Best Contract Tracking Software | Take Control of Every Deal
                     Best Contract Tracking Software | Take Control of 
Every Deal
Contract Tracking Software for Businesses – CLM 365
When contract management has begun to seem complicated or time-
consuming, it is an excellent indicator that what you are doing now could 
use an upgrade.
The key is to identify a best contract tracking software that will allow you
to monitor the progress and facilitate the work of your business without 
extra effort.
Quick Read
Summary generated by AI, reviewed for accuracy.
In this blog, we will explore how contract tracking software can transform 
the way businesses manage agreements, from monitoring key dates to 
tracking obligations, helping teams stay organized, make informed make 
informed decisions and maximize the potential of each contract.
Contract tracking introduces order and clarity to your processes. When 
you can clearly see the position of each contract between the time of 
creation and the time of approval and renewing your teams work faster, 
and mistakes are minimized, and insights are easier to discover.
A purpose-built system will enable your business to 
work more efficiently, accurately and confidently.
What Is Contract Tracking Software?
A contract tracking software assists organizations to manage their 
contracts with accuracy through all the contract lifecycle stages. It is not 
only a storage, but it offers full visibility of significant dates, commitments, 
and progress, making teams proactive instead of reactive.
Having a dependable solution in place, businesses can be able to track 
approvals, renewal schedules, compliance status, and monitoring 
contracts in real time to make smarter decisions and operate more 
smoothly.
Importance of Contract Tracking Software
According to a study conducted by Deloitte, 8.6% of value is attributed 
to poor management of contracts. This emphasizes the need to have a 
systematic system. The following are some of the reasons why 
companies require a contract tracking solution.
 Organizations have a lot of contracts that are usually hard to track 
manually to determine the terms, date, and obligations.
 Late renewals, approvals or exclusion can lead to loss of 
revenue or compliance.
 Centralized contracting system enables teams to store, 
retrieve and administer agreements centrally.
 The history of complete contracts helps in 
audits, compliance requirements and 
internal reviews.
 Transparency of contract status assists teams to detect delays and 
enhance efficiency in the workflow.
 The standard processes minimize manual errors and 
interdepartmental discrepancies.
 The quicker access to the contract information helps to make the 
renewals, updates, and negotiations timely.
 Less use of emails, spreadsheets, and paper files enhances 
overall control and organization.
How the Contract Tracking Process Works?
The process of tracking contracts is very straightforward and stepwise,
which assists the organizations in tracking all the contracts that they 
make and sign. It enables teams to track contracts to the start till the end 
or renewal without any loss of contract visibility along the way.
1. Contract Drafting
This begins with the drafting a contract. This can be that of a vendor, 
customer, partner or internal. A reference number or tag is normally 
assigned to each contract to facilitate easy tracking of the contract 
through its lifecycle.
2. Central Digital Storage
Once the contract has been drafted, it is stored in a centralized contract 
repository system. This simplifies the document to the authorized users 
and eliminates the necessity of using paper files or folders that are lost. 
The different versions of the contract are all located in a single place 
and can be viewed in the contract dashboard.
3. Contract Status Updates
The contract tracking software updates on the progress of the contract
 as
it proceeds. The stages are usually drafting, review, approval, signing 
and renewal. These updates enable teams to be aware of the present 
status of the agreement in real time without having to make manual 
follow-ups.
4. Alerts and Reminders
The contract tracking software can issue notifications on important 
dates like renewal, payment schedule or review. Such reminders 
assist teams to work on schedule and prevent late deadlines or 
forgotten duties.
5. Activity History
All the changes to the contract are documented, such as edits, approvals 
and status changes. This forms a clear record of the activities that can be 
viewed later to ensure internal checks or audits or as a reference.
6. Reports and Analysis
Contract tracking software also offer reports that indicate the active 
contracts, the renewals, the pending approvals among other helpful 
information. Such contract analytics enable teams to have a better 
comprehension of workload, obligations, and timelines.
7. Closure or Renewal
At the expiry of a contract, it is either closed or submitted to review in 
case it needs to be renewed. This process assists organizations to 
proceed with agreements where necessary and close finalized contracts 
in the right manner without omitting important actions.
Difference Between Manual Tracking and Contract Tracking Software
Understanding the difference between contract tracking software and 
manual contract tracking assists organizations in selecting the 
appropriate method to handle contracts.
Aspect Manual Tracking Contract Tracking Software
Efficiency Time-consuming, requires Automates tracking and 
constant follow-ups and updates hours of 
manual updates. administrative work.
Accuracy Higher chance of errors such as Reduces errors by 
missed deadlines, incorrect automatically monitoring 
status, or overlooked contracts. deadlin approvals, and 
milestones.
