Dealing with contracts is a hassle. It’s always been that way. Wrangling all the right people to come to some kind of agreement was supposed to get easier in the internet age, but now you’re wrangling people and systems and tools.
The right tools do make the contract management process easier, but that’s only if everyone knows how to use them, and actively uses them regularly. If your customer doesn’t have an account with your preferred eSignature platform, they might have to sign up. If your new hire doesn’t quite understand your preferred contract management software, it’s a wrench in the system.
The problem with tools is they rely heavily on user proficiency. There’s no accounting for human error, human misunderstandings, and human miscalculations. We need more than just a tool to help us organize our contract management process. We need smarter tools.
AI can transform your contract process by providing not just a tool, but an integrated system with a brain that learns to nudge you and your team in just the right direction. Let’s take a look at the top three obstacles to your contract management process, and how a smart system could help.
Disorganization
Admit it: your interdepartmental communication isn’t always on point. Even small teams have trouble keeping everyone on board. Endless emails and meetings create fatigue, and before you know it, you’re all reading just half of that “very important email.”
If you’ve ever missed the deadline for contract negotiations or struggled to find the details for a legacy contract that could provide a precedent for a newly crafted one, you know what we’re talking about.
How a better contract management software helps:
Humans aren’t great at keeping tons of details straight, but AI is. Machine learning models sort, classify, and aggregate massive amounts of information. Those models find patterns we miss, and the right reminders and alerts never forget a single date.
For example:
Contract management software like IntelAgree helps with organization in a variety of ways–from streamlining naming conventions to saving old version of contracts to (and this is the big one) offering a centralized, searchable contract repository where you can find and look through all of your agreements in once place.
After uploading your contracts and training the machine learning models (not as technical as it sounds!), you have all your agreements in one searchable place. IntelAgree’s search options make it possible to find the things that matter most to you–fast. No more sifting through a stack of recent contracts, or opening twenty files on your computer to find the last place you used a specific required clause.
Negotiation
Contract negotiations are huge and necessary pain. You have to go through weeks of back and forth, updating emails, missed signatures, and retelling the same details over and over to get to a yes.
So back up. This “necessary” part of the contract management process doesn’t have to be necessary. Well, not the painful part, anyway. Sending redlines back and forth used to be a hassle, but with AI plus the right integrations, it’s easier to keep track of what’s going on.
How AI-integrated contract management software helps:
Word and Outlook integrations let you negotiate, make changes, track those changes, and relay that data to your AI contract software. The entire suite learns as you go, alerts you to any red flags, and helps locate precedent from easily trackable previous contracts.
For example:
We heard from so many attorneys (and other deal-makers, of course) that despite everything they’ve tried, Microsoft Word is still the best way to redline contracts. The markup is easy, the track changes process is fairly universal, and just about everyone can access the program. And that’s where IntelAgree’s Word Add-In comes in. Your in-house legal team can access a fully-stacked Clause Library full of approved terms and conditions for markup, and then when your customer sends back a redline? Just open it back up in Word to work your magic.
And IntelAgree works into your existing email processes, too. You can send an Outlook email straight from IntelAgree, so your contract management process feels seamless. The idea is to make it as easy as possible to adopt your new contract management software, meaning it works with what already works for your team.
Signing
It was almost easier in the days of the ink signature, wasn’t it? It was a hassle, but at least you knew that was your only option. Electronic signatures are great if you have enough options, and if your customer uses the same program, and if you don’t have to integrate a whole new system each time you change contract management tools.
How the right contract management software helps:
With the right contract management software, you get all the electronic signatures you need right inside the system itself. No need to scramble for extra signature slots when agreements change. No more integrating new systems.
For example:
We know the feeling when there’s another system needed to complete a process, like getting a contract signed. But with IntelAgree, you get a one-stop shop. That’s why unlimited electronic signatures are included with the platform.
We know that it can also be painful for signers to make new accounts in order to execute agreements. That’s why once you’ve created an account for third-party signers, they can sign directly from the email they receive from IntelAgree. No new logins, no password problems–just one click to get to the right place.
Overcoming Obstacles with AI-Integrated Contract Management Process
You’re skeptical of adopting new tools because you’ve been burned in the past. But there’s a huge difference between the tools you used before and a truly AI-powered contract management software. Those tools relied on human labor for things humans aren’t great at. AI can take over aspects of your contract management process that are obstacles and facilitate your goals from start to finish.
AI doesn’t replace your team. Instead, it facilitates your team’s higher-order tasks by handling painful and tedious parts of the contract process. Your team is free to build relationships, innovate, and manage big decision making.
When AI checks legal language for compliance issues across country lines, your legal team is free to craft the more complex pieces of the agreement. If finance doesn’t have to spend so much time researching boilerplate language, they have the mental bandwidth to craft plans for future solvency. When Sales doesn’t have to remember every single detail of a contract, they can nurture your customer relationships unfettered.
Contracts have obstacles, but they aren’t a natural part of the system. Implementing better, smarter tools prevents contracts from grinding to a halt and helps you get to that yes faster.
IntelAgree’s AI-powered contract management software offers integration with the tools you use most, electronic signatures, and a smart system capable of learning your organization inside and out.
Contact us to find out how our solution can solve your contract management challenges.
