The Legal AI category has spent the last several weeks in a narrative pile-up.
A pure-play AI Legal vendor closed funding at an $11 billion valuation. A direct competitor closed at $5.5 billion. Within days, an open-source alternative dropped on GitHub claiming feature parity with both. Every Legal tech newsletter, podcast, and analyst note has been dissecting what it means.
Most of the analysis has missed the point.
The story being told is about who wins the Legal AI race. Who has the best foundation model. The slickest interface. The fastest growth chart. The richest funding round. The most ambitious open-source rebuttal.
It is a compelling story. It is also the wrong race.
Front-end AI is the easy part
Building a chat interface on top of a foundation model has become a fast project. The recent open-source release proves it. A working alternative to two of the most-funded companies in the category, available as free code anyone can run.
That is not a knock on any of those companies. They have done real work. But the speed at which their core capability can be replicated tells you something important about where the defensible value in Legal AI actually lives.
It does not live in the interface.
It does not live in the foundation model.
It lives in the system of record underneath the work.
What that system of record actually is
Legal operations does not happen in a chat window. It happens across matter management, spend management, vendor relationships, compliance frameworks, document repositories, billing systems, and the integrations that connect all of them to the rest of an enterprise.
Onit has spent over a decade building that infrastructure. Today it serves more than 3,000 corporate Legal teams and connects more than 23,000+ law firms. It is the operational backbone that Legal departments at the world’s largest companies actually run on.
That is the layer where AI for Legal becomes durable. A chat interface can be replaced in a week. A system of record cannot be replaced in a year, and the data, workflows, and trust accumulated inside it cannot be replicated at any speed.
What we did in twelve hours
When the open-source Legal AI release dropped, our AI team was already deep into building Olava, Onit’s own small language model, and the broader AI capability layer of our platform. The release was not a surprise. It was a market signal that the front-end of Legal AI had reached commodity status, exactly as we had been building toward.
So we ran a test.
Within twelve hours of the release, our team integrated it with Olava and put it in front of our own Legal department to evaluate against the work already underway on our platform. Real lawyers. Real workflows. Real comparison.
Twelve hours.
What that test confirmed was what we already believed. The interface is replicable. The foundation models are commoditizing. The defensible value of Legal AI lives in what surrounds it. The data, the integrations, the security posture, the network of Legal teams and law firms doing the work.
The integration itself was not twelve hours of work. The years of platform investment that made twelve hours possible, secure deployment pipelines, model evaluation infrastructure, data architecture, integration scaffolding, was the harder thing. The twelve-hour test is a proof point about the platform, not just the team.
What we are committing to
Olava is real. It is in active development. It will be in production with our own Legal department in the coming weeks, and in customer pilots shortly after.
That is one piece of a broader commitment. Every new AI capability that emerges in this category, whether from a well-funded vendor, an open-source contributor, or anywhere else, can be evaluated, integrated, and deployed inside the platform our customers already trust, on the security posture they already know.
We are not going to chase the AI hype cycle. We are going to do the harder work of putting durable AI capability into the system of record where Legal actually happens.
Why this matters for the category
The companies winning the AI hype cycle today are racing on a dimension where speed compounds quickly and moats erode just as fast. Their models will be matched. Their interfaces will be cloned. Their funding rounds will not protect them from the underlying truth that everything they have built can be rebuilt in a fraction of the time it took to build it the first time.
The companies that will define what Legal AI actually becomes, five years from now, ten years from now, are the ones building at the infrastructure layer. The system of record. The system of process. The trust posture. The network of Legal teams and law firms doing the work.
Onit is one of those companies.
What comes next
The next 30 days will bring more. A behind-the-scenes look at our AI work, the workflows Olava is being designed to support inside our own Legal department, customers joining the early access program, a live broadcast with our AI team, and an honest accounting of what is working and what is not.
The bigger story will unfold over the next several quarters. The Legal AI race is not going to be won where the market is currently watching. It will be won underneath, in the infrastructure that makes Legal work actually run.
The Uniform Task-Based Management System (UTBMS) details a series of code sets that law firms use to classify services on electronic invoices sent to clients, such as legal operations and corporate legal departments.
UTBMS codes make detailed spend reporting possible by ensuring that each task and expense is categorized. That way, when you notice in Q1 that spending is out of control, you’re able to identify and solve the problem before Q4. Of course, in order for reporting to be accurate, you must first fully understand UTBMS codes and how to use them.
The creators designed UTBMS codes to standardize the categorization of legal services and expenses so that legal work and the associated costs could be easily identified and analyzed. You can learn more about the LEDES file format and LOC at utbms.com.
UTBMS codes are used in many legal systems around the world, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For this article, we will focus on UTBMS standards for e-Billing set by the ABA and LOC.
American Bar Association UTBMS codes
When used consistently and properly, ABA UTBMS task codes allow you to monitor legal spending and associated activities.
All ABA UTBMS codes are broken into categories and phases. Categories are identified by the beginning letter (e.g., L for ABA litigation codes) while phases are specified by the number (100s for phase 1, 200s for phase 2, etc.). While some UTBMS codes are fairly self-explanatory, others require a deeper explanation. We’ll walk you through all of the ABA UTBMS codes, and provide more insight when necessary.
Activity
Activity codes identify the type of activity associated with a cost.
A101 Plan and prepare for
A102 Research
A103 Draft/revise
A104 Review/analyze
A105 Communicate (in firm)
A106 Communicate (with client)
A107 Communicate (other outside counsel)
A108 Communicate (other external)
A109 Appear for/attend
A110 Manage data/files
A111 Other
Although not all clients require the use of UTBMS activity codes, this code set is useful for segmenting specific types of work. For instance, the four separate communication codes ensure more accurate spend tracking for both counsel and client. In situations where you may need to consult with an expert as well as outside counsel, codes A108 and A107, respectively, allow you to categorize time spent on each type of communication.
Bankruptcy
Derived from the code set published by the U.S. Department of Justice, bankruptcy UTBMS codes are intended only for bankruptcy matters. All adversarial tasks are covered by the litigation code set. The 21 bankruptcy ABA task codes are broken up into four phases.
B100 Administration
UTBMS codes in the B100 phase include administrative work during preparation, such as research, fee applications, and communication with creditors.
B110 Case Administration: Preparation of coordination and compliance matters, financial affairs statements, and general creditor inquiries
B120 Asset Analysis and Recovery: Identification and review of potential assets including causes of action and non-litigation recoveries
B130 Asset Disposition: Sales, abandonment and transaction work related to asset disposition
B140 Relief from Stay/Adequate Protection Proceedings: Matters relating to termination or continuation of automatic stay under 362 and motions for adequate protection
B150 Meetings of and Communications with Creditors: Preparing for and attending the conference of creditors, the 341(a) meeting and other creditors’ committee meetings
B160 Fee/Employment Applications: Preparations of employment and fee applications for self or others; motions to establish interim procedures
B170 Fee/Employment Objections: Review of and objections to the employment and fee applications of others
B180 Avoidance Action Analysis: Review of potential avoiding actions under Sections 544–549 of the Code to determine whether adversary proceedings are warranted
B185 Assumption/Rejection of Leases and Contracts: Analysis of leases and executory contracts and preparation of motions specifically to assume or reject
B190 Other Contested Matters (excluding assumption/rejection motions): Analysis and preparation of all other motions, opposition to motions and reply memoranda in support of motions
B195 Non-Working Travel: Non-working travel where the court reimburses at less than full hourly rates
B200 Operations
B200 codes cover business matters, such as document review, employee benefits, cash collaterals, real estate, and tax issues.
B210 Business Operations: Issues related to debtor-in-possession operating in Chapter 11 such as employee, vendor, and tenant issues and other similar problems
B220 Employee Benefits/Pensions: Review issues such as severance, retention, 401K coverage and continuance of pension plan
B230 Financing/Cash Collections: Matters under 361, 363 and 364 including cash collateral and secured claims; loan document analysis
B240 Tax Issues: Analyses and advice regarding tax-related issues, including the preservation of net operating loss carry forwards
B250 Real Estate: Review and analysis of real estate-related matters, including purchase agreements and lease provisions (e.g., common area maintenance clauses)
B260 Board of Directors Matters: Preparation of materials for and attendance at Board of Directors meetings; analysis and advice regarding corporate governance issues and review and preparation of corporate documents (e.g., Articles, Bylaws, employment agreements, compensation plans, etc.)
