Contract Insights

As a paralegal, working in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines without the proper contract management software system can leave you stressed, disorganized, and overworked.  Manually assisting lawyers with contracts – including tasks such as coordinating communications with stakeholders, gathering wet signatures, managing disparate compliance materials, and manually tracking key dates and milestones – can present time-consuming and error-prone challenges.  Fortunately, CobbleStone Software can help unify people, process, and technology – streamlining contract lifecycle management.  Read on to learn how CobbleStone’s legal contract management software – Contract Insight® – can help paralegals achieve contract management success.

As we step into 2021, CobbleStone Software’s Executive VP – Mark Nastasi – reexamines contract management software technology trends in the wake of the many challenges of 2020.  He provides expert insight into how organizations can move forward into more future-minded, automated, and user-friendly contract management in 2021 and beyond.  Read his considerations and suggestions below.

It is important for procurement professionals to successfully align vendor management and purchasing goals with a trusted solution.  Luckily, CobbleStone Software - which has been preferred by procurement professionals for over 20 years - can help organizations to establish a procurement strategy, strengthen procurement processes, and commit to a future-minded and proactive approach to procurement while embracing automated eProcurement software.  Read on to learn why so many procurement professionals choose CobbleStone time and time again.

If your organization is planning on leveraging contract management software, it is crucial that your team is aware of how to oversee user permissions effectively.  The terms of many contracts necessitate user permissions parameters to be put in place regarding access to contract documents, files, field data, reports, and more.  Manually managing user permissions with methods involving spreadsheets or unsecured folders, access that must be approved or restricted via disparate emails or other decentralized communication, or the nearly impossible task of managing different levels and stages of access as the contract lifecycle ensues can leave your organization at legal and regulatory risk.  Learn how to mitigate such risk factors and more with cutting-edge contract lifecycle management software.

Contract writing - also known as contract authoring - is a critical stage of the contract lifecycle.  The contract writing process involves contract parties putting into written copy the terms of a contract.  One extremely important facet of contract writing is  contract clause management.  Insufficient contract authoring procedures as they pertain to contract clause management often rely upon disorganized tracking of versions, a lack of unified contracts and subcontracts, and - unfortunately - scattered clauses.  Such processes can leave your organization with contracts that are missing clauses, an overlooked mass of key dates and milestones, and unified contract lifecycle management.

In the wake of unpredictable circumstances such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, your organization is more than likely allowing employees to work remotely.  No matter which relevant industry you are working in, you must be supported with a sufficient system in place for contract management, sourcing, and procurement operations.  To that end, we've assembled a list of five tips for maintaining remote contract management software process efficacy during the COVID crisis.

As a lawyer, you manage a variety of contracts that involve ranging stakeholders and processes.  Yes, you may have help from paralegals and legal assistants to coordinate the contract groundwork.  However, when it gets down to the nitty-gritty of negotiations, approvals, signatures, and post-award contract management processes, you need a trusted and streamlined system in place to grant you optimal control over your contact management process.  Read on to learn how you and your legal team can significantly improve legal contract management software procedures.

Are you a small business owner?  Do you manage contracts in a small business?  Regardless of the position or size of the small business you are a part of, contracts are integral to your organizational processes.  From client contracts to employee contracts - among many others - small business contract management KPIs can be hindered by contract non-compliance, disorganized pre-award contract processes, missed contract renewal opportunities, and more – without the proper contract management system in place.  Read this blog to learn how to transform your process for streamlined, user-friend, and success-driven small business contract management.

Did you miss any of our blog posts from November?  Don’t worry; we have outlined each of them for you.  Stay up-to-date with industry topics, real-world case studies, and contract management and procurement best practices by reading CobbleStone’s latest content. 

2021 is rapidly approaching and, with it, innovations and enhancements to contract management automation.  To that end, here is a list of user-friendly, future-minded, and industry-advancing contract management software features, processes, and best practices that organizations can empower themselves with to successfully and confidently navigate the evolving landscape of contract management through 2021 and beyond.

Managing various types of entertainment and media contracts from varying locations, often internationally, with multiple departments and roles can be an arduous process - especially when relying on disparate methods such as postal mail, wet-signatures, filing cabinets, emails, shared network drives, and lengthy paper-based negotiations.  Dealing with and tracking a high volume of contracts – from intellectual property contracts to option agreements, among many others - can be tremendously challenging without the right contract management system in place.