#in-progresscontracts

[contraxaware]

How to Handle Interrupted Contract Obligations and Negotiations Due to COVID-19

COVID-19 has caused incredible disruption and interrupted contract obligations across multiple industries. Businesses have been forced to close their doors. Many cannot operate using their usual processes. Others may struggle to keep up with their obligations to clients and vendors alike. While shifting to a paperless contract approval system will help, you may find yourself without access to subcontractors that you usually deal with or struggling to keep up with your contractual obligations. How can you handle those processes due to COVID-19?

Step One: Check the Terms on All Your Contracts

Many of your contracts may also have terms in place that govern operations in the event of a crisis beyond your control. This includes an "act of God" clause that will provide you with a blueprint, however vague, for how to handle many of the situations that may arise during this crisis. Some of your contracts, for example, may have terms that will allow you to change service delivery dates or what you're offering to your customers. Others may have specific terms that state how and when you must repay clients whose jobs you cannot complete in the midst of a crisis. Familiarize yourself with those terms so that you can deliver on customers' expectations. 

Step Two: Contact Representatives as Soon as Possible

If you have contracts or contract negotiations that are or will be disrupted by COVID-19, get in touch with those representatives as soon as possible. Most companies are experiencing some type of impact from COVID-19 at this time. They may be willing to renegotiate contractual terms or deadlines based on those changes. Discuss: Contractual Deadlines Are you going to have trouble meeting deadlines described in the contract due to decreased workers or changed policies in your warehouse or others? The sooner you get in touch with a representative from your contractual partner, the sooner you can make necessary changes to your contracts — and the better both of you can prepare. Inability to Deliver In some cases, you may not be able to deliver on your original contractual obligations. Venues, for example, might not be able to reopen due to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. Other companies might have a limited capacity to deliver specific services due to fewer available employees. If you know you will not be able to deliver on your interrupted contract obligations, contact the relevant parties as soon as possible. Changed Needs You need to contact your clients as you manage potential changes to your contracts. At the same time, you need to connect with your vendors and subcontractors to reflect your changing needs. Your company may, for example, need a lower volume of production from some of your vendors. Alternatively, you may need to cancel specific orders as you see what managing COVID-19 will look like for your business. Contact your vendors as soon as possible to revisit those terms so that you can decrease any penalties associated with those needs.  Changed Processes  Your business may have made many changes to help protect your employees and your customers alike. Your contractual partners need to know about those changed processes and guidelines. You need to accomplish a couple of different things in this conversation with the representative. First, you need to describe the steps your company is taking. Your clients, for example, may need to know that your employees are working remotely, or what steps you're taking to keep your facilities as clean as possible. They may also need to know how any terms will differ from what's described on your contract, especially with regard to personal contact between you and your clients.  Once you discuss terms with those representatives, make necessary changes to those contracts. Then sign them electronically to indicate that they have been approved by both parties. Whether you need to interrupt services temporarily or make plans for after the crisis is over, you want a blueprint in place. This will allow your business to keep operating effectively.

Step Three: Make Negotiations Virtual for Interrupted Contract Obligations

Your business may have had many of your contract negotiations interrupted as you made the shift to remote work. Both you and your clients — and your vendors and subcontractors — may have been forced to stop work abruptly. Alternatively, you may have to transition to a remote environment. You also may have canceled meetings without rescheduling them, especially in the immediate aftermath of social distancing requirements in your state.  As things start to settle back to normal, however, you should continue with interrupted contract negotiations as soon as possible. Reschedule meetings, moving them to a virtual environment instead of meeting in person. You should: Set up your contract management software. You can ensure that your contracts can move through the approval process virtually, rather than needing any steps completed in person.Ensure that you have an electronic signature option available. Electronic signatures are just as valid as physical signatures. So you can go ahead and get those contracts signed and keep moving forward with your business.Revisit contract templates and compliance needs to ensure that you are both meeting the latest recommendations. Also, be prepared for future repercussions of the pandemic and how they could impact your business. Issue reminders about any contract negotiations or interrupted contract obligations that you need to revisit.  The COVID-19 crisis may have temporarily interrupted contract obligations and negotiations. But it won't bring business crawling to a halt for many industries. By following these steps, you can effectively handle those interruptions and prepare your business for success. See how our software can help by scheduling a 1:1 demo. Read the full article