B300 Claims and plan
The B300 codes are used for all work related to claim inquiries and preparing disclosure statements and business plans.
B310 Claims and Administration Objections: Specific claim inquiries; bar date motions; analyses, objections and allowances of claims
B320 Plan and Disclosure Statement (including Business Plan): Formulation, presentation and confirmation; compliance with the plan confirmation order, related orders and rules; disbursement and case closing activities, except those related to the allowance and objections to allowance of claims
B400 Bankruptcy-related advice
All advice, analyses, and consultations related to bankruptcy matters fall under the B400 code set.
B410 General Bankruptcy Advice/Options: Analysis, advice and/or opinions regarding potential bankruptcy related issues, where no bankruptcy case has been filed
B420 Restructurings: Analysis, consultation and drafting in connection with the restructuring of agreements, including financing agreements, where no bankruptcy case has been filed
Counseling
Counseling is one of the broader categories of UTBMS codes. This code set is designed to cover time used by attorneys preparing to provide legal advice. Generally, the counseling ABA task codes do not attribute time to a specific matter. Instead, they serve as a catchall billing code for time spent on research throughout a monthly billing period.
C100 Fact Gathering: All initial inquiries, meetings, and data/information collection related to the assignment
C200 Researching Law: Time spent researching relevant case law or general investigation as well as consultations with experts
C300 Analysis and Advice: Analysis of work performed under C100 and C200 along with providing opinions and advice to client
C400 Third Party Communication: Discussions with third parties such as regulators or parties to contracts with the client
Expense
Expense UTBMS codes help with budget tracking by categorizing types of spending.
E101 Copying
E102 Outside printing
E103 Word processing
E104 Facsimile
E105 Telephone
E106 Online research
E107 Delivery services/messengers
E108 Postage
E109 Local travel
E110 Out-of-town travel
E111 Meals
E112 Court fees
E113 Subpoena fees
E114 Witness fees
E115 Deposition transcripts
E116 Trial transcripts
E117 Trial exhibits
E118 Litigation support vendors
E119 Experts
E120 Private investigators
E121 Arbitrators/mediators
E122 Local counsel
E123 Other professionals
E124 Other
Generally, Expense UTBMS codes are combined with a related activity code. For example, an invoice might include activity code A102 paired with expense code E101. A102 categorizes the time spent researching, while E101 specifies money spent on printing copies of that research.
This code set not only facilitates educated budget planning but also simplifies the process of submitting attorney expenses.
Litigation
ABA litigation codes are broken into five phases and encapsulate the entire litigation process.
L100 Case Assessment, Development, and Administration
L110 Fact Investigation/Development
L120 Analysis/Strategy
L130 Experts/Consultants
L140 Document/File Management
L150 Budgeting
L160 Settlement/Non-Binding ADR
L190 Other Case Assessment, Development and Administration
During the initial stages, L100 codes could be combined with activity UTBMS codes. For example, A106 (Communicate with client) might be paired with L110 or L120 because client communication would help formulate the litigation strategy.
L200 Pre-Trial Pleadings and Motions
L210 Pleading
L220 Preliminary Injunctions/Provisional Remedies
L230 Court Mandated Conferences
L240 Dispositive Motions
L250 Other Written Motions and Submissions
L260 Class Action Certification and Notice
Expense codes often accompany L200 codes, such as E112 (Court fees) associated with filing for class certification (L260) or filing a pleading (L210).
L300 Discovery
L310 Written Discovery
L320 Document Production
L330 Depositions
L340 Expert Discovery
L350 Discovery Motions
L390 Other Discovery
L400 Trial Preparation and Trial
L410 Fact Witnesses
L420 Expert Witnesses
L430 Written Motions and Submissions
L440 Other Trial Preparation and Support
L450 Trial and Hearing Attendance
L460 Post-Trial Motions and Submissions
L470 Enforcement
This phase also calls for the use of expense codes, such as E114 (Witness fees) when interviewing an expert witness (L420).
L500 Appeal
L510 Appellate Motions and Submissions
L520 Appellate Briefs
L530 Oral Argument
L600 e-Discovery
LOC and the ABA ratified the litigation codes to include a sixth phase for an e-Discovery code set. Each parent task code has sub-task codes for more granular tracking. To keep this brief, we’ll list only the parent tasks.
L600 Identification
L610 Preservation
L620 Collection
L630 Processing
L650 Review
L660 Analysis
L670 Production
L680 Presentation
L690 Project management
Project
For non-litigation matters, project codes are used for administrative filings, transactions, and stand-alone projects. The project code set includes eight phases.
P100 Project Administration: All initial administration work such as developing, negotiating, and revising the plan and budget for the matter at hand
P200 Fact Gathering/Due Diligence
Codes within the P200 phase are used for time spent on fact investigation, document retrieval, and preparation of reports with clients. They also cover coordination with third parties related to these activities.
Each P200 UTBMS code designates time spent on fact investigation/due diligence from a specific perspective, such as tax or environmental.
P210 Corporate Review
P220 Tax
P230 Environmental
P240 Real and Personal Property
P250 Employee/Labor
P260 Intellectual Property
P270 Regulatory Reviews
P280 Other
P300–P800 make up the additional codes within this phase.
P300 Structure/Strategy/Analysis: Time spent on analysis done for the purposes of developing the strategy for a project or transaction. This includes all steps taken to create a written outline or description of the strategy
P400 Initial Document Preparation/Filing: Tasks performed to prepare documents and opinions before being sent to third parties. This includes filing documents, related communications with the client, and review of client-generated transaction documentation
P500 Negotiation/Revision/Responses: Time spent negotiating and revising P400 transaction documentation, including all related document review, meetings, and client communications
P600 Completion/Closing: All tasks related to transaction pre-closing and closing, project completion or filing acceptance, such as attendance at closing
P700 Post-Completion/Post Closing: All post-completion or post-closing tasks such as amendments to final documentation and resolution of post-closing issues. Also includes all implementation tasks (e.g., funds held in escrow) and preparation of closing binders (i.e., primarily clerical actions)
P800 Maintenance and Renewal: All tasks related to subsequent maintenance and renewal requirements under the terms of the transaction or project such as monitoring of lease agreements, routine waivers and coordination of UCC requirements
Workers’ compensation
A 2010 ratification defined the workers’ compensation code set. Many tasks include a “Commentary & Practice Tips” subset that shares the same code as the parent task. For example, WC 110 could refer to Fact Investigation/Development or the Commentary & Practice Tips related to that task.
This UTBMS code set includes a total of five phases and 27 ABA task codes. For the sake of brevity, we will provide a high-level description of each phase. It’s important to note that the Workers’ Compensation code set does not include phase-level parent tasks (WC 100, WC 200, WC 300, etc.)
WC 100 phase
All actions related to researching the case matter, strategizing, consulting with experts, and settlements.
WC 110 Fact Investigation/Development
WC 110 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 120 Analysis/Strategy
WC 120 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 130 Experts/Consultants
WC 130 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 150 Budgeting
WC 150 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 160 Settlement/Resolution
WC 160 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 180 Alternative Fee Arrangements
WC 200 phase
Time spent preparing and filing pleadings, conferences with judge, and negotiating alternative fee arrangements.
WC 210 Pleadings
WC 210 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 230 Conferences with Judge
WC 230 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 280 Alternative Fee Arrangements
WC 300 phase
Time spent on all discovery motions, document production/acquisition, and depositions.
WC 310 Written Discovery
WC 310 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 320 Document Production/Acquisition
WC 320 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 330 Depositions
WC 330 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 334 Deposition Report
WC 340 Expert Discovery
WC 340 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 350 Discovery Motions
WC 350 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 360 Discovery On-Site Inspections/Visits
WC 360 Commentary & Practice Tips
WC 380 Alternative Fee Arrangements
WC 400 phase
Time spent preparing for and communicating with witnesses, drafting written motions, and preparing for and attending hearings.
With Onit, you can process invoices using UTBMS codes to help your team better categorize outside counsel activity and track spend at a more granular level. Additionally, you can also configure custom task, activity, and expense codes if your department leverages them.
