edit the Description, Contract Template and Custom Fields Forms
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Contract Type are updated in the system
Delete Contract Type
To delete a existing contract type:
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
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- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Contract Type record is deleted in the system
Example Contract Type Create/Update Steps
Click on Contract Types from left navigation menu and click on create contract type.
Provide Name and description and select the contract template created in step 1 above and custom field form in step 2.
Click on Create/Update.
Verify in Manage Contract Types screen that a record exists with the details of updates that you made above.
To Create a Contract:
- Click on Create Contract link from menu,or go to Manage contract,click on Create contract Tab.
Create/edit contract screen is displayed with different tab sections as mentioned below.
(1) Main :
(2) Custom
(3) Documents:
(4) Clauses:
(5) Milestones :
(6) Notes:
(7) Access Restrictions:
(8) Enter Tags:
- Under "Main" Tab,create contract page displays.
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- Enter contract number and Title.
- Select Contract Type and Contracting Party
- Choose an effective date
- Enter the description
- Select the Risk level,Department and Contract owners.
- Choose an Expiry date(optional)
- Enter contract value and select the currency.(optional)
- Select Notification list and workflow (optional)
- Enter renewal term in days.(optional)
2. Click on Custom Tab displays Custom Tab with any custom fields configured for the contract type.
For example NDA (non disclosure agreement) may have different custom fields than HR Agreement.
Refer: Custom Field Form
3.Now Click on Documents tab.
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- Click on Choose files,select the file which has to be uploaded for the specific contract,enter file description if any .
- If there are more than 1 file,click on Add file,and attach the document .
- Click on "Create" button.
- Attached files are displayed in a grid in the same page.
4. Click on Clauses tab.
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- On click of Clauses tab,page displays with Contract clauses grid and Add clauses tab.
- Click on Add clauses tab,displays list of clauses which are pre loaded.
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- check the clauses which are to be added for the specific contract,click on Add.
- The selected clauses are added and displayed in the grid.
5. Click on Milestone tab.
- On click of Milestone tab,page displays with Milestone grid and Add Milestone tab.
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- Click on Add Milestone tab,displays Milestone entry field,end date and Milestone reminder check box.
- Enter the Milestone of a contract and end date.
- On Checking the Milestone Reminder check box,Alert Before Days filed pops up.
- Enter Alert before days and click on "Save" button.
- The created Milestone are displayed in the grid.
6.Click on Notes Tab
- On click of Notes tab,page displays with Notes grid and Add Notes tab.
- Click on Add Notes tab,displays Notes entry field.
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- Enter the Notes of a contract .
- Click on "Save" button.
- The created Notes are displayed in the grid.
7.Click on Access Restrictions Tab(Unlocked Icon in Right top Corner of Create Contract Page)
- Click on Unlocked icon and page displays with Access Restrictions tab.
- User can Specify both View Restrictions and Edit Restrictions for Particular Contracts
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8.Click on Enter Tags Tab(Text area at Right top Corner of Create Contract Page)
- User can enter different tags to attach with the contracts.
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After entering all these click on "Create" button.Contract creates successfully and displayed in the Manage contract Grid.
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Pre-requisite: cmx.create.amendment configuration is set to true in Manage Configurations
CMx provides Create Amendment feature to quickly clone a document and make edits to any existing document of a Contract Record. With this feature , user is able to identify the last modified contract document and then use the existing document of a contract to create a new document and, make changes.
(1) Click on Create Amendment option for a contract that has more than one document available.
(2) Select an existing document in the contract
(3) Click on Submit button to generate a new document from existing document and make quick edits and amends. Optionally the file name can be changed to reflect the most accurate name for the amendment that is being made.
(4) The newly added/amended document is now part of the contract record and the changes made are automatically saved.
- Purge Contract functionality is used to Delete a particular Contract ..
- For deleting a contract , find the contract that needs to be deleted by clicking on search button in Manage Contracts/ Global Search box in CMx.
- From the drop down menu , select Purge Contract to delete the contract and the contract will be deleted and no more get displayed in Manage Contracts.
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Cancel Contract action is done on contracts for making it to Inactive state and there by cancelling the contract.
After clicking on Cancel Contract the Particular contract will get cancelled or goes to Inactive state and "Success Message" will be displayed on Manage Contract page.
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User can see the Cancellation scenario in the Contract as Stage and Status changed to Closed/Discontinued and Inactive/On Hold respectively..
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CMx provides inbuilt Electronic Signature support, follow the below process to send a PDF OR DOC or DOCX files for signature one at a time.
Terminologies
Package: A Signature Package is a set of documents sent to one or more recipients for electronic signature.
Status: Prior to signature, the status of a document is either created or pending. After Signature it becomes Signed or Executed.
Sent For e-Signature
From the Manage Contracts, click on Sent For e-Signature menu option to start the send signature process.
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Starting Signature Process
From the top right section, click on New button to send a new PDF document for signature. In the first screen of prepare for signature, select the PDF document that should be sent for signature by clicking on the Choose button. Once the selection of the document is made, Click on Upload button so that the document is uploaded to the server. In the next step, add the recipients who should be signing the document.
You can add one or more recipients for signature process.
- Once both the document and the recipients are entered, click on Next button in the top right section of the screen.
- Next step is to prepare the document for the Signature process by marking the places where the signature should be placed.
- Drag and drop the icon with pen in the document where it should be signed by the recipient. (See below screenshot).
- You can navigate to any page in the document by clicking on the Previous or Next Button in the document bar and place the Sign Here tab.
Once the document is prepared for signature by placing the Sign Here tabs, click on the Send Button on the top right section. This completes the process of sending for Signature by CMx and all the recipients receive an email with a unique URL requesting for signature.
A new signature package record is created and should be visible in the Manage Signature Packages screen:
Signing Ceremony by Recipients
Each recipient receives an email which looks similar to below:
The recipient clicks on the unique signature URL in the email which takes them to the Signing page in CMx:
On clicking Sign Here, the recipient can affix the electronic signature.
Finalize the Signature Process by clicking on the Save button, accepting the terms and conditions checkbox and clicking on the Complete Signature button.
Once the signature is finalized by the recipient, the document status is changed to Executed and the signing process is complete.
To Send a contract for Manual Signature to the Contracting Party.
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After clicking on Sent for the Manual Signature button from options the following screen appears
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The user can enter details into Contracting Party Email and select a contracting party from the drop-down list which is associated with that particular contract.
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Once the documents are sent for manual signature and its processed successfully, an alert will be displayed in the Manage Contract Page.
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Once a contract has been created in the system, contract owner can send the contract for Review either Internally or Externally.
Pre-requisite: A workflow should be created in the system and the same should be assigned to Contract.
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- Navigate to Manage Contracts Page, and search for the Contract that needs to be sent for Internal Review.
- Click on Contract number and from the menu click “Send For Internal Review”.
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3. An email is sent to Contract Approver and the Contract is listed in “Pending Tasks” in the dashboard of the Contract Approver.
4. Contract approver logs in and Clicks on the “Contract Id” from the Pending Tasks widget.
5. Reviewing the contract User clicks on “Approve Contract” button. (Assuming no changes are required )
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6. The status of the contract should become approved and the status of Workflow can be verified by clicking on “View Version History” for the contract observe the revision history for the Contract.
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Scenario 2:
One level Workflow – When the approver has requested for changes to the contract
- Navigate to Manage Contracts Page, and search for the Contract that needs to be sent for Internal Review.
Click on Contract number and from the menu click “Send For Internal Review”
2. An email is sent to Contract Approver and listed in “Pending Tasks” in the dashboard of the Contract Approver.
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3. User Enter the Review comments and clicks on “Request For Changes”
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4. An email is sent to Contract Owner to review task and Review Task is listed in Pending tasks when Contract Owner logs in.
5. Clicking on “View Version History” user can check the status of the workflow and also the status of the contract will not be approved.
Two level Workflow – Approve Contract:
Pre-requisite: Create a workflow which has 2 level of approvals and assigns the same to a Contract
Once the contract has been created, the contract can be sent for multiple levels of approvals by assigning the contract to a workflow which has multiple levels of approvers. In this contract will only go to an approved state, when both the approver's has approved the contract.
- Navigate to Manage Contracts Page, and search for the Contract that needs to be sent for Internal Review
2. Click on Contract number and from the menu click “Send For Internal Review”
3. An email is sent to Contract Approver1 and listed in “Pending Tasks” in the dashboard of the Contract Approver1.
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4. When Contract Approver1 clicks on “Approve Contract”, an email is sent to Contract Approver 2 and listed in “Pending Tasks” in the dashboard of the Contract Approver2.
5. Contract Approver2 clicks on “Approve Contract”, and the workflow status can be verified from the version history
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Edit Contract functionality is to update an existent contract in the Manage contract list.
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After clicking on Edit Contract the Update Contract page will get loaded and user can Modify or Edit the contracts and click on Update Button on the right top corner of the contract page.
Once the Update action is successfully completed user can get an alert message on that in Manage Contract page.
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CMx provides users with Share File Option so that they can share the documents with other users in CMx in Live Editor.
