Madrid, March 28, 2023 – If there is one thing that Legal Affairs and Compliance departments are known for, it is the large amount of documentation they manage. And the main protagonists among all the documentation are undoubtedly contracts: internal contracts with employees and also external contracts with customers and suppliers.
Context and challenges in business contracts
- Contracts are sensitive documents, contain confidential information and are often extremely specific. In this context, the only people who can make modifications are technical employees with programming skills. Companies are therefore forced to create entire teams to modify contracts because this task is beyond the reach of any other employee who does not have such technical knowledge.
- Most of the difficulties related to contracts stem from the dynamism of today’s business environment. The involvement of multiple stakeholders and increasing business complexity generate large volumes of sophisticated contracts.
- There is no central repository of contracts. In large companies, different departments have their own contracts, which they sign with various customers and suppliers, so it is difficult for the Legal function to keep track of all these contracts manually, not to mention the time it takes.
- Key contract information is not easily accessible. It is very difficult for the Legal department to obtain information for a quick interpretation of a certain fragment. Contracts can be hundreds of pages long and it is a Herculean task to find specific information and communicate it to the relevant parties quickly. No one can afford to spend too much time navigating through the various sections of the contracts.
- It is easy to miss contractual milestones. When lawyers handle a large volume of contracts, it is difficult to monitor all activities, which means overlooking renewals, obligations, and cancellations.
State-of-the art document software solutions and systems help Legal departments overcome these challenges with guaranteed success. Let’s see how.
Features and benefits of document management systems
- These systems allow modifying or managing contracts seamlessly and favor document management workflows. This type of document software integrates an online contract editing mechanism that adapts to different user profiles, which means that it is not necessary to have a technical design profile to make changes. Changes are based on manually editing fixed texts and composing new contracts using templates and clauses. New document technology makes it possible to create an interface, accessible through web browsers, where users can access contracts and make changes.
- Contracts are stored in repositories and can therefore be easily retrieved for work, i.e., editing, updating and status changes.
- New document management systems help create new contracts dynamically from an initial template and incorporate existing clauses, which can be modified manually while the contract is being designed.
- This type of document software allows modifying fixed texts of a contract and the edited contract can be changed to a test status. The relevant owner must then validate it.
- With an adequate document archiving solution, itis possible to access different versionsof a contract stored in the repository, i.e.,users can access templates saved in a repository for validation and possible modification, and manage the creation of new versions, their storage in the repository when a new version is created and their integration in the verification and approval process.
- Thesedocument software platforms also allow contract version control. Several versions of the same contract can coexist and the document generation engine can access the appropriate version of a template each time it generates a document. When a contract is modified, new versions are created and stored in the repository.
- Real-time collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the contractual process is essential. All parties, not just the Legal department, must be able to edit the document and suggest changes related to their areas of expertise (business, procurement, finance, sales, etc.) simultaneously. But carefully: changes must not be overwritten.
- It is also critical to automate approvals and monitor activity. Automating approval flows allows the Legal department and the rest of the organizational hierarchy to receive notifications on contract progress.
Modifying contracts with zero coding
All of the above can be summed up in a growing trend in the technological world: zero coding.
Zero coding is an approach to programming and software development that does not involve coding, meaning that developers do not have to write line after line of code in one or more programming languages, but can use visual interfaces and integrate software components with a drag-and-drop building mechanism.
Zero-code software platforms are transforming software development, including document management software. They play a key role in a phenomenon that has already gained a lot of ground: the democratization of technology.
This means that computers, software, and devices are becoming easier to use and computer skills are no longer the privilege of the few.
Top-notch document software solutions and management systems are a notable exampleof this democratization: employees who were not hired for the IT department can automate and digitalize contract creation and management processes.
With zero-code software, these processes become more flexible, less costly, and less time-consuming. The principle behind these leading-edge document management solutions is always the same: provide users with pre-built elements and a visual interface to assemble them.
However, the degree of freedom during the creative process and the level of customization depend on the quality of the codeless document software solution chosen, which is why it is important to purchase software that meets the abovementioned characteristics.
In short, contract management tools integrated with document management solutions save Legal departments a lot of time by automating repetitive, low value-added tasks. This time saved can be spent on high-impact tasks such as strategic business initiatives.
About DocPath
DocPath is a leading enterprise document software company that offers its international customers the technology that allows them to complement their ERP and implement advanced Document Output Management, Customer Communications Management and document software pooling processes.
Founded in 1993, DocPath is based in Europe, USA and Latin America and is present with its Solutions in companies around the world. Among its customers there are prestigious banks and top-tier corporations, facilitating the difficult and complex task of designing, generating and distributing their business-critical documents. DocPath keeps a strong commitment to R+D+i, an area to which it allocates a large part of its revenues, and in which lies one of the keys to its success.
For more information, visit: www.docpath.com.
Legal Notice: DocPath is a registered trademark of DocPath Document Solutions. All rights reserved. Other trademarks mentioned herein might be the property of their respective owners.