When invoices are categorized, you can run standard or ad-hoc reports for matter-level comparisons of legal spend by task code, as well as other insights. This insights include views into spend by task for your practice areas or specific vendors. Onit also provides a Spend Dashboard that quickly identifies your top task codes in use, along with information about average rates and how much was billed to each code.
UTBMS codes also allow you to enforce billing guidelines and control spending. You can set limits and create warnings associated with specific codes so that expenses can be automatically approved, rejected, or adjusted… all within a single platform.
Start using UTBMS codes to streamline legal spend management
Stop digging for codes every time a question comes up. This reference guide puts the most important UTBMS and ABA codes in one place so your team can use them quickly and confidently. Download the UTBMS & ABA Codes Reference Guide
Of course, knowing the codes is one thing. Getting your team to use them correctly is another. This checklist shows you exactly how to implement and maintain coding standards across matters and vendors. Get the UTBMS & ABA Codes Implementation Checklist
Accurate UTBMS coding is the foundation of effective legal spend management. When every task and expense is properly categorized, your team gains the visibility it needs to enforce billing guidelines, identify inefficiencies, and make informed decisions about outside counsel spend.
Legal billing guidelines are a binding agreement between a corporate legal department and a law firm, ensuring accurate payment in exchange for legal services. These guidelines establish clear rules for legal invoicing formats, staffing expectations, deadlines, and other essential aspects of the working relationship.
Think of your legal billing guidelines as the underlying foundation for creating a transparent and meaningful partnership between your legal operations team and outside counsel. Implementing robust guidelines is one of the most effective ways to control your legal spend, boost efficiency, and drive compliance across your vendor network.
Here is how you can create your own legal billing guidelines to establish a successful, thriving relationship with your outside law firms.
Why clear expectations matter for law firm billing
The foundation of any great relationship with your outside counsel is clear expectations. If law firms do not understand your business goals or what you expect from them, they will likely miss the mark when they begin billing. Clear, actionable, and easy-to-understand billing guidelines are the key to getting your outside law firms up and running at maximum efficiency.
When creating billing guidelines to onboard outside counsel, in-house legal departments often feel intimidated by the level of detail required. However, billing guidelines do not need to be long, complex, or riddled with heavy legal jargon. You can start with your core billing requirements, adding and refining details as your team grows, your needs change, and your regulatory requirements evolve.
Core components of effective legal billing guidelines
You need to convey exactly why billing guidelines are important to your legal operations. Guidelines are not meant to set unachievable standards; instead, they create a reliable baseline for expectations so you can ensure everyone is aligned.
In working with legal departments of all sizes, we have identified five key elements that should be included in your legal billing guidelines:
Introduction
Staffing
Legal invoicing and billing procedures
Timing
Signature page
Introduction
The introduction states the purpose of the document and the expectations of the vendor relationship. Use this section to define what a successful working partnership looks like for both parties. Remember that your legal billing guidelines are a guide for building strong, collaborative partnerships, not a list of one-sided demands.
Your introduction should include:
The exact date when the billing guidelines go into effect
A declaration of your legal department’s right to modify, adjust, or reject invoices that do not comply with the guidelines
A clear reminder for law firms to accept the terms by signing the acknowledgment page
Keep your introduction brief so you do not overwhelm your vendors right from the start.
Staffing
The staffing section dictates who has the authority to hire vendors, addresses appropriate staffing levels for specific projects, and outlines the approval process for internal staffing changes.
Set the expectation that you will only pay for work that aligns with the timekeeper’s specific role and expertise. Clearly state that you will not pay partner-level rates for administrative work that an associate or paralegal could complete. If your department does not pay for work completed by interns or first-year associates, document those rules explicitly.
You must also address inevitable changes in law firm staff. If an attorney working on your matter leaves the firm or moves to another account, explain how that transition should be handled. Require vendors to notify your team within a specific number of days, and invoke your right to approve or reject the replacement timekeeper.
Legal invoicing and billing procedures
Your billing procedures explain exactly how outside counsel must submit invoices and define your preferred legal invoicing format.
First, establish how you want to receive invoices. Then make sure you provide clear instructions on how vendors can submit their invoices through the vendor portal.
Next, describe how invoices must be formatted and the specific data they must include. For example, require that all invoices include:
The specific matter name and ID
A detailed description of the work completed
The timekeeper’s name, title, and billing rate
If you require a specific file format, such as LEDES, state your preferences and outline any acceptable substitutions.
Timing
This section outlines how often vendors should submit invoices and the timeline for payment.
If you want to maintain control of your budget and streamline accruals management, you must control your invoicing timeline. Use this section to establish:
Frequency of invoice submissions: Explain whether vendors must submit invoices weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
Timeline for payment: State your payment window, such as paying approved invoices within 30 days of receipt.
Penalties for late invoices: Detail any discounts applied to invoices submitted past the due date.
Unpaid invoices: Clarify that invoices submitted beyond a specific timeframe (e.g., 90 days after work completion) will not be paid.
Method of payment: Specify whether you pay via check, electronic transfer, or another method.
Signature page
The signature page acts as your insurance that your outside law firms have read, understood, and agreed to your billing guidelines.
It is difficult to enforce rules if vendors claim they never received them. A simple signature page stating that the firm acknowledges receipt and accepts the terms of the guidelines will prevent costly disputes down the line.
How to enforce legal billing guidelines with eBilling solutions
When leveraging a robust legal spend and matter management solution, it is essential to specify how outside counsel should submit invoices and explain how you will automatically enforce your rules. Law firms are accustomed to using various billing systems, so be specific with your technical requirements.
Outline the process for getting started with your vendor portal, establish the exact timeline for submissions, and provide key contacts for billing inquiries. You should also go beyond general procedures to explain how vendors must bill for specific expenses, travel, and administrative fees.
Include a section on prohibited fees so you are completely transparent about what you will not pay for. For example, explicitly state that you do not accept block billing and will not pay for first-class travel, administrative tasks, or time spent preparing the invoice itself.
Finally, explain how these rules are enforced through your software. With intelligent eBilling solutions, you can automatically reduce or reject invoices that violate your guidelines. Be upfront about this automated reduction process so it never comes as a surprise to your partners.
Aligning legal operations with finance and accounting
Modern legal teams must align closely with their finance and accounting counterparts. Use your legal billing guidelines to define processes that reduce billing errors and streamline cross-departmental collaboration.
For instance, if you collect monthly unbilled estimates from your law firms to manage accruals, explain how outside counsel should submit those estimates. By outlining the processes for accruals, budgeting, and forecasting, you help both departments gain better visibility into current and future legal spend.
The ultimate goal of your billing guidelines
The goal is not to paralyze your law firms with rigid terms, but to set clear, data-driven expectations. View your legal billing guidelines as a living document that you continuously build, refine, and adapt as your legal operations mature.
When you prioritize transparency and seamless integration, you empower your legal team to achieve better business outcomes and build stronger vendor relationships!
See what your billing guidelines could actually save you
Most legal teams underestimate how much invoice leakage they have. Use our ROI calculator to quantify how AI-native eBilling can reduce costs, improve compliance, and give you real control over spend. Calculate your ROI now
Want a deeper look at the ROI of legal eBilling technology?
Explore how modern legal teams turn billing guidelines into measurable financial impact, with real strategies for reducing spend and improving visibility. Read the guide on the ROI of legal eBilling tech.
Jasmine Sims put it plainly during the discussion.
When budgets are tight, the fastest way to unlock technology investment is to fix inefficient processes first.
Because good technology cannot repair a bad process.
Legal ops leaders who understand this sequence focus on operational clarity first. Then they automate.
Where AI Actually Helps
There’s another assumption that slows progress in legal departments. That AI will replace lawyers.
It won’t.
The legal profession runs on judgment.
Lawyers interpret context. Assess risk. Make decisions with accountability.
AI does something different. It removes the low-judgment work.
Reviewing standard clauses.
Scanning large contract portfolios.
Identifying patterns across thousands of documents.
That’s where AI shines. Humans define the decisions, AI helps them get there faster while still allowing them the oversight that keeps them comfortable.
Manual and fragmented contract processes create real business drag: slow deal cycles, hidden risk, compliance blind spots, and reactive renewals. Modern CLM solutions unite contracting into one automated system so teams can move faster, reduce risk, and gain real contract visibility at scale. Low-touch, automated workflows and centralized data mean you spend less time fixing broken process and more time driving value.