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When the user clicks on Share File and select the particular document to be shared, the below screen gets displayed and the user can select users list to whom the file has to be shared.
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When the user clicks on the text box a drop-down list box appears and they can select the email_id of the users to whom the file has to be shared.
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The user can select the user's email id and share the documents.
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After selection, once the user clicks on Share button Success Alert will be displayed and the file gets shared to the recipient user.
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Edit File Online functionality help the CMx user to update the attached documents with contracts Online.
The user needs to click on the Edit File Online option from various sub menus in Manage contracts tab.
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After clicking on Edit File Online option the below screen appears and the user can edit the attached documents of any type.
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User Can do the editing in the editor sheet and save the changes
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After updating and saving the file user can close the document file. (user can close the document file by clicking on the red x icon on the top right corner.)
The updated content can be viewed in the document attached to the contract by downloading the file.
The particular file type will be opened outside the CMx and user can view it.
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- By clicking on Contract Number on Manage Contract Page grid, the user can view different submenus for different functionalities.
- To Create a new spreadsheet file to attach to the contract as document user can select Create New Spreadsheet from the sub-options.
- After clicking on Create New Spreadsheet option the following screen appears and the user can create a new spreadsheet file to add with existing contracts documents.
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- After entering the data into the spreadsheet, the user can save the file and close the spreadsheet file. (user can close the word file by clicking on the red x icon on the top right corner.)
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- Spreadsheet file will be added to the contract document list with ".xlxs" extension type file.
- Click on Manage Contracts from the left navigation menu bar and the user can view the particular contract where New spreadsheet file is added in the documents tab.
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- By clicking on Contract Number on Manage Contract Page grid, various sub-options appear.
- To Create a new word file to attach to the contract as document user can select Quick Create Document from the sub-options.
- After clicking on the Quick Create Document option the following screen appears and the user can create a new word file to add with existing contracts documents.
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- User Can Select either create New Blank document for creating a new word document or can create a document from Template.
- After entering the data into the word file, the user can save the file and close the word file. (user can close the word file by clicking on the red x icon on the top right corner.)
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- word file will be added to the contract document list with ".docx" extension type file.
- Click on Manage Contracts from the left navigation menu bar and the user can view the particular contract where New Word file is added in the documents tab.
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Manage contracts screen displays the list of all existing contracts. To view the manage screen, click on Manage Contracts link in the menu.
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In the Manage contracts screen, click on Create contract button to create a new contract, click on Contract number drop-down, where you can see the following actions.
- Quick Create Document-To Create a new word file to attach to the contract as documents and create a document from Template.
- Create New Spreadsheet-To Create a new spreadsheet to attach to the contract as documents.
- Edit File Online-To edit the documents attached to the contracts online.
- Share File-To share the file with other users of CMx (both internal or external). For sharing to external users just add the new email similar to google document sharing.
- Edit Contract - To update an existing record.
- send For Internal review-To Send the contract for approval for a person within the organization.
- Send for Manual Signature-To send a contract for manual signature to the Contracting Party.
- Send For Signature-To send a contract for signature to the Contracting Party.
- Renew Contract-To send a contract for Renewal.
- Cancel Contract -To Cancel the Contract.
- Purge Contract - To Delete the particular contract.
- On Login to CMx product,Dashboard is displayed with menu on left hand side
- Click on "Advanced Search" from left menu.
- There are two sub-categories
a. Filtered Search
b. Full Text Search
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Filtered Search
- The Filtered Search page is displayed with a text box to enter keywords, Select Search filters drop-down box and a search button.
Search Filters:
a. Contract Number
b. Contract Title
c. Contract Owners (Users)-User Name
d. Departments-Name
e. Locations-Name
f. Contracting Party-Name
g. Contracting Party Type-Name
h. Contract Type-Name
i. Document Attachment Contents
j. Document Attachment Types (Example: PDF, MS Word etc)
k. Document Attachment File Name (Example : Filename* )
- User enters search name in the text box and chooses appropriate option from filter and then clicks on search button.
For example: user enters contract number in the search field and chooses "Contract Number" from filter and clicks on search button. - Results are retrieved and displayed in a search results page.
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- user can enter the keywords and select a particular category from the filters and click on search button for retrieving search results.
- Results are retrieved and displayed in a search results page.
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Full Text Search
- The Full text search also works similar to searching content texts in the CMx files and documents.
- Full text search is displayed with a text box for entering text to be searched and a Search button to accomplish the tasks.
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- when the user enters the search keyword and click on Search button ,then the searched text will be highlighted in yellow and displayed in the search window as follows.
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Manage Requests
All the requests in CMx is being tracked using this screen.
User is able to create new requests using "Create Request" , update existing requests using "Update Request" on edit mode and Delete existing Requests using "Delete Request" on Delete mode.
Create Manage Request
Click on Manage Request in the Manage Requests page.Screen displays with following fields.
- Request Id *
- Name*
- Quote ID
- Order Id
- Contracting Party
- Effective Date
- Description*
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- Enter the values in the field areas
- Click on Create button
- New Request is created in the system and navigates to the Manage Request screen, displaying the newly created Request.
Edit Manage Request
To edit a existing Request:
- Click on the Edit button in the manage screen
- Manage Request edit screen is displayed
- Edit the fields that needs to be updated
- Click on Update button
- Changes to the Requests are updated in the system
Delete Request
To delete a existing Request
- Click on the Delete button in the manage screen
- A Message box is displayed for confirmation of delete action
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- Click the OK button in the displayed message box
- Request record is deleted in the system.
Contract Repository Stores and Manages all contracts in CMx System
This feature provides businesses to manage contracts. Contract Repository is again Classified to different Submodules for performing unique functionalities of CMx.
Contract Repository Main Classification is as Follows:-
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Main Module in the Contract Repository is the Manage Contracts where all the Contract features are accessed and managed.
CMx Dashboard has the following sections, different dashboard widgets are displayed to different users (Executive, Administrator, User) based on the user role and permission scheme that the user is assigned to. CMx Administrator by default has all access. :
1. Contract Analytics Widget -Contract Analytics Widget is a drill-down widget which represents pie charts based on the selection from drop down.
Dropdown values:
1. Contracts by Contracting Party: % Distribution of Number of contracts by contracting party(Pie Chart) (Default Selection), On click of the portion of the pie, re-directs the user to the specific contracts.
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2. Contracts by Contract Type: % Distribution of Number of Contracts by Contract Type
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3.Department: % Number of Contracts by Department (Pie Chart)
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4.Location: % Number of Contracts by Location (Pie Chart)
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5. Contracting Party Type: % Number of Contracts by Contracting Party Type (Pie Chart)
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6. Contract Risk Levels
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7.Contract Value
a.% Contract Values by Contracting Party Type (Pie Chart)
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b. % Contracts Value Per department
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when clicked on above values from drop down, it has to display actual numbers/values of the specified percentage value.
2. My Tasks Widget-User is able to view and work on the assigned tasks. My Tasks Widget in the dashboard is to retrieve all the tasks for the logged in user.
On clicking on the Task Name link, the user will be redirected to the associated entity, Task Name is linked with a contract number and. On clicking on the Task Name, the user is redirected to the review page for contracts.
1. Once the task is assigned, the task status displays" pending "by default in My Task widget grid.
2. On completion of review activity, task status changes to "Completed" by the system and same is updated and displayed in My Task widget grid.
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3. Audit Trail Widget- Audit Trail section displays the real-time of activities performed by the user and other users for whom the user has authority on are recorded. The administrator can see all the activities performed by all the users, whereas User can see only the contract related feeds if the user is part of the notification list for the contract.
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4.Expiring Contracts Widget -.This section displays all Expired/Expiring Contracts ( within 30,60, and 90 days) in descending order of the contract expiry date in the grid. when clicked Contract Number (hyperlink) show take to the edit view of the specific contract.
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Forgot Password allows existing user to retrieve their password,If a user has forgotten their password.
Pre-requisites
Navigate to the User Profile page and Set the Security Questions (Logout Menu -> User Profile ->Security Questions section)
Note: Please take a note of the Security Questions and Answers as these will be required while resetting the password using 'Forgot Password"
Forgot Password steps:
1.click the Forgot Password link on the sign in page.
2.Enter the Email ID and click on submit.
3.Email is validated and security question is displayed as text.
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4.Enter an answer for the displayed security question.click on submit.
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5. On Submit, If the information entered is valid then a message stating that” Your password is sent to your email” else “Please review your entries and provide all required fields”.
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6. The system will send you a recovery code so that user can change your password.
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7. Click on the Recovery Code hyperlink in the email.
8. Enter and confirm your new password.
Two steps are involved in MFA login.
Step 1:Provide user name and Password.
Step 2:On Successful Login,enter MFA 6 digit code .
MFA settings:
- Click on Manage Contract Link from Menu,Manage contract Screen displays with "Settings" Tab on top right hand side of the screen.
- Click on settings,Click on "Multi Factor Authentication settings" Tab.
- Admin can select the users from scroll box, for whom the MFA needs to be enabled and clicks on save.
To Set Google Authenticator Application:
- Download Google Authenticator Application in your mobile..
- Open Google Authenticator App , Select Menu Option Click on Setup Account.
