Did you know that a Fortune 1000 company usually manages about 20,000 to 40,000 active contracts at a time? Unfortunately, about 10% of these contracts are difficult to find as they are misplaced or forgotten due to an unorganized database. This problem can cause losses that could have been avoided using tech-enabled tools.
Why a contract repository system?
A cloud-based contract repository is one such tool. It stores all your contacts and their metadata in a centralized database. This enables you to effectively manage your contracts, ensure visibility, and provide your team with access to the company’s contract portfolio. Whether a small business or a large enterprise, you can always use such software to track and automate your contract lifecycle and protect your business from avoidable losses. Here are three benefits that a contract repository system can unlock for your business:
1. Improved data security
Most businesses traditionally use Microsoft Excel to manage their contracts and data as it is considered a cost-effective choice, especially when your business is just starting. However, the use of excel sheets comes with the risk of poor vision control and supply performance.
With a cloud-based contract repository system, you ensure the confidentiality and security of your contract’s data, as such a platform comes with advanced encryption. You can also prevent data breaches, data leaks, and unauthorized access to your client’s confidential information with customizable access controls. In addition, installing such a system makes your brand trustworthy, making you gain popularity in the market.
2. Automation improves accuracy
Data entry into manual spreadsheets makes your business vulnerable to human errors. Such errors can lead to incomplete information about contracts and can cause misunderstandings about contract obligations, miscommunication of specific deadlines, and inefficient performance. All these errors can harm the credibility of your service among your clients.
Investing in repository software will allow you to automate most of the data entry work required in contracts. Automation will reduce the threat of human error in data entry and increase stakeholders’ confidence. It will eliminate manual processes, centralize your document repository, improve your workflow efficiency, and lead to standardization, as each department across your company starts working in the same way. All this will visibly improve the accuracy of your contracts’ data.
3. Readiness in audits
You can simplify the audit response process when you access all relevant contractual data in a repository system. Your business will be able to see audit trails in detail, and this increased visibility reduces the audit response time significantly from a good few months to just a few days. Moreover, the accuracy of a software-driven audit is likely to be more accurate than a manual response.
Endnote
A contract repository system for contract management gives your business a central storage solution for its contracts. Familiarizing yourself with features such as access control, advanced analytics, and integration can let you reap the maximum benefits of this investment for your business. If you don’t have a contract repository system already, this is the time to get one and prepare your business for expansion and growth.