This article helps you answer, “Do we need CLM?” with tangible signals that your organization is ready for a better (and more modern) approach.
Why contract management matters more than you think
Improved contract development and management can increase annual revenue by up to 9%. Yet for most organizations, contract management still relies on manual processes spread across email threads, shared drives, and disconnected spreadsheets. The cumulative impact of these habits costs organizations an immense amount of time and money.
If Legal, sales, procurement, and finance all keep contracts in different places, including emails, shared drives, and spreadsheets, you lack a single source of truth. Teams waste time chasing versions, reconciling duplicates, and second-guessing whether a document is current.
Legal: struggles with version control and audit trails
Sales: loses deal momentum searching for the right template or approval
Procurement: cannot confirm whether a vendor agreement is final or still under negotiation
Finance: cannot reconcile contract terms with actual performance data
Centralization is core to what CLM software solves. Without it, every team is operating on incomplete information.
2. You cannot make changes easily or consistently
Contracts have lifespans. Pricing changes. Regulations shift. Clauses get updated. When your process for managing those changes is a manual chase across departments, you introduce inconsistency and risk at every step. Gaps in standardized language open the door to unexpected legal challenges.
If your contracts consistently have language consistency issues, or if updating one clause means hunting down every contract where it appears, that is a workflow problem, not just a documentation problem.
3. People rely on manual follow-ups
If your team constantly chases signatures, approvals, renewals, or milestones via email or chat, your workflow is working against you. Bottlenecked contract cycles and limited process control increase risk dramatically.
Legal: waits on business partners to return redlines without visibility into what changed
Sales: cannot tell where a contract sits in the approval queue
Procurement: misses renewal windows because no automated alert existed
Finance: receives invoices that do not match agreed terms because obligations were never tracked
Manual follow-up is a symptom of a process that has no automation underneath it.
4. You lack visibility into contract performance
When performance against obligations, renewals, or compliance is opaque, your team is stuck reacting instead of planning. Without visibility into contract terms and obligations, Legal teams cannot ensure the business is getting the right value from its deals.
Running customized reports on contracts based on specific criteria, such as commission rates, renewal term lengths, or business territory, gives organizations valuable insight into how contracts are actually performing. If generating that kind of report requires significant manual effort, visibility is the problem.
5. Risk and compliance are hard to track
Missing termination clauses, auto-renewals, or regulatory requirements expose the business to real consequences. A single overlooked clause can mean significant financial and legal impact. When compliance tracking depends on individuals remembering to check, rather than a system designed to flag it, risk compounds quietly over time.
Legal: compliance reviews happen after the fact, not before obligations are triggered
Procurement: auto-renewals activate on vendor contracts that should have been renegotiated
Finance: audit requests surface contracts that were never properly stored or tracked
Structured, auditable contract controls are not a luxury. They are a baseline requirement for organizations managing any meaningful volume of contracts.
6. Legal and sales are in constant tension over speed vs. risk
Lawyers, who work to reduce risk, prefer to review contracts in detail. Sales professionals, who have the job of closing deals, want contracts through quickly. If your organization experiences friction like this regularly, it likely needs a better approach.
The tension itself is not the problem. The problem is a process that has no mechanism for resolving it efficiently. When Legal slows deals and sales finds workarounds, both sides lose. Automated policies and configurable workflows help balance speed and compliance without forcing a choice between the two.
7. You are losing value from renewals or performance issues
Missed renewals, poor terms, or unexpected penalties mean contract data is not working for your organization. When there is no system actively tracking key dates and obligations, value leaks quietly out of every contract.
Contracting delays impact the entire enterprise, stalling revenue generation, new services, and valuable partnerships. If your team is not proactively managing renewals, renegotiations, and performance benchmarks, you are leaving real money on the table.
What a modern CLM software actually does
Once the signs above resonate, it helps to understand what modern CLM software brings to the table:
Centralizes contract data and documents in one secure, searchable repository
Automates intake, workflows, approvals, and deadline reminders
Tracks obligations, compliance, key dates, and renewals with intelligent alerts
Provides dashboards and analytics for performance and risk insights
Integrates with CRM and ERP systems to connect contract data to revenue and operations
The goal is not just to store contracts digitally. It is to make contract data usable, visible, and actionable across the business.
CLM trends in 2026 you should know
CLM is no longer just about automation. AI-assisted insights, natural-language search, and intelligent clause extraction are reshaping how contracting works. Integrations with CRM, ERP, and analytics platforms are turning contracts into strategic data assets rather than static documents filed away after signature. Remote and hybrid work environments have also accelerated the demand for cloud-native, collaborative contract workflows that do not depend on anyone being in the same room or on the same email thread.
Organizations that treat CLM as infrastructure, rather than a one-time implementation, are the ones building durable advantages in how they manage risk, relationships, and revenue.
The business case for acting now
The CLM software market has grown significantly in recent years, and for good reason. Companies using contract management software find advantages across the board: self-service contract creation using approved templates, easier access to contracts stored in one repository, reduction in duplicative work, greater visibility into risk and compliance, and faster turnaround through automation.
When AI is added to CLM, the impact compounds. Research from Onit’s AI Center of Excellence found that AI-powered contract review can dramatically outperform manual review in speed and cost. A junior lawyer may take nearly an hour to review a single contract, while AI-powered tools complete the same task in minutes at a fraction of the cost. For teams managing high contract volumes, that difference is not marginal. It is transformational.
If your organization is experiencing three or more of the signs outlined above, the cost of staying on your current process is likely higher than you realize.
Frequently asked questions
What problems does CLM software solve?
CLM addresses fragmented contract storage, manual approval workflows, missed renewal deadlines, inconsistent contract language, compliance tracking gaps, and a lack of visibility into contract performance and obligations.
How do I know if my contract process needs CLM?
If your team regularly chases approvals by email, cannot quickly locate the current version of a contract, misses renewal windows, or struggles to report on contract performance, your process is ready for a more structured approach.
What does a modern CLM solution include?
A modern CLM solution typically includes a centralized contract repository, configurable workflow automation, integrated e-signature capabilities, AI-driven clause tagging and extraction, obligation tracking, and real-time dashboards for reporting and compliance.
If your contract process is creating more drag than it should, explore how Onit’s contract management and automation solutions help teams move from fragmented to connected. Or, if you want to see the financial impact of a better approach, Onit’s ROI Calculator can help you quantify what improved contract management could mean for your organization.
Contracts sit at the center of every business relationship, yet most organizations still manage them through a patchwork of emails, shared drives, and manual tracking. The result is predictable: slow turnaround, missed renewals, siloed contract data, and compliance gaps that surface at the worst possible moments. Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) software addresses these problems directly by centralizing contracts and workflows in one place, automating routine tasks, and reducing risk while speeding execution.
For Legal, procurement, and sales teams alike, the business case for CLM is no longer abstract. It shows up in faster deal cycles, fewer compliance incidents, and cleaner data that supports better decisions. Understanding the full scope of what CLM delivers across an organization makes it easier to build the case internally and select the right solution.
Operational efficiency and speed
Manual contract processes create compounding delays. Drafting starts from scratch. Approvals route through inboxes. Redlines travel back and forth without a clear version history. By the time a contract reaches signature, days or weeks have passed on work that should take hours.
CLM software removes this friction by automating repetitive work across the full contract lifecycle. Pre-approved templates allow teams to generate accurate drafts in minutes. Configurable workflows route contracts through approvals without bottlenecks. Integrated eSignature capabilities finalize agreements faster without requiring separate tools or manual steps.
For sales teams specifically, self-serve templates and automated approvals help close deals faster without waiting on Legal to draft from the beginning. Contract approval times can be reduced by up to 80% with automated workflows and instant visibility into where each agreement stands. When contracts move faster, revenue recognition accelerates alongside them.
Reduced risk and better compliance
Every manually managed contract introduces risk. Clause inconsistencies slip through when language is negotiated informally. Renewal deadlines pass unnoticed when tracking depends on individual memory or spreadsheet reminders. Regulatory changes require batch reviews that manual processes struggle to execute at scale.
