Contract Drafting Software

As a lawyer, drafting contracts is a critical part of your job. But, let's face it, contract drafting can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Thanks to technology advancements, the process of drafting contracts has been made easier with the availability of software designed specifically for this purpose. With the help of contract drafting software, you can save time and improve the accuracy of your contracts. In this article, we'll explore the benefits of incorporating contract drafting software into your legal team's workflow.

What is contract drafting software?

Contract drafting software is a tool that assists in the creation and management of legal documents. It offers a range of features that make contract drafting easier and faster, including pre-made templates, clause libraries, and collaboration tools. These software programs are designed to reduce the amount of time and effort required to draft contracts, while also increasing accuracy and consistency.

create nda

Benefits of using contract drafting software

Incorporating contract drafting software into your legal team's workflow can significantly improve the output of the legal function within an organisation. Here are some benefits from using contract drafting software.

Increased Efficiency

Contract drafting software allows you to automate repetitive tasks, such as inserting standard clauses or terms, which saves considerable time. This means that legal teams can focus on more complex legal issues and improve the overall quality of the contract.

Improved Collaboration & Contract Negotiation

The software enables you to collaborate with other legal team members, and even external parties, in real-time. This means that everyone involved in the contract drafting process can access and edit the document simultaneously. This allows for better contract negotiation which reduces risk and helps ensure a mutually satisfactory contract for all parties involved.

Standardisation

With self-serve contract templates and customisable clauses, contract drafting software allows you to create standardised contracts that meet your company's specific needs. You can customize these templates and clauses to suit your industry, jurisdiction, and specific requirements.

Reduced Risk

Contract drafting software reduces the risk of errors and inconsistencies by enforcing best practices and flagging potential legal issues. This means that you can be confident that your contracts are accurate, legally compliant, and enforceable.

Time and Cost Savings

By streamlining the contract drafting process, contract drafting software can save your legal team considerable time and effort. This means that your team can complete more contracts in less time, which can lead to cost savings for your organization.

Key Features of Contract Drafting Software

When choosing the right contract drafting software, there are a few key features to look out for.

Frequently-used contract templates

With Plexus users can have custom contract templates built as individual modules for the business to use without needing to go through Legal each time.

E-signature integration

The software should allow for e-signature integration, which streamlines the signing process and eliminates the need for physical signatures. Plexus integrates with Docusign to facilitate digital signatures.

contract drafting esign integration

Clause libraries

The software should have pre-made clause libraries that can be customized to meet your specific needs. These libraries should include standard clauses that are frequently used in contracts.

Workflow automation

Workflow automation allows you automatically assign the correct stakeholders to review, approve or sign a newly generated document. This can be configured to your company’s unique delegations of authority and these users would be automatically notified when it is their turn to take action in the workflow. The key benefit is that the document moves through its workflow quicker.

Alerts and notifications

Sending reminders to notify team members of updates or changes to the contract is another important feature. With Plexus, you can configure reminders for the document to suit its purpose. For example the user receives a notification that the contract is due to expire soon and a reminder to schedule a renewal conversation.

contract drafting screenshot

Customisation and flexibility

The software should be customizable and flexible to meet the specific needs of your organization. This includes the ability to add custom fields, create custom templates, and integrate with other software systems.

Collaboration tools and version control

Ensure that the software has features for real-time collaboration, document sharing, and version control. This will facilitate collaboration among team members and stakeholders who need to review and edit the contract.

Analytics and reporting

Software that provides analytics and reporting features can help you track the performance of your contracts and identify areas for improvement.

How to choose the right contract drafting software

Choosing the right software is critical to ensure adoption across your team and the creation of value for the organisation as a whole. Here are our tips for choosing the right software.

Identify your needs

When choosing the right contract drafting software, it is important to assess your organization's needs and goals. Consider the size of your legal team, the volume of contracts you handle, and the complexity of your contracts. Look for software that can scale with your organization and provide the necessary level of customization and flexibility.

Some organisations opt to go with a vendor who provides a modular solution, such as Plexus, to scale with their business as they grow. For example, if a business only needs contract drafting software, they can just choose that module and pay for that feature. As the business grows, their needs may develop and they can add on another module like matter management for example.

Research software options

Once you have identified your needs, do thorough research on the available software options. Look for reviews and testimonials from other in-house legal teams and consider factors such as cost, integrations with other software and customer support.

Demo the product

Before making a final decision, it is important to demo the product. Test the software to understand its functionalities, user interface, and ease of use. This will help you determine if it is the right fit for your team's workflow and ensure that your team is comfortable using it. It also allows you to get to know the vendor and establish the levels of support they can provide.

contract drafting with plexus


Pitfalls to avoid when selecting software

There's no doubt that purchasing new technology can be a stressful decision. If you are looking to implement contract drafting software, there are some pitfalls to avoid.

  • Make sure you are partnering with a software vendor that you trust. They have to be able to deliver a solution that meets your needs. But you'll also want to know about their roadmap for the future and their capabilities in solving your business challenges. Furthermore it’s imperative you are clear on how they will onboard your organisation and what ongoing after-sales service and support they offer.

  • The value the software will bring to your organisation depends on your ability to implement and adopt its use. Software that is too complex or requires extensive training to learn will slow down this process.

  • Consider how well the software can integrate with other tools and systems you use. The goal is to create seamless and harmonious interconnectivity as the last thing you want is added frustration, inefficiencies and increased workload. While it might be hard to know what your software requirements will be in 12 months, finding an integrated modular solution that will grow you as a business can help.

Conclusion

In conclusion, implementing contract drafting software can bring significant benefits to your in-house legal team. By streamlining your contract drafting process, you can reduce errors, save time and increase efficiency. When choosing the right software, it is important to identify your needs, research the available options, demo the product and avoid potential pitfalls.

Remember to partner with a software supplier that you trust, consider the software's ease of use and integration capabilities, and look for an integrated modular solution that can grow with your business. With the right software in place, your in-house legal team can spend less time on manual tasks and more time on strategic initiatives that drive business growth.


Accelerate your contract lifecycle

Plexus' contract management software gives you everything you need to accelerate business productivity in one modular platform. Get contracts signed faster, streamline document workflows, collaborate in real-time and integrate with the apps you already rely on.

Subscribe

Get weekly legal transformation best practices, benchmarks and trend analysis.

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience and improve our services. By using our website, we assume you're ok with this. View our privacy policy for details.

Get your free eBook!

Modernise your legal function with the Digital Transformation Guide for General Counsels.

Digital Transformation Guide