- Now Scan a barcode and point to the above barcode in the screen till you hear a beep sound which indicates successful registration of bar code in Google Authenticator App.
- You can register barcode of more than one users in Google Authenticator App and it will display different 6 digit numeric codes for each user registered
- Once barcode is successfully registrated,
- enter the 6 digit numeric code for the user registered from google authenticator app to the input text box and click on send button.
To Login Using MFA:
- Hit the CMx URL,provide valid username and password in the login screen.
- On successful Login result in CMx prompting for the MFA 6 digit code in a second subsequent screen.
- where user needs to enter the correct MFA 6 digits code for the user from the mobile application Google Authenticator.
- On all subsequent login of the same user , no QR/bar code registration required in the Google Authenticator App. Only the 6 digit numeric code needs to be entered in for successful user login.
The user is able to successfully login to the CMx system using a valid username and password.
To Login CMx System:
- Goto your unique CMx Url in the browser and you will see the Login Page displayed with Email Id and Password Field.
- Enter the registered Email ID (Not Case Sensitive) and Password (Case Sensitive).
- Click on "Login" button.
- if the credentials provided are correct then the user is able to login to the CMx product, else an error message is displayed stating “Invalid Credentials”.
Note:
1. If the user keys in an incorrect password and tries to login for 3 consecutive times, then Simple Captcha is displayed.
2. If the user keys in an incorrect password and tries to login for 5 consecutive times, then the user account will be locked and displays a message stating “ The User Account is locked, Please contact the administrator”.
Contract lifecycle management (CLM) is the process of controlling, coordinating, and streamlining all stages in the life cycle of a contract. Contract life-cycle management (CLM) software helps firms create, manage, and achieve maximum value from business contracts with customers, suppliers, vendors and dealers.and is a key piece of the business technology agenda.
7 Stages of Contract Life Cycle Management
- Requesting contract - The contract management process begins by identifying contracts and appropriate documents to support the contract’s purpose, where user requests for initiating a contract to be executed with contracting party.
- Authoring - The “authoring” process is about setting up contract templates and clause libraries to empower business users and legal users, respectively, to create new contracts in a fast but controlled fashion. Writing a contract by hand is a time-consuming activity, but through the use of automated contract management systems, the process can become quite streamlined.
- Contract Negotiation - Upon completion of drafting the contract, employees should be able to compare versions of the contract and note any discrepancies to reduce negotiation time by half when contract processes are automated and streamlined.
- Approval Process - The instance in which most bottlenecks in contract processes, automated contract management allows users to preemptively strike by tailoring approval workflows, including parallel and serial approvals, and keep business clipping along at a rapid pace.
- Contract Execution - Automated contract execution allows users to control and shorten the signature process with eSignature and Manual Signature. Contracts executed are effectively managed from the effective date to expiry date.
- Auditing & Reporting - Automated contract management processes utilize a full range of valuable audit and reporting tools such as contract compliance alerts, audit tracking, on-demand report generation and easy integration with third-party reporting tools.
- Contract Renewal and Amendment - Using manual contract management methods can often result in missed renewal opportunities and business revenue lost. By automating contract management processes, a business can quickly identify contract renewal candidates, allowing plenty of time to act, and automatically create new contract drafts based on the previous contract. Automated systems provide a single, effective view of a business relationship across multiple contract amendments.
- Company Profile-Concise description of a firm,or details of a firm is stored where admin can view and update company profile
- Change Password-This feature allows existing user to change their password.
- Location -Location is a place where an organizational business operations occurs. This Provides admin user to manage company location details.
- Department-Department is a specialized functional area within an organization or a division, such as accounting, marketing, planning, etc where admin user can manage company’s department details.
- User -The people employed by a particular organization are so called User /Staff, where admin is able to view, edit, delete all the existing user details and also create new user.
- Role - Role is an expected behavior associated with a particular position in an organization, This feature provides admin user to manage and create new Role.
- Permission scheme- Users have permission to access the system through assigned permission schemes. Admin can Assign Permission Scheme to a Role , only one permission scheme can be assigned to a Role any point of time.
- Contract Type-A particular kind of Agreements between two entities like Incentive contract, Fixed Price contract, Purchase order etc. where in this feature provides users to view, edit all the existing contract type details and also create new contract type.
- Custom Field Form- Custom Field Form is a user defined form with multiple control definitions using a designer and a name. This feature provide admin user to create, update and manage the custom field form.
- Contract Templates-These are Standard forms of contract which is usually a preprinted contract containing set clauses. This feature provides user to manage contract templates which can contain user defined custom fields.
- Contracting Party - Contracting party is the business entity that enters into a legally binding contract with the current organization who creates the contract. This feature provides user to manage contracting party details.
- Contracting Party Type- Contracting Party type refers to the various types/buckets contracting party can be categorized. This feature provides user to manage contracting party type.
- Clause Category-Clause categories are grouped under Clause Library. This feature provides user to create new contact clause category which can be attached to a Clause Library by choosing from dropdown.
- Clause Library- A Clause Library is an online repository of pre-defined and approved legal clauses that can be inserted in to contracts. This feature provides user to create new contact clauses which can be attached to a contract type by default.
- Work Flow- Work flow is a Progression of steps /tasks that comprise a work process, involve two or more persons. This Provides user to define a workflow for contract approvals.
- User Profile- A user profile is a record of user-specific data that define the user's working environment. This feature allows existing user to view and update their profiles.
Introduction to Contract management
Contract management is the process of managing contract creation, execution and analysis to maximize operational and financial performance at an organization, all while reducing financial risk. Organizations encounter an ever-increasing amount of pressure to reduce costs and improve company performance. Contract management proves to be a very time-consuming element of business, which facilitates the need for effective and automated contract management system.
Contract Management Software
While the tradition is normally to manage contracts manually through folder and file cabinet storage, the practice is riddled with inefficiencies that can only detract from an organization’s overall efficiency. Integrating with an automated contract management service will help free up countless man hours and automate countless processes associated with managing a contract, thus creating more value for a company.
High-level features of CMx - Contract Management Software
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Simplify your enterprise Contract Life Cycle Management (ECLM) Process with below features:
1. Enterprise Level Configurations
a. Organization Provisioning
i. Company Profile
ii. Location Provisioning
iii. Department Provisioning
iv. Staff Provisioning
v. Role & Permission Provisioning
vi. User Groups Provisioning
2. Contracts Configuration & Extensibility
a. Contracts Settings
b. Contract Level Security Permission
3. Contract Repository
a. Central Contract Respository for Managing Contracts and Document Attachments
b. Search & Advanced Search
i. Sub-second Response with Millions of Contract Records and Content types of files attached with contracts.
c. User Defined Custom Fields
d. Configurable Custom Workflow
e. Internal & External Reviews
f. e-Signature
g. Contract Types
h. Custom Contract Templates
4. Collaboration Features
a. Collaborate and author contracts
b. Internal Review with Team Members
c. External Review with Subject Matter Experts (SME) and Lawyers, keeping track of every change on the go.
5. Analytics & Reports
a. Audit Trail
b. Contract Analytics
c. User Task Board
d. Recommended Contracts for Review
6. Enterprise Scalability & Cost Effectiveness
a. Leverages strengths of Open Source Stack combined with powerful document authoring and collaboration features
b. Scalable Design with the latest and greatest technology stacks to provide you the best possible User Experience (UX)
7. Security
a. SSL
b. HMAC Request Level Security
8. Import & Export
a. Self Service Import of Existing Contracts using Excel Template
b. Export Existing Contracts - Administrator
9. On-Premise Vs Cloud SAAS Version
10. World Class Support
CMx is a complete end-to-end Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution which can be deployed across all departments/locations/subsidiary (child companies) within an organization. CMx is designed based on below diagram which represents the true CLM stages.
More details on these stages can be found here: https://www.contractexperience.com/resources/resources-main.html
Advanced Guide For Comparing Contract Management Software Your step by step guide for adopting Contract Management System for your enterprise
Your step by step guide for adopting Contract Management System for your enterprise
Why Contract Life cycle Software is important and why it is required?
Contract Administration Professionals accountable for managing Contracts within the organization can have varied primary business use cases from electronic signature to workflow approval software for business:
First, they identify the need for best Contract Management System and understand the effect of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) early enough so that they could mitigate or minimize contractual risks throughout the company. Company Website: CMx Contract Management Software
Second, they are committed to make sure that the Contract Software implementation provides them the best return of investment (ROI) and at the same time improves the relationships with customers, vendors, suppliers, partners and employees multi fold and makes the contract management process very efficient in all of their departments.
Contract Management System Definition
As per Wikipedia Contract Management or Contract administration or contract tracking refers to the management or administration of Contracts and maintenance of relationships with customers , vendors , supplier, partners or employees.
As per Chartered Institute of procurement and supply guide Contract Management or Contract lifecycle management is defined as the process of efficient and systematic management and administration of contract creation , execution and analysis for achieving maximum operational and financial performance while minimizing risk.
Go through the contract management basics resources first if you need to understand the basics.
Importance of Contract Software Solution and Contract Administration at Organization Level
Do you use Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) ? Why and how do you use it? You want to streamline customer acquisition process and capture all the contacts, leads , potentials and turn them to accounts. Great, so you have CRM part automated.
