7 Best CLM Software for Contract Lifecycle Management (2023)

Running a business is no easy feat.

Various resources are needed to ensure efficient and smooth operations.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an area that has seen a lot of growth in recent years.

Due to the globalization of business and the need for real-time collaboration, ERP systems have become necessary for many organizations.

Whether you need supply chain management software to better track and manage inventory or you want a more comprehensive system that can handle your accounts payable, human resources, and sales, there is an ERP software solution out there for you.

Contract lifecycle management (CLM) software is yet another type of software that can be highly beneficial for businesses, but many simply do not consider it until they need it.

CLM software helps businesses automate and manage the contracting process from beginning to end.

This software is designed to streamline the contract creation process, help with approvals and signatures, and manage all post-contract activities.

In this article, I will go over the best CLM software systems on the market today and discuss the features that make them stand out.

By the end of this article, you’ll be able to decide if this software suits your business needs.

Let’s get right into it.

What Are Best CLM Software?

Here are the best CLM software to consider.

1. PandaDoc.

Best Overall For CLM Software.

PandaDoc takes users through the contract management process from start to finish with its comprehensive management solution.

This system is designed to help businesses automate the contract creation process, get approvals and signatures, and manage all post-contract activities in one place.

The ability to customize, track, and e-sign documents makes this software ideal for businesses of all sizes who want to streamline their contract management process.

You can negotiate and collaborate on contracts in real-time with PandaDoc’s easy-to-use interface.

With various templates you can use over and over and a simple drag-and-drop interface, PandaDoc makes it easy to create legally binding contracts.

Key Features:

• Instant access allows for creating, sending, and e-signing contracts from anywhere.
• Collaborate painlessly with colleagues using the commenting feature to ensure everyone is on the same page.
• Eliminate bottlenecks by automating workflows and document approvals.
• Get contracts out in minutes with PandaDoc’s simple drag-and-drop interface and easy-to-use templates.

User Experience:

Being a leading contract management solution, PandaDoc makes it easy to create new documents in a straightforward process and only requires a few clicks.

You can follow the step-by-step wizard to ensure that all the vital information is included in your contract.

Pricing:

These are the pricing plans involved:

• Free eSign: $0
• Basic: $19 / month per user
• Standard: $49 / month per user
• Premium: Contact their team for a quote

What I Like/Dislike About PandaDoc

Like:

• The content library helps keep track of all past and current contracts in one place.
• All the processes are streamlined and easy to use, from creating contracts to getting approvals and electronic signatures.

Dislike:

• More integrations with other CRMs will help to make this software even better.

Product Updates:

• PandaDoc announced their newest integration with ActiveCampaign.
• Powerful new document insights help sales representatives know when to follow up with clients and increase close rates.

2. ContractWorks.

Best For Compliance.

ContractWorks gives you the certainty needed when dealing with contracts.

This software is designed to automate the entire contract management process so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

Dramatically increase contract visibility and improve contract compliance with this software.

You will also be able to minimize risk, save time, and increase efficiency with ContractWorks.

Make your contracts searchable, scalable, secure, and compliant to ascertain that you make the best business decisions in every situation.

Key Features:

• The contract repository allows you to go back to any contract and quickly do a contract review of the key terms.
• Alerts and notifications keep you informed of any changes or updates that need to be made to contracts.
• Custom reporting gives insights into how well your contracts are performing.
• OCR & advanced search let you quickly find the information you need within your contracts.

User Experience:

It’s easy to tag documents and add them to the repository for easy access later.

You can also group contacts based on the project, client, or other criteria.

Pricing:

These are the pricing plans associated with ContractWorks:

• Standard: $600
• Professional: $800
• Enterprise: $1000

These are charged on a monthly basis and billed annually.

What I Like/Dislike About ContractWorks

Like:

• Easy to track key contract aspects and ensure that all documents are compliant.
• You can customize the number, type, and timing of alerts to keep you in the loop.

Dislike:

• Storing archived documents can be made to be more user-friendly.

Product Updates:

• The new ‘filter by folder’ feature helps users quickly find the contracts they’re looking for.
• You can now send a signed, finalized contract by email.

3. DocuSign CLM.

Best For Artificial Intelligence.

DocuSign CLM gives access to an artificial intelligence tool that ensures the accuracy of your documents.

Automate your workflows and the approval processes to get contracts out faster.

You can customize what happens when a contract is created, signed, or approved, so you are always in control.

Using this platform, you can bring trends to the surface to make better business decisions.

With this software, you can also reduce risks and spot opportunities, ensuring that your business is always moving in the right direction.

Key Features:

• Create contracts with ease while still maintaining control with DocuSign CLM.
• Collaborate and negotiate faster by automating contract workflows.
• Manage contracts in one place so you can always find what you need.
• Uncover opportunities, risks, and trends that could impact your business.

User Experience:

Being able to integrate DocuSign with top CRMs is a considerable advantage.

The interface is also very user-friendly and easy to navigate, allowing you to get the job done from start to finish – without any issues.

Pricing:

Contact their sales team to get a quote for DocuSign CLM.

