Category: Contract Lifecycle Management

5 Problems the Best Contract Management Solutions Can Solve for You

Posted on April 5, 2018 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management

In previous posts last year, we spoke about features you should be looking for in a premier contract management solution. We’d like to keep the momentum going on this topic by discussing some very common, and major problems that the best contract management solutions can solve for you.

Before we get to the problems, we’d like to make something clear: contracting is more complex than ever before, and this unfortunate trend is expected to continue. One reason is that standard, “universal” contracts are a thing of the past now as clients are demanding more personalized contracts. What’s needed is a simple and reliable process for getting new contracts into the system, approving those contracts and then managing and storing them. Business, legal, and even financial contract approvers should have access to one central location to collaborate and approve contracts as they move through the contract lifecycle process. Now, let’s have a look at the problems.

Problem #1: The contract management process is unnecessarily complex.

This is the 21st century and we need to press “delete” on this problem. The top contract management solutions allow you to easily collaborate with reviewers and departments directly. Email updates may be sent to contracts through an assigned unique email address, and email notifications will be configured for multiple events, including new contract requests, comments, tasks, updates and documents. The best solutions simplify the submission, review, approval and management of contracts in one easy-to-use tool. Team members should never have to search their inbox or hard drive for the latest version or keep an Excel spreadsheet to manage their contracts. And if your CM solution is part of a broader, more comprehensive enterprise legal management system, so much the better.

Problem #2: A decentralized and confusing repository.

A complete, centralized contract repository allows users to organize lifecycle information such as participants, documents, milestones, negotiations, status reports, key dates and provisions. Systematic categorization, clarity, versioning and easy storage of documents are some key benefits of such a repository. A single source for all sales collateral and other customer-facing content is a key element of the best CM solutions, as well as contract lifecycle management solutions.

Problem #3: The lack of visibility.

Centralizing your contracts allows visibility throughout their lifecycle. You can see a document’s history, including all previous versions and can create reports based on any data field in a personalized dashboard. Part of what exacerbates the speed vs. control dilemma for legal is a general lack of visibility into contract terms, obligations and value. If you can’t see it, you can’t control it. This becomes a major pain point because agreements outline the terms of the value exchanged. If you can’t ensure you are getting the right value for your deals, money is slipping through your company’s fingers.

Problem #4: Inflexible workflow.

The best solutions allow workflow to be configured relative to a contract type or matched to your unique business needs. It’s important to have a mechanism for managing changes over time. You need to be up-to-speed on renewal dates, pricing changes, emerging legal requirements and other events that will require you to speak to your customer/vendor specifically about your contractual relationship. Your ability to manage the contract, particularly changes over time and the renewal process, will have a direct impact on your customer retention rate.

Problem #5: Weak reporting and analytics.

Why would this even still be a problem today? A powerful, straightforward dashboard allows stakeholders to quickly view and analyze the department’s progress on contracts and certain bottlenecks that may appear. Powerful business analytics and reporting engines are additional hallmarks of the best solutions and are crucial in helping team members with their reporting, configuring notifications and other tasks.

These are the main problems we’ve noted over the years, but the list could go on and on. Choosing a provider that is always on top of their game is a sure-fire way to rest assured your money is well spent. By the way, it’s quite possible to purchase a contract administration solution, and also a separate contract review and approval solution. Better still, if you choose to use a contract lifecycle management solution, you’ll have the best of both worlds: a convenient combination of contract administration and contract review and approval all in one package.

Listen to Onit’s Podcast on Contract Lifecycle Management

Posted on December 19, 2017 by - Company News and Events, Contract Lifecycle Management

Onit is excited to announce the premiere of episode 2 of our new podcast series! In this episode, Reagan Haisler discusses Onit’s Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution. Starting with the unveiling of Onit’s new CLM solution at the ACC Annual Meeting in October, Reagan goes on to offer an overview of CLM. He also talks about what sets Onit apart from other CLM providers, as well as why automation is necessary to an organization. With the assurance that automation shouldn’t be a “scary” proposition at all, Reagan also reveals how a cutting-edge CLM solution allows knowledge workers to get about the business of doing what they do best – the “real” knowledge work.

