Contract management is often dismissed as the mundane task of processing paperwork after the big deal has been landed. The wonderful sales team fought aggressively in the trenches against fierce competition and brought home the business. Deals are celebrated, achievements recognized, bonuses awarded, and then everyone’s attention moves on to the next quarter.
For those responsible for contract management, the task is anything but mundane. Anything less than complete accuracy in all elements of contract creation, review, approval, implementation and (hopefully) renewal, could cost the company dearly in terms of fines for non-performance and even non-compliance. The larger the deal, the greater the risk to both corporate finances and to the company’s reputation. Here are the four areas of greatest risk:
- Lack of Structured Workflow
Landing the deal should initiate an established and clearly defined workflow process. Everyone should now what is expected of him or her, and should make sure that the contract creation process is prompt and accurate. If, on the other hand, the big deal throws your department into crisis mode because you haven’t had to deal with one in a while, you may be at considerable risk of error.
- Lack of Version Control
There should only be one approved version of the contract at all stages of the process. If multiple copies are distributed in multiple emails in a misguided attempt to save time, that one version will quickly be lost in a swamp of confusion and verification that will probably end-up taking much more time than you could have ever saved with the scatter-gun approach.
- Lack of Secure Central Document Storage
Even the most committed contract management employees can do unintended damage to the creation and management processes by sharing copies of the contract to help a colleague complete a past-due task. If your document storage only extends as far as a shared drive, there’s nothing to prevent every eager employee from accessing the data in the interests of getting the project completed on time.
- Lack of Accountability
The adrenaline rush of everyone firefighting an office crisis can become quite addictive. The sense of achievement of everyone pulling together against all odds can suddenly make firefighting the standard operating procedure (SOP) for your department. However, if critical information is allowed to fall through the cracks, who is accountable? If the project was pulled together with “all hands on deck,” which hands are responsible when something goes wrong and the company is suddenly facing liability issues?
Our comprehensive Contract Management Software solution can help you to minimize these risks and give you back control of your processes. Leveraging one secure SharePoint portal with two separate sites for contract creation and contract management ensures tight version control and lets you manage every element of contract workflow from creation to management and ongoing renewal. Utilizing Microsoft Active Directory, you can assign and restrict access to key personnel, and our real-time dashboard with automated notification capabilities ensures that no one falls behind in delivery of their assigned tasks.
If these four risks seem a little too familiar, request a free, no-obligation demonstration and let us show you how to leverage the full potential of proactive contract management.
If you are ready to reduce risk in your contract management solution, learn more about ConvergePoint’s Compliance Management Software now available on SharePoint, in the cloud as Software-as-a-Service and on Office 365.