Effective contract management is a challenge for virtually all organisations. Whilst larger, more mature enterprises tend to have dedicated procurement teams to handle performance of contracts, this is not the reality for smaller orgs.
Even so, procurement teams are notoriously under-equipped and often rely on error-prone procedures like tracking contract data in Excel spreadsheets. But, in this thread lies the answer – the best teams leverage contract lifecycle management (CLM) solutions to close deals faster, with greater compliance controls, and with the necessary tools to monitor performance.
This article provides an overview of how to handle software licensing effectively and how Docfield and other Contract Lifecycle Management technologies may revolutionise this area. After reading this guide, you will comprehend:
- What contract lifecycle management (CLM) is
- Key benefits of effective software licensing management
- Common challenges in the contract phase and how to overcome them
- How Docfield enhances software licensing management
- Real-world impacts of efficient CLM implementation
Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM): What it is & why it matters
Tim Stuart, CEO at Docfield, describes Contract Lifecycle Management as the organised management of contracts at each stage – from the time they are initiated to when they are executed and eventually renewed or terminated. A CLM essentially streamlines the contracting workflow from end-to-end, ensuring that all contracts are carefully drafted, negotiated, and executed – all in one handy system.
4 Hidden costs of poor software Licensing management
1. Preventing revenue leakage
Manually tracking licenses, user counts, and renewal dates can often lead to missed opportunities to collect revenue that has already been contractually agreed. This data is centralised by Docfield’s CLM platform, which guarantees that all licensing terms are appropriately recorded and upheld. This protects your income stream by avoiding situations where licenses are either undercharged or not billed at all.
2. Enhancing compliance and reducing risks
Software licensing agreements must comply with various legal and regulatory standards. Failing to comply with licensing regulations can lead to fines and reputational damage. Docfield simplifies compliance by maintaining up-to-date contract templates and enforcing standardised terms across all agreements. This is especially pertinent for larger organisations, whose operations span across countries and legal entities, often with their own conventions and laws.
3. Improving operational efficiency
Manual processes are time-consuming and prone to errors. By automating contract creation, negotiation, and management, CLM tools streamline operations, allowing your team to focus on strategic tasks rather than administrative duties. This automation reduces the opportunity cost associated with lengthy contract negotiations and administrative bottlenecks.
4. Enhancing brand experience
A streamlined contract process fosters a seamless transition from prospective to current; whether customer, supplier, partner, employee – you name it. A good contracting process lays the groundwork for a positive, enduring experience. With Docfield, you can maintain a single source of truth for contracts, making it easy to track all obligations and relevant data in a centralised dashboard. This professionalises the way companies handle contracts, which has a major impact on their reputation and maturity in the eyes of the outside world. Below, we’ll dive deeper into the sales dilemma, which can add some colour to a common challenge faced by companies.
How contract delays kill sales – and how to fix them
The contract phase often turns out to be a critical bottleneck in the sales process. Deep collaboration between sales, legal, and compliance teams is required, and the process is rarely straightforward. Contracts can get stuck in legal’s “black box,” undergoing multiple revisions that cause confusion and delays. Sales teams aim to speed up the cycle, while compliance teams naturally slow it down to ensure all regulations are met. This misalignment can frustrate both internal teams and potential customers, impacting deal closure rates.
Where’s the customer in all this?
As the ink dries on a sales agreement, the prospect finally becomes a customer—with this change come new expectations, legal protections, and service-level requirements. A disjointed contract process often overlooks the customer’s perspective. Delays, confusion, and frustration during the contract phase can tarnish the customer’s initial experience, affecting long-term retention and brand reputation.
By implementing a robust CLM system like Docfield, organisations can streamline the contract review stage. Automated workflows and centralised template management reduce the back-and-forth between departments, accelerating the approval and signing process. This not only enhances internal efficiency but also improves the customer experience by minimising delays and ensuring transparency.
Once signed, the work is only getting started, even from a contracting point of view. Below, we’ll explore the importance of actively managing the license that was just closed, to ensure performance is as expected.
How Docfield enhances software licensing management
Docfield stands out as a leading CLM platform tailored to meet the needs of software vendors, financial service providers, and other sectors handling high volumes of standardised contracts. Here’s how Docfield makes a difference:
Centralised contract management
Docfield provides a single platform where all contracts are created, stored, and managed. This centralisation ensures that your team always accesses the latest contract versions, eliminating the risk of using outdated or incorrect templates.
Automated workflows and smart fields
Docfield’s smart fields automatically populate contract data directly from your CRM, reducing manual entry errors and ensuring consistency across all agreements. Automated workflows streamline the approval and signing process, improving deal closure rates and minimising administrative delays.
Comprehensive compliance and audit trails
With Docfield, maintaining compliance is a breeze. The platform enforces standardised contract terms and provides detailed audit trails, allowing you to track every change and ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations.
Scalable solutions for growing businesses
Whether you’re a startup or a large corporate, Docfield scales with your business. Their platform supports complex licensing models, multiple user roles, and integrates seamlessly with existing software systems, making it a versatile solution for any organisation.
Enhancing brand reputation
Effective contract management is a reflection of an organisation’s maturity. Docfield ensures that contracts are handled professionally, preventing errors such as incorrect billing or missed obligations that can harm your reputation. By maintaining consistency and compliance, Docfield helps build trust with your customers from the outset.
Real-world impact: Docfield in action
Tim Stuart, Founder & CEO of Docfield, emphasises the platform’s impact on the education sector, where institutions save significant time by automating the creation and management of essential documents like educational regulations and agreements. This efficiency allows organisations to focus more on their core activities rather than administrative tasks.
Conclusion
In this article, we introduced the concept of contract lifecycle management (CLM) and how care displayed in this process leads to significant returns for companies. We looked at the common example of contracting in sales, and the importance of actively managing software licensing agreements with customers. Implementing a Contract Lifecycle Management system such as Docfield will revolutionise your contracts with a suite of contracting tools, centralised workflow automations, and thorough compliance dashboards. With a CLM, companies can rest assured that their license agreements are managed with professionalism and efficiency.
In this trust-and-reliability-defined business landscape, upgrading to a modern CLM is no longer highly beneficial but rather necessary.
For more insights on optimising your contract management processes, visit Docfield and discover how their CLM solutions can propel your business forward.
This article is part of a media partnership with Docfield.