CLM software addresses this through centralized governance. A single repository with version control ensures that the most current, compliant version of each contract is always accessible. Standardized templates and clause libraries reduce language risk by maintaining consistency across agreements. Automated alerts flag obligations, renewal dates, and deadline milestones before they become problems.
For Legal teams managing compliance-heavy industries, CLM reduces review bottlenecks and ensures compliance across changing regulations by capturing key metadata, enforcing approvals, and maintaining audit-ready records. Risk isn’t eliminated, but it becomes visible and manageable before it escalates.
Cost savings and value capture
Contract leakage, the value lost through missed obligations, unfavorable terms, and overlooked renewals, quietly erodes business performance across organizations of every size. Most of it is preventable with the right visibility and processes in place.
CLM software creates the conditions for better value capture. Faster cycle times accelerate revenue recognition by moving contracts from request to signature quickly. Analytics surface which terms are being negotiated away most frequently, giving teams leverage to push back before patterns become costly habits. Procurement teams benefit from automated alerts for renewals and supplier performance tracking, ensuring that obligations on both sides of the agreement are met.
According to the World Commerce and Contracting organization, improved contract development and management can increase profitability by up to 9% of a company’s annual revenue. That figure reflects the cumulative impact of faster execution, reduced penalties, and better negotiation outcomes, all of which CLM software directly enables.
Enhanced collaboration and visibility
Contracts touch Legal, procurement, sales, finance, and operations. When contract data lives in separate systems, every cross-functional decision requires manual coordination. Teams pull data independently, reconcile inconsistencies, and still end up making decisions with incomplete information.
CLM software creates a single source of truth that breaks down these silos. Shared dashboards and status tracking give every stakeholder access to the same contract information, from approval status to key dates to clause usage patterns. Legal sees what sales has committed to. Procurement monitors supplier obligations. Finance tracks payment terms and renewal exposure without waiting for a manual report.
This visibility doesn’t just improve collaboration. It speeds decision-making. When teams centralize and keep contract data current, they can answer questions instantly that once required days of data gathering. Business partners gain confidence in Legal as a strategic function rather than a bottleneck.
Scale and growth enablement
Growing organizations face a contract volume problem. More deals, more vendors, more partnerships, and more regulatory requirements mean more contracts to manage. Manual processes don’t scale proportionally. They scale worse than linearly, adding complexity and risk with every additional agreement.
CLM software handles large contract volumes without requiring proportional increases in manual effort. Automation absorbs routine tasks like data entry, document tagging, and budget tracking. Integrations with CRM, ERP, and document management systems extend contract governance across the enterprise and ensure contract data flows directly into the systems that use it.
Teams can run real-time queries to unlock data insights across the business and bulk upload contracts without manual work. As the organization grows, the CLM infrastructure grows with it rather than against it.
CLM today: What modern software adds
CLM benefits extend beyond the classic value of centralization and automation. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping what contract management software can do, moving it from a system of record to a system of insight.
AI-powered tools now handle first-pass contract review, identifying risky or non-compliant clauses, extracting key dates and obligations, and generating a risk profile before a human reviewer opens the document. Research from Onit’s AI Center of Excellence found that AI-powered contract review using Large Language Models (LLMs) can complete reviews significantly faster than manual methods, with dramatic cost reductions compared to traditional review processes.
Beyond review, AI supports ongoing contract management through automated data extraction, compliance monitoring, and legacy contract migration. Contract data that would have required hours of manual extraction can be processed and tagged automatically, giving teams accurate metadata across their entire contract repository. Cloud-native collaboration tools allow remote teams to redline, approve, and sign without friction, making location-independent contract management a practical reality rather than an aspiration.
Making the case for CLM investment
Choosing to invest in CLM software is ultimately a decision about how a business manages one of its most critical operational assets. The benefits span teams, functions, and time horizons. Faster cycle times and reduced manual work show up immediately. Better compliance and risk management protect the organization over the longer term. Improved visibility and cross-functional collaboration compound in value as the organization grows.
For Legal operations leaders building the internal case, the strongest arguments aren’t abstract. They’re grounded in the specific pain points that slow the business down: approval delays that stall deals, missed renewals that trigger unfavorable auto-renewals, inconsistent contract language that creates disputes, and manual reporting that leaves leadership without reliable data.
CLM software addresses each of these directly. The question isn’t whether the benefits are real. It’s how much longer the organization can afford to manage contracts the way it always has.
See how OnitX CLM puts these benefits into practice
Legal operations leaders, procurement teams, and sales organizations that have outgrown manual contract processes need more than a system of record. OnitX CLM connects every stage of the contract lifecycle, from intake and review to execution, obligation tracking, and reporting, in one configurable platform built for the complexity modern organizations actually face. If any of this sounds familiar, check out how a connected CLM environment changes the way contracts get managed. Explore OnitX CLM today.
Contracts drive revenue, protect organizations from risk and establish the terms that govern every business relationship. Yet most organizations still manage them through fragmented processes: spreadsheets for tracking, email for approvals, shared drives for storage and memory for obligation management. Manual contract workflows create bottlenecks that slow deals, introduce compliance gaps and prevent teams from demonstrating strategic value.
Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools eliminate this fragmentation by centralizing and automating contract processes from intake through renewal. Legal departments gain compliance oversight. Procurement teams track vendor obligations. Sales operations accelerate revenue recognition. The difference isn’t just efficiency. It’s operational control that scales with business growth.
What are CLM tools?
CLM tools are software platforms that centralize and automate the entire contract lifecycle—from intake and drafting through negotiation, execution, performance tracking, renewals and close-out. They replace emails, spreadsheets and siloed storage with structured workflows, automated routing and centralized contract repositories.
Modern CLM tools include AI-powered capabilities that speed drafting, detect risk and extract contract metadata for reporting. Information flows automatically between stages. Contract requests trigger workflows. Approvals update status. Execution creates searchable records. Obligation tracking prevents missed renewals.
This connectivity transforms how organizations manage agreements. Teams work from a single source of truth instead of reconstructing contract details across multiple systems.
How CLM tools differ from basic contract software
Basic contract software provides document storage and search. Contract Lifecycle Management tools go further by automating the full contract lifecycle and connecting contract data to business operations.
Storage alone doesn’t solve process problems. Teams still route approvals manually. Obligation dates remain in individual calendars. Performance tracking happens outside the system. CLM tools close these gaps by making the contract process itself an automated, measurable workflow.
Core capabilities of CLM tools in 2026
Modern CLM platforms deliver functionality across every stage of contract management:
Central Repository for all contract data and versions with role-based access controls that maintain security while enabling collaboration.
Template & Clause Libraries with rule-based creation that ensures consistency and compliance without starting from scratch.
Automated Workflows & Approvals that route contracts based on value thresholds, contract type or risk level, eliminating email chains and manual follow-up.
eSignature & Execution Support through integration with DocuSign, Adobe Sign and other providers that finalize agreements without printing or scanning.
AI-Driven Insights including clause extraction, risk scoring and smart search that make historical contract data accessible and actionable.
Obligation & Renewal Tracking with automated alerts that prevent missed deadlines and give teams time to renegotiate or exit agreements.
Real-Time Dashboards & Reporting that surface contract metrics by vendor, department, value or risk level without manual data compilation.
These capabilities work together. Workflows trigger alerts. Metadata extraction feeds reporting. Repository access supports collaboration. The platform becomes the system of record for all contract activity.
Why teams invest in CLM tools
Organizations adopt CLM tools to solve specific operational problems that manual processes can’t address at scale:
Faster contract cycles emerge when automated workflows replace sequential email approvals. Contracts that once required weeks move through review and execution in days. Sales teams close deals faster. Procurement completes vendor onboarding without delays.
Lower risk and higher compliance result from audit trails that document every contract action and alerts that surface obligation conflicts before they create exposure. Teams enforce standard language. Approval requirements prevent unauthorized commitments. Version control eliminates confusion about which terms were agreed.
Better visibility across teams becomes possible when all contract data lives in one system. Legal sees vendor performance. Finance accesses payment terms. Compliance reviews regulatory language. Questions get answered from the same operational record instead of requiring manual research.
Reduced manual work through AI-powered metadata extraction and smart search transforms how teams interact with contract repositories. Key dates, obligations and governing terms become searchable fields instead of requiring document review. Pattern recognition flags risk automatically.
