Colleges and universities annually negotiate, approve, and draft contracts with suppliers, partners, employees, and suppliers. Many universities don’t have an effective system to manage contracts. This can make it difficult for them to maintain formal relationships with these people.
Professionals and businesses use online contract management software from all industries to store and manage contracts and increase efficiency. Cloud-based software allows all parties to store, organize, maintain, and update contracts and agreements.
Manual contract management is slower and costlier than modern technology. Higher education institutions can automate their processes, increase contract transparency, and centralize and improve operational efficiency with today’s contract management software solutions.
We will explore how contract management software can support contracting processes at higher education institutions.
Reduce The Time Spent On Contract Writing
Interactive contract management systems can be used to aid university contract professionals in creating contracts. The templates can be customized for each type of contract by authorized users. They can then easily create, review and approve documents.
Procurement teams can create base templates to leverage the approved clause library for initial authoring and fall-back terms in negotiation. It allows you to securely share content online and collaborate with your team and partners. The electronic signing of contracts reduces the time spent faxing or printing hard copies. These tools streamline the process of creating contracts so that higher education procurement staff can spend their time on more important business matters.
Students and Third-Party Vendors Can Be Efficiently On boarded
Digital contract management systems offer automated workflows that significantly reduce the error of manually managing contracts. The system extracts all relevant variables and incorporates them into future contracts. The system allows the educational institution to quickly draft contracts, share them online, and get them signed using eSignatures.
This will give students faster access and approvals to financial aid documents, student consent forms, permission slips, course enrolment forms, and student forms. As contract turnaround times improve, third-party vendors can be on boarded faster by an enterprise. This allows educational organizations to concentrate on achieving their goals and frees up valuable resources.
Seamless Collaboration
Educational businesses deal with a lot of sensitive and confidential data. They also have to deal with a lot of third-party vendors. It is essential that the organization has high standards for risk assessment. Intelligent contract systems have automated workflows that speed up the due diligence process. Smart contract systems have built-in templates that help to avoid errors and minimize missed details.
The system is available online, so students, teachers, and suppliers can all collaborate immediately to agree on the terms. This system allows for the instant execution of contracts via its eSignature integration. It also provides easy regulatory compliance via its eSignature integration and e-stamping capabilities.
Lower Operating Costs
Higher education is big business. Universities and colleges spend billions of dollars on student and operational costs. Inefficient budgets are the last thing that these institutions need. Employees can contribute financially to financial problems, even though they are not responsible. Higher-ed institutions can spend up to 63% on staff costs. The time spent on administrative tasks and searching for contracts could be used to do more valuable work.
Contract management software can help you stretch every penny of your budget by helping to reduce the time and overhead costs associated with monitoring contracts. CLM software automates routine tasks. Imagine all the time and financial benefits that CLM software can provide. No more printing multiple copies of contracts, paying for file storage, or completing manual approval processes.
Enhanced Security
Due to the sensitive nature of contracts’ data, a robust security system is required. But, paper contracts are vulnerable to theft and misplacement, physical files, folders, or cabinets – wherever they are stored.
Digital contract systems enable data encryption and authorization rules that prevent contracts from falling into the hands of malicious users. E-signatures also allow contracts to have an audit trail, which provides proof of when, where, and by whom the contract was signed. An educational institution should implement a contract management program to protect data confidentiality and ensure contract security.
You Can Access Contracts at Any Time
Contracts can be accessed whenever and wherever you require them. The best contract software platforms allow users to access contracts via mobile phones, tablets, computers, and laptops. University buyers have more responsibilities, and it is essential that they can manage contracts from anywhere, whether they are at home or in the office.
Avoid Missing Deadlines
Email alerts can be sent to university procurement and legal teams as the dates approach. This gives them time to take action. Notifications can be sent when contracts have been signed; payments are due or close to expiration, and for any other important dates that will ensure vendors and employees comply with their expectations. Contract software allows proactive contract management using college-specific best practices.
Final Words
Today’s educational institutions cannot rely on traditional contract management systems to fulfil their contract requirements. The sector is on the verge of transformation and must use a digital contract management system. This system would not only be a worthwhile investment to overcome existing problems in contract management, but it would also be a strategic tool for achieving the company’s goals.
It will unlock the true potential of contracts by increasing their speed through their entire lifecycle. Intelligent contract management systems provide advanced security to protect sensitive information within the company.