Contract renewal is a key component of your business’s contract management function. Many types of contracts have expiration or termination dates, and thus renewals need to be addressed well in advance so that business isn’t lost or stalled.
Some Contract lifecycle management software solutions provide businesses with better operational tools that rely on automation. Contract renewal processes, in particular, can benefit from the automated renewals and alerts these systems make possible.
Here is an overview of the ins and outs of automated contract renewal and the key benefits you need to know about.
How Does Automated Contract Renewal Work?
Contract management platforms, on a basic level, help you keep all your contracts and related documents organized. This includes original contracts, renewal agreements, amendments, and other important forms. Having all of these documents in one place, easily accessible, helps you avoid hours of searching for contract terms.
Automation and AI features help you collect and update data within contracts and provide reports on individual or groups of contracts as needed. They help you process high volumes and understand all of your contract obligations. The right software will take on much of the tedious work that is usually involved in contract management as a whole.
Automated contract renewal is part of this process. An intelligent system will alert you about which contracts are expiring and when so that you don’t have to remember when to renew on your own. Automatic alerts notify you when a contract-period end date is approaching, giving you plenty of time to reach out to the other party and negotiate as needed. In-house legal teams have had to employe interns and other full-time staff just to keep track of contracts stored is disparate systems in the past. Today, intelligent contract management systems like Lexion Repository do away with much of the manual drudgery.
Why Step Away From Manual Contract Renewal?
Traditional contract processes have required contract managers and workers to stay on top of expiration dates throughout the year. This means a time-consuming process must be put in place, in which a log is created that lists all original contracts and their expiration dates, or even a physical calendar that you have to check regularly to see what’s coming up.
Using this kind of practice, it’s easy to see how business contract renewals can get lost in the shuffle of everyday tasks. This can be especially true if a new system is implemented or a staff member leaves the legal department. Instead, having contract management integrated with automation tools ensures that nothing gets lost, even during transitions.
How Automatic Renewal Alerts Assist in Your Contract Renewal Process
Instead of relying on traditional renewal procedures, automated contract renewal allows workers to have peace of mind, knowing they’ll be alerted when an important date is quickly approaching. They can then take action without having to remember it on their own.
Automation also significantly reduces errors, like a missed or incorrect expiration date. What’s more, some platforms can help you check for errors in your documents, similar to how a word processor checks for spelling and grammar mistakes.
Here are some other key benefits of automated agreement renewal.
Secure Additional Time for Thorough Contract Reviews
Tracking expiration dates and drafting renewal agreements can take up a lot of time. Workers may spend hours sifting through documents that are saved on their desktops, multiple cloud storage applications, or even stored in filing cabinets just to find one contract term or date.
Instead of wasting hours on monitoring, tracking, and searching, allow Lexion to automate this for you. You can then focus on those bigger things that move the business forward. This leads to better client and service provider relationships and even the rest of the business seeing your legal team as a strategic part of the business.
Manual contract renewal can quickly get in the way of the focus needed for more important business and legal affairs. The legal department can save time and speed up workflows just by incorporating software that uses automation.
Improve Customer Retention
Having a better contract management process in place simply looks good to the customers your business serves. You will show them that you’re staying proactive in keeping your contracts up to date instead of letting tasks fall by the wayside. Modern customers want to work with companies that are on top of innovations in technology, so incorporating better tools for functions like renewal, review, and signature shows them that your business is relevant and easy to work with.
Automated contract renewal helps you show customers that you prioritize their time and their business, which will help you retain them for more satisfying long-term relationships.
Easily Survey All Upcoming Contract Renewal Dates and Expirations
Automated contract renewal provides a helpful summary of all changes coming up for existing commercial contracts. This includes expiration and renewal dates. You can easily search and create a simple report in minutes, which is easier than tracking everything yourself and hoping you haven’t missed anything. You can get a broader view of your contracts’ status so you can create goals and timelines for the team.
Never Miss a Renewal Opportunity
Finally, tracking contract duration with an automated tool ensures that you never miss an opportunity to renew. Sometimes all it takes to continue a crucial contractual relationship is simply sending the other party a renewal contract. But failing to take this step could have consequences for the relationship, and it doesn’t look great to clients when contract terms have expired and they haven’t heard anything from you.
Getting Started With Contract Management Software to Streamline Your Renewal Process
The benefits of automated contract renewal are clear: You and your team can stay organized, track contract statuses, receive alerts, and improve your contract renewal process. These benefits lead to better business relationships, improved client retention, and a more efficient legal department.
When you’re ready to get started with contract management software that includes automatic renewal, turn to Lexion. We provide an intuitive platform that helps you streamline your contract processes, freeing up time so you can focus on more important matters for the business.
Lexion repository helps you manage all of your contracts in one place so you can pull reports when needed on all active contracts and their associated documents. The tool helps you stay proactive with automated alerts for key upcoming dates, including expirations and renewal opportunities.
