Transform Your Contract Management Process with Docusign CLM Essentials

Many organizations have begun to digitize aspects of the contract process with e-signature, but there are still many manual steps that impact productivity and efficiency. Just think: of the 1,300 respondents in a recent Docusign survey, 70% said they were manually copying and pasting data while drafting contracts.

This approach is repetitive, error-prone and a headache for employees. It’s the aspect of the contract process that users find most frustrating. Other pain points include searching for contracts that contain the right language, and liaising with multiple people in multiple departments to finalize drafts.

All of those manual steps are unnecessary with the right approach–and the right tools. Docusign CLM Essentials is a contract management tool specifically built for growing organizations.

It has all the tools your team needs to centralize your contracts, standardize agreement processes and eliminate busywork with automation. CLM Essentials is designed with ease of use in mind so you can start using it in weeks not months, offering fast results and the opportunity to expand down the road as your business grows.

Route agreements efficiently

After all the time that’s put into drafting a contract and approving it internally, the next logical step is to have it reviewed by the counterparty. Our State of Contract Management survey found that about 73 percent of organizations use email to send contracts. While that might be acceptable for some businesses, it’s not always the best course of action when it relates to confidential or time-sensitive agreements. We’ve all heard horror stories about contracts being sent to the wrong person, ending up in a junk folder, or getting buried on a busy day.

CLM Essentials was designed to avoid those scenarios with automated, templatized workflows that support the most common contract processes. Automatic triggers ensure the right users are notified when an action needs to be taken–speeding up the contracting process.

Streamline document generation

Even the most basic sales contract workflows involve numerous levels of bureaucracy. Once a contract is drafted, it’s typically edited, sent for internal approvals, and reviewed by legal counsel. When all of the handoffs are taken into account, half a dozen people could be roped into the process.

Docusign found that it’s taking organizations more than 30 hours to create and finalize a contract. The time consuming process results in unwanted spinoff effects, including delayed contracts, lost revenue, and poor customer experiences.

In response to organizational demands for a better process, CLM Essentials simplifies document generation. With contract templates, you can create custom contracts in mere minutes, using legal-approved language. Plus, CLM Essentials is integrated with Salesforce, so sellers can generate compliant contracts faster without leaving Salesforce.

Speed up contract negotiations 

It's no secret the negotiation process can be a lengthy ordeal that involves several stakeholders to finalize the contract. In fact, the average contract goes through 3.1 versions before it is finalized. When this drags on, it costs your organization time and money. 

CLM Essentials speeds up this process by allowing you to collaborate easier and reach agreement faster. In the contract itself, you can easily assign comments and tasks to internal stakeholders. With the Slack integration, stakeholders can collaborate in real-time and receive alerts right within Slack–keeping everyone on top of negotiations. Once finalized, the contract can be signed with Docusign eSignature–the world’s #1 way to send and sign from practically anywhere, at any time.

Centralize storage

Once the contract is executed, it can be difficult to find. Our study found that 45% of contract professionals are spending an average of 45 minutes searching for a contract. It took even longer if they were looking for language within a specific agreement.

That’s why it’s so important to store contracts in a central, searchable location, which is exactly what CLM Essentials does. Rather than spending hours trying to find a contract or guess if it's the right one, users can search and filter all their contracts to quickly find the document they’re looking for. 

Contracting simplified

Some CLM systems can be highly complex, costly and require  hours of training to function. It can take years to implement and help employees understand and effectively use such tools.

Docusign CLM Essentials was built to be simple and intuitive, so it can streamline your contract process and save time and money getting you there.

Learn more about Docusign CLM Essentials.