Contracts are living documents, and like other living things, they have a life cycle. From initial drafting and negotiation to execution, compliance, and renewal, contracts go through multiple stages that require careful management. Without a structured system, tracking obligations, deadlines, and revisions can become chaotic.
But not every business manages their contracts effectively. Outdated techniques like keeping a filing cabinet stuffed full of contract iterations need to go the way of the dodo and the dinosaur; they simply can’t compete with modern CLM solutions. If your business wants to maintain its contracts effectively, you need CLM software that can do it all. These key features will help you find the right CLM solution for your business.
Contract Authoring
The contract lifecycle begins with authoring, so your CLM solution should support your contracts from the very beginning. Pre-built templates and clause libraries ensure consistency and speed up drafting, bringing you to implementation quickly and accurately. Integration with word processing software and apps allows seamless editing, and customizable contract fields let the solution adapt to your specific business needs. No matter what field your business is in, efficient contract authoring is the backbone of your organization’s performance.
Generative AI Integration
Generative AI is the secret weapon behind the best CLM solutions. They dramatically increase efficiency and reduce manual effort throughout the contract lifecycle. AI-powered tools can automatically draft contracts, suggest optimized clauses based on past agreements, and highlight potential risks, streamlining the process and freeing up your employees to do what they’re best at, like negotiation. Advanced AI capabilities also improve contract review by identifying inconsistencies and ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory standards. They can pick up on errors quickly and parse your company’s past contracts to see where your company’s specific needs lie. AI integration makes contract management faster, smarter, and more accurate. Business today moves at lightning speed, and AI-driven insights and automation are essential for staying ahead.
Automated Workflows and Approvals
It doesn’t matter how fast a contract is authored if your approvals process takes forever– and contract approvals can take an incredible amount of time if they have to be done manually. The right CLM solution takes care of that for you with automated workflows and approvals that make time-consuming bottlenecks a thing of the past. A CLM solution with built-in automation ensures that contracts move through review, negotiation, and approval processes without unnecessary delays. Customizable approval routing allows contracts to be automatically sent to the right stakeholders based on predefined rules, reducing the risk of missed steps or manual errors. The best solutions even eliminate contract stalls through real-time notifications and status tracking to keep teams informed. By reducing administrative overhead and accelerating turnaround times, automated workflows help your business close deals faster and make everybody’s jobs easier.
Scalability
Scalability is a key consideration when choosing a CLM solution, ensuring that the software can grow alongside your business. As contract volumes increase and business operations expand, your CLM system should be able to handle more users, larger datasets, and more complex workflows without slowing down. A scalable solution offers flexible storage options, advanced automation capabilities, and integration with other enterprise systems like CRM, ERP, and procurement platforms to support evolving business needs.
Smart Contract Storage & Organization
You might assume that every CLM solution has the kind of organization you need to find contracts and language within them quickly. But without robust search features and efficient indexing, finding what you need the moment you need it is impossible– and can cause costly delays that interfere with getting work done. Effective contract storage and organization are essential for maintaining visibility and control over your agreements. A CLM solution with a centralized contract repository ensures that all documents are easily accessible, eliminating the risk of lost or misplaced files. Advanced search features, including metadata tagging and optical character recognition (OCR), allow you to quickly locate specific contracts or clauses. And don’t forget the importance of where your contracts are stored. Secure cloud storage protects sensitive information and lets you and all of your collaborators and teams work seamlessly, no matter where they are. With a well-organized CLM system in place, you can rest assured that every contract is exactly where you need it, when you need it.
Strong Security Measures
Did you know that 3 out of 4 US companies were at risk of a material cybersecurity breach in 2023 alone? And that number is on the rise. Your CLM solution must have impeccable security measures in place to protect your assets and remain in regulatory compliance with standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2. Your CLM solution should offer features like role-based access controls (RBAC) that restrict permissions to authorized users to prevent unauthorized changes or breaches. Advanced encryption safeguards contracts both in transit and at rest, while audit trails provide a clear record of every action taken within the system. Your data’s safety should be of the highest priority; do not compromise on security measures and ensure that your CLM solution effectively addresses risks and vulnerabilities.
Reporting and Contract Analytics
A good CLM solution is more than just a place to store contracts; it should contribute to their performance by providing data and insights about their performance. To effectively track how your contracts are functioning, a CLM solution should offer customizable dashboards that provide reports that give you the information you need. Not every industry– or even every contract– requires the same type of data reporting, so a dashboard and reports that you control and customize are important for creating access to the most important insights and analyses.
One of the most valuable aspects of contract analytics is Key Performance Indicator (KPI) tracking, which allows your business to measure contract efficiency, identify bottlenecks, and assess compliance risks. With KPI tracking, you don’t have to guess; you’ll get data-driven insights that create a clear understanding of how your contracts are functioning. This includes tracking metrics such as contract cycle time, renewal rates, and obligation fulfillment to provide a clear picture of how well contracts are being managed. When your CLM solution automatically analyzes trends and performance over time, it optimizes your entire contracting process. Instead of playing catch-up, your business can mitigate potential risks before they become costly issues and ensure that agreements are driving value rather than creating inefficiencies. Comprehensive reporting and analytics lets you move past basic contract management; it turns your contracts into strategic assets that support growth and operational success.
Customer Support
A CLM solution can meet all your needs and still leave your business lacking if you don’t get the support you need– especially during implementation. Reliable customer support ensures that your business can maximize its investment and maintain smooth contract operations. In addition to direct support, comprehensive training resources, including tutorials, webinars, and knowledge bases, help users get up to speed and make the most of the software’s capabilities. Whether addressing technical difficulties, assisting with software updates, or optimizing workflows, a responsive and knowledgeable support team ensures that your CLM solution continues to function efficiently and evolves with your business needs.
Here at Koho Consulting, we know what it takes to help you find and implement the right CLM solution for your business. Whether you’re looking for legal, sales, procurement, finance, or any other business need, we can help you find the solution that will keep your business functioning at its best. Contact us today to find out how the right CLM solution can optimize your contracting process!