Onit’s CLM solution simplifies the submission, review, approval and management of contracts in one easy to use tool. No longer will your reps have to search their inbox or hard drive for the latest version or keep an Excel spreadsheet to manage their contracts. This solution is a combination of our Contract Administration and ReviewAI & Approval solutions that captures the entire contract lifecycle from initiation through approval, compliance and renewals.

We have more podcasts coming your way soon, and we look forward to your joining us! Here is a link to podcast episode 2:  http://onitapps.libsyn.com/onit-podcast-episode-2-1

 

Six Features of the Best Contract Management Solutions

Posted on December 11, 2017 by - Contract Lifecycle Management

Contract management. If there are two words that can make you cringe, it has to be those two. But contract management is part of life, and it’s crucial that organizations have better visibility into where a contract is, how long it’s been there, and when it’s expected to be completed. That’s especially true now that financial reporting is required to improve contract compliance and enhance operational efficiency. Businesses that implement a transparent contract management process compress their time to revenue; mitigate risks by having fewer contractual exceptions, and increase customer satisfaction.

What’s needed is a simple and reliable process for getting new contracts into the system, approving those contracts and then managing and storing them. Business, legal, and even financial contract approvers have access to one central location to collaborate and approve contracts as they move through the contract lifecycle process. We’ve selected six features that we feel must be incorporated in the best solutions.

  1. Added Visibility – Centralizing your contracts allows visibility throughout their lifecycle. You can see a document’s history, including all previous versions and can create reports based on any data field in a personalized dashboard.
  2. Simplified Management – Easily collaborate with reviewers and departments directly. Email updates can also be sent to contracts through an assigned unique email address. Email notifications can be configured for multiple events, including new contract requests, comments, tasks, updates and documents
  3. E-sign Capabilities – Users can electronically sign contracts upon execution and manage them in one easy-to-use tool.
  4. Real-Time Contract Routing – Authorized users can make changes to the workflow and add approvers on the fly by simply clicking a button.
  5. Custom Intake Forms – Custom intake and data forms allow multiple contract types with the capability to support context sensitive data capture. Some contract types supported include NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, etc. Fields can be easily configured by contract type and reminders can be based on business rules.
  6. Flexible Workflow – Workflow can be configured relative to contract type or matched to your unique business needs.

It’s quite possible to purchase a contract administration solution, and also a separate contract review and approval solution. Better still, if you choose to use a contract lifecycle management solution, you’ll have the best of both worlds: a convenient combination of contract administration and contract review and approval all in one package. It’s time to get on board with the finest in contract management solutions, and allow your business to reach the level of success it deserves.

Five Must-Have Features of a Contract Lifecycle Management Solution

Posted on October 24, 2017 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management

Contracts directly impact your ability to meet sales goals and execute on corporate initiatives. But managing the lifecycle of a contract — from review to approval to execution to renewal — involves a lot of departments, and those departments often don’t have access to the same systems. Businesses that implement a transparent contract management process compress their time to revenue, mitigate risks by having fewer contractual exceptions, and increase customer satisfaction.

A contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution gives you complete control and visibility of your contracts, from review to approval to execution to renewal. The best CLM solutions simplify the submission, review, approval and management of contracts in one easy to use tool. No longer will your team members have to search their inbox or hard drive for the latest version or keep an Excel spreadsheet to manage their contracts.

Which features should you be looking for when considering various CLM solutions?

Five Must-Have Features of a Cutting-Edge Contract Lifecycle Management Solution

  1. Central Repository – A central location for all contract drafts, notes and communication is a must-have for a robust CLM system.
  2. Unified Intake Process – A simple intake form unifies the process and ensures the same process is followed each and every time. Depending on the drop down fields that are selected (i.e. contract value amount, location, etc.), workflow can be assigned to the appropriate team member or attorney for review.
  3. E-sign Capabilities – Users can electronically sign contracts and manage them in one easy-to-use tool.
  4. Usability – A tool is only good if your legal and business users “actually” use it. Having a user-friendly interface gives your team the information they need quickly and requires almost no training.
  5. Notifications – A comprehensive contract management system sends proactive alerts as the contract progresses through its lifecycle. This is critical as it can be configured to send alerts to all team members involved.