What about after acquiring the customer and managing the relationship with the customer? This is where the most important benefit of CLM comes into play, creating your customer happy by having great relationship and thus gets more and more business from the same customer again and again.
Your relationship with the customer does not start with CRM but with the CLM process that you have. The Contract Process that you work with your newly acquired customer initially is the first impression of your business. It sets the tone for what is to come from you as a Product or Service provider and lays the foundation for your relationship with your customer. This advantage is from the Sales side of the CLM perspective. The other angle to think about is the Buy side of it, where you are protected from compliance and legal risks arising from an executed contract.
To ensure a seamless contract management process, it’s crucial to engage your internal business partners from the outset. This collaboration promotes buy-in and ensures the effective development and implementation of your contract management system. Here’s how various departments contribute:
- Legal Team: Comprising partners, associates, paralegals, and administrative roles, this team ensures that all contracts comply with legal standards and mitigate potential risks.
- Audit Team: They assess contracts to identify and eliminate risks, providing a system of checks and balances vital for the integrity of your firm.
- Compliance Team: These members guarantee adherence to regulatory standards and company policies, safeguarding your organization from potential violations.
- Sales Team: Essential for understanding how contracts function, this team uses their knowledge to effectively convey and sell your services to potential clients.
- Procurement Team: Involved in company purchases, this team requires access to the contract management system to ensure that all procurement activities align with contractual agreements.
By integrating these departments into the contract management process, you not only streamline operations but also enhance communication and efficiency across your organization. This collaborative effort strengthens your company's capability to manage contracts effectively, addressing both the sales and compliance aspects seamlessly.
Most organizations small, medium or large tend to think Contract Management as an add on , but essentially with the growing demands of customers and the risks associated with it , better to embrace CLM or Contract Lifecycle Management than regretting it later with all the associated downsides of not having an efficient system in place.
People who are leaders and accountable for Contracts within the organization do two things really very well:
First, they identify the need for best Contract Software or Contract Automation Software and understand the effect of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) early enough so that they could mitigate or minimize contractual risks throughout the company.
For instance, let’s look at the Harvard university guidelines and process for Contracts and Contract Risk Management
The entire process and guidelines of Harvard Contract Risk Management could be efficiently handled by selecting the best contract software solution in the industry. Additional Reading: Managing Risks effectively by using contract lifecycle system
Buy side Contract Management System Vs Sell Side Contract Management System
The business environment is so dynamic and the meaning to this is that businesses on the buying side of a contract do find it very involving to look into all the contracts being offered by potential sellers. The outcome is that buyers are likely to spend more time evaluating all the contract options available and deciding if any of them may be worthy of an approval. Perhaps this is one area where contract system really does prove to be of significance. It is possible to fast-track any contract available and again focus on the feasibility part. The upside of this kind of an approach is that any buyer of a contract will be better placed in choosing a contract which can truly fulfill the mission which is being looked after.
One factor that buyers do find themselves in is that there are indeed many sellers who are willing to enter into binding contractual agreements. All the terms and conditions that are being given are usually so good that they create some kind of dilemma when it comes to decision making. In such situations buyers do favor decisions that would definitely turn out to be highly trustworthy. This is where contract software does get in and offer solutions which many would otherwise deem to be impossible. Prior to settling to a given contract offered by a specific seller, this tool allows for thorough monitoring of all the aspects which might be of business relevance to the buyer.
For instance it is possible to look into important issues surrounding compliance, approval rating and life cycle of the contracts which the sellers may be offering. This way, buyers will gain that kind of confidence that is needed to handle any contract negotiation. All the obligatory processes that need to be followed prior to engaging in a contract negotiation, i.e. evaluation of a suitable seller, monitoring session and implementation are all automated. The meaning that can be attached to this is that buyers will find very easy to arrive at optimal solutions when looking for sellers offering favorable contracts.
It is without a doubt that there are many businesses that have had massive contract breach of terms and conditions but because of their elusiveness, they are still plying their trade just in the same level as other clean sellers. Perhaps this is one of the pitfalls that buyers do work so hard to avoid but nevertheless t is still very easy to fall a victim. The reason is that the conventional contract negotiations involves massive paperwork which makes it very difficult to accurately follow the history of a seller who has a bad reputation but because of elusiveness seems to be riding on a high level confidence. Contract software does come with financial auditing feature and thus making it possible to analyze if a given seller have compromised on the intended obligations thus creating a clear path through which untrustworthy deals can be avoided.
Using human resources to monitor contract progress is itself a highly engaging task and besides this some errors might flow as humans are not that good in handling large and highly complex data which large businesses do work with. Contract life cycle system does feature a highly robust in-built functions which can accurately monitor on any kind of financial in and outflows that may be involved on the buyer’s side of the contract. The advantage of this is that it is possible to maintaining a high degree of financial integrity in any of the deals which a buyer may be intending to collaborate on.
Again, it is obvious fact that business deals may cover a wide geographical span. This makes traveling options very costly and this kind of arrangement doesn't stand a chance to work out with willing contract buyers and sellers who are thousands of miles away from each other. Contract lifecycle software makes connections between the involved parties to be very simple as all the transactions are done online. Element of e-signature is also incorporated into this software thus creating an opportunity through which a buyer can engage with a suitable contract seller who may be some distance apart. The great advantage is that contract buyers will save on time as they will still contact the sellers who live up to their requirements.
The other really unique feature of Contract software is that it is tailored to meet the industry-specifics which a contract buyer and seller may be operating. This way buyers only get to receive contract offers from sellers who are plying their trade in that sector which is of relevance to the buyer. It is expected that a contractor buyer may have some relevant knowledge on the trends of the business field which the yet to be bought contract may be touching on. This way making an in-formed decision becomes very easy and high chances are that a buyer will settle for contract seller who offer terms and conditions that go hand in hand with what the buyer was after.
The buy side contract management system does integrate all the possible tasks that are likely to be involved during contract procurements. Such include e-invoicing, e-procurement, compliance management, legal applications and many other tasks which buyers will find to be very useful. Again, the given tasks are highly optimized to fit various professional fields that buyers would like to use the given agreement software system. For instance, industries like finance and health-care do find it very vital to conform to strict data entry and regulation measures and this is one aspect that contract software does guarantee.
The level of automation in this software allows for high flexibility with which any task relating to contract can be performed. For instance there are already in-built contract templates and this makes the general process of creating a new contact to be in fact very easy. Saved contract library templates mean that buyers and sellers will spend little time when creating contracts. Perhaps the unique aspect of the contract lifecycle software is that is possible to insert other important documents like memos, invoices, meeting minutes and invoices to contracts. It is possible to merge other previous contracts to create a new contract, securely share contract details with other interested parties and also make suitable approvals. The database used to store all the attributes related to any contract is highly secured and this implies that only the right persons can make relevant changes if necessary.
One the sell side, contract software is very important in that they help businesses to come up with the most efficient solutions. This is the case as this software helps to monitor all aspects which are involved in the contract agreement and because of the optimal solutions provided businesses do find themselves reducing their sales time cycle by a greater margin. CLM software does facilitate real-time online negotiation and employ e-signature for verification purposes. The benefit is that any given contract negotiation will come to quick closure as information exchange is very fast even for parties who may be far from each other. Again, with this business tool it is very easy to administer contract agreements thus allowing for creation of an open environment where all matters of concern can be effectively looked into.
Renewals as well re-negotiations are considered some of the aspects that can greatly impact on the success of any contract negotiation. This is one other area where contract management system is of advantage in contract negotiations in that it is possible to see at a glance what kind of contract is put in place for the business parties to discuss. Sales are likely to close faster as all the accompanying critical documents are kept in one central and secure location for easy access. This way it becomes very easy to automate creation of any contract through the pre-approved and internally made contract templates.
Any contract negotiation heavily requires that any standards as well as customized terms be made available for reference during any negotiation sessions. Meanwhile manually preparing the terms and conditions can be time-wasting given the bulky nature of this types of information. In contract software, all the terms and conditions are kept in an electronic format. This allows for easy modifications to be done as the contract templates can be easily accessed and the upside is that business organizations will spend less time while handling any modification of the contract terms and conditions.
For any smooth contract negotiation process, business organizations do create and assign roles to users based on the value, role, security and all other variables which directly touch on a contract. The problem that can arise is that manual supervision of all the users may be very tiresome as it implies that data has to be sourced and sent to every direction during the contact negotiation process. Contract software will on the other hand act as a central location where it becomes very easy to get as well as send all the information pertaining to the given contract being negotiated. In this kind of situation, businesses will find that it is in fact very simple to negotiate over more than one contract at a time while still being able to go over this process with high level efficiency.
Contract Lifecycle solution allows for quick location of any data and any document which may be of key value during negotiation sessions. This makes streamlining of communications across many departments of a business to very easy taking into consideration the roles and functions that were assigned prior to embarking on the contract negotiation. The e-signature feature of the contract software is in fact a great time saver in that it allows for faster deal closing. The cloud-based operation of the contract software tools emphasizes on central data location. If this is combined with a world-class business marketing team then a business will find it very easy to turn any of its woes into highly profitable opportunities.