Industry data shows legal departments using CLM tools save significant time on contract administration. That time shifts to strategic work: vendor negotiations, risk mitigation, process improvement and cross-functional collaboration.
How different teams use CLM tools
CLM tools serve multiple stakeholders with distinct use cases:
Legal teams rely on automated clause review and compliance dashboards. Standard templates reduce legal review time for routine agreements. Exception-based workflows surface non-standard terms requiring attorney attention. Obligation tracking prevents missed deadlines that create liability.
Sales operations accelerates revenue with faster approvals and consistent templates. CLM tools route contracts based on deal size and risk level, moving low-complexity agreements through approval without legal review. Integration with CRM systems connects contract data to sales pipelines.
Procurement manages vendor relationships through clause standardization and obligation tracking. Performance monitoring becomes systematic instead of anecdotal. Renewal notifications give procurement time to renegotiate terms or transition to alternative suppliers before auto-renewal triggers.
Each function benefits from shared visibility. Legal understands sales pressure on cycle times. Procurement sees Legal’s risk concerns. Sales recognizes compliance requirements. CLM tools create common ground for collaboration.
When organizations need CLM tools
Manual contract processes work until they don’t. Warning signs indicate when CLM investment becomes necessary:
Contract approvals take weeks because email routing lacks structure. Renewal dates get missed because obligation tracking lives in individual calendars. Reporting requires manual data gathering because contract terms aren’t accessible. Compliance questions can’t be answered without document review.
Organizations managing hundreds or thousands of contracts annually face these problems at scale. Small legal teams supporting growing businesses can’t keep pace with volume. Procurement departments lack visibility into vendor obligations. Sales teams wait for legal approval while competitors close deals.
CLM tools address these challenges by making contract management systematic instead of reactive. The question isn’t whether the tool is worth implementing. It’s whether manual processes can support business objectives.
What modern CLM implementation requires
Successful CLM adoption goes beyond software selection. Organizations need clear objectives, stakeholder alignment and process documentation before implementation begins.
Executive sponsorship matters because CLM touches multiple departments. Legal leads implementation but procurement, sales, finance and compliance all participate in workflow design. Change management ensures teams understand new processes and adopt the platform instead of working around it.
Data migration presents technical challenges. Legacy contracts require metadata extraction to become searchable. Templates need conversion to work within the CLM system. Integration with existing tools—CRM, ERP, document management—demands technical planning.
Organizations that treat CLM as a process transformation instead of a technology purchase see better results. The platform enables change but doesn’t create it. Teams must define workflows, establish governance and commit to using the system as the contract source of truth.
AI capabilities reshaping contract management
AI transforms CLM from process automation to intelligent assistance. Large Language Models review contracts 70 times faster than manual methods according to recent research. Risk detection flags unfavorable terms during negotiation instead of discovery during disputes. Metadata extraction turns unstructured contract text into searchable, reportable data.
These capabilities compound over time. AI learns from contract patterns to improve risk scoring. Template recommendations become more accurate as the system processes more agreements. Search results improve as metadata extraction refines term identification.
Integration between CLM platforms and AI tools creates workflows where contract requests trigger automated review, findings route to appropriate stakeholders and approved language populates templates. Human judgment focuses on exceptions and strategic decisions instead of routine review.
CLM tools and enterprise integration
CLM platforms don’t operate in isolation. Value comes from connecting contract data to other business systems:
CRM integration links contracts to sales opportunities. Revenue teams see contract status in familiar tools. Contract terms flow into account records. Renewal dates appear in opportunity pipelines.
Document management integration maintains version control while enabling collaboration. Contracts remain accessible through existing workflows. Teams work in familiar environments while the CLM system maintains the authoritative record.
API capabilities make custom integrations possible for unique enterprise requirements. Organizations build connections to procurement systems, compliance platforms or industry-specific tools.
Making the decision to adopt CLM
Manual contract processes don’t fix themselves. Organizations outgrow spreadsheet tracking, email approvals and shared drive storage when volume, complexity or risk exposure increases.
Understanding where manual processes create the most friction starts the evaluation. Does contract approval create sales delays? Does obligation tracking rely on individual memory? Can procurement answer questions about vendor performance? Does Legal struggle to demonstrate value through operational metrics?
Modern CLM tools address these challenges by design. They connect contract intake to execution, obligations to alerts, terms to reporting and operations to insight, all within platforms designed for how cross-functional teams actually work.
Ready to see how CLM tools transform legal operations?
Speak to one of our CLM experts today to see how modern platforms and CLM tools eliminate contract bottlenecks and drive measurable results.
This blog was originally published in November 2021.
Contracts power revenue and risk for every organization. Yet manual contract processes drag deals, cause compliance gaps and create revenue leakage. Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solves this by giving you a single system to streamline creation, collaboration, execution, performance tracking, renewals and compliance so teams work faster, reduce risk and drive measurable value from every agreement.
What is contract lifecycle management?
Contract lifecycle management is the end-to-end practice and technology for managing contracts from request through renewal or expiration, helping organizations reduce risk, improve compliance and accelerate outcomes. CLM spans initiation, negotiation, execution, performance tracking and renewal or close-out.
Modern contract lifecycle management isn’t just methodology. Software enables it by automating workflows, centralizing storage, alerting on milestones and driving visibility. Traditional approaches focused on document repositories. Today’s contract lifecycle management software transforms contract data into intelligence that informs decisions, flags risks and supports business velocity across departments.
The stages of contract lifecycle management
Contract lifecycle management unfolds across five core stages. Each stage presents challenges that modern CLM software addresses through automation and integration.
Request and creation
Teams request and draft agreements. Manual intake creates confusion because requests arrive incomplete and context gets lost. Legal teams waste time gathering basic information that should have been captured upfront. Contract lifecycle management software standardizes intake through configurable forms and ensures the right details flow forward from the start.
Negotiation and approval
Internal and external review workflows move contracts toward finalization. Negotiation cycles extend when teams email documents back and forth or lose track of redlines. Manual approval workflows rely on email chains and scattered sign-offs. Modern CLM software centralizes collaboration, tracks changes with version control and automates routing based on contract value, type or risk profile.
Execution
Signing and formal contract launch happen at this stage. Printing, scanning and mailing documents delays execution by days or weeks. Integrated e-signature capabilities allow contracts to move from final approval to signed agreement in minutes, accelerating revenue recognition and reducing administrative overhead.
Performance and compliance
Teams track obligations and milestones after signature. Payment terms, deliverables, compliance requirements and renewal dates must be monitored. Manual tracking fails when workload increases. Contract lifecycle management software automates alerts, flags upcoming deadlines and ensures teams fulfill obligations before they trigger penalties or missed opportunities.
Renewal and close-out
Organizations evaluate and renew or close contracts at this stage. Contracts expire or auto-renew without warning when tracking happens manually. Teams miss opportunities to renegotiate unfavorable terms or terminate agreements that no longer deliver value. Modern CLM software surfaces renewals in advance and provides performance data to inform decisions.
Why CLM matters today
Contract lifecycle management delivers measurable business outcomes that matter to leadership. Organizations implementing modern CLM software see results across multiple dimensions.
Faster deal cycles emerge when automation removes approval bottlenecks and integrated e-signature eliminates manual signing delays. Reduced risk comes through audit trails that document every change, alerts that prevent missed deadlines and governance workflows that enforce policy consistently. Improved compliance happens when CLM software monitors regulatory obligations embedded in contracts and flags issues before they escalate.
Centralized visibility transforms operations. Legal, procurement and sales teams work from the same data instead of maintaining parallel records. Contract intelligence flows into enterprise legal management systems, connecting agreements to spend tracking, matter management and strategic reporting. This visibility allows departments to spot trends, optimize vendor relationships and demonstrate value through data rather than anecdotes.
What’s changing in contract lifecycle management
AI and automation are making CLM software smarter. Automated risk scoring identifies problematic terms as they appear in negotiations. Clause extraction captures key information such as parties, dates, obligations and financial terms without manual tagging. Proactive insights surface patterns across contract portfolios, helping teams negotiate better terms and avoid recurring issues.
Market momentum continues despite early predictions that basic contract management would decline. CLM platforms keep growing because AI augments workflows rather than replaces them. Organizations recognize that contracts represent strategic assets requiring sophisticated management. Modern contract lifecycle management software meets this need by combining human expertise with machine intelligence, creating systems that scale without sacrificing control or oversight.
