Contract Management – 3 Ways to Speed Up Contract Approvals

Creating and managing contracts requires a coordinated team of individuals to funnel each document through every phase. Depending on your timeline, your team may spend months organizing every party, negotiating any terms, and finally approving the contract. The contract approval process can seem to take forever considering all of the edits and reviews planned for each document. The time lost during this critical phase is amplified if you’re spending too much time constantly locating the right parties to sign off on each contract, along with the possibility of documents slipping through the cracks when using email or other inefficient communication channels. 

Approving your contracts can almost seem like an aftermost when so much time and resources are spent on the creation and management phases. Not to be overlooked, the contract approval process requires legal departments and compliance teams to routinely stay on top of it to reduce downtime and avoid logistical complications. 

Since contracts operate on tight deadlines, the approval process should match. Considering the numerous steps involved in creating and managing contracts, the approval process cannot afford to be a bump in the road and slow down the entire operation.  

What is the Contract Approval Process?

The contract approval process is the set of steps a company follows to review and approve a contract before it’s signed. It confirms that all the necessary departments like legal, finance, and management have reviewed the contract’s terms and agreed on the details. 

This process helps protect your business by making sure contracts are compliant with company policies and legal requirements. Typically, it involves drafting the contract, reviewing for any risks or errors, negotiating terms, and getting the final approval from the appropriate decision-makers. 

 Using contract lifecycle management (CLM) software makes this process easier to manage by organizing each step in one place. This can help reduce delays and ensure that contracts move through the approval process smoothly and efficiently. 

Read Related Article: 6 Ways an Ineffective Contract Renewal Process Hurts Your ROI

Why is it Important to Define the Approval Process for a Contract?

Defining the approval process for a contract is crucial because it provides a roadmap for how contracts should move through the organization. Without a clear process, contracts can easily be delayed, leading to delays or missed deadlines. Having an defined approval structure also ensures accountability, as every team involved knows their responsibilities and the steps they need to follow. 

When the approval process is well-documented, businesses can catch potential issues such as compliance gaps or unclear terms before they become costly problems. It also ensures that every stakeholder has had their input, making the contract stronger and less likely to face disputes or renegotiations later. 

Incorporating CLM software into the approval process allows businesses to create a consistent, streamlined workflow that keeps everyone on track. It also allows real-time tracking and alerts, so nothing is overlooked, and the contract can progress without bottlenecks. Defining this process not only ensures smoother operations but also strengthens the contract’s enforceability and success. 

How to simplify the contract approval process?

Making the contract approval process more efficient is essential for minimizing delays and ensuring smooth operations. The first step is to establish a standardized workflow that clearly outlines each phase of the approval process. This means defining who is responsible for reviewing the contract, what approvals are needed, and ensuring everyone involved is aware of their roles. Setting clear deadlines for each stage helps prevent bottlenecks and keeps the process moving forward.  

Another key aspect is leveraging technology to automate repetitive tasks, such as sending notifications or tracking contract progress. Automation not only saves time but also reduces the risk of human error. Centralizing all contract documents in one easily accessible location also helps by eliminating the back-and-forth search for information.  

Finally, reviewing the process regularly ensures that any issues are quickly identified and resolved, allowing for continuous improvement. 

Top 3 best ways to speed up contract approval process:

Now that we’ve discussed simplifying the approval process, let's explore the top three effective strategies to speed up contract approvals even further.

1. Find the Best Communication Channel 

The more people are involved in the contract approval process, the harder it will be to sign off on a document. When creating and managing contracts, many businesses rely on outdated communication channels. While email is the standard form of communication for most business processes, it bogs down the contract creation, management and approval stages. Documents and drafts are easily lost and misplaced in emails, creating a world of problems when need to identify which is the most updated version. For some businesses, an automated contract management tool keeps all contracts in one location, helping speed up the contract approval process. Using an automated contract management software solution can centralize all contracts in one location, eliminating communication delays and speeding up the approval process.   

2. Locate Potential Cracks and Pitfalls 

Streamlining the contract approval process involves identifying potential problem areas that can impede speedy operation. The approval process of any document features a large number of steps to take into account. It can be very easy for a substantial amount of revisions or verbiage to bottleneck during the approval process. Whether numerous drafts are handed off to a single entity or a few parties are difficult to locate to approve the document, these bottlenecks can severely hamper the approval process and create logistical headaches. Contract management software helps identify these roadblocks early, ensuring the approval process remains efficient and minimizing any unnecessary delays. 

Related Article: Avoid these Common Contract Management Pitfalls to Improve Efficiency & Reduce Risk 

3. Get the Right People at the Right Stage 

Involving the right parties in the contract approval process at the appropriate time is essential.  The contract lifecycle management software simplifies document collaboration by automatically tracking changes and feedback from all relevant parties. This improves version control, ensuring that every approver has access to the latest draft. Centralizing documents within a single platform like Microsoft SharePoint enables prompt access for all stakeholders, speeding up the review and approval process while reducing the risk of missing revisions. 

ConvergePoint: The Smarter Way to Facilitate Contract Approvals

No longer is the contract approval process slowed down by faulty version control or documents being out of place. Your contract shouldn’t have to wait on your processes to catch up, and ConvergePoint’s Contract Management Software and Office 365 Add-In help you get there.  

Our contract management solutions implement compliance industry best practices to speed up your organizational contract processes and funnel your documents through our creation and management modules. Legal departments and contract managers can now efficiently manage their entire contract lifecycle on an intuitive platform built specifically for their needs. 

If you’re interested in trying out ConvergePoint, request a demo today. Give our features a try, and you will see how you can reduce your contract processing time by 80%.  

You’ll also be able to work with our dedicated deployment team, who will help you make the most out of your ConvergePoint, experience.