In the not-so-distant past, CLM may have been a major headache for everyone involved. On the bright side, the times have changed, and so should you. Start checking out the finest CLM solutions – the ones that will have your team thanking you for making their lives easier.

Six Features of Focused Contract Management Solutions

Posted on August 2, 2017 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management

Traditional “all-in-one” contract management software solutions can be astonishingly expensive, cumbersome, and don’t always work well in legal departments. User experience can be sub-par, and such a system is hard to change when it needs to support a new business initiative. Contract management should be visible to many areas of an organization, and that data should be both easy to find and logically stored. Legal needs to be able to work together with procurement, sales and others to function at full capacity. Additionally, the contract review process needs structure to avoid miscommunication and missed opportunities. Is your organization lacking in one of these areas?

What is needed are contract management solutions that are logically focused on particular aspects of contract management, such as contract lifecycle management, contract administration, or contract review and approval. In other words, you need a solution that is focused on yourparticular contract management needs. The best in breed of these solutions also allow you to expand the system as needed.

So what are six premium features that you should look for in a state-of-the-art, focused contract management solution? We’ve put together a quick-start list to help you move forward:

1. Quick Development Time

The best solutions are built to fill specific needs with great efficiency. It is easy to create, modify and deploy focused solutions with robust workflow, transaction management and reporting capabilities. These tools can be developed in as little as 30 minutes. They can be built as a business needs them, preventing costly delays. By building a new solution only when there is a need for it, the company saves money that would otherwise be wasted on solutions that just don’t work.

2. Rapid Deployment

While traditional contract management software has a lengthy deployment process that may take many months to complete, look for solutions that can be built and deployed in a few short weeks. The time to value provided by these solutions is unmatched, allowing greater agility by providing more immediate feedback.

3. Central repository

The ability to establish a searchable repository of all contracts, clauses and associated business information is critical. A single source for all sales collateral and other customer-facing content will make it easier for team members to find documents.

4. Usability

A simple, lightweight tool that only gives you the information you need and requires almost no training. It is intuitive and easy for anybody to use. Everyone will know exactly where contracts are in the process, who completed the last revision, what the next step is, etc. An iterative review process lets team members collaborate in a shared workspace.

5. Notifications

Notices can be easily configured to ensure compliance with notice provisions. The tool alerts the right people when required notices (e.g. price changes, renewal, or termination notices) are due, and ensures the highest level of visibility so you can manage to the most favorable terms.

6. Configurability

Modifications to the system can be made quickly without assistance from IT. By assessing the problem and building outward, organizations will not have to compromise existing initiatives to find value-building opportunities.

No matter the nature of your contract management problem, now is the time to be innovative. By assessing the problem and building outward, you won’t have to compromise existing initiatives to rescue your bottom line. If you already have a traditional contract management system in place, you can deploy focused solutions to fill the process and collaboration gaps. By implementing such cutting-edge solutions, an organization will free procurement, legal and sales to focus on adding value to the organization, as opposed to administrative tasks.

Top 10 Benefits of Using Premier NDA Management Tools

Posted on July 17, 2017 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management, Enterprise Legal Management

Unfortunately, many businesses have a never-ending struggle with managing NDAs. Collecting NDAs from all areas of business is just one example. Another is the challenge of following a single process for requesting NDAs – regardless of signer role. The list goes on endlessly, but you get the point.

Businesses need a tool that provides the ability to build custom components and execute NDAs tailored to different business needs for employees, vendors, contractors, and clients. The tool should also be human-centric and easy to use, allowing users to manage all NDAs in one secure place.

We’ve assembled a quick-start list of the top 10 benefits you should look for when in the market for a NDA management tool:

1. Self-Service

The best NDA management tools can generate an NDA for the requester using your standard terms. Where conditions warrant, the NDA will be escalated for legal review prior to delivery to the requester.

2. Policy Compliance

An NDA tool will make sure that your NDAs are being handled properly. When they need legal review, they will get reviewed. If they need executive approval, they will be approved. And most importantly the process is self-documenting and always auditable.

3. Variable Workflow

The workflow process can be altered, reviewed and approved by all the participants. New approvers can be quickly added without slowing down the process.

4. NDA Lifecycle

NDAs can be managed throughout their entire lifecycle, including renewal dates, termination notice periods and non-standard terms.

