Electronic Contract Repository Management in 2022

Traditional contract management is slow and expensive. Getting everyone in the room to sign a contract is hard enough when everyone works in the same city. It’s nearly impossible for international deals. That’s why electronic contract repository management has become so popular.

In this article, we go through everything you need to know about electronic contract repository management. That way, every stage of the contract lifecycle will go smoothly.

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), sometimes called contract lifecycle management (CLM), helps companies manage the entire contracting process online, from conception to storage and consultation.

When people think about CMS, the first feature that comes to mind is usually e-signing. That’s because e-signatures have become a common customer-facing option. However, for businesses, this is only one of the essential features for CMS.

The most important function in a solid CMS is the electronic contract repository. When a company executes many contracts, they are all in different stages of the contract lifecycle, and the terms are customized for each party, contract management becomes difficult.

The best way to solve this is through the use of a electronic contract repository management solution.

What is a electronic contract repository?

A electronic contract repository is a place to store all of your contracts in the cloud. Think of it as a digital filing cabinet, but of course it offers functions that can’t be found in the physical world.

For example, a physical cabinet can only file documents under a single system, for example date, name, or file type. However, SignTime’s innovative tagging function means you can attach all of those meta descriptions and more to pull up any specific file you might need in seconds.

How to find the ideal contract repository management software

Every business is different. They have different needs for their contract management software. That’s not the only thing that differs from one company to the next.

Here are just some of the ways that companies judge contract management software:

• Price
• Number of contract sends included
• Additional features (check out SignTime’s features!)
• The UX/UI

Ultimately, the best way to find contract management software that meets the needs of your business is to find one that offers a free trial. That way you can confirm that it meets your needs, your staff like using the platform, and you are getting value from the contract repository management service.

To see why SignTime is the ideal contract repository management software, sign up for a free trial today.

The advantages of a electronic contract repository

Moving your contracts to the cloud will benefit your business in many ways. Here are just some of the advantages of a electronic contract repository management system.

1. Better organization

SignTime offers a contract tagging system so you can add multiple metadata tags to each document. That way you can find any contract in a few minutes. Here are some of the common tags added to documents:

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

2. Contract drafting and templating

It is common for the specifics of a contract to change from client to client. However, much of the contract usually remains the same. SignTime saves you time with convenient templating features.

Simply upload your most used contract templates and then reuse them. In addition, you can add different fields to templates right in the platform, such as name, date, and signature fields.

3. Simple UX/UI

While the UX/UI is often an afterthought when procuring new software, the reality is that it is fundamental to the value proposition. If you can’t use or don’t like to use a platform, then it won’t be integrated into your work processes.

Since your clients also need to use the platform to e-sign contracts, a bad user experience for you is then passed on to your customers as well.

Having a simple UX/UI means everyone on your team, as well as your customers, will get the maximum value out of the contract repository software.

4. Enhanced security

Traditional filing cabinets have many security issues. Fires, floods, and robberies all put your paper documents at risk. However, long-standing risks are internalized differently, and people don’t think about them until something happens.

When migrating to the cloud, there are novel risks involved. They are top of mind for you and your clients. That’s why the security measures of your contract repository management system need to be top-notch.

SignTime brings many advanced security features to keep your documents safe. You can even have signatories upload supporting documents to prove they are who they say they are.

5. Time saving

If your contract management software isn’t saving your money, then what is the point? Yes, there are other advantages to digitizing your contract management processes, but the big one is time saving.

This can be broken down into two different time savings:

1. Less labor intensive
2. Faster contract execution

Less labor intensive

A electronic contract repository management solution can save you time during the entire contract lifecycle. Templating and drafting functions speed up the writing of contracts.

Mass sending means you can send the same contract to hundreds of people at once. For example, a new employee contract could be sent to your entire workforce at once using SignTime.

The tagging function also saves you time when looking for executed contracts. You can even find all the contracts coming up for renewal to reduce your customer churn.

Faster contract execution

Giving clients the option to e-sign documents using their smartphone, even during a sales call, is a great way to close deals faster. It’s also easier to revise electronic contracts during negotiations so you aren’t waiting weeks for approval of small changes.

Electronic contract repository management is the future

Say goodbye to paper contracts and large filing cabinets taking up space in your office. It’s now possible to draft, sign, and store contracts digitally.

SignTime is here to help you during the entire contract lifecycle with all of the functions you need for a fast, easy, and smooth contracting experience.