What I Like/Dislike About DocuSign CLM

Like:

• It’s effortless to send DocuSign agreements from within the software.
• The expiration can be pre-set to save time and ensure that all documents are up-to-date.

Dislike:

• More flexibility with the merge fields would be beneficial when creating contracts.

Product Updates:

• Remote online notarization (RON) is now available
• Account preferences and profile settings have been streamlined

4. Ironclad CLM.

Best For Legal Teams.

Ironclad CLM is one of the world’s most advanced contract management software.

It is used by companies of all sizes, from startups to enterprise businesses.

This software makes it easy to manage your legal contracts at various stages.

If you’re tired of being a manual contract manager, this software is for you.

Get automated, data-rich insights into your contracts so you can make better decisions about your business.

Ironclad CLM is built for in-house legal teams that want to be more strategic and efficient.

Such teams can balance speed and compliance, getting contracts signed faster.

Key Features:

• Using the workflow designer, a no-code module capable of building and deploying automated workflows, you can quickly draw up contracts.
• For business users, self-service contracting can create contracts without involving the legal team.
• Accept/reject changes and responsibility assignments to ensure that all changes are tracked and accounted for.
• Contract relationships, such as amendments, assignments, and novations, can be managed in one place.
• Intuitive search is included so you can quickly find the contacts you need

User Experience:

With the left-hand side menu, you can organize your contacts into folders for easy accessibility.

You can also set various conditions to help with filtering.

For example, contracts over $10,000 would be displayed in one folder, while those less than $10,000 would be in another.

Pricing:

Sign up for a demo today to see how Ironclad CLM can help your business.

What I Like/Dislike About Ironclad CLM

Like:

• Because of various integration with SFDC and CPQ, there is no need to re-enter data repeatedly
• The user interface and UX design are top-notch

Dislike:

• No user-admin role means that there is no way to give specific users access to specific contracts

Product Updates:

• Dashboard 2.0 is now available with new features and improvements
• Workflow Designer Enhancements helps you build and deploy better workflows

5. Outlaw.

Best For Software Integrations.

Outlaw focuses on the human aspect of contract management.

This software makes it easy to get contracts signed by the right people at the right time.

While having an end-to-end suite of products, Outlaw also integrates with the tools you already use, so you can keep using the software you love.

Outlaw is also great for those new to contract management, with various resources to support their needs.

You can create contracts quickly and easily with a clause library and contract templates.

As the end-user, you also get a user interface that brings you the information you need at the exact time you need it.

Key Features:

• Template creation is easy with Outlaw, so you can quickly create contracts from scratch and keep using them as needed.
• Team management allows you to add and remove team members, so everyone has the necessary access.
• Granular user permission settings let you control what users can see and do within the Outlaw platform.
• Customized workflows let you automate contract processes to save time and ensure accuracy.
• Reporting and metrics give you insights into your contracts so you can make better decisions about your business.

User Experience:

Being able to add variables in your contracts easily is one of the best features of Outlaw.

You can add dates, names, and prices without going into the contract code.

This makes it easy to create contracts quickly and efficiently.

Pricing:

Get a custom quote to see how Outlaw can help your business.

What I Like/Dislike About Outlaw

Like:

• Outlaw is very customizable and can be tailored to fit the specific needs of your business.
• It allows you to collaborate with teammates to get contracts signed quickly and easily.

Dislike:

• Once a contract is signed, no adjustments can be made.

Product Updates:

• The contract automation platform now simplifies the contract management process for businesses of all sizes even more.

6. Conga Contracts.

Best For Contract Automation.

Conga Contracts accelerates the contract lifecycle by automating manual processes.

With end-to-end contract lifecycle management, this software makes it easy to manage your contracts from start to finish.

This allows you to save time and close more business for both internal and external contracts.

Strategic insights that come with this platform allow you to take your business to the next level, as visibility into the contract process is one of the best features of this software.

This allows you to extract data quickly and make better decisions based on specific facts.

Key Features:

• A central repository means all of your contracts are in one place. This makes it easy to find the contacts you need and get insights into your business.
• Pre-approved language makes it easy to create contracts quickly and easily.
• Online contract collaboration allows you to work on contracts with others in real-time.
• Seamless integrations with various applications mean you can connect Conga Contracts to different other software platforms you use.

Pricing:

Get a demo of Conga Contracts to see how it can help your business.

7. Concord.

Best For Ease Of Use.

Concord is great at drafting, negotiating, and signing contracts.

Its simple yet powerful interface makes it easy to use for anyone – from the contract novice to the experienced user.

With unlimited e-signatures and storage, you can easily manage your contracts in one place.

You can also route documents automatically to the person that needs to sign them next, ensuring a much more straightforward process.

Concord is the solution for you if you’re tired of going back and forth between different software platforms to manage your contracts.

Key Features:

• Edit documents online with your teams & all your contracts in one place.
• Automate approvals to improve efficiency.
• Never miss a renewal or expiration date with the provided reminders.
• Gather insights about all your contracts with real-time analytics.

Pricing:

These are the three pricing plans on offer:

• Standard: $17
• Pro: $49
• Enterprise: Contact their sales team to get a custom quote.