Perhaps one of the things that organizations do find it very difficult to deal with is the planning, implementation and enforcement of any sales policies which might have been set out. If all these tasks are performed correctly businesses will see themselves in a totally new dimension – being able to eliminate any excesses in operational costs and maximize in saving. CLM software helps to provide in-depth software of what a business is likely to accrue based on the kind of cash flows expected to flow in and out of an organization.
Superb contract negotiations do require accurate and comprehensive understanding of all the previous contract negotiations and sales which a business may have been involved in. Managing this kind of data is often very difficult as the bulky terms have a direct meaning that a business is likely to spend a greater deal of its time just on identifying the data leave alone if there would enough time for scrutiny. Meanwhile it is very essential to incorporate other business tools such as the Customer Relations Management software. The purpose of this is that this kind of software enables a business to have an improved data entry, sharing and even reporting on the client attributes which may have significance to how a business operates. Combining this power with contract software can greatly leverage the sales as well as contract negotiations aspects of a business.
The faster the time a business executes its contract obligations the better it will be placed in the overall business landscape. Businesses are plying their trade at a time when consumers are highly cautious about any possible contract violation as this can translate to losses to all the parties brought together by the contract. In order to gain a highly reputable market visibility a business should be in a position to honor all its obligations and on time.
Again we cannot forget that some contracts do have a ton of conditions that needs to be fully fulfilled. Because of this a business may find itself giving more leverage to one contract condition while barely tending to others. This is where Contract system does provide probably the most efficient solutions both in terms of time and economics. All the contract obligations are integrated into one platform thus allowing for each aspect involved being thoroughly involved. The result is that a business will be able to maintain high degree of contract compliance thus maintaining relevance to the overall existence of the business objectives.
Cloud Contract System Vs On premise contract software
One of the most common (and often, the earliest) question that clients put across a business analyst while choosing a contract life cycle system is - "What is the better option : a Cloud Contract Management Solution or an On-Premise one?".
The answer to this seemingly straightforward question is not as simple though. It is more like choosing between Mac and Windows; a comparison between apples and oranges really. This is because every client is different and so are their concerns. That is why the solution can never be unanimous for everyone, and arriving at a satisfactory solution essentially requires a proper assessment of each client's business needs and the kind of infrastructure they possess.
Both Cloud Contract software and On-Premise Contract software have their own pros and cons. It is up to the clients to decide which one would suit their purpose better. The ultimate choice though, will always feature a trade off between security, costs and returns. So, to think of Cloud Contract Software (or SaaS, Software-as-a-Service) as a magic wand that is going to solve ALL of the problems of an organization, would be wrong. Just as it would be wrong again, to think of an On-Premise Contract Management software as being completely incompetent and a thing of past.
Points to consider before choosing a Cloud or an On-Premise Contract Lifecycle Software
1) Costs - Probably the biggest factor to consider when it comes to deciding what to go with - a Cloud contract automation software or an On-Premise contract software. With the latter, the costs are higher up front, i.e. installing an On-Premise system will require intensive capital investment due to procurement of in-house server hardware, cost of software licensing, longer deployment time and an in-house team of IT support staff. However, with time the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of an On-Premise contract software tend to be lower than that of the subscription based Cloud system.
This is because Cloud based contract system require ongoing, perpetual payments (annual or monthly) whereas On-Premise systems require only infrequent maintenance costs after the initial investment upfront. However, as an alternative, the Cloud service providers DO provide a very cost-effective option - the "pay as you grow" subscription model. Using this model, clients get a contract management system that almost exactly matches their requirements and they are provided with options to upgrade as and when their IT infrastructure grows. Most of the small and medium sized businesses consider SaaS or Cloud as the best legal contract software for this very reason.
2) Security - One of the least differentiating factor between On-Premise and Cloud based contract software. Yet, this is the reason most of clients feel apprehensive going with a Cloud system. Even though Cloud contract software is just as safe and secure as an On-Premise system, many clients still prefer to have valuable data such as customer info and confidential company data within their own firewalls rather than the vendors'. Also, with an On-Premise system clients are assured of the stored data being in line with the company backup and privacy policies. In case of SaaS or Cloud contract software system, the vendors are in charge of the data security and control the entire system.
The sensible way to go about ensuring the security of stored data in such a case is seeking security certification from vendors and getting them to ensure that their policies are in accordance with a client's security compliances.
3) Degree of Integration and Customization - Not all Cloud or SaaS solutions are entirely customizable and so, such kind of situation might require the deployment of an On-Premise contract software. In that case, it must be clearly outlined what kind and degree of customization is required to suit the client's requirements in the best way. Another top priority of companies when shifting to an On-Premise or a Cloud system is the degree of integration required between the to be installed contract system and the already existing programs.
Many companies have to undergo vast integrations to adjust equally vast amounts of data when transferring to the new contract software system. However, such complex integrations need not be undertaken if the new contract software is to be used only for task management.
4) Remote Access - One of the main selling points of the SaaS solutions is that they allow access to business information from anywhere, by using a laptop or a smart phone. This has received a major fillip with Cloud providers now developing specialized mobile apps that allow remote access even easier and faster. However, the remote access feature is definitely not a unique option available with the Cloud system only. Even On-Premise contract software allows for a remote access using a VPN service that allows off site connection. Additionally, by going On-Premise, you wont have to pay for every additional collaborator whom you add to the system to allow remote access feature.
Additional reading: how to select between cloud or on premise contract software
Contract Management Systems - Must have features
Contracts play a vital role in ensuring smooth processes in the businesses environment. A contact can be between a company and it employees, its suppliers and clients. Given their crucial role, it important that a business manages its contract processes correctly; there is more to managing contracts apart from signing the dotted lines. Without proper management, you might not know the pain points that are in the process, and that slow the sales cycles.
Sometimes you may lack the correct tools for standardizing language in all the contracts, or you could be following up with several people to approve a contract. Some people get stuck when trying to find the amendments in a contract to get the entire view of a particular deal. You can solve all of the above issues by using contract management system.
Fully featured contract software solution will enable you to have control and visibility of your contracts from their inception to the end and all the way to their renewal. There are nine stages in the contract management process, and they include authoring, negotiation, approval, execution, obligations management, amendment, audit, and reporting. Renewal is the final stage. In all of the above stages, automated solutions ensure that there are no clogs to slow the process. They also ensure that the sales cycles are taking place at a faster rate.
Must Have Features of the Contract Software
Contract software have many features, and some companies have additional aspects that are unique to them. However, there are some standard features that every software should have. Among these is the contract management function. The latter manages every aspect and phase of all the contractual agreements including those created professionally, and that meet the legal threshold, systemization in the contacts and supply categorization. Contract lifecycle software systems helps in the automation and management of reporting and tracking contract processes.
Contract Creation
This feature helps in drafting contracts from the idea stage to discussion and completion of the contract. You can modify the documents as well. You will also find templates and correct wording to ensure that the agreement is clearly worded and explained.
Additional Reading : Contract Authoring or Drafting
Contract Software - MS Word Authoring Plugin
Contract Repository or Contract Database or Contract Storage
This feature allows the user to gather, collect and keep their contracts in a particular system. The system will offer you the best system that you can use to save your contracts properly for record keeping. Having good storage for the contract will mean that you have access to copies of the contracts, amendments, and modifications whenever you need them. This means that you will not need to worry about loss, spills or damage to the hard copies.
Additional Reading : Contract Repository
Contract Software - Contract Repository
Contract Payments
This feature will ensure the evaluation completion and establishing the due payments and other important contract terms according to the specifics laid down in the negotiation by both parties to the agreement. With the feature, you will be able to perform contract negotiations for all contract partners.
Contract endorsement entails scheduled approvals according to the changes that the parties have made as well as the milestones they have reached in the contract negotiations. Most of the time you will find the contracts online, and this allows the parties to the agreement to assess objective goals and then submit approval. The contract management feature will also enable both parties to deny or approve any of the goals of the contract of the partner in the contract. This part is important because you cannot finalize any single part of the contract without approval from your partner.
Additional Reading : Contract Management Negotiation
Contract Software - Contract Payments
Contract Negotiation, Contract approval work flow and Contract Endorsement
This feature will ensure the evaluation completion and establishing the due payments and other important contract terms according to the specifics laid down in the negotiation by both parties to the agreement. With the feature, you will be able to perform contract negotiations for all contract partners.
Contract endorsement entails scheduled approvals according to the changes that the parties have made as well as the milestones they have reached in the contract negotiations. Most of the time you will find the contracts online, and this allows the parties to the agreement to assess objective goals and then submit approval. The contract management feature will also enable both parties to deny or approve any of the goals of the contract of the partner in the contract. This part is important because you cannot finalize any single part of the contract without approval from your partner.
Additional Reading : Contract Management Negotiation
Contract Software - Contract Negotiation, Contract approval work flow and Contract Endorsement
Contract Software - Contract Relationship Metrics and Analytics
This feature lets you analyze and investigate the various relationships in the contract as long as it is in use. You can scrutinize the contractual implementation, financial analysis and contractual agreements for all customers according to their demographics. You will also be able to tell the efficient and ineffective strategies so as to plan for the future. You will also implement the effective strategy and leave out the other ones. If you do not put in place the correct strategies you may repeat ineffective businesses practices and lose money.
