Simple Contract Management Software: What Should You Look For?

Finding the right contract support software for small businesses or nonprofits does not have to be a difficult or painful process. Although some companies offer complex packages with features that no small business needs, here at Contract Hound, we offer simple contract management software to fulfill this market. In this post, we will outline the features that smaller businesses and nonprofits should look for when choosing software–and what features to avoid.

When Simpler is Better

Companies use contract support software to manage the creation, negotiations, signatures, and data analysis of legal contracts. It enables business teams and their legal counterparts to self-serve, communicate, and manage their contracts from one workspace.

Contract management software makes it easier for teams to keep their legal contracts organized and well-managed. Because legality is an integral part of keeping any business or nonprofit running smoothly, it is essential to pick the right software.

Different companies have different needs when it comes to contract management software. A global corporation will not have the same legal profile as a local nonprofit. Their contract support software should reflect these differences.

Small businesses and nonprofits should look for simplicity as a key characteristic in their contract management software. A simple software will save time, energy, and money for a small-sized company. Contract management software should save time–not make things harder.

What to Look For in Simple Contract Management Software

Choosing the best fit of software means a bit of research. What features should potential clients look for in a contract management software?

To maximize value and simplicity, small businesses and nonprofits should focus on the following simple and user-friendly features:

• Interface
• Reminders
• Sharing
• Approvals
• Transparent, fair pricing

The product’s interface should be user-friendly to maximize productivity and keep users confident in their software choice. A poorly designed interface is a red flag.

Reminders, sharing, and approvals are features that any top contract management software should offer. At Contract Hound, we use reminders to ensure that clients do not miss contract end dates or other key events, which reduces the risk of overspending.

Sharing allows easy communication between team members by storing and organizing contracts so everyone can see them. Approvals lets users send contracts to be approved as soon as they have been uploaded, as well as track the approval process. For a small business or nonprofit, the approvals feature does not need to be particularly complex–something that Contract Hound understands with their software structure.

Finally, check out the pricing for the software plans. It should be easy to find and include a simple way to get a custom quote.

Features to Avoid

When a small business or nonprofit is choosing contract management software, some features are unnecessary or even a hindrance to dealing with contracts.

While looking at software options, beware of overly complicated and unnecessary features which carry an additional price tag, such as:

• Complex user management features, which tend to require time to set up and maintain
• Contract templates, which can be useful in some organizations BUT are often unnecessarily prescriptive
• Audit logging
• Integrations into everything
• Enterprise-complexity security, which isn’t required for most businesses
• High, complex, or opaque pricing

The opposite of user-friendly software, complex user management slows down users. Streamlined features with a simple interface is a sign of a better software choice.

While contract templates may be practical for a massive corporation, they unnecessary for a small business or nonprofit’s legal activity. This feature takes up space and complicates the software.

Audit logs, excessive integration, and enterprise-complexity software are additional features that many contract management software companies offer but are wholly unnecessary in a small business setting. Audit logs or integrations are simply unneeded.

High, complex, or opaque pricing is a final sign that the software package is not the right fit. Prices that stand out as significantly higher than the rest of the industry are not always signs of quality, but often of overly complex software with unneeded features. Opaque pricing is equally problematic.

Find Your Software Now

So, how should you find the right contract management software for your business or nonprofit?

1. For a small business or nonprofit, simpler is better.
2. Interface is important. It should be user-friendly, well-designed, and not overly complicated.
3. Features such as reminders, sharing, and approvals should be simple and easy to use.
4. On the other hand, contract templates, audit logs, integrations into everything, and enterprise-complexity security are unnecessary features for small businesses and should be avoided.
5. Pricing should be transparent and reasonable.

Contract Hound emphasizes simple, quality features specifically for small businesses and nonprofits. We offer a simple, user-friendly model that maximizes efficiency and makes contract management easy. When it comes to choosing contract management software, these attributes should be at the top of the list.