[contraxaware]

3 Strategies for Making Sure In-Progress Contracts Don't Get Lost

Losing track of contracts in the middle of your process can cause serious problems for your business. You run the risk of missing out on potential new customers (or having old ones slip away). It’s bad for future business, too. If your business develops a reputation for losing contracts, you may quickly discover that new customers don't want to work with you. Most clients have their own contract approval processes and understand that it may take time to sign and implement a new contract. But that doesn't mean you want to drag it out and risk losing those contracts. First, make sure your contract management process includes these nine phases for comprehensive, organized contract management. Then incorporate these three strategies into your process. With these steps, you can ensure that in-progress contracts don't get lost. Even better, you can move them through the approval process more efficiently. 

1. Keep all of your contracts in a single repository. 

Do your contracts often go on a tour through the office? Physical documents may have to travel to multiple different desks. Emails may get lost in multiple different files and folders within your company's organization system.  Like never knowing who's in charge of the contract, this method can quickly lead to lost contracts. It's easy for a contract to fall through your organization system and disappear from public attention. Once no one’s watching, it can languish without being moved on through the process.  To keep your contract approval process moving smoothly, keep all of your contracts in a single repository. Use a filing system that makes sense for your office, but ensure that contracts can all be accessed from a single location and viewed at a glance. If you need to send copies of the contract elsewhere, ensure that the primary file is updated. That ensures everyone can keep up with the contract's progress and any changes made to it. Read more about how centralizing your contracts on the cloud can solve traditional problems of both centralization and decentralization.

2. Assign someone to each contract every step of the way.

Your contract may need to go through multiple different hands — whether physically or virtually — on its way to approval. In some companies (especially bigger companies), this may include simply sending the contract to a pool of professionals to get it approved.  This method, however, is a surefire way to see your contract lost. This individual thinks the person across the room is responsible for the contract. That employee assumes that "someone else" will take care of it. Another employee assumes that the contract has been sitting there too long for it to be important. When it drops out of the queue, everyone assumes that someone else took care of it — if they even notice it at all. Sound familiar?  If you're struggling with lost contracts, take the time to assign a specific individual to each contract as it moves through your approval process. Assignment options are a must-have feature for any contract management system. Those individuals can shift or share responsibility as needed, but assigning a specific individual to the contract ensures that it gets the attention it deserves. If for some reason, a contract does fall through the cracks, you have a better shot at identifying where the problem occurred. Ideally, you want these individuals to overlap in their oversight so that the contract is never left languishing and someone always knows where it is in the approval process. Also, appoint appropriate signatories (and backup signatories) for different types of contracts. This will prevent bottlenecks and gaps due to turnover.

3. Make regular searches part of your contract management process. 

You can do your best to keep all of your contracts in a single place and follow them through the process. But every so often, something will still slip through your fingers. Not keeping an eye on contracts that aren’t strictly on your to-do list can be a costly mistake, especially for small businesses. To spot it as quickly as possible, choose contract management software that will make searching through your contracts a snap. Then, add "search for incomplete contracts" to your weekly or monthly To-Do list, depending on your usual contract approval cycle.  Chances are that when you conduct this search, you will flag all of the in-progress contracts throughout the business. But you'll also get a chance to look through any contracts that have been forgotten, especially if you sort by creation date. This is the ideal time to:  Remove any contracts you (or your client) decided not to move forward with.Clean out copies of contracts.Ensure that contracts that have languished too long are quickly dealt with.  You may choose to expedite contracts that have sat for too long, so they're dealt with more quickly. You may also want to speak with the person last responsible for the contract: What's the holdup? What prevented this contract from being moved on through the approval process? Then, you can more effectively determine what to do next.  Managing your contract approval process is an ongoing effort for your business. You may discover that you need to make regular changes to help keep it moving effectively. One of the most important things you can do for your business, however, ensures that contracts do not get lost or forgotten. These three steps can help prevent your important contracts from falling through the cracks. Read the full article