Contract Relationship Metrics and Analytics
Short Term and Longer Term Benefits of using Contract Lifecycle Software
Advantages and Benefits
When there is a clog in the sales cycle, things do not move as fast as the company wants them to move. One advantage of contract software is that it shortens the sales cycle by enabling you to work smarter and just harder. Automated contract management process streamline approvals and reviews, making it easier for you to work smarter as opposed to working harder. This can be quite helpful if you have large orders that are known to cause people to work all night and cause many mistakes There are instances when sales cycles slow down because there is no sufficient information on a particular account. A reason for this could be that the person who used to handle the account has probably moved to another company. Automated contract management process allow for a smooth transition in such cases. They provide valuable information that will help the new sales person continue where the other one left the account. You can do it the manual way but you will need to dig through mountains of folders or beg other people to help you when you are in the field.
Minimize Risk of Manual Data Entry
Errors are inevitable when sales teams are stressed, tired or when they have much info ration to capture in the stack of contracts. Some packages get lost in the process as well. Errors often cause problems that could have otherwise been avoided and among these is inaccurate pricing. People also fail to focus on the correct options and features of the product. You may also encounter incomplete pricing, and there will not be any consistency with the last pricing concessions. The company may also fail to realize the gross margin impact of the contract concession on the gross margin. Contract management systems can help you avoid all these by capturing the information fast and accurately. This will leave your employees with time to close deals and spend much-needed time with customers. It also helps the company save money that they would have otherwise spent on re-doing the contract or on renewal opportunities.
Help you Achieve Sales Goals
Automated contract management process work to reduce company administrative costs, diminish risk and improve compliance. Contract management processes help companies improve the rate of contract renewal, increase their revenue and reduce their contract cycle by half. All these create additional sales.
Building Channel Relationships
Channel partners will demand undivided attention from you. With automated contract management processes you will be able to give them full attention because you will not need to be running all over the place putting out all kinds of fires. You will control your resources and in the process maintain existing channel relationships while building up new ones.
Strengthen Relationships with Customers
Using contract lifecycle system will help you control, the flow of information between the company and its clients. It also helps you show your clients that you are doing much to ensure that you track, manage and maintain your relationships with them. A relationship with your customer will include fundamentals such as product schedules, pricing, and promotional programs. All these are found in the contracts.
Contract Management Processes for the End –of Quarter Period
The end –of- quarter period in most companies is usually characterized by the end- of- quarter crunch that entails the pressure for the sales personnel to exceed their quotas. There is usually the demand for approvals as well as signatures and the need to process contracts that come up at 10 am. Having an automated contract management process can be a game- changer for the person eager to make their sales quotas, bonuses, and ensure company profitability and compensation plans. All enterprises that equip themselves with automated contract management processes can turn their end –of –quarter crunch into their core strengths. The process can change their contract management process into an asset.
In most companies, the morning usually entails sales and sales operations, working to get approvals, extensions new pricing requests as well as service level and reseller agreements. Some customers might call in to ask for more products as long as you can change their pricing request and contract extension. As the orders continue to stream in, the director of sales, the sales vice president, vice president of finance and other relevant personnel may have to think of pushing some of the smaller orders into the next quarter. Some people may have to burn the midnight oil to ensure that they have considered all contracts. Given the pressure, some of the contracts may have errors on discount percentages and pricing schedules. Despite all the hurdles and the pressure, the teams may finish and cover all contract before the next quarter. In such situations, automated contract management processes can help to make things easier for all parties involved. They do this by streamlining businesses processes, which means personnel, get to work smarter and not harder.
Additional Reading : Selecting best contract life cycle software solution
Contract Management Process for Small Business
Marketing campaigns, managing customers and following up on the company sales leads are some of the critical processes that overwhelm small businesses. It is also crucial that business keeps promises, store correspondence, determine account status and manage sales if they want to be successful. It is, therefore, important that small businesses invest in an integrated solution that can take up all these tasks to make everything easier for them and to make them more productive.
There is no one size fits all software for contract management, and if you have a small business, you will have to buy the correct software for your businesses. There is some software that specifically target small businesses. You can choose to install them online, on mobile or the premises. You may also have to choose an operating system. Some of the functions you can expect from such software include approvals, audit, and reporting, authoring, notifications, negotiation and repository.
You can use some of the support features as well, and they include video tutorials, phone support, and online support.
Contract Management Process for Medium Business
Medium enterprises are slightly larger than the small ones and, therefore, need a contract management automation that is specifically designed for such enterprises. In most cases, a company will buy various software for their functions. This often works against the company as it becomes more expensive. Some companies have addressed this problem and have made integrated systems to counter the problem. Automated contract management system should keep the information of the business on a single platform. The system should also be easy to operate. As far as storage is concerned, you should be able to store it on-premise or on the cloud.
Contract Management Process for Large Business
Large companies need a more elaborate contract management process because of the complicated nature of their activities. It should have advanced security and customizable alerts. They entail features for managing contracts for private agreements, IPs, procurement, sales, and licenses. Some of the automated processes support other countries. Such countries include Brazil, Canada, Latin America, United Kingdom, United States as well as those in Middle-East, Africa, and Europe. Some of the other features included in these processes are online support, Frequently Asked Questions, and knowledge base.
Optimize current Contract Process using best contract software available in the market
Contract Request
For a contract request to be efficient, the users should be able to initiate it easily using the contract software and attach the relevant details and documents quickly and easily.
Contract Authoring or Drafting
Contract software can help create a contract faster as the user will make use of word processing tools and standardized language. These will be included depending on the kind of agreement that the two parties draw up. The authoring stage can only be successful if there is a scope for the contract and both sides give their consent. It is important that both parties view the terms of the agreement in a clear perspective. A point to note is that the parties can change the terms if the need arises.
Contract Negotiation
Streamlined and automated contract management processes enable the parties to make a comparison of the redlined versions in the contracts side by side in different formats. This helps to note the discrepancies and reduce the time spend on negotiation by half. Normally, organizations will take some time to discuss their benefits, objectives, and positions. The focus of the contract will be on minimizing risks, improving the contractual relationship, financial penalties, performance and so on. Parties get to discuss their various contributions to the company success at the negotiation stage as well. Both sides get to set the terms of the contract at this point. They can include anything that had been left out at this point as well.
Contract Approval
The approval stage is the one that causes most bottlenecks when it comes to contracts. With automates processes, users can strike preemptively by creating approval workflows. They also include serial and parallel approvals while keeping businesses going at the same time.
Contract Execution
This stage will entail tools like fax support and eSignature and when you use automated contract management; you will shorten and control the signature process. After signing, the associates fax documents in electronic file through barcode.
Contract Obligation Management
This stage is instrumental in ensuring that both parties are meeting their obligations as far as the deliverable as concerned. It also prevents the contracts from leaking value. You can maximize the value of your contract with automated alerts with links to expirations, key events, renewals, fulfillment tracking, sophisticated reporting, and analytics as well as post-execution workflows. Parties to the contract can only address their disputes in the presence of legal help. All the objectives in the contract should adhere to the law.
Contract Amendment
It can be quite time-consuming trying to collect all documents that are relevant to a deal manually. With the contract management process, you can view a business relationship across different contract amendments effectively.
Auditing and Reporting
There are also many reporting and auditing tools that you can use after you automate your contracts management process. Some of the tools you can use are contract compliance alerts, one-click access from your reports to the contract records, audit tracking in the field, on-demand report generation. There is also easy integration with the third-party reporting tools.
Renewal
You can use a manual contract management process for this stage as well, but you run the risk of overlooking some of the renewal opportunities. This will lead to loss of revenue. Contract software makes it possible for users to identify candidates for renewal, allow them time to act and create new drafts automatically on the basis of the last contract.
Conclusion
As pointed out above, there are both advantages and disadvantages associated with both Cloud Contract software and On-Premise contract software. The key is to find a proper balance between the two models and adapt according to the business requirements; what works for one company will not work in the same way for another, regardless of industry type. Some applications are great for hosting in Cloud system - CRM tools, travel apps, backup systems for On-Premise hardware and software solutions itself. While certain others such as security products, data storage solutions and accounting packages are implemented best using an On-Premise contract automation software.
While Cloud systems might appear to be a good choice for small and medium enterprises (for obvious reasons such as low initial investment, zero need for IT backup team, lack of an IT infrastructure), the larger businesses must look beyond this criteria. Strict security compliance and privacy concerns must be made a priority for them. Companies should always remember that rather than going for the best contract management solution available in the market or used by their competitors, they should opt for a contract software that is best suited for them and enables better growth and success rate.
Despite their best intentions, some people end up with contract management systems that turn out to be a liability rather than an asset. It is, therefore, vital that you take time in choosing the right software. You should only use products from established companies. Some companies may offer shiny products and assure their customers but fold up within a few months or years of operation. You need to work with a business that will continuously supply you with the software whenever you need it. You also need online support in case you encounter a problem while using the software. Niche companies upgrade their products from time to time, and you can use them for this purpose as well.
