7 Features Every Contract Management Software Must Have

In 2025, it is no longer an exaggeration: modern contract management software can become a genuine financial lever for companies. In a study conducted by the World Commerce & Contracting Institute, 78% of surveyed companies stated that they had invested in contract management solutions over the past five years, as more than a quarter of their workforce is actively involved in contract processes.

Digitalisation means, among other things, implementing technologies within organisations that allow processes to be designed without any media discontinuities. All the more alarming, then, is the study’s finding that business-critical contract data is spread across an average of 24 different systems.

The figures make one thing clear: those who rely on an effective contract management tool today not only save time and money, but also turn their contract processes into a strategic competitive advantage. But which functionalities should companies and organisations look for when choosing contract management software? We have summarised the seven must-have features.

Learning from the ground up – What exactly is contract management software?

According to the World Commerce & Contracting Institute, contract management supports the phases of preparing, negotiating, implementing and overseeing contractual relationships both to and from the market. It tracks contract amendments and enables contract administration for financial, scheduling, personnel-related or technical reasons.

We understand that contracts are of high relevance for an organisation’s operational capability. And there are accordingly many types of contracts within a company – for example, contracts with customers and suppliers, tenancy agreements for buildings, as well as employment contracts.

As with many processes, it is worthwhile for a company’s contract management to move from analogue contract administration to digital contract management. To improve the contract management process, the use of contract management software is therefore recommended. After all, there are numerous advantages that come with process optimisation through digitalisation: potential cost savings thanks to faster processing and active deadline management – just to name one example.

There are many providers of digital contract management solutions

The range of providers offering digital contract management solutions is vast – yet not every software solution unlocks the full potential of modern contract processes. Those who truly want to save time, minimise risks, and increase the strategic value of their contracts should therefore carefully assess the functionalities offered by a solution. In this blog article, we present seven essential features that every powerful contract management tool should have – enabling companies not only to manage contracts but to generate real value from them.

7 Features Your Contract Management Software Must Have

Feature 1: Deadline & Renewal Management

Anyone who works with contracts knows that contract terms and renewal periods can be a constant source of frustration. Once a contract is created, the documents are often filed away and not reviewed again for months or even years. Without an active reminder system, important termination deadlines are easily overlooked.

This is where digital deadline management becomes indispensable. When a contract is created, the system automatically calculates contract terms, stores relevant notice periods, and sets up notifications that alert the responsible person well before a deadline approaches.

This enables timely renegotiation of contracts and conditions – helping organisations avoid unnecessary costs and secure better terms.

Feature 2: Quick and Simple Contract Creation

Most staff members do not create dozens of contracts every day, so the process is rarely routine. As a result, contract creation can feel tedious: the user may not fully understand what information is required or may not have all the necessary details at hand. Consequently, creating a new contract often takes longer than it should.

Digital eContract Management tools are designed to simplify this process. Immediately available templates prefilled with all essential fields and required information should therefore be a core component of any Contract Management solution.
A user-friendly interface ensures high acceptance among employees and enables contracts to be created quickly and accurately – freeing up time for other important tasks.

Feature 3: Finding and Retrieving Contracts Quickly

“Where is the contract?” – a question asked far too often. If contracts are not stored within a centralised system, retrieving the required information becomes time-consuming. Relevant details frequently need to be pieced together from several documents – often spread across different folders or locations.

This is why any effective eContract Management software must enable users to retrieve existing contracts quickly. Ideally, the tool should support two search methods: a full-text search and a structured search based on metadata, such as the contract number, reference code or the name of the contracting party.
This ensures that all relevant information can be found easily and without unnecessary effort.

Feature 4: Workflows

Drafting a contract typically involves several people. An initial draft is created, revised multiple times, and eventually needs to be reviewed and approved. To support this, corresponding workflows, such as approval processes, must be initiated.

In a paper-based environment, it is often unclear which version of a draft is currently being reviewed, whose desk it is on, and who is responsible for the next step.

A modern Contract Management system should therefore offer intuitive workflow creation or provide pre-built standard workflows for editing, reviewing and approving contracts. Clear workflow overviews create transparency for all stakeholders: they always know which approval stage a contract is currently in and who is responsible for processing it next.

Feature 5: Collaborative Work & Task Management

In paper-based processes, extensive communication is required to ensure that no critical information gets lost during collaborative work. The same applies in the digital world – but the process becomes significantly easier.

Contract Management tools should allow users to attach digital notes to documents, visible to everyone involved. They should also provide the option to create tasks related to a contract or assign them directly to other colleagues.

To improve teamwork and ensure full transparency during contract handling, any Contract Management software must support collaborative working.

Feature 6: Reporting

Cost control is only possible with full transparency. Employees responsible for budgets – such as purchasing or controlling – need up-to-date overviews of contractual costs and financial obligations.
In analogue systems, compiling and maintaining these figures requires considerable manual effort, making the process error-prone.

A digital Contract Management system must therefore provide real-time reporting:

• on all existing contracts
• on related cost obligations
• on expiring deadlines and upcoming renewals

This ensures reliable and up-to-date insights at all times.

Feature 7: Digital Signing

What completes the digital contract creation process better than a digital signature?

Printing documents, sending them for signature and uploading the signed version back into the system is cumbersome and time-intensive. A professional Contract Management tool must therefore support legally binding digital signatures – ideally using a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES).

This is the only way to ensure a fully digital, end-to-end process right through to the final step: the contract signing itself.