[contraxaware]

3 Strategies for Making Sure In-Progress Contracts Don't Get Lost

Losing track of contracts in the middle of your process can cause serious problems for your business. You run the risk of missing out on potential new customers (or having old ones slip away). It’s bad for future business, too. If your business develops a reputation for losing contracts, you may quickly discover that new customers don't want to work with you. Most clients have their own contract approval processes and understand that it may take time to sign and implement a new contract. But that doesn't mean you want to drag it out and risk losing those contracts. First, make sure your contract management process includes these nine phases for comprehensive, organized contract management. Then incorporate these three strategies into your process. With these steps, you can ensure that in-progress contracts don't get lost. Even better, you can move them through the approval process more efficiently. 

1. Keep all of your contracts in a single repository. 

Do your contracts often go on a tour through the office? Physical documents may have to travel to multiple different desks. Emails may get lost in multiple different files and folders within your company's organization system.  Like never knowing who's in charge of the contract, this method can quickly lead to lost contracts. It's easy for a contract to fall through your organization system and disappear from public attention. Once no one’s watching, it can languish without being moved on through the process.  To keep your contract approval process moving smoothly, keep all of your contracts in a single repository. Use a filing system that makes sense for your office, but ensure that contracts can all be accessed from a single location and viewed at a glance. If you need to send copies of the contract elsewhere, ensure that the primary file is updated. That ensures everyone can keep up with the contract's progress and any changes made to it. Read more about how centralizing your contracts on the cloud can solve traditional problems of both centralization and decentralization.

2. Assign someone to each contract every step of the way.

Your contract may need to go through multiple different hands — whether physically or virtually — on its way to approval. In some companies (especially bigger companies), this may include simply sending the contract to a pool of professionals to get it approved.  This method, however, is a surefire way to see your contract lost. This individual thinks the person across the room is responsible for the contract. That employee assumes that "someone else" will take care of it. Another employee assumes that the contract has been sitting there too long for it to be important. When it drops out of the queue, everyone assumes that someone else took care of it — if they even notice it at all. Sound familiar?  If you're struggling with lost contracts, take the time to assign a specific individual to each contract as it moves through your approval process. Assignment options are a must-have feature for any contract management system. Those individuals can shift or share responsibility as needed, but assigning a specific individual to the contract ensures that it gets the attention it deserves. If for some reason, a contract does fall through the cracks, you have a better shot at identifying where the problem occurred. Ideally, you want these individuals to overlap in their oversight so that the contract is never left languishing and someone always knows where it is in the approval process. Also, appoint appropriate signatories (and backup signatories) for different types of contracts. This will prevent bottlenecks and gaps due to turnover.

3. Make regular searches part of your contract management process. 

You can do your best to keep all of your contracts in a single place and follow them through the process. But every so often, something will still slip through your fingers. Not keeping an eye on contracts that aren’t strictly on your to-do list can be a costly mistake, especially for small businesses. To spot it as quickly as possible, choose contract management software that will make searching through your contracts a snap. Then, add "search for incomplete contracts" to your weekly or monthly To-Do list, depending on your usual contract approval cycle.  Chances are that when you conduct this search, you will flag all of the in-progress contracts throughout the business. But you'll also get a chance to look through any contracts that have been forgotten, especially if you sort by creation date. This is the ideal time to:  Remove any contracts you (or your client) decided not to move forward with.Clean out copies of contracts.Ensure that contracts that have languished too long are quickly dealt with.  You may choose to expedite contracts that have sat for too long, so they're dealt with more quickly. You may also want to speak with the person last responsible for the contract: What's the holdup? What prevented this contract from being moved on through the approval process? Then, you can more effectively determine what to do next.  Managing your contract approval process is an ongoing effort for your business. You may discover that you need to make regular changes to help keep it moving effectively. One of the most important things you can do for your business, however, ensures that contracts do not get lost or forgotten. These three steps can help prevent your important contracts from falling through the cracks. Read the full article