Contract management requires a number of different steps to be taken in order to remain effective. These steps range from the very beginning, when comprehensive processing systems for every company agreement must be designed, all the way through the very end when contracts must be finalized and signed.
It is essential to have a comprehensive grasp of what happens at each level in order to achieve the most outstanding results possible from your contract management processes. The following is a rundown of the essential steps in handling contracts.
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Planning Phase
Developing a system tailored to your company’s needs and resources is essential before implementing a process. It’s also critical to build contract management methods that can be used across the board in order to keep things simplified and structured.
It’s essential to have a flexible plan for managing your company’s contracts, including everything from typical employee contracts to the documentation associated with particularly intricate business arrangements. Prior to designing a strategy, you must first identify your objectives. Knowing the remaining steps of contract management will aid in developing your workflows.
Implementation Phase
After you have specified the procedures for the management of your contracts, you are obligated to put your plan into effect. A contract management system can be implemented to assist with the execution of contract-related tasks, and contracts can be moved to a central repository.
As part of your implementation strategy, you must ensure that everybody participating in contract management knows your goals and purpose and is comfortable utilizing the technologies they will be using.
Pre-Contract Phase
Now that your basis for contract management is in place, you can initiate new contracts. This entails the creation of new contracts or the implementation of contract templates. This phase of contract management entails the creation of a document that satisfies your needs and minimizes hazards.
This step may involve identifying the appropriate contract type, inputting the pertinent information, and making adjustments. Complicated contracts may necessitate a new document. Forming a contract from the beginning is simplified by adopting clauses from existing contracts. Compliance duties and branding standards should not be forgotten. After establishing a contract and agreeing to its terms, e-signatures help keep things moving forward.
Handover Stage
Those who negotiate the terms of a contract are not often the same people who participate in carrying out the terms of that contract, particularly in huge corporations. As a consequence of this, a smooth handover is necessary for the effective execution of the contract. Instead of assuming that stakeholders have what they require, spend some time looking through the contents of the contract and reviewing the roles, responsibilities, and milestones.
Contract stage
If you’ve done an excellent job managing them up until this point, all of the goals you set for your contracts will be realized when you reach this stage. The work on managing contracts that you’ve done up to now is, to a considerable extent, preparing you for exactly this result.
It is essential to keep a close eye on the terms of your contract while you are in the process of negotiating it, and it is also essential to check in on things on a regular basis to ensure that everything is proceeding in accordance with the plan. When you have a plan in place, you will be able to determine whether or not everything is proceeding according to the plan, as well as whether or not there are any problems that need to be addressed before they spiral out of control.
Pre-renewal stage
Contracts are not able to withstand the passage of time. There are many other methods in which your agreements can reach their conclusions, such as one-time agreements that expire on their own, contract renewals, or contract terminations.
It’s critical to begin thinking about the conclusion of your contract in a proactive and timely manner because there are often clauses – and even penalties or default actions, should you fail to do anything – that can alter the outcome.
Based on how well the contract worked out for you, you should evaluate whether you want to extend it or make changes. Wait until you have had sufficient time to collect all of the relevant information before making any choices.
Post-contract stage
Even after the terms of a contract have run their course, there is still work to be done in order to guarantee that everything has been satisfactorily resolved. This procedure of terminating your contract entails a number of steps, including archiving your agreement, issuing or paying any outstanding bills, and satisfying any termination obligations that may remain. Conducting a postmortem on a contract can result in a number of benefits, including the acquisition of knowledge that can be applied to the improvement of future contracts.