Most companies look for automated contract processes to enhance efficiency in their businesses. Implementing a new contract management system (CMS) involves several key steps to ensure a successful transition. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you through the process.
Define Your Software Requirements
You should define your software requirements from the beginning. If you do not use this particular step, you will end up with unwanted software meaning that you will have to get more money for better software. Alternatively, you can customize it once you implement it. For accuracy, list down your current processes, the gaps and what you would like to improve. Consider input from C-level executives to know the most critical of the processes and their value for money.
Assess the Current State
Before diving into new software, accurately assess your current contract management practices. Identify shortcomings and propose solutions that align with your business needs. Engage stakeholders from various departments such as sales, IT, and finance to gather diverse insights. This collective input will help you craft a solution that addresses the real issues affecting your contract management.
Secure Sponsorship from Senior Leadership
Garnering support from senior leadership outside the legal department is crucial. Their backing can articulate the importance of a CMS and drive the necessary organizational changes. Leaders can set clear objectives, allocate resources, and ensure that the CMS implementation aligns with corporate goals.
Compare and Evaluate Software Options
When you are comparing the software, it is important that you ask quantitative, detailed questions. Once you have answers for the important questions, ask for a detailed and custom demonstration of the particular process you want. Avoid generic demos because they do not highlight the weaknesses but only show the strengths of the software. It is advisable to ask for references or testimonials from people who have used the software before. Have a conversation with other clients in the absence of the vendor to get an unbiased opinion. Online reviews can also provide valuable insights.
Engage Internal Business Partners
Involve your internal business partners early in the process to promote buy-in. Key teams, such as legal, audit, compliance, sales, and procurement, should be familiar with how the CMS will work and how it affects their roles. Their engagement ensures the system meets the practical needs of those who will use it daily.
Strategically Manage the Process
Once the CMS is in place, focus on strategic management. The legal department plays a crucial role in training, engaging stakeholders, and maintaining the system. Regular updates and audits ensure the CMS remains effective and aligns with evolving business demands.
By integrating these steps, you can ensure that your CMS implementation not only meets immediate needs but also supports long-term business goals.
To effectively identify shortcomings in your current contract management system, begin with a comprehensive assessment:
- Evaluate Current Processes: Are contract activities fragmented or ad hoc? Consider if contracts are drafted from templates created by individual counsel or simply managed in filing cabinets.
- Efficiency Concerns: Is there a consensus that contracts take too much time or are too manual? Assess whether they involve too many steps or if approval processes are cumbersome and disorganized, especially with tracking due dates.
- Resource Allocation: Examine whether there are too few personnel supporting the system, causing bottlenecks.
Once these areas are addressed, delve deeper by asking:
- Are the existing tools such as filing systems, policies, and databases inadequate?
- Where can automation play a role in streamlining processes?
- What other technologies or best practices could be integrated to enhance the current system?
By systematically addressing these questions, you can uncover the inefficiencies in your current setup and pave the way for selecting a more effective contract management solution.
But before diving into software demos, ensure you conduct a thorough contract management assessment. Start by asking yourself critical questions:
- Are contract activities conducted in a fragmented or ad hoc manner? For instance, are contracts drafted from templates created by individual counsel or simply managed by aggregating them in filing cabinets?
- Is there a consensus that contracts take too much time? Consider if they are too manual, involve too many steps, or are difficult and time-consuming to get approved. Are they disorganized, especially when it comes to tracking due dates? Do they suffer from a lack of personnel, causing bottlenecks in the system?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, delve deeper:
- Evaluate Tools and Technology: Are the current contracting tools—like filing systems, policies, procedures, spreadsheets, databases, and information technology—adequate for the required tasks?
- Explore Automation: Identify areas within the contract management process where automation could offer significant improvements.
- Seek Integration and Best Practices: Investigate what other systems, technologies, or best practices are in use elsewhere that could help enhance your current situation. Can these be integrated into a future Contract Management System (CMS)?
By combining a comprehensive assessment with careful evaluation of potential software solutions, you position yourself to make informed decisions that will streamline your contract management processes and maximize efficiency.
Cost is a critical consideration for a contract manager or procurement professional looking to buy contract software for their contract management processes. You should look for a contract management system that will fit your budget and at the same time give you the best results. This is for the not just for the short term, but for the long term as well more so for ongoing projects.
You could also look at more details by clicking on the Features and Get Started section of this website to see how CMx Contract Experience surpasses all your expectations by providing you the best contract management system available in the market today.
How to Evaluate Your Business's Current Contract Management System
Assessing the state of your contract management system (CMS) is a crucial step before adopting a new one. This evaluation involves a detailed analysis of your current practices, identifying gaps and inefficiencies, and preparing a comprehensive proposal to get buy-in from decision-makers.
Steps to Assess Your Contract Management System
- Identify System Weaknesses
- Begin by examining how contract-related activities are currently managed. Ask yourself and your team:
- Are contract processes disorganized or executed on an ad hoc basis?
- Do contracts originate from bespoke templates or outdated filing methods?
- This introspection will help you pinpoint areas that need improvement.
- Engage Key Stakeholders Beyond Legal
- Effective contract management transcends the legal department. Involve departments like sales, IT, and finance. Their insights are invaluable in understanding how the current system impacts various business areas.
- Evaluate Process Efficiency
- Consider whether the contract lifecycle is burdened by excessive manual steps or approvals that slow down the process. Questions to reflect upon include:
- Are contracts taking too long to complete?
- Is there a struggle with tracking important dates?
- Are staffing constraints creating bottlenecks?
- Analyze Tools and Technologies
- Reflect on the tools you currently use. Are your filing systems, policies, or software solutions adequate? Determine if automation could streamline any phases of the contract process.
- Benchmark Against Best Practices
- Investigate what systems and practices are effectively employed elsewhere. Consider whether these can be adopted and integrated into your future CMS for better results.
Document Your Findings
Once your assessment is complete, compile your findings into a detailed report. Clearly document the identified issues, required improvements, and potential solutions, ensuring all business requirements are highlighted. This report will serve as the foundation for presenting a compelling case for upgrading your CMS to senior leadership or budgetary authorities.
By following these steps, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of your current contract management landscape, paving the way for more efficient and streamlined processes.
How to Properly Train Stakeholders on the New Contract Management Process
Ensuring that all stakeholders are well-versed in the new contract management process is essential for seamless implementation. Here's how to achieve that:
- Develop a Comprehensive Training Plan
- Identify all stakeholders who need training.
- Schedule training sessions that fit stakeholders' availability.
- Utilize a Variety of Training Methods
- Offer workshops and webinars for interactive learning.
- Provide written manuals and video tutorials for self-paced study.
- Incorporate Hands-On Experience
- Set up a sandbox environment where stakeholders can practice without affecting real data.
- Facilitate scenario-based exercises that mimic real-life situations.
- Regular Updates and Refreshers
- Schedule periodic refresher courses, especially when system updates occur.
- Share update notes and create brief videos highlighting new features or changes.
- Feedback and Continuous Improvement
- Gather feedback from stakeholders after training sessions to assess effectiveness.
- Use feedback to refine training materials and methods for future sessions.
By following these steps, you'll ensure that stakeholders are not just informed but fully equipped to use the new contract management process effectively.
Responsibilities of the Legal Department in Maintaining a Contract Management System
The legal department plays a crucial role in overseeing and enhancing the contract management system. Here’s how they contribute:
- Stakeholder Training and Updates
The legal team is responsible for ensuring that all key stakeholders are well-versed in the contract management system. They organize and conduct training sessions, ensuring that everyone understands the processes involved. Additionally, they keep stakeholders informed of any updates or new versions of the system, facilitating smooth transitions and efficient adaptation. - Engagement with Business Personnel
Throughout the contract lifecycle, the legal department collaborates with relevant business personnel. They engage with partners and associates at strategic points, ensuring that compliance and audit requirements are met. By doing so, they ensure seamless communication and smooth execution of the contract management process. - Management and Improvement of Templates, Policies, and Procedures
The department is tasked with maintaining the templates, policies, and procedures that form the backbone of contract management. Regular reviews are conducted to assess effectiveness and make necessary adjustments. This proactive approach helps in identifying what works well and what needs improvement, ensuring the system remains robust and efficient.
By addressing these responsibilities, the legal department ensures a streamlined and effective contract management system that supports organizational goals and compliance.
How Should the Legal Department Be Involved in the Contract Management Process?
The legal department plays a pivotal role in ensuring a seamless contract management process. Here's how they should be involved:
- Training Stakeholders:
The legal team is responsible for providing comprehensive training to all key stakeholders on the latest contract management procedures. This includes organizing regular sessions and keeping everyone updated whenever a new system version is implemented. - Engagement at Critical Points:
It's crucial for the legal department to engage with the right business personnel at various stages of the contract lifecycle. This means coordinating with partners and associates when contracts need attention, ensuring compliance checks are conducted, and facilitating audits to guarantee a smooth operation across the board. - Template and Policy Management:
Maintaining and updating contract-related templates, policies, and procedures is essential. The legal department must review these regularly, evaluating their effectiveness and making necessary adjustments to better support the contract management process.