5. Electronic Signatures

The tool should support electronic signatures and integrations with all vendors such as EchoSign and DocuSign.

6. Faster Execution

Your NDA will be approved faster and you’ll have more visibility into the process. Cutting-edge NDA tools support the entire process – creation, approval, negotiation and final execution.

7. Warnings Notification

Clauses that need special attention in the NDA can be flagged in the tool. Users will see a warning when they open it for review.

8. Document Retention

All of your documents are stored in a central location so you can access any document at any time. The tool will notify all of the participants when a NDA is signed and automatically close the request.

9. Dashboard Views

Quickly see a snapshot view of the status of all NDA requests. Reporting and metrics gathering is easy within a special dashboard view.

10. Simple, Intuitive, Affordable

The finest NDA tools are also surprisingly affordable, intuitive, easy to use, and learn. There is virtually no training to get started.

True, NDAs used to be a major headache, but with the technology available now they no longer have to be. Stop wasting valuable time with manual processes and don’t be caught on the sidelines when it comes to properly managing your NDAs. Take the leap and look into streamlining your NDA management process once and for all – your team will thank you for it.

First Impressions Last a Long Time: Is it Time to Review Your Legal Service Request Process?

Posted on April 25, 2017 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management, Enterprise Legal Management

Requests for legal services are sometimes thrown at the legal department as a mix of emails, texts, phone calls, and informal conversations. Trying to sort through such an assortment of “requests” would prove daunting under any circumstance. And all of this before the “real” legal work even begins. Another problem is when a person or department needs legal assistance, but doesn’t know where in the organization to go, or the best way to initiate the request. This is where problems begin for the legal department.

Something else that is frequently forgotten is the importance of forming a good, old-fashioned relationship between the legal service requestor and the legal service provider. For legal matters, the intake process is where the relationship often begins.

“Usually, the intake process will represent the first working relationship you have with your new client. Therefore, it is important that you make a very good first impression. A good first impression could mean the difference between a satisfied client and a soon-to-be disgruntled client. Creating a good first impression applies both to the style and the substance of the client intake process.”

Download this new eBook to learn how a premier, user friendly legal service request (LSR) solution can streamline and optimize this process in your department.

Our new eBook offers the following insights:

  • The problem of using outdated or inappropriate legal service request processing tools
  • Current market trends concerning legal service requests
  • Best practices of managing legal service requests
  • A logical and powerful solution that can be quickly deployed
  • A company’s success story using Onit’s intuitive, agile and user friendly legal service request App

It’s time to let the legal department do what it does best – the “real” work of handling legal matters. And they can’t do this if they’re spending endless hours on day-to-day tasks that could be handled in seconds using an intelligent, self-service portal for legal service requests.

In our new eBook, Streamlining Legal Service Requests we explore the problems and headaches associated with processing legal service requests, the importance of allowing the legal department to focus on “real” legal work, and strategies to not only fix the problem but to supercharge your legal service request process.

1 https://practice.findlaw.com/how-to-start-a-law-firm/how-to-perform-solo-and-small-law-firm-client-intake.html

Avoid the “Black Hole” at All Costs: Revive Your Ailing Contract Management Process

Posted on March 1, 2017 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management

Contracts are the lifeblood of all business agreements – whether it’s buying or selling products, services or consulting agreements. As part of this process, someone must create a contract, negotiate the terms and ultimately store it where it can be accessed by other team members.

Unfortunately, most professionals do not adhere to a consistent process – which can lead to unnecessary company risk exposure and unenforced or unmet contract terms. While there are a variety of methods to manage contracts, companies of all sizes can benefit by centralizing their contract data and taking steps toward standardizing the way contracts are processed, approved and managed.

Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) is an integrated system that applies business rules to manage an enterprise’s contracts on a worldwide basis. A CLM system typically manages the request through the entire contract lifecycle, including negotiation, execution and storage in a central repository. CLM systems allow people within an organization to access, analyze and act on contract-related information to improve efficiency, consistency, reporting and control.

