Note: This is the third in a series of posts on contract management software. Click here to go to the first post.
How much data do you need to have about your contracts?
Some systems store only very basic “metadata” about the contracts, such as the names of the parties and effective dates and expiration dates. Obviously, limited data means limited search capabilities, but that may be fine for companies with a very small number of relatively simple contracts. At the other extreme, some systems are capable of storing hundreds of pieces of data about any given contract, with the data fields and the data structure specifically tailored to your contracts and your business. This enables robust reporting and analytics, such as a search for contracts with specific attributes (e.g., all contracts expiring or renewing in the next 90 days where we’ve sold X product or all contracts executed with customers in the EU in the last five years). This is what Pramata calls “contracts intelligence.” The problem for most companies is that this kind of rich data doesn’t exist, because the ability to get at this kind of data isn’t built into the normal contracting process. To answer even relatively simple questions about their contracts requires a time-consuming and expensive manual review process. Continue reading →
