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Contract management sounds simple. Ideally, you just write a contract up, sign it, and move on. But in reality, things often fall apart behind the scenes.
Missed deadlines, poor tracking, and unclear processes chip away at value. In fact, research shows up to 40% of a contract’s value can disappear due to inefficient management.
It doesn’t happen all at once. A delay here or a skipped review; mistakes like these all pile up. Add broken workflows and outdated tracking methods into the mix, and you’re left scrambling to fix issues that could’ve been avoided.
The good news? Most of these problems come from unclear processes, and those can be fixed. A clean, structured contract management workflow helps your team maintain structure and move faster without cutting corners.
This guide breaks down everything you need to build a workflow that works, from the typical steps to common pitfalls and the smartest ways to improve. Let’s start with the basics and work our way toward a better way to manage contracts.
A contract management workflow is exactly what it sounds like—a step-by-step process for handling contracts from start to finish. It maps out how contracts are:
But without a clear process, it’s easy for things to get disorganized. Deadlines get missed, versions get mixed up, and people point fingers when something goes wrong.
In contrast, a good workflow keeps everyone on the same page. You’ll know who’s drafting the contract, who needs to review it, and when it’s ready for signatures. It keeps things moving, reduces risk, and saves your team from wasting hours on tedious tasks or cleaning up mistakes.
So, if you’re tired of last-minute scrambles or wondering who has the latest version, it might be time to build a contract workflow that actually works.
But what does that process look like in action?
Every company’s contract process has its quirks, but most follow a basic flow. These steps help keep things in order and make sure nothing falls through. Here’s a look at the usual path a contract takes:
It starts with contract requests. This is where someone inside the company, often in sales, procurement, or operations, submits a need for a new contract.
The request includes key contract data such as:
Capturing the right info upfront is important because it sets the stage for the rest of the process. In some companies, this step is handled through a form or a contract management tool that automatically routes the request to the right person.
Once the request is approved, contract drafting begins. Most companies use contract templates to speed this up and minimize errors. These templates are pre-approved by legal and include standard clauses, fallback language, and preferred terms.
The contract owner or legal team fills in the required fields, adjusts for specific needs, and prepares a first draft. This step helps maintain consistency across contracts and cuts down on back-and-forth later.
If you're using a contract lifecycle management system, it may auto-fill fields based on your CRM or intake data, which can save even more time.
After the draft is ready, it goes through internal review. Legal, finance, compliance, or other departments weigh in depending on what kind of contract it is.
This is a crucial part of the contract workflow process because it spots risks, legal issues, or missing terms before anything is signed.
Reviewers might suggest edits, request clarifications, or flag sections that don’t meet company policy. The more complex the contract, the more eyes it usually needs.
This part can drag if there’s no system in place to monitor comments or versions, so companies that manage contracts at scale often rely on platforms that log all activity in one platform.
When the contract clears internal review, it needs formal approval. This depends on deal size, risk level, or the type of agreement. A low-value vendor contract might only need one manager’s OK, while a large customer deal might need sign-off from multiple departments.
Approval workflows can be set up in contract software to route the contract to the right people in the right order, which helps avoid long setbacks and confusion. Without this structure, approvals often get lost or delayed.
With approvals in place, the contract is sent for signature. Most businesses now use e-signature tools to avoid delays from printing or mailing. These tools also track who has signed and who hasn’t to give you full visibility into the status.
E-signatures are legally binding and secure, and they make this step way faster. A smart contract system can also trigger the signature process automatically once approval is complete.
Upon signature, the contract is saved in a central location. Some teams use shared drives, but more and more are moving to contract lifecycle management platforms that allow you to organize by contract type, client, region, or date.
Many tools have contract repositories that allow for easier document management. These are dedicated digital spaces where you can store and sort your legal agreements.
Good storage matters because it’s how you access key contract data later, like payment terms or renewal dates. It also helps during audits or when you need to find contracts tied to specific vendors or clients quickly.
The final step is keeping an eye on what comes next. Contracts often include renewal dates, review deadlines, or follow-up actions. Someone needs to monitor those dates and make sure nothing is missed.
This can be done manually, but it’s much more reliable when reminders are built into the system. Alerts can go out when a contract is:
This step rounds out the entire contract management process and keeps everything running smoothly after signing.
Even with a plan in place, contract workflows can run into problems that slow things down or create risk.
Here are some of the most common contract management challenges you might be familiar with:
Automating contract management workflows can help fix many of these issues. By building a repeatable process and using the right tools, your team can move faster, keep contracts signed on time, and avoid unnecessary risks.
Now that we’ve covered the most common issues, let’s look at how to fix them. These problems don’t solve themselves, but with the right approach, you can turn a clunky process into one that works right.
Here are some practical strategies you can start with:
Before you fix anything, you need to know where things are falling apart. Take a good look at your entire contract management workflow and track where slowdowns are happening.
Is the legal taking too long to review? Are approvals sitting in someone’s inbox for days? Maybe the contract creation process itself is inefficient, with people pulling old templates or rewriting the same language over and over.
Look at recent contracts and ask:
This gives you a clear view of what’s working and what’s not. Once you find the bottlenecks, you can start looking for the right strategies to build a more optimized contract management workflow.
Not every slow step is risky, but some are. That’s why it’s important to separate delays from actual exposure.
A slow approval might frustrate your people, but skipping a legal contract review could lead to a serious problem down the line.
Or an outdated template might slow the contract creation process, but letting someone change payment terms without oversight could break legal and regulatory standards.
When reviewing your contract management lifecycle, look for steps where things could go wrong, not just slow down. Examples include:
These aren’t just workflow problems; they’re risk points. Fixing them is a key part of effective contract management.
So when you evaluate your process, ask yourself two things:
Both matter, but they need different fixes. Knowing the difference helps you prioritize what to tackle first.
