9 Must-Have Features in Contract Management Software

Written by Timothy Ware

There are so many contract management software options out there on the market today. It can be hard to figure out which one is best. It’s even more difficult to figure out which one is best for your company.

That’s because there isn’t currently one “best” contract management software available on the market. Each one comes with different features, not to mention pricing strategies, so finding contract management that meets your needs and budget can be daunting.

In this article, we share the must-have features in contract management software.

We’ve recently released an article about electronic contract repositories that answers any questions you may have about them.

To see firsthand how SignTime can help with contract lifecycle management, sign up for a free trial today.

What is contract management software?

Contract management software (CMS) helps companies manage the entire contracting process online. It is sometimes called contract lifecycle management (CLM) because it guides companies through each step of the contract lifecycle.

While most people have experienced e-signing something, contract management software offers many other essential features. These features help draft, send, and sign contracts, as well as store, find, and renew them thereafter.

Here are the essential features of any contract management software.

Free trial

This might be cheating, as it isn’t a feature of the platform itself, but free trials are essential for contract management software solutions. Since every business is different, with different needs and budgets, it’s necessary to be able to test out contract lifecycle management software before buying it.

To see firsthand how SignTime can help with electronic contract management, sign up for a free trial today.

Searchable and secure contract repository

Once contracts are signed, they need to be stored securely. A contract repository is a safe place to store contracts in the cloud. However, especially for big companies, the number of contracts stored in the repository can quickly get to a point where it is hard to find the document you need.

That’s why contract management software needs an advanced search system. SignTime offers a metadata tagging system. Every document can be tagged with multiple characteristics so that files can be found quickly.

Here are some of the tags commonly used by SignTime customers:

• Names
• Contract type
• Year the contract was signed
• The year contract is up for renewal

You can contrast this with a traditional filing cabinet which can only be sorted by a single characteristic. Additionally, SignTime allows you to digitize all of your old paper contracts, saving you even more space, money, and time.

Notifications and reporting

Contract management software should tell you when a document is signed or when it needs to be renewed. Furthermore, advanced reporting dashboards can tell you where all of your documents are in the contract lifecycle.

Multiple users and roles

Large companies have many staff members who use electronic contracts. This requires contract management software to allow multiple users to log into the platform. However, it also leads to security risks.

Salespeople, HR, and your CFO will all use contracts, but they don’t all need access to the same files and features. SignTime allows you to assign different roles to different team members so they only have access to the features and files they need.

Contract to template and drafting

While every contract needs to be customized to the particulars of a deal, much of the contents are the same. Templates are a great way to save time when dealing with common contracts. Instead of uploading similar contracts for each agreement, you can reuse the same documents.

Then, you can use custom drafting tools to finalize the documents. SignTime allows you to add easy-to-use fields, including names, signatures, and dates. That way your clients can easily e-sign documents on their mobile devices.

Mass send

The ability to send the same document to hundreds of people is another major time saver. For example, HR may require a new NDA to be signed by all employees. With the click of a button, all employees receive their new contract using SignTime’s mass send function.

Then, you can track who has signed the contract and when on your reporting dashboard. You can even send automated follow-up emails to remind people who have not yet signed their new contract.

Multiple e-signature styles

As e-signatures become ubiquitous, some people still want the personalization of their own custom e-signature. Others just want to get the e-signing finished to move onto other tasks.

To match all of these user personas, your contract management software should allow multiple options. SignTime will create an e-signature of your name or give you the opportunity to create your own e-signature with patented technology that has the feel of signing on paper.

Smartphone capabilities

One of the greatest advantages of moving your contracting processes online is that you can e-sign and return documents from anywhere. SignTime sends an email to signatories with a link to securely e-sign documents.

This link works on laptops or mobile phones, which means parties can e-sign documents from anywhere, at any time, and on any device. This gives your clients a better user experience.

Great UX/UI (user experience/user interface)

Speaking of a better user experience, the UX/UI is an often overlooked but integral part of any software platform. While many people do not consider the UX/UI when procuring new software solutions, the reality is that it is necessary to get the most value out of software.

SignTime focuses on usability as it expands its feature offerings. The goal is for everyone inside or outside of your organization to be able to figure everything out without any training.

The single biggest predictor of whether a software adds value to your business is whether you find it easy—and enjoyable—to use.

SignTime is the best contract management software

Contract management software (CMS) goes beyond e-signatures. For businesses, it’s important for your CMS to save you time from drafting all the way to finding and storing contracts.

SignTime offers time-saving functions for each stage of the contract lifecycle.