Our new white paper offers the following insights:

  • What a CLM system is
  • Key features of a CLM system
  • How to avoid the “black hole” where information is disorganized or lost
  • Benefits of implementing an efficient CLM system
  • How to solve problems instead of creating new ones
  • How enterprise solutions can be quickly developed and scaled to your business

Download our new white paper, Simple Contract Management to learn how to find a better, process-driven way to run and optimize your contract management process.

Dread Managing Legal Service Requests? Not Anymore.

Posted on February 17, 2017 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management, Enterprise Legal Management

In our new eBook, “Streamlining Legal Service Requests” we explore the problems and headaches associated with processing legal service requests (LSR), the importance of allowing the legal department to focus on “real” legal work, and strategies to not only fix the problem but to supercharge your LSR process.

Today’s legal departments are oftentimes inundated, and sometimes overwhelmed, with the myriad of issues that crop up daily. Legal service requests should be relatively simple affairs to handle, but in reality they are a frequent and major contributor to a legal department’s organizational chaos. Business partner requests for legal services are often tossed into the legal department sporadically by email, text or informal conversations from various departments.

With no standard legal service intake process, tracking and assigning these requests is nearly impossible. To complicate matters, business partners typically do not include all the resources or documents in the initial request. Often, an email or phone conversation must ensue to obtain the relevant materials before the “actual” legal work can even begin.

Fortunately, there is one solution that can relieve a large portion of this angst. By implementing an intelligent, self-service portal to initiate legal service requests, the first phase of the battle is already won. The company will also be able to leverage their new system, since information can be shared across departments and systems. Fewer staff members will need to spend time entering data for the same client and matter, which saves money. All of this will allow the legal department to spend more time focusing on the needs of business consumers – not following up on paperwork and other purely administrative and time-consuming tasks. Optimizing the LSR process is crucial to the legal department’s success and to the organization’s bottom line.

Legal departments are often understaffed and have limited resources and legal service requests simply add more to their already stressful workload. But there is another problem that can be easily overlooked, unless you are the one needing legal assistance. The scenario often plays out like this: a business consumer of legal services needs assistance, but doesn’t know where in the organization to go, or the best way to initiate the request. This is where problems begin for the legal department.

As mentioned previously, requests for legal services are sometimes thrown at the legal department as a hodgepodge of emails, texts, phone calls, and informal conversations. Trying to sort through such an assortment of “requests” would prove daunting under any circumstance. And all of this before the “real” legal work even begins.

Another factor that may be troublesome is simply forming a good, old-fashioned relationship between the business consumer and the legal service provider. For legal assistance matters, the intake process is where the relationship often begins.

Recent legal market trends can be highly revealing not only for what’s happening now, but also as extraordinary indicators for future developments as well. We’ve discussed the serious problem of corporate legal departments getting bogged down in routine administrative tasks, with LSRs placing high on the list of troublesome processes. If organizations are not driving and implementing positive changes to eliminate such problems, the problems won’t go away.

It’s crucial that the legal department be allowed to focus more on the real legal work, without sinking deeper into the administrative quagmire. In most cases, a well-chosen and effective technology solution is the best answer. But driving and implementing change is another key element in the solution. Keeping up to date with the latest technology is always good, but to implement technology changes requires buy-in from leadership and IT, as well as an unwavering commitment to see the project through.

According to Blickstein Group’s 9th Annual Law Department Operations Survey, we discover some enlightening statistics. 81% of respondents agree that corporate law departments will be the primary driver of innovation and change in the legal sector. This is an encouraging number.

But when we drill a bit deeper into the survey, we learn that the top challenge facing law department functions is driving/implementing change. Taking a close second place is “identifying opportunities for business improvement and cost savings.”

When asked, “Do you have a plan to develop a legal department technology strategy or three-year road map which addresses how you integrate, evolve and replace your systems to support the legal department’s processes and needs?” only 18% of respondents answered “yes.”

In light of these facts, a compelling question arises:

If corporate law departments are expected to be the primary shakers and movers of innovation, shouldn’t they be equipped with the proper technology to do so?

Onit’s Legal Service Request solution simplifies this intake process and provides a simple portal that allows business partners to interact and engage with the legal department. In doing so, the legal department obtains a more holistic view of the legal portfolio and the ability to better serve their clients. The legal department also gets a comprehensive view of all legal service requests and can report on request types (i.e. by department, region, phase, due date, etc.)