Visibility Limited visibility; teams Provides a centralized 
may not know the real-time dashboar time contract 
status of contracts. status for all stake
Collaboration Difficult to coordinate across Enables cross-team 
departments; information collaboratio
often siloed. shared access to contracts 
and
Alerts & Relies on manual calendars or Sends automatic alerts for 
Reminders notes, which can be easily rene approvals, and key 
missed. milestones.
Reporting & Requires manual compilation Generates actionable 
Analytics of reports, making insights reports an instantly for 
slow and limited. better decision-maki
Features of Contract Tracking Software
Contract tracking software assists organizations to be updated on their 
contracts at all levels. The following are the main characteristics that 
enable successful contract management.
1. Central Contract Repository
All the agreements are kept in a single place and it is easy to access and 
read the contract whenever required by the teams. The crucial data like 
parties involved, significant dates, and terms can be accessed without 
having to search emails and folders. One repository is also useful in 
keeping all records of audits and reference in the future.
2. Important Date Notifications and Alerts
Important dates such as renewals, expirations and payment dates are 
automatically tracked. The right team members are informed of the 
notification so that they can act in time. This assists companies in keeping 
track of events in the future and better schedule contract times.
3. Obligation Monitoring
Contracts have obligations that must be followed up regularly during their 
lifecycle.
Contract tracking software documents all obligations and shows its
status, e.g. completed or pending. This assists teams to remain conscious 
of
assigned duties and take the necessary action in time when follow-
ups are necessary. It is also easier to coordinate the teams involved 
in the agreement because clear visibility of the contractual 
obligations.
4. Milestone Tracking
Most contracts are designed in terms of specific steps or check points. 
The feature enables the teams to monitor the progress of every stage 
and revisit whether the
milestones are being achieved as scheduled. With the help of 
contract tracking software, teams can track their progress over time 
and schedule tasks and resources regarding future milestones and 
contract schedules.
5. Audit History
All the activities performed on a contract are documented such as edits, 
approvals, and updates. Contract tracking software keeps a history of 
activities that record the name of the people making changes and the 
time of the changes. The contract audit facilitates internal audits, 
compliance audits and problem solving by offering a clear and 
dependable history of contract activity.
6. Version Control
Contracts often go through multiple revisions during reviews or 
updates. Contract management software with version control, which 
keeps a record of each change, allowing teams to compare versions 
and refer to earlier drafts when needed.
With contract tracking software, the latest version is always easy
to identify while previous versions remain available for reference. This 
helps teams manage updates in a clear and organized way.
7. Reporting and Analytics
This feature gives transparent reports of the contract activity, key dates, 
renewals, and the overall performance. The teams can see the data on 
contracts in a single location to comprehend the timelines, workloads, 
and future actions. With contract tracking software, the teams can 
examine the trends, identify recurring patterns, and assess the 
management of contracts throughout the organization.
Benefits of Contract Tracking Software
Contract tracking software provides organizations with capabilities to 
track contracts and extract valuable information throughout the contract 
lifecycle. By having the correct solution in place, the businesses can 
enhance productivity.
8. Faster Contract Handling
Having many contracts manually handled may slow down day-to-day 
work. Studies indicate that 89% of firms find it difficult to handle high-
volume, routine contracts, which in most cases lead to delays and lost 
opportunities. Having a centralized storage and a rapid access to 
agreements, teams can find documents immediately, act on important 
dates, and keep the contract activities on the move.
2. Improved Contract Value Retention
Any contract has financial and business worth. Research indicates that 
contracts lose about 8.6% of their potential value because of failed 
deadlines, missed terms or poor supervision. Contract tracking software 
emphasizes the date of contract
renewal, milestones, performance indicators to ensure that teams are 
able to act early, safeguard contract value and negotiate more 
effectively.
3. Less Administrative Work for Legal Teams
Much of the time, legal teams are engaged in non-legal activities. 
Gartner estimates that 25-40% of the time spent by lawyers is on 
administrative tasks. This workload can be minimized through automated 
reminders, approval tracking, and document access, which enables legal 
professionals to devote more time to contract review, risk assessment, 
and negotiation.
4. Better Coordination Across Teams
Various departments are involved in contracts including legal, finance, 
procurement and operations. Contract tracking software enables teams to 
monitor contract status, track approvals and track deadlines by keeping 
agreements in a single location. This enhances coordination and assists 
teams to deliver tasks within the required time.
5. Stronger Compliance and Risk Oversight
It is important to meet the contract terms to avoid fines and safeguard 
business interests. Automated notifications and duty monitoring will 
keep teams informed about future deadlines and duties. Contract 
tracking software assists in enhanced monitoring of terms and 
conditions and assists organizations to track contract compliance.
