Getting started with contract automation

Setting up simple contract automations benefit even small teams. You don't have to be a Forbes500 enterprise to start automating your contract even today.

Getting started with contract automation
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How to automate contracts on Agrello?

Prepare a document template

Prepare a document template

Using Microsoft Word or Google Docs create a contract template and replace customer specific text with dynamic fields using {{curly_brackets}} 

Create a data source

Create a data source

Create a table of data in Excel or Sheets with field labels in 1st row and then add a row for each contract to be created.

Connect template with data

Connect template with data

Upload your contract template to Agrello Templates and use your spreadsheet to bulk create documents or connect to Excel directly using Zapier.

Simple contract automation you can do it yourself

When your company is expanding, you understand how difficult it is to meet ambitious goals with limited resources. While your company is growing and adding new customers and employees, your legal and administrative teams are left manually generating, negotiating, executing, and managing an increasing volume of contracts. Without the right tools, this can quickly escalate into increased risk and frustration, slowing your ability to scale.

However, implementing a full-blown enterprise-level contract management system seems daunting and expensive. 

The typical CLM (contract lifecycle management) software vendors will offer you a months-long implementation plan which may include:

  1. Securing the buy-in from the company or departmental sponsor who can green-light the funding and time necessary to roll out CLM Essentials and train employees to use it. 
  2. Establishing governance by choosing a project manager who can be a champion, serve as a source of knowledge and be a conduit for communications between your organization and your DocuSign delivery team.
  3. Analyzing current processes to understand how your business currently generates, negotiates, executes, and manages contracts. 
  4. Making a training plan to help drive adoption and adherence to proper processes, ensuring successful outcomes and faster time to value. 
  5. Defining and measuring success to accurately calculate your return on investment.

You really don’t need all that!

There are much cheaper and simpler ways to get going and start saving money and time right away. 

You can make big gains by using common tools like Microsoft Word, Excel and then throw in some automations using Zapier connected to Agrello. In this way, you are already achieving most what the big software suites can offer.

Starting point: Prepare contract templates

The very first step that you need to do is to build a library of your typical contracts. Simply take an example of your last sales contract, or employment contract and make it a template by replacing customer (or employee) specific fields with tags.

For example, instead of John Doe, use {{customer_name}}.

Second step: Create a "database"

It sounds scarier than it actually is. Simply open up your Excel and start typing your data fields in the very first row.

Like that:

Contract date | Customer name | Customer email | Contract duration | Contract value

Throw in your first (test) data row as well. For example, like that:

23.08.2022 | John Doe | john.doe@acmecomp.com | 3-years | $35000

Save your Excel to Microsoft Onedrive. That allows online services use your Excel “database” to import data from it.

Third step: Make your template “alive”!

Now, to start connecting dots, you need to use Agrello (or similar) service that allows you to put your document templates online and connect to your “database” through Zapier.

Simply upload your document template to Agrello and then head over to Zapier that allows you to connect your Excel “database” to your template.

Read more about how to connect Excel to Agrello using Zapier from here.

After you have configured your Zapier connection, you are good to go.

Simply go back to your Excel, and add another row of data and, voila, new contract pops up in Agrello. Just like a magic.

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As you can see even DYI-ers can start automating contracts without paying hefty consultancy fees and procuring expensive contract management systems.

Using these simple tools you can speed up the processes significantly and focus on what really matters: building your business!