How modern contract lifecycle management software works
Modern contract lifecycle management software operates differently than legacy systems. AI-native platforms treat contracts as structured data sources rather than static files, extracting intelligence automatically and surfacing insights that inform strategic decisions.
AI-assisted drafting accelerates contract creation by recommending clauses based on contract type, jurisdiction or business requirements. Clause libraries maintain pre-approved language so teams draft faster without sacrificing compliance. Automated risk flagging identifies problematic terms during negotiations, allowing reviewers to focus on exceptions rather than reading every line.
Contract data extraction happens automatically. Advanced search capabilities allow users to locate contracts by any field, clause or condition in seconds. Analytics dashboards provide visibility into cycle times, approval bottlenecks and contract performance across the portfolio. Cross-functional collaboration improves when sales, procurement, finance and Legal work within the same platform.
Integration with enterprise legal management systems ensures contract data flows into matter records, spend tracking and compliance reporting without re-entry. Updates happen automatically. Reports reflect real-time status. Configurability allows organizations to tailor workflows, approval rules and metadata fields to match their specific processes.
Role-specific CLM benefits
Contract lifecycle management delivers distinct value across departments. Legal teams reduce risk and improve governance with automated audit trails that document every contract decision and change. Compliance workflows enforce policy consistently. Risk scoring flags terms that deviate from standard language. These capabilities protect organizations while reducing manual review time.
Procurement teams speed vendor onboarding and compliance tracking through standardized intake and automated obligation management. Vendor performance data becomes accessible in one system rather than scattered across spreadsheets. Contract intelligence informs sourcing decisions, helping procurement negotiate better terms based on historical patterns and market benchmarks.
Sales teams shorten contract cycle times and accelerate revenue by eliminating approval bottlenecks. Automated workflows route contracts based on value and risk profile. Integrated e-signature closes deals faster. Real-time visibility into contract status helps sales leaders forecast accurately and identify deals at risk of stalling.
How CLM supports enterprise legal management
Contract lifecycle management functions as a core pillar of enterprise legal management strategy. Structured contract data supports legal spend visibility by connecting vendor agreements to invoice records, enabling teams to enforce rate cards and detect billing anomalies. Matter alignment improves when contract milestones trigger updates in matter management systems.
Compliance oversight strengthens when CLM software monitors regulatory obligations embedded in contracts and alerts teams before deadlines pass. Strategic reporting becomes possible when contract intelligence feeds into dashboards that leadership uses to assess risk exposure, vendor concentration and operational efficiency. Legal departments that integrate contract lifecycle management into their broader operations gain the visibility, control and insight necessary to operate as strategic business partners.
What to look for in contract lifecycle management software
Evaluating contract lifecycle management software requires clarity about current pain points and future operational goals. AI-native architecture ensures the platform can extract data, identify risk and automate routine tasks without heavy manual configuration. Configurability allows organizations to adapt workflows, fields and approval rules as business needs evolve.
Usability determines adoption. Software that feels intuitive and requires minimal training gets used. Software that adds friction gets abandoned. Integration capabilities matter because contracts don’t exist in isolation. CLM software should connect seamlessly with CRM, ERP, document management and enterprise legal management platforms.
Scalability ensures the system grows with contract volume and organizational complexity. Reporting depth allows teams to analyze performance, identify trends and provide data-backed recommendations to leadership. Cross-department collaboration capabilities ensure sales, procurement, finance and Legal can work together without duplicating effort or losing context. Security and compliance features protect sensitive contract data through role-based permissions, encryption and audit trails.
From static documents to strategic assets
Modern contract lifecycle management transforms how organizations create, manage and derive value from contracts. Speed increases when automation removes bottlenecks. Visibility improves when AI extracts intelligence automatically. Control strengthens when workflows enforce governance without slowing the business.
Contracts represent commitments, obligations and opportunities. Managing them effectively requires more than storage. It requires a system designed to support legal operations at the speed and scale modern organizations demand.
Ready to see how contract lifecycle management software brings speed, visibility and control to your operations? Explore Onit’s CLM solution to discover how AI-native technology transforms contract management across Legal, procurement and sales teams.
This blog was originally published in September 2024.
Effective contract management doesn’t only involve developing agreements and getting them signed – it’s a series of actions that guide you from the earliest stages of developing holistic processes for handling each and every company agreement, through to the steps to seeing contracts through to their conclusion. Having a clear understanding of what happens at each stage is an important way to ensure your contract management processes meet all of the requirements and objectives to deliver optimal results.
What is Contract Management?
Contract management describes the contract process from the moment contracts are created to their eventual termination. The goal is to maintain control over the planning, implementation, and termination. This also includes any and all steps that are taken to ensure proper reporting and obligation fulfillment.
Contract management also involves any legal actions undertaken to address breaches of contract. For instance, those who are responsible for managing the contract process may provide non-compliant parties with a course of action to become compliant, or they can simply choose to terminate the agreement and find another party to work with.
Contract Management vs. Contract Lifecycle Management
Contract management is frequently confused with its cousin – Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM). It doesn’t help when some introduce the term “contract management lifecycle” while referring to the former. This only adds to the confusion.
While both contract management and CLM are similar and share the same “big picture” goal (i.e. managing contracts), there is a critical difference between them.
Contract lifecycle management divides contract operations into clear, defined stages whose actions are optimized to ensure maximum efficiency. Legal agreements are ferried through the entire contract lifecycle in accordance with designated workflows and conditions. This is frequently achieved by leveraging legal technology that adjusts actions to accomplish each stage of the contract lifecycle.
Contract management, by comparison, is a blanket term that can be applied to all activities associated with contracting. The term can even apply to situations when a contract is never fully executed and is abandoned in the early stages of its life.
In simpler terms, CLM is simply one approach to contract management. It combines people, processes, and technology in a way that allows organizations to get the most out of their contracts. Similar to how a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square, CLM is a type of contract management while contract management is much more than just CLM.
Stages of Contract Management
One of the purposes of breaking contract management into distinct stages is to make it easier to analyze contract workflows and processes. Since the entire process is separated into recognizable steps, this allows managers and teams to identify broad trends and locate areas of improvement.
Here are the seven essential stages of contract management.
1. Planning stage
Before you can implement a process, it’s important to develop a system that will best suit your company’s needs and resources. To keep things streamlined and organized, it’s also important to develop contract management processes that can be implemented company-wide.
Your contract management strategy is a flexible roadmap consisting of processes that account for all types of company agreements, from standard employment contracts to the paperwork from highly specific and complex deals. The first step to developing your strategy is to determine your needs, including answering the following:
What types of contracts do you have to manage and in what volume?
Are there standard agreements you use again and again? What needs to be included in these?
Who is responsible for each stage of contract management and what do they need to perform their job?
Who has the final say on the contract approval process?
What common problems have occurred in the past, or what issues might arise during the management of a typical contract?
What resources are required to implement your contract strategy?
What contract data are you tracking? Where is it stored? How is it reported?
Understanding the remaining stages of contract management will help to inform your processes. If you’re currently unable to answer the questions listed above, you may need to adjust your contracting processes.
2. Implementation stage
Once you have outlined your contract management workflow, you will need to implement your plan before you can start using it. This includes deploying contract lifecycle management software to help you to execute contract-related tasks, as well as migrating your contracts to a centralized repository.
A crucial part of your implementation plan is onboarding – making sure everyone involved understands your vision and objectives for contract management and is comfortable with the CLM software they will be using.
3. Pre-contract stage
Now that you have your contract management foundation set up, you can begin to implement it for new contracts. That means developing new contracts or implementing boilerplate agreements for more standard situations. The key challenge of this stage of contract management is developing a specific document that will deliver what you need and reduce your risks.
For standard situations, this stage may be as simple as finding the right contract type, entering the relevant information, and perhaps making a few tweaks. More unusual or complex contracting scenarios may require the development of a whole new document. Developing a contract from scratch can be made easier by looking at other agreements that might be applicable and adapting those terms. Leverage generative AI tools to accelerate drafting, clause suggestions, and contract review. Don’t forget to carry over any important requirements such as compliance obligations or branding standards. Once you have agreed on the terms and developed your contract, eSignatures can keep things moving.
