5 Reasons Why Contract Management Software for Small Business is a Worthy Investment

Olga V. Mack, CEO of Parley Pro

For several years, the entire business community held onto the belief that only conglomerates and major corporations had any use for contract management software. However, this could not be further from the case. Today, many small businesses enjoy the benefits of this tool, as it has helped them organize their contracting system and save costs.

Top Misconceptions About Contract Management Software for Small Business

Unfortunately, there are many rumors about contract management software in the business community. These false reports have led many small businesses to have doubts about using software over their current contract management solution. Yet, in most cases, these doubts are general misconceptions that are far from the truth.

Here are some of the top misconceptions about small business contract management software:

It Causes Data Loss

The last thing a small business owner wants to hear is that they will have to start from scratch. Unfortunately, this rumor of data loss or starting from the beginning is one of the most common misconceptions about contract management software. This speculation has led most companies to believe they will lose all their old contract data when they migrate to a new system.

In reality, all the best contract management software for small business tools involves intricate migration processes that help seamlessly transfer your old contract data to your new system.

It Takes too Long to Implement

A popular misconception about contract management software is that it takes too long to get it up and running. However, this rumor is generally far from the truth. In most cases, you should be able to get your new system in place within a few weeks and may even have it ready before the next payday.

With your new system ready to go, you can take time out of your day to train and teach your staff about the new tool.

5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Small Business Contract Management Software

Better Storage

You can say goodbye to the days of heaps of files and endless storage cabinets once you kickstart your new contract management software. This system allows you to view, manage, and edit hundreds or thousands of contracts on a single device, which will help you save a significant amount of square footage. Contract management software also makes it tremendously easy for team members to upload new contracts to the system and make it immediately accessible to everyone.

Paperless Contract Negotiation

For several years, negotiations and renewals have been one of the most notable bottlenecks in the contract management process. Traditionally, negotiations involved back and forth e-mails or having to get a potential employee or vendor down to the office before signing. Today, the contract management software for small business tools allows both parties to negotiate and sign contracts remotely, resulting in less waste, a reduction in costs, and a better user experience.

Faster Payments

It was always easy for something to slip through the cracks in the days of paper contracts and endless rows of file cabinets. This sloppiness generally resulted in late payments or forgetting to pay a vendor or employee. However, with contract management software, you can quickly set reminders about payment due dates and even automate transfers.

This automation of the payment process will help ensure that none of your payments will be late, allowing all your employees and vendors to remain motivated and happy.

It is More Secure

One of the core benefits of using contract management software is that it is generally more secure. When you have paper contracts and file cabinets, there is no sure way to know what details someone is accessing at a given time. Unfortunately, this lack of surveillance could lead to a bad actor manipulating a contract.

On the other hand, most contract management tools have stringent access controls that will only allow certain team members to access a file. This software will also maintain a list of all attempts to access a file, so if somebody with the wrong permissions tries to open a contract, you will be the first to know about it.

Better Demonstration of Compliance

Ensuring that your contracts are fully compliant with all the legal frameworks and regulations is one of the most challenging aspects of contract management for small businesses. In most cases, this compliance check often meant hiring legal professionals or having an in-house compliance team, which increases costs.

Fortunately, this need for an arsenal of lawyers is no longer necessary with contract management software. With this tool, you can quickly check all your contracts to ensure that they are up to date with the current legal frameworks whenever there is a regulatory change.

What to Look Out for When Shopping for a Contract Management for Small Business Tool?

A Central Repository

How you store your contracts will often make or break your entire system. If you have the same agreement stored in different locations, you will need to ensure that all arrangements are updated whenever there is a slight change to one version. Naturally, this method of storing contracts has much room for human error, and you will likely have many versions of the same agreement floating around in a few months.

This need to ensure that the contract you are accessing is up to date is one of the core reasons we always recommend looking out for a central repository feature when shopping for contract management software. This feature ensures that you will always have the latest version of an agreement, regardless of what device you are using to access it.

Automation

Automation is a crucial feature of any outstanding contract management system. With this feature, you can always stay on top of critical issues, such as renewal dates, compliance breaches, and other standard notices. In addition, most of these tools also provide tremendous flexibility about when you want to send alerts. So, you can choose to send a notification before, on, or after the due date.

Efficient Reporting and Powerful Dashboards

One of the core features that can make a contract management tool stand out is how it presents its data. These visualizations make it easy to gain insights from your contract management process and spot what areas your team can improve in. Your team may also use these reports to study and track your KPIs.