All You Need To Know About Contract Repository

Contracts are legally binding agreements that are made between two or more parties. Every contract consists of certain components that make them whole.  

However, you might be wondering, where can you store these contracts? Well, don’t worry, we have you covered. In this blog, we are going to talk all about contract repositories.  

We will analyze its pros and cons and also how it has revolutionized with the period of time.  

What is a Contract Repository?

As the name suggests, the contract repository deals with managing and storing your contracts. With the coming age, the contracts have now revolutionized and have become digitalized.  

A contract repository is also known as a document repository and the names are substantially used in an interchangeable manner. The contract repository provides the business with a primary storage location. These documents then create a single source of truth that allows them to easily store and manage through their comprehensive contract portfolio.  

However, the digitalization of the contract management system was not always the case. Traditionally, there were physical locations where contracts were stored. So you can guess, in a large enterprise, an extensive storage space was needed.  

But now, since the concept of contract management has been centralized and made secure, the contract management system has now become much more secure. With the advent of the new contract management software, it has now become easier to store and keep track of your contracts.  

Examples of Contract Repository

Contract repositories are not that complicated and they consist of various materials. They are  

• Lease agreements.  
• Sales contracts.  
• Vendor contracts.  
• NDAs.  
• Service level agreements.  
• Legal documents.  
• Contract drafts.  
• Compliance paperwork.  

Traditional and Modern Contract Repository

Traditional contract repository solutions are generally manual and heavy and aren’t digitized. Businesses stored these contracts in multiple places physically. Filing cabinets, drawers, and local shared drives. These documents were stored to refer to them and only see them again if something goes downhill.   

This particular contract management method was not that uncommon, but there was no alternative to it. There have been times when this type of contract management system has raised several risks for the company. This even prevented the stakeholders from accessing various crucial information about the company.  

However, modern-day contract management systems or contract repository systems are much more centralized. It has digitized the overall method of storing and managing contracts and has also streamlined the drafting methods of contracts.  

Moreover, modern tools facilitate adding facilities like advanced search, easy-cross department, and tracking systems. This smart and analytical way of contract repository system has overall streamlined the business at a significant rate. With the modern contract repository system, the businesses are now streamlined and you can now access contractual information with just a click of a button.  

Importance of Contract Repository

The modern legal landscape is in a constant state of change. Today, contracts are not just some mere agreements. They entail several important data and insights which makes them usable in varied effective ways. The new method of contract repository now combines all the elements together just under one roof.  

Since contracts are extremely lengthy documents, the process of preparing them is sometimes extremely time-consuming. On the other hand, a digital contract repository comes in handy to bring everything together and centralize it. Be it sales, procurement, or even HR, digitized contract repository systems are the best way to tie everything up in one place.  

Here we have listed out some of the unique importance. Let’s see what they are:  

Central Storage

A digital contract management system facilitates a centralized location for contract storage. A centralized storage system is also a great scope when it comes to managing and safeguarding your contract portfolios.  

Having a central repository system makes it easier to access contracts just in one place. This simplifies the overall process and makes the best out of contract management.  

Advanced Search

The modern contract repository systems come with advanced search options. This makes it easier for users to search for specific contracts without even going through several pages at a go.  

Security

Digital contract management fosters advanced cloud security systems and protects all kinds of sensitive information. Cloud security safeguards your contracts from any sort of unauthorized access.  

Improved Collaboration

A digital contract management system helps to make your contracts accessible and make it usable by different businesses. This also enables multiple stakeholders to manage and review their contracts in an easy way.  

Versioning

Contracts often go through multiple revisions before taking up a signed agreement. Every contract has to go through certain negotiations. A digital contract repository system helps in the streamlining of certain contracts. This ensures that all the parties have the proper access to come up with the most up-to-date contracts.  

Components of a Contract Repository

Every contract repository system consists of certain components. Let’s see what they are:  

Role-Based Access Systems

Knowing who has the primary control over the contracts is extremely pivotal in any organization. Role-based access systems a serious implications for your business. By using the digitized contract management system, you can easily access specific documents at ease and dictate to others who can use those documents. You can also determine who will be able to share, edit, and see all the sensitive information.  

Sharing and Collaboration

Negotiating and redlining a contract plays a crucial role when it comes to sharing and collaboration. Your organization can finally collaborate with different departments in your organization and get everyone on the same page.  

Hence, your innate capability to negotiate and also revise the contracts comes up with a similar interface on where you’re storing them. Sharing and collaboration components in your contract also streamline the conflict mediation procedure as well.  

Security Features

Every contract repository system has different security features that play a crucial role in safeguarding various sensitive information entailed in your contract. Here are some essential security measures you must have to keep in mind that your digital contract management system should have.  

• AES 256-bit encryption  
• Two-factor authentication and digital signatures.  
• Firewalls and other intrusion detections.  
• Compliance with various international privacy laws like CCPA and GDPR.  
• Different data backups and deletion policies.  

Contract Workflow Automation

A contract repository is not just a mere system to store documents. It should also streamline and automate your contract management processes. Be it creating the contract or taking it through a proper approval method, contract workflow automation should have everything in it. There shouldn’t be any window for manual intervention in these routine tasks.  

The important characteristics of the contract workflow automation are:  

Clause Library  

This is primarily a pre-approved database that shares different standard contract clauses. This way the team can properly assemble these contracts in an accurate manner. It also accelerates the overall process of contract creation. These also facilitate the need for exhaustive legal reviews and it ensures consistency across all the documents.  

AI Guidance

Starting from AI guidance to revenue recognition, there should be a proper window for contract risk assessments. With AI guidance tools you can set up risk profiles that base these overall contract terms. This also helps in getting predictive capabilities and the recommendations can also help in robust decision-making procedure.  

Scalability

It’s recommended that you opt for a repository that can always accommodate your business no matter what. This would also foster the performance of your contract and enable robust security measures.  

Reporting

The contract repository systems offer diverse forms of analytics. You can track:  

• Ways to negotiate contracts.  
• Time spent on each stage of negotiation.  
• The number of contracts in each stage.  

Enterprise Resource Management (ERP)

This plays a critical role in managing all your contracts and determining its lifecycle. Be it invoicing billing or even budgeting any sort of expenses, you should have an ERP system that would track all the systems related to finance.  

Vendor Management  

Suppose you work for a contingent labor company and use your vendor for goods, you’ll need a robust method to track all the vendor-related contracts and their documents.  

Billing  

This is the final piece of puzzle in businesses that tracks and manages all the financial transactions related to contracts. Be it subscription business or anything else, it integrates it seamlessly and becomes a standalone product.  

Benefits of a Digital Contract Repository

Digital Contract Repository comes with different advantages. Let’s see what they are:  

Searchable Database  

One of the most significant benefits of this is that it offers a proper dedicated database and organizes all your contracts. It makes it easily accessible.  

Synchronized Contract Database 

When your contracts are loaded and has critical dates and milestones all over it, it is a very robust form of contract. With a digital contract repository, you as an admin can renew your deadlines and be obligated to the contracts pulled in front of you.  

Final Thoughts… 

And that’s a wrap! That’s all you had to know about contract repositories. We hope the information in this blog was helpful. Let us know if we have missed out on anything.  

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