Before and After Using a Contract Management Software

A contract management software can streamline various stages of the contract lifecycle, such as drafting, negotiation, approval, signing, storage, and retrieval. Before implementing such software, these tasks may require physical presence, manual coordination, or file cabinet searches. After implementation, the software can facilitate remote access, standardize templates, expedite negotiations, monitor agreement status, enable digital signatures, save documents on the cloud, and allow for smart search.

Manual Contract Processes vs. Automated Solutions

Before diving into the benefits of a contract management process, it’s important to understand the difference between manual and automated contract management. Many businesses still rely on traditional, manual methods to handle contracts, but these methods are often riddled with inefficiencies and risks.

Manual Contract Processes: Slow and Risky

In a manual contract management process, businesses rely on paper-based systems to create, sign, and store contracts. Contracts are often drafted from scratch, and exchanged over long email chains and multiple versions get passed around, leading to confusion and version control issues.

Signing contracts manually involves printing, scanning, and mailing documents, which can take days or even weeks, especially with remote signers. Important deadlines can be missed, and the chance of human error increases.

Once signed, contracts are stored in physical file cabinets or local folders, making it hard to find them when needed. This system wastes time and exposes businesses to risks like lost documents, missed deadlines, or legal issues.

Automated Contract Management: Fast and Efficient

Using an automated contract management process solves these problems. Contract management software centralises everything, from drafting to signing and storing, in one platform. You can use standardised templates to ensure consistency and real-time collaboration eliminates confusing email chains.

eSignature tools let you sign documents quickly from any device, making the process fast, secure, and legally binding. Once signed, contracts are stored in a cloud-based contract repository, where they are organised, searchable, and accessible from anywhere.

Businesses can cut down contract completion time and improve compliance by utilising automated solutions, which allows teams to focus on more valuable tasks like client relationships and negotiations.

Contract Drafting: Streamlining Template Creation and Version Control

Before CMS: Businesses rely on non-standardized terms and physical formats, leading to issues with contract drafting and version control. Different templates are used for various types of contracts, like NDAs or service agreements, and multiple versions get passed back and forth through emails, creating confusion and conflicting drafts.

After CMS: CMS allows users to create standardised contract templates, ensuring consistency in contract drafting and easy access to drafts within the platform. Version control features make it simple to manage templates, track changes, and access the most recent version, reducing confusion and saving time.

Contract Negotiation: Real-Time Collaboration on Contracts

Before CMS: Manual processes often require physical presence and email communication, resulting in delays and inefficiencies.

After CMS: With a contract negotiation software, you and your team can negotiate through real-time collaboration on a shared platform, reducing turnaround times. The software allows multiple parties to review and edit simultaneously, making negotiations more efficient.

Contract Approval: Speeding Up the Review and Approval Process

Before CMS: Getting approvals for contracts can be a slow process if you have to send emails or reminders manually. This back-and-forth wastes time and leads to overlooked steps or missed deadlines.

After CMS: The approval process is automated with a contract management software. The system sends notifications to the right people and they can approve or reject contracts with a single click. This speeds up the entire contract process, ensures that nothing is missed, and keeps everyone on track.

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Contract Signing: Faster Digital Approvals with E-Signature Tools

Before CMS: Businesses rely on manual signatures, which can slow down the process and introduce delays.

After CMS: E-signature tools allow contracts to be signed digitally on any device which speeds up the signing process and ensures legal compliance. With e-signature and digital signing capabilities, mobile contract signing becomes simple and efficient. Digital signing is secure, legally binding, and much faster than traditional methods. Plus, you can easily track the signing status so you’ll always know when a contract is fully executed.

Contract Storage: Centralising and Securing Contracts in the Cloud

Before CMS: Contracts are stored physically in file cabinets, making it difficult to manage and retrieve them.

After CMS: CMS provides cloud-based storage, allowing users to store, organise, and access contracts digitally which improves contract visibility and security. With cloud contract storage, contracts are securely stored in a digital contract repository, making contract organisation efficient and ensuring that contracts are easy to find yet well-protected.

Contract Retrieval: Finding Contracts Instantly with CMS

Before CMS: Retrieving contracts requires manual searches through file cabinets, resulting in inefficiencies and the risk of lost documents.

After CMS: CMS enables users to search and retrieve contracts in seconds using a contract retrieval software and a searchable contract repository, thus improving workflow efficiency. This saves time and ensures you can respond quickly when critical information is needed.

Lexagle’s CMS: Transforming Your Contract Management Process

Lexagle’s contract management process software makes handling contracts across different departments—like legal, sales, procurement, and HR—much easier. Instead of struggling with manual processes, you can use the platform to create contracts using ready-made templates that keep everything consistent and legally sound. 

Everyone involved can review and approve contracts in real-time, cutting down on back-and-forth emails and avoiding the confusion of multiple drafts. This speeds up the process so contracts get signed and finalised faster, allowing your team to focus on more important work.

What makes it even more convenient is that Lexagle transforms your contract management process by seamlessly integrating with the tools you're already using, like your CRM or cloud storage systems. Everything is stored securely in one place, making it easy to find and keeping sensitive information safe. You can track each contract’s progress, see who needs to sign or approve it and make sure deadlines aren’t missed. 

With Lexagle, your contract management becomes smoother, faster, and much more organised.

Why Your Business Needs CMS Today

Handling your contract management process manually can bog down your business with inefficiencies like lost documents, missed deadlines, and confusing email chains. Fortunately, the entire contract management software team process is automated—from drafting and negotiation to storage and retrieval—making everything faster and more secure. 

With features like eSignature tools, cloud storage, and real-time collaboration, a CMS like Lexagle empowers teams to handle contracts more efficiently, giving them more time to focus on critical tasks like client relationships and negotiations. You’ll save time, cut down on errors, and have everything at your fingertips—no more diving into old file cabinets. 

Let Lexagle cut through the paperwork so you can avoid the paper cuts. Book a demo today and make your contracts digital.