4. Handover stage
It’s common – especially in larger companies – that the individuals involved in executing a contract are not the same as those who negotiated it. Thus, in order to ensure the contract is fulfilled as expected, it’s important to ensure a smooth handover. Rather than assuming stakeholders have everything they need, it’s useful to spend some time walking through all of the contract details and confirming roles, responsibilities and milestones.
5. Contract stage
The contract stage is when all of the goals of your contracts come to life, assuming you manage them properly. And the previous contract management steps you’ve completed so far are setting you up to do just that.
But the contract stage doesn’t manage itself. It’s here where you must play close attention to all of the terms laid out within your agreement and perform regular monitoring to make sure everything is happening as it should. It’s useful to have a plan for doing so, with a clear sense of key milestones and performance metrics. This will let you confirm everything is on track or provide an early warning system if any problems arise.
6. Pre-renewal stage
Nothing lives forever – not even your contracts. But there are several ways your agreements may come to an end: one-off agreements may wind down to a natural conclusion, you may renew an agreement, or choose to terminate it. Often there are specific terms – and even possibly penalties or default actions, should you fail to do anything – that can affect the outcome. This is why it’s important to start thinking about the end of your contract in a proactive and timely manner. Now is the time to evaluate how your contract performed. Then decide whether you want to renew and/or make any changes. Make sure all stakeholders are aware of termination and renewal dates. That way you have enough time to consider all the information before you get locked into any decisions.
7. Post-contract stage
Once a contract ends, there is still some housekeeping to do to ensure that everything is wrapped up properly. This includes ensuring termination conditions have been met, issuing or paying final invoices, and archiving your contract. It’s also useful to perform a contract post-mortem. This can provide valuable information and learnings that can improve the results of future contracts.
Challenges of Contract Management
When manually managing contracts, many companies rely on Microsoft Word to draft contracts, Microsoft Excel to analyze data, and Microsoft Outlook to share documents and information. Even if they don’t use Microsoft, they turn to another major provider like Google or Apple.
On the one hand, relying on familiar software removes the need to train people on how to use specialized software. Since most employees probably grew up using Microsoft, Google, or Apple (or, most likely, all three). This appeals to companies since new employees can start doing meaningful work from Day 1.
On the other hand, generalized software lacks the power and capabilities of specialized software. And most document actions have to be carried out manually, which creates opportunities for errors and typos.
According to Forbes, 88% of all spreadsheets contain “significant” errors, and even the best spreadsheets have an error in 1% or more of their cells. To top it off? Most were made by a human.
For massive, multi-billion dollar corporations, errors in spreadsheets could cost them millions in lost revenue. That’s the best case. In the worst case, mistakes could expose companies to a legal fall that ruins countless careers, if not send the company into bankruptcy (and regulatory lawsuits).
Consider that JPMorgan Chase once lost over $6 billion during its “London Whale” fiasco, which they reported was in part due to spreadsheet errors that appeared from poor copy-pasting of information.
Barclays had a similar issue. They were forced to spend millions on worthless contracts during the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy proceedings in 2008. Instead of deleting contracts they did not intend to buy, they simply “hid” the contracts in their Excel spreadsheet. Then, when the spreadsheet was exported to PDF and submitted to the court, the hidden rows were included, causing Barclays to be legally committed to buying contracts they didn’t want.
The lesson from these real-life examples is that not only can errors in management lead to massive losses, but many of the smaller errors can be challenging to spot. For example, if you submit a purchase order to buy pencils at $.10 each only to miss the decimal point, you could find yourself on the hook for paying $10 per pencil.
Manual contract management
Manual contract management can be fraught with peril. As mentioned in the examples above, bad contract management will create massive headaches, as well as financial and reputational losses that can be difficult to recover from.
This defeats the purpose of good contract management, which is to control costs, manage funds, reduce risk, and ensure high-quality performance.
Still, if your organization does suffer from below-average contract management, it’s not the end of the world. Poor processes can be overhauled into workflows that do the job.
Common contract problems
But before you can reform your processes, you first need to identify the issues that plague them. Here is a short list of some of the more common contract management problems:
Lack of visibility – Contracts contain a lot of information. It’s common to lose track of data only to find out that something is missing (or accidentally added) after the fact.
Missed contract renewals and obligations – If reminders aren’t scheduled, it’s easy to inadvertently miss a deadline for reporting, renewing, or terminating. You may find yourself locked into a contract you don’t like.
Inflating costs – The more time you spend manually working on contracts and reporting, the more money you spend.
Data gaps – Sometimes information isn’t entered into a spreadsheet or system when it should be. This creates gaps in information that need to be addressed, yet they’ll only be addressed after they were needed.
Manually-entered data – As JPMorgan proved, it’s easy for data entry to create mistakes. Whether it’s bad copy-pasting or missed keystrokes, no matter the error, it will still be legally enforceable if it was entered into a contract.
These are just a few of the potential snags and bottlenecks that can affect contract management. To identify what problems hinder your own processes, you’ll need to conduct a thorough analysis of your workflows.
How to Simplify Contract Management
One of the most straightforward options for streamlining contract management is to adopt a specialized contract management software. One that boosts contracting efficiency while reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, expenses, and red tape.
In addition to contract management software, here are some actionable tactics that will speed up and facilitate your contract management workflows:
Put in the work to standardize templates, language, and rules
Create a model of the contract management process that outlines the steps of the process
Develop a contract playbook that provides clear explanations for standard contracts
Determine which metrics your team will use to assess contract management efficiency
Adopt an automated contract management solution
Designate and organize a dedicated contract repository that can serve as a single source of truth for all contracts, templates, data, and reporting
This is just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do. There are many more steps you can take to accelerate your contracting.
Moving Forward
Contract management contains a lot of moving parts and elements. Although it can be challenging at first to map out a clear contract management process, especially if there’s little to no documentation that indicates current practices, the benefits far outweigh the investment.
There are several routes to easing the friction of implementing contract management. This be as simple as the introduction of specialized legal technology, digitalization of storage, and document automation.
To find out how ContractWorks can empower your contract management processes, contact our team for a demo. They’ll show you how our platform can help you take (and stay) in control of your contracts (without the big price tag).
Change can raise questions. We want to answer them clearly and early.
Legal Files is moving to Onit.com as part of Onit’s broader effort to unify its portfolio of trusted legal technology brands under one AI-native Onit experience. Over the coming months, Legal Files will transition from LegalFiles.com to Onit.com, with no disruption to the products or workflows you rely on today.
What’s staying the same
Let’s start with what matters most.
Your Legal Files products are not going away. Your workflows are not changing. Your data, configurations, and day-to-day work will continue uninterrupted.
You’ll keep using the same Legal Files solution you trust today, supported by the same teams who know your environment and your goals. This transition is about brand alignment, not product replacement.
Why this is happening
Over the years, Onit has brought together proven legal technology solutions through strategic growth. Legal Files is one of those trusted platforms. Now, the time is right to bring everything together under one unified Onit brand.
This unification is designed to deliver:
Greater clarity across the Onit portfolio
A stronger foundation for innovation
A simpler, more connected experience over time
For Legal Files customers, this means more strength behind the products you already use, without forcing change on your terms.
What will change and when
As part of this transition:
LegalFiles.com will redirect to Onit.com
Legal Files content will live within the Onit site
Branding will align under the Onit name
We’ll communicate clearly ahead of each step, so nothing catches you off guard. If and when anything affects your experience, you’ll hear it from us first.
Built for today. Ready for what’s next.
Behind the scenes, Onit is built on an AI-native foundation designed to evolve as legal teams’ needs grow. Bringing Legal Files into the Onit brand ensures your solution stays supported, relevant, and future-ready.
This isn’t about forcing new tools or changing how you work. It’s about ensuring the platform you depend on continues to get better, with a stronger Onit behind it.
We’re with you every step of the way
We know transitions like this can feel uncertain. That’s why our priority is transparency, continuity, and support.
If you have questions, your account team is ready to help. We’ll continue to share updates as the migration progresses, and we’ll make sure you always know what to expect.
Same trusted Legal Files products. Stronger with Onit behind it. One unified future, on your terms.
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See your Legal Files experience alongside other trusted solutions at Onit.com.