If no one’s sure who’s doing what, things will fall through the cracks. A robust contract management workflow starts with clear roles at every stage. When people know their part in the process, there are fewer delays and more accountability.
Here’s what to define clearly:
Don’t assume people already know. Document it, share it, and make sure new team members are brought up to speed. This applies to the entire process, from the first request to final storage.
One of the easiest ways to speed up your process is by creating and sticking to solid templates. If everyone’s drafting from scratch or recycling old files, you’re wasting time and increasing the risk of mistakes.
Standard templates help keep your contract negotiation consistent and prevent unnecessary back-and-forth. They also make it easier to draft contracts quickly without leaving out key terms.
You can include:
Use different templates for different needs, like client agreements, vendor contracts, or NDAs. The more specific you get, the less editing you’ll need later.
Templates are a core part of an effective contract management workflow. They reduce legal review time and make sure every contract meets your company’s standards from the start.
An unclear contract approval process can hold everything up. When it’s not clear who approves contracts or in what order, contracts get stuck in inboxes, people get left out, or worse, wrong versions go out for signing.
To fix this, build a simple, structured contract approval flow. Decide:
For example, if the sales team sends out a contract over $50,000, your automated contract workflows could route it to finance, legal, and then the COO for final sign-off. Lower-value contracts might just need one manager’s approval.
Using automated workflows also helps accelerate contract approvals. The system sends reminders, logs every approval, and won’t let a contract move forward until the right people have signed off. It also helps ensure compliance by enforcing rules and leaving a clear audit trail.
At some point, emails and spreadsheets just won’t cut it. To keep contracts moving, you need a tool built to support the contract management workflow from start to finish.
Look for a platform that lets you build templates, assign roles, monitor approvals, store signed contracts, and send reminders all in one place.
One example is Aline, which offers AI-powered drafting, approval workflows, e-signatures, and a new AI Repository to organize and surface insights from your contracts.
With Aline Workflows, you can:
Each workflow can be tied to contract type, deal size, or department, helping you handle everything from quick NDAs to complex sales agreements.
Need your legal department to review only high-value deals? Set a rule. Want to give the sales team more independence? Set up a workflow that allows them to launch standard contracts on their own.
Switching to e-signatures speeds up approvals and removes one of the biggest bottlenecks in the contract process.
Electronic signing tools let you send, track, and store signatures in one place. They also support contract management workflow automation by triggering the next step as soon as a document is signed.
Better yet, many platforms connect with other business systems, so your CRM or contract dashboard updates automatically when the signature is complete. That means less manual work and fewer missed steps.
It also helps with compliance management. A digital signature platform gives you a clear audit trail and time-stamped proof of who signed and when.
With automated reminders baked into your contract management software, you can stay ahead of important actions without constant oversight.
For example, you can set alerts for review cycles, renewal windows, or expiration dates. Once set, the system notifies the right people at the right time.
This keeps contractual obligations clear and prevents holdups in your entire contract workflow. Whether you're reviewing contract terms or waiting on next steps, everyone involved gets timely updates.
It also cuts down on repetitive tasks. Instead of nudging team members every week, your system handles it quietly in the background. For companies working on multiple agreements or negotiating contracts, it brings structure and consistency without adding more work.
After reminders and signatures are automated, take it further. Look at the rest of your process and ask, "What else are we still doing by hand?"
Manual contract workflows are time-consuming and inconsistent. Automating the repetitive parts helps reduce delays, improve accuracy, and make life easier for everyone involved.
Here’s what you can automate to improve your contract workflow automation:
You can also define contract templates that adjust based on deal size, region, or contract type, removing guesswork from drafting.
Automating these steps helps improve contract risk management and drive better contract outcomes. It also gives your people time to focus on the parts of the process that need their attention.
Building a better contract process isn’t something you do once and forget. Even with automation in place, it’s important to check in regularly and see how your workflow is holding up.
Are contracts still getting stuck somewhere? Are people following the steps? Are approval times improving or dragging?
Do these to keep things moving in the right direction:
A contract process should change with your business. New teams, new tools, or new regulations can shift what’s needed. When you check in often and make small updates, you can avoid bigger problems later.
Improvement doesn’t have to be constant, but it should be steady. A few focused updates each quarter can keep your workflow simple and easy for everyone to follow.
As you can see, a clear and well-managed contract workflow makes a big difference. It cuts down on delays, minimizes risk, and keeps your team focused on the high-value work.
But not all tools cover what a complete process really needs. Some only handle signatures, while others fall short on approvals, version control, or contract storage. To keep everything on track, you need a platform that supports the full workflow.
Aline brings drafting, approvals, e-signatures, and organized storage together in one place, so your team can manage contracts without bouncing between systems.
If your current setup feels disjointed or slow, start your trial of Aline and see how much easier contract work can be.
It’s the step-by-step process used to handle contracts from start to finish. This includes creating, reviewing, approving, signing, storing, and tracking agreements to make sure nothing gets missed and everything follows the right path.
Common steps include submitting a contract request, drafting the agreement, internal review, approval, getting signatures, storing the contract, and monitoring key dates or renewals.
The four key components are:
It’s the structure your company uses to manage contracts across departments. This includes the tools, workflows, roles, and policies that guide how contracts are handled from start to finish.
To manage contracts efficiently, you need a structured workflow, clear roles, and the right tools. Start by standardizing templates, automating routine steps, and using software that supports contract workflow automation. This helps you cut down on delays, track progress in real time, and avoid missed deadlines. For strong risk management, make sure all contracts go through proper review, approval, and storage processes, so nothing is skipped and every agreement is easy to access and monitor.
Brent is an attorney, a full-stack JavaScript engineer and the CEO of Aline.
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