6. Certain Clues to Making Decisions
The current solutions give reports on trends in renewals, contract 
duration, vendor performance, and compliance activity. These lessons 
assist leaders to recognize the areas of improvement, prioritize high-value 
agreements, and make future decisions using actual contract data.
7. Increased Productivity in the Organization
Time wasted in repetitive activities like reminding, approvals and 
searching of documents is minimized through automation. This enables 
the teams to concentrate on more valuable work and make decisions at a 
quicker pace. Research indicates that automated contracting processes 
may decrease negotiating time by half and decrease erroneous payments 
by 75 to 90% , which results in quantifiable
productivity improvements.
Best Practices to Implement During the Contract Tracking Process
Formal contract tracking process assists organizations to be aware of 
agreements, deadlines, and responsibilities during the contract life 
cycle. These practices are aimed in the way contracts are managed 
between their creation to renewal.
8. Bringing All Contract Records Together
Contracts may be developed, distributed, and edited by many teams, 
which may result in the dissemination of files and poor visibility. Storing 
agreements in various places means that teams use additional time to 
find the documents, check the versions, or verify the information.
 Keep all the contracts in a single system with access control rules
 Maintain related documents like amendments, approvals and 
attachments to the parent contract
 Use standard naming and reference conventions to facilitate 
tracking
2. Identify Unclarity in Contract Ownership
Any contract must have a specific owner who will monitor progress, 
keep records and organize reviews. In case of unclear ownership, 
follow-ups can be postponed and crucial actions can be overlooked.
 Maintain single contract owner per contract
 Details of record ownership indicate the time of contract 
addition to the system
 Reassign ownerships whenever there is a change in team role
3. Monitor Important Dates and Milestones
Contracts also have several key dates that must be considered 
throughout the time, including start dates, review periods, and renewals. 
These dates can be neglected without adequate monitoring. Tracking of 
key dates and milestones assists teams to be conscious of the next 
actions and be able to manage contracts on time.
 Note down all significant dates in contract setup
 Check future milestones on a frequent basis
 Date of update of terms of contracts
4. Monitor Contract Obligations
Contracts specify duties which should be fulfilled by an individual or
individuals. Monitoring such contract obligation assists teams to be aware 
of what is pending to be done and what has been done.
 List all obligations in each contract record
 Record the status of each obligation as work is completed
 Check pending commitments through regular reviews
5. Keep a Full Contract Activity Record
Contracts are usually subjected to numerous modifications and 
approvals. Maintaining a complete log of such activities assists 
teams in knowing how the contracts have been modified and assists 
internal audits.
 Log all changes, approvals and status
 Store historical activity in the long term
 Checks activity records in internal assessment
6. Standardize Steps of Contract Review
Regular review processes aid teams to review contracts in a systematic 
and a repeatable manner. Contracts become more difficult to manage 
across departments when there is a difference in the review processes.
 Identify distinct phases like draft, review, approval and renewal
 Repeat the same review process with similar types of contracts
 Results of document review to be used in the future
7. Ongoing Contract Review
Reports are helpful in giving a clear understanding of the status of the 
contract, schedules, and future activities. Regular review of contract 
data assists teams in planning work, priorities, and being aware of the 
contract activity within the organization.
 Check the reports on the ongoing contracts and dates
 Determine contracts to be addressed according to timelines
 Plan reviews and resource allocation using report findings
Why CLM 365 Is a Great Fit for Tracking Agreements?
CLM 365 is developed on the Microsoft ecosystem, which is why it is a 
logical selection of teams that already use Microsoft 365 solutions, 
including MS Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, MS Word, Power BI , Power 
Automate and Copilot. This tight integration enables the contract 
information to be kept in the same working environment that the teams 
work daily.
After adding a contract to CLM 365, teams can view and monitor all 
activities of a contract in one place. All the stages including reviews, 
approvals, updates, and renewals can be seen at a single location 
making it easy to track the progress and keep track of the same. Many 
users have praised its smooth navigation and advanced CLM features 
on G2.
Intelligent features and automation can keep the records of the contract 
in order
and provide the teams with a clear picture of the actions taken, the dates 
and status of the contract in the lifecycle.
Conclusion
Effective contract tracking assists teams to remain conscious of all 
agreements, significant dates, and potential risks at the initial phases. 
Automatic
updates, timely notifications and visibility ensure that teams are 
always aware of what is going on with their contracts and what they 
should pay attention to.
CLM 365 simplifies the process of handling contracts and simplifies their 
management. It assists teams to monitor, audit and manage contracts 
under a single location, which saves time and effort throughout the entire 
contract process.
Keep track of important dates and manage contracts at the same 
location. Start your 14-day free trial.