Other CLM software not mentioned in this article include Salesforce, Agiloft, Icertis, and SAP Ariba.

What are CLM Software?

CLM software helps the contract process by automating manual processes and providing a central repository for all contracts.

This software makes it easy to manage your contracts from start to finish and gives you the possibility of both saving time and closing more business.

With the typical contract management process becoming increasingly complex, CLM software provides the tools to streamline such processes.

Contract management lifecycle software ensures compliance, improves efficiency, and optimizes performance, as negotiations, approvals, and sign-offs can all be done in one place.

In addition, CLM software solutions can ensure that the entire contract lifecycle is visible to everyone involved in the process.

This allows for better collaboration and communication between all parties involved.

Key Features Of CLM Software

With contract lifecycle management software having tons of functionality, knowing which features are the most important can be challenging to decipher.

Here is a list of must-have features the CLM software of choice should have.

Contract Creation Features

Whether it’s business contracts that need to be drawn up or real estate contracts that need to be notarized, CLM software provides a central repository for all your contract needs.

With valuable corporate assets in question, having a solid contract creation process is crucial for any business.

Contract templates can be created and stored in the system for easy access and use.

Contract Renewal Features

The contracting process doesn’t end once a contract is drawn up and stakeholders sign contracts.

The entire lifecycle depends on proper contract management, which includes renewals.

Sales contracts that occur frequently need to be renewed to keep the business relationship alive.

As such, CLM solutions also help with contract execution when it comes to renewals.

CLM software can help by sending out reminders to concerned parties when a contract is about to expire.

This way, you can avoid any lapses in service or products.

Automated Workflows

Automated approval workflows are crucial for streamlining the contract management process.

The best contract is often the one that can be approved and signed quickly, without any delays.

Finding the best value agreements, automating approval workflows, and using contract intelligence are all ways a CLM system can help save both time and money.

These provide significant improvements for external software vendors but can also be used in internal agreements.

Contract Intelligence

While this is sometimes related to automated workflows, contract intelligence goes further by helping users find the best contracts based on contract data analytics.

This feature can help users save time and money by finding the most favorable terms for their needs.

A contract management platform needs to provide users with access to this data so that they can make a final (and informed) decision about their contracts.

Document Management

A CLM system must provide users with a central repository for all their contract-related documents.

Standard contracts require end-users to fill out and sign various forms and documents.

These can be stored in the CLM system for easy access and retrieval.

The right document management system also aids in the negotiating process, in particular by allowing users to track any changes made to specific documents.

With sometimes thousands of documents being stored in a CLM system, it’s essential to have a robust system that can handle all these files.

Audit Trail

Seeing all the changes that have happened to a contract can be beneficial if a dispute arises.

An audit trail is also helpful when reviewing contracts, allowing users to see all the changes.

With contracts requiring various approvals (usually from different people), an audit trail can help users track the progress of a contract.

End users can also take advantage of this feature to see how their system usage has changed over time.

This can also be great when attempting to create a case study to show the various use cases and benefits of using a CLM system within an organization.

Managing Procurement

Procurement is the process of acquiring goods and services.

The right contract lifecycle management solution can help streamline this process by automating various tasks, such as Request for Proposal (RFP) management and vendor selection.

A sound CLM system might also have a built-in marketplace that allows users to find the best deals on goods and services.

In some situations, sales teams can also use a CLM system to manage their commissions and discounts.

Tracking And Measuring Milestones

Real-time visibility into a contract’s status can be very helpful for all parties involved.

This is especially true for milestone-based contracts, as it allows users to track the project’s progress.

With SaaS providers, this information can be used to track the system’s usage and ensure that users adhere to the contract’s terms.

This feature can also be used to generate reports showing various metrics.

Contract Authoring

Contract authoring refers to the process of creating contracts.

The supply chain is often involved in this process, as they typically create contract templates.

Ensuring that the contract authoring process is streamlined is crucial to the success of any organization.

Metadata Adjustments

Certain types of contracts require specific metadata to be attached to them.

Metadata is data that describes other data.

For example, a purchase order might have metadata that includes the item’s price, quantity, and delivery date.

A CLM system should be able to attach the appropriate metadata to a contract automatically.

This metadata can be used to track the contract’s progress and ensure that all the parties involved adhere to the agreement’s terms.

Wrap Up.

The negotiation process in a business setting can be very complex.

Organizations must consider various factors, such as cost, time, and quality.

The right CLM software can help streamline this process by automating various tasks and providing users with the tools they need to make informed decisions.

Having the right CLM solution in place can help save an organization time and money.

As such, make sure to research and choose the best solution for your organization before deciding on the software to go with.

Do you use CLM software?

Which features do you find to be the most helpful?

Let me know in the comments below.

Further reading on AdamEnfroy.com: Proposal software goes hand in hand with CLM software.

The best proposal software can help your business save resources by automating the proposal process.

In addition, this software can help business owners stay on top of sending out the most updated version of their proposals to their clients.

On a separate note, if you want to learn more about tools that can help you run a more streamlined business, check out this article on the differences between ERP and CRM.

This will help you get a better understanding of how one can use these tools to benefit your business.