How to Never Miss Another Contract Obligation
By Karen Howe, Director of Training at Contract Logix
Oh, those pesky contract deadlines… they tend to sneak up on you and if you’re not diligent, they slip right by. And that can lead to all sorts of woes, like missed opportunities, failure to meet compliance requirements, higher costs, you name it. Clearly, you need some sort of reminder strategy, but sticky notes or even Outlook calendar reminders won’t cut it. Read on if you’re interesting learning how to never miss another contract obligation using automated alerts.
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Automated Alerts
You may have taken the first step in contract management and are now storing your contracts in a centrally located repository. The next step is to make that repository work for you – by setting up alerts to notify you about key contract dates so that you never miss another obligation.
With contract management software from Contract Logix, users can set up automated alerts based on any date field captured in the contract, not just on standard dates like renewal or expiration. A simple-to-use form provides options such as when to start sending the alerts (before, on or after the date), how often to send them, and what format they take (emails, in-system notices, or both).
After that, it’s “set it and forget it”. The system takes care of the rest and starts sending notifications to the email inboxes and/or contract management software homepages of the designated recipients on the alert start date.
Alert Rules
As easy as it is to add alerts, there’s still one drawback to setting them up manually, and that’s human nature. As users, we get busy, we get distracted and we forget (isn’t that why we need reminders in the first place?). And if an alert isn’t set up, it can’t notify anyone.
That’s where Alert Rules come in handy. Defined at the system level and not on a contract-by-contract basis, alert rules make it simple to add alerts to many contracts at once. Authorized users can create as many rules as needed, utilizing the same options as individually-defined alerts (when to start, how often, what format, etc.). The rules for each contract type can be different. Once saved, the alert rule is applied to all new and existing contracts of that type, and users won’t need to add them separately to each new contract.
Takeaway
The risks involved in missing an important contract deadline are real and can result in financial, legal, or other penalties. Automated system-generated alerts are both an effective and efficient way to stay on top of your contract obligations. Contract management software from Contract Logix provides plenty of options and the flexibility to define both one-off and rules-based alerts so that you never miss another contract obligation.