Client requests can be directed to the appropriate legal practitioner, even if the requester is not aware of the most appropriate recipient of the request. Clients can also self-serve to keep track of status and resolution of legal service requests. In fact, the requestor of legal services gets an automated email that allows them to track the status of their request directly from the email. The built-in feature to generate automated notifications exemplifies the very best in legal process solutions.

The chaotic world of emails, phone calls, and informal conversations to initiate legal service request is now gone and business process automation has ushered in a new era of cutting-edge customer service and efficiency. It’s worth reiterating that optimizing the LSR process is crucial to the legal department’s success and to the organization’s bottom line.

For organizations that already have other automated processes, that’s a good head start. Now it’s just a matter of implementing an effective LSR solution to complement their existing automated business process arsenal. For companies new to business process automation, a LSR platform is an excellent first choice since legal service requests are literally the “front line” where most legal matters begin.

Download this new eBook to learn how a premier, user friendly legal service request solution can streamline and optimize this process in your department.

Our new eBook offers the following insights:

  • The problem of using outdated or inappropriate legal service request processing tools
  • Current market trends concerning legal service requests
  • Best practices of managing legal service requests
  • A logical and powerful solution that can be quickly deployed

It’s time to let the legal department do what it does best – the “real” work of handling legal matters. And they can’t do this if they’re spending endless hours on day-to-day tasks that could be handled in seconds via an intelligent, self-service portal for legal service requests.

Life at Corporate Legal Just Got Easier with a Legal Service Request Solution

Posted on February 14, 2017 by - Business Process Management, Contract Lifecycle Management, Enterprise Legal Management

Imagine working in the legal department trying to keep up with the flood of “real” legal work. On top of that, you have legal service requests coming at you in no real organized fashion. They could be in the form of an obscure, confusing email, a phone call, an informal conversation in the break room, or an abrupt text message. In any case, you’ll likely have to follow up with these requestors just to get all the preliminary required information. And that’s just to get started. It’s frightening to think just how much time you’ve spent on this purely administrative drill, all the while taking your time from real legal work (which, of course, you’ll need to catch up on later).

Onit’s Legal Service Request (LSR) solution provides a legal department with an intelligent and user-friendly method for engaging with business partners. Oftentimes, business consumers of legal services don’t know where to go in the organization to obtain the assistance they need. By providing the business with an intelligent, self-service portal to initiate a request for the legal department, legal can reach more of the organization’s needs and provide better legal service to the business.

Client requests can be directed to the appropriate legal practitioner, even if the requester is not aware of the most appropriate recipient of the request. Clients can also self-serve to keep track of status and resolution of legal service requests. In fact, the requestor of legal services gets an automated email that allows them to track the status of their request directly from the email. The built-in feature to generate automated notifications exemplifies the very best in legal process solutions.

The chaotic world of confusing emails, garbled phone calls, and informal conversations to initiate LSRs is now gone and business process automation has ushered in a new era of cutting-edge customer service and efficiency. It’s worth reiterating that optimizing the LSR process is crucial to the legal department’s success and to the organization’s bottom line.

For organizations that already have other automated processes, that’s a good head start. Now it’s just a matter of implementing an effective LSR solution to complement their existing automated business process arsenal. For companies new to business process automation, a LSR platform is an excellent first choice since legal service requests are literally the “front line” where most legal matters begin.

Download this new eBook to learn how a premier, user friendly legal service request solution can streamline and optimize this process in your department.

Our new eBook offers the following insights:

  • The problem of using outdated or inappropriate legal service request processing tools
  • Current market trends concerning legal service requests
  • Best practices of managing legal service requests
  • A logical and powerful solution that can be quickly deployed
  • A company’s success story using Onit’s intuitive, agile and user friendly solution

It’s time to let the legal department do what it does best – the “real” work of handling legal matters. And they can’t do this if they’re spending endless hours on day-to-day tasks that could be handled in seconds via an intelligent, self-service portal for LSRs. In our new eBook, “Streamlining Legal Service Requests” we explore the problems and headaches associated with processing legal service requests, the importance of allowing the legal department to focus on “real” legal work, and strategies to not only fix the problem but to supercharge your LSR process.