Contract creation is very important for businesses of all sizes. Organizations have contracts dispersed among various business entities. Contract creation and drafting software can be a powerful tool to assist in the lifecycle of contract management. Contracts, in general, represent the obligations and rights to be delivered to a person, party, or entity over time, once the contract has been executed.

Why Is It Important to Manage Contracts?

It is important for organizations to manage these contracts to make sure deadlines are met and to ensure compliance and reporting. The traditional process of creating and drafting a contract can take a considerable amount of time from start to finish. The drafting process involves making sure the contract performs its intended purpose by including multiple features, such as terms, conditions and limitations, execution, and signing.

The time alone in manually drafting contracts can be inefficient and the process unreliable. It involves a considerable amount of copying and pasting. To ensure no costly mistakes are made, it's often necessary to proofread multiple times.

Various Types of Contract Creation Software

  • Concord
  • ContractSafe
  • Agiloft
  • Conga Contracts
  • Contract Logix

How Can You Properly Manage Contracts?

No doubt, securing contracts are critical to the success of many businesses. Chances are that your organization has created various templates for drafting contracts using Microsoft Word, which seems to be the weapon of choice. These contracts are used by different departments throughout your organization, with each one created to ensure legal compliance. Even for organizations that use Word and other software tools, the benefits of using automated contract creation and drafting software are significant.

Is Word Good for Contract Creation and Contract Management?

While Word might be excellent software for editing text, it has its shortcomings. Security of your organization's sensitive information should be of utmost importance. Once contracts are sent out among various departments, the risk and potential business losses increase considerably. The contracts, which contain time-sensitive data and critical information, can be at risk of being misplaced or altered.

What Does New Contract Creation Software Offer?

While contract creation and drafting software, also referred to as document automation or document assembly, have been around for a long time, there have been significant improvements. Older, outdated software required expertise and an in-depth knowledge of internet technology to set up and maintain. In addition, programming skills and frequent local updates were often required. With the expenses involved, it made more sense for organizations to develop a contract management system using a Word template.

Fortunately, the software available today is much different and is winning the hearts of many business owners. From ease-of-use to very little maintenance requirements, organizations are protected in multiple ways.

Why Should a Business Invest in Contract Creation and Contract Management Software?

Contract creation and drafting software makes missing files a thing of the past and allows your organization to keep track of the status and requirements of each contract. This reduces the risk you face as an organization. Worthy software systems include tools that allow you to search contracts to determine expiration dates. It also enhances relationship management and provides optimal negotiation leverage.

Choosing the right software can be overwhelming when evaluating all the options available. A good rule of thumb is to avoid investing in software that requires extensive training. In addition to a user-friendly interface, software worth investing in will provide cloud-based solutions.

What Are the Benefits of Cloud-Based Solutions?

Cloud-based solutions reduce your internal IT management and support times. They also ensure updates to templates are completed automatically, ensuring your organization is using the latest version of its documents and contracts. The cloud allows the organization and various departments to have easy access to the desired information securely over the internet.

There is no one-size-fits-all contract creation and draft software solution. Many things have to be considered when choosing a software that is best at mitigating or minimizing contractual risks throughout your organization. It is easy to get lost in the noise and ultimately end up with a software program that does not meet your organization's needs. When looking for suitable software, make sure it is easy to use. Most importantly, make sure the software can scale and adapt to your organization as its needs change.

If you need help with contract creation, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.