By fulfilling these roles, the legal department not only supports the organization in managing contracts efficiently but also helps mitigate risks and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
How to Make a Compelling Business Case for Updating Your Contract Management System
- Conduct a Comprehensive Assessment
Begin by thoroughly evaluating your current contract management system (CMS). Identify inefficiencies, potential security risks, and limitations affecting your organization. This deep dive will provide the data you need to justify the change. - Document Key Findings
Organize your assessment into a well-documented report. Clearly outline the shortcomings of the existing system and the anticipated benefits of a new one. Highlight how these improvements align with your company’s objectives. - Clarify System Requirements
List specific features and capabilities that any new CMS should possess. These requirements should be clearly communicated to stakeholders to ensure alignment with the organization’s priorities. - Demonstrate Financial Impacts
Include a cost-benefit analysis. Compare the costs of maintaining the current system against the investment in a new one. Highlight potential savings from increased efficiency, reduced manual processing, and fewer errors. - Align with Business Goals
Connect the decision to upgrade your CMS with broader company goals. Whether it’s improving compliance, accelerating contract turnaround, or enhancing collaboration, make sure the new system supports these aims. - Engage Senior Leadership
Present your findings to senior leadership or budgetary authorities in a clear, concise manner. Use data to back up your case, and focus on how the change will drive strategic benefits. - Prepare for Q&A
Anticipate questions or concerns from decision-makers. Be ready with answers that reflect thorough research and consideration of potential risks and overcoming resistance to change.
By following these steps, you can effectively articulate the necessity of upgrading your contract management system in a way that resonates with senior leadership and paves the way for successful implementation.
In the realm of contract management, engaging various internal business partners is crucial for effective system development and implementation. These partners each bring unique skills and insights that enhance the contract management process.
Key Roles of Internal Business Partners
- Legal Team
The legal team plays a critical role, providing their expertise to ensure contracts are legally sound and enforceable. They consist of various members such as attorneys, paralegals, and administrative support who collaborate to draft, review, and maintain contracts. - Audit Team
Auditors are essential in scrutinizing contracts to identify and mitigate any potential risks. They establish checks and balances, ensuring that all contractual obligations are met and aligning the contracts with corporate governance policies. - Compliance Team
This team ensures adherence to both industry-specific regulations and internal company standards. They monitor agreements to confirm that all regulatory requirements are met, thereby minimizing legal liabilities. - Sales Team
Those in sales need a thorough understanding of contract terms to effectively negotiate and offer products or services. Their role is pivotal in conveying contract stipulations clearly to potential clients, which aids in closing deals efficiently. - Procurement Team
The procurement team is involved in contract management when acquiring goods or services for the company. Their access to the contract management system assures that purchases align with current contract terms, warranties, and conditions, which streamlines the procurement process.
Each team's involvement not only fortifies the contract management system but also ensures that the contracts serve the best interests of the company by aligning with strategic goals.
When aiming for a successful contract management implementation, it’s crucial to involve several key internal teams right from the start. Early engagement fosters commitment and ensures efficient system development and deployment.
Key Teams to Involve:
- Legal Department: This team includes partners, associates, paralegals, and support staff. Their expertise is vital in drafting, reviewing, and ensuring the legality of contracts.
- Audit Team: Tasked with scrutinizing contracts to minimize risk, the audit team provides essential checks and balances, safeguarding your business’s interests.
- Compliance Division: This team ensures that all contracts adhere to laws and company policies, helping your organization maintain regulatory and ethical standards.
- Sales Force: Sales professionals need a thorough understanding of contract terms to effectively market and sell products or services, making their involvement indispensable.
- Procurement Team: Responsible for acquiring goods and services, this team needs seamless access to the contract management system to negotiate and finalize purchase agreements.
Involving these teams ensures a comprehensive approach to contract management, fostering an environment where every stakeholder understands and contributes to the system’s success.
How Can Senior Leadership Support the Implementation of a Contract Management System?
Senior leadership plays a pivotal role in successfully implementing a robust contract management system. Their influence and authority can effectively streamline processes and ensure sustained benefits. Here's how they can provide indispensable support:
- Communicate the Significance:Leaders should clearly convey the critical role of an efficient contract management system (CMS) across the organization. By doing so, they can align all stakeholders on the benefits and importance, fostering a unified approach to adoption.
- Establish Clear Objectives:Set defined goals that align with the overall strategy, financial health, compliance expectations, and performance metrics of the organization. These objectives act as benchmarks for evaluating the effectiveness of the CMS.
- Lead Organizational Transformation:Leadership should spearhead the transformation by advocating for necessary changes. This might include process modifications and cultural shifts that are instrumental in building a streamlined CMS.
- Empower and Guide Stakeholders:Equip stakeholders with the necessary tools and knowledge to integrate the CMS effectively. Leadership should guide them through each phase, addressing challenges and fostering a supportive environment.
- Allocate Essential Resources:Ensure that adequate resources—whether in terms of budget, personnel, or technology—are available for system implementation. This support is vital in overcoming barriers and maintaining momentum throughout the process.
- Enhance Corporate Strategies and Policies:Regularly evaluate and refine existing corporate strategies, policies, and practices to support a top-tier CMS. Leadership’s commitment to continual improvement ensures the organization remains at the forefront of contract management best practices.
By taking these steps, senior leaders not only facilitate the implementation process but also lay the groundwork for an effective and sustainable contract management environment.
Engaging internal business partners in the contract management process is crucial for several reasons. First and foremost, involving your colleagues from the outset fosters a sense of ownership and commitment to the project. When they feel like active participants, they are more likely to support and advocate for the system, ensuring a smoother rollout and greater acceptance across the organization.
Moreover, internal partners possess valuable insights and unique perspectives that can enhance the development and implementation of a contract management system (CMS). By collaborating with them, you can tap into their expertise and tailor the system to meet the specific needs and challenges of different departments.
Additionally, early involvement helps identify potential roadblocks or concerns before they become major issues. This proactive approach allows for a more strategic and efficient resolution, saving time and resources in the long run.
Benefits of Internal Engagement
- Increased Buy-In: Engaged partners are more likely to support and promote the CMS internally.
- Enhanced Customization: Draw on diverse insights to tailor the CMS to fit departmental needs.
- Proactive Problem Solving: Identify and address issues early on.
In summary, engaging your internal business partners ensures that the contract management process is collaborative, informed, and ultimately more successful.
Why Is Senior Leadership Sponsorship Crucial for Implementing a Contract Management Process?
Implementing a robust contract management process can be transformative for an organization. However, this transformation often requires changes that reach across various departments, altering roles, processes, and even the company’s culture. That's why garnering sponsorship from senior leadership is vital. Here's how they contribute to the success of such an initiative:
- Communicating Vision and Importance: Senior leaders are trusted voices within an organization. They play a crucial role in highlighting the significance of an effective contract management process. By doing so, they can ensure that every stakeholder, from middle management to entry-level employees, understands the value and purpose behind the changes.
- Setting Clear Objectives and Expectations: Senior leadership can provide the strategic direction necessary for a successful implementation. They establish targets related to strategy, financial outcomes, and compliance needs, creating a framework within which the process operates.
- Driving Organizational Change: Successful adoption often requires shifts in organizational structures and processes. Leadership champions these changes, making it easier to dismantle resistance and foster a culture that embraces new methodologies and systems.
- Guiding Stakeholder Engagement: Leaders have the authority to mobilize teams across the company. By directing various stakeholders to engage proactively with the new contract management process, they ensure comprehensive and unified support.
- Resource Allocation: Effective implementation needs resources—financial, human, and technological. Senior leadership is pivotal in securing the necessary funding, appointing the right personnel, and equipping the organization with the appropriate technology to support the new system.
- Enhancing Corporate Strategies and Practices: Leaders are in a position to integrate best practices across functions, thereby enhancing the organization's overall strategy. They can drive improvements in policies and procedures, aligning them with top-tier contract management capabilities.
In essence, senior leadership serves as both the catalyst and the backbone for implementing a successful contract management process. Their involvement is key to ensuring that the initiative aligns with the company’s goals and achieves sustainable success.
Additional Resources for Contract Management Insights
If you're seeking further insights into contract management systems, consider exploring a variety of expert-recommended resources and practical strategies.
Key Strategies for Implementation
To successfully develop and implement a contract management system, focus on these essential elements:
- Framework Development: Establish a clear structure for managing contracts effectively.
- Best Practices: Incorporate industry standards to streamline processes.
- Technology Integration: Leverage tools that enhance contract lifecycle management (CLM).
For additional best practices, consider reading insightful white papers or requesting demos of leading CLM solutions. These resources offer practical examples and case studies that illuminate successful implementations.
References
For more in-depth knowledge, consult the following reputable sources:
- Gartner - Contract Lifecycle Management CLM
- Harvard University - Contract Management
- IACCM - International Association of Commercial Contract Management
- Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply
- University of Southampton – Contract Management
- Lahti University – Contract Management
- Universiteit Twente
These institutions provide a wealth of information, from academic research to professional guidelines, that can deepen your understanding of contract management.
