Time is money. Managing contract tasks can feel like navigating a maze, time-consuming, repetitive, and full of pitfalls. Yet, contracts are the backbone of business operations, governing deals, partnerships, and compliance. If inefficiencies in your contract management process are draining resources and causing delays, it may be time to consider automation.
Here are ten common contract tasks that take up valuable time and how automation can help streamline them.
1. Drafting contracts
Manual drafting contracts in tools like MS Word or Google Docs is still the go-to for most businesses. This process can be slow and prone to errors, especially when converting documents into PDFs. Automated templates simplify the process by pre-filling key details and reducing the need for repetitive tasks.
2. Contract tasks automation: Tracking changes
Keeping track of contract versions can be a major source of confusion. Many businesses struggle to ensure everyone is working on the latest version. Real-time collaboration contract platform solves this issue by automatically tracking changes and showing who made edits.
Read also: All you need to know about contract automation
3. Collecting signatures
Waiting on signatures often causes delays, especially when key stakeholders are unavailable. Digital signature tools with automated notifications make it easier to get signatures promptly.
4. Managing approvals
Approval delays are a common bottleneck in contract workflows. Automated workflows can route contracts to the right stakeholders, notify them of pending approvals, and follow up automatically to prevent hold-ups.
5. Storing contracts – Automate contract tasks
Contracts stored across local drives, email threads, or even in printed form can be hard to locate when needed. Centralized cloud storage simplifies retrieval, improves organization, and ensures compliance with data privacy regulations.
6. Tracking expiration dates
Manually tracking contract renewal dates can lead to missed opportunities or compliance issues. Automated reminders notify teams of upcoming contract expirations, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.
Read also: How to track changes in a PDF document?
7. Ensuring GDPR compliance
Using email to review and share contracts exposes sensitive data to potential breaches. Secure contract platforms encrypt data, centralize storage, and offer features to comply with data privacy laws like GDPR.
8. Integrating contract data with other tools
Switching between multiple systems to manage contracts can lead to misalignment and inefficiencies. Automated tools integrate with CRMs and other platforms to ensure contract data flows seamlessly between systems.
Ready-to-use contract templates in Oneflow
9. Customizing contracts for stakeholders
Tailoring contracts for different scenarios can be tedious and error-prone. Automated contract systems use predefined rules and inputs to create customized agreements efficiently.
10. Generating reports on contract performance
Manually tracking metrics like approval times and contract statuses can be time-consuming. Automation provides instant access to dashboards and reports, offering insights into contract efficiency and highlighting bottlenecks.
Why automating contract tasks makes a difference
Automating these contract tasks not only saves time but also reduces the likelihood of errors and improves compliance with regulations. With a single platform to manage the entire contract lifecycle, businesses can streamline operations and focus on higher-value tasks.
Simplifying contract management through automation isn’t about adopting more tools, it’s about using smarter ones. By centralizing and automating these processes, teams can collaborate more effectively, close deals faster, and avoid unnecessary delays.
Take a product tour and see how you can automate your contracts with Oneflow
