{"id":37,"date":"2025-10-02T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T06:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.d-velop.com\/blog\/?p=37"},"modified":"2025-10-02T08:44:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T06:44:11","slug":"sharepoint-contract-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.d-velop.com\/blog\/process-automation\/sharepoint-contract-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Use contract management effectively in SharePoint and Microsoft 365"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Contract management with Excel is, unfortunately, still common practice. Yet SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365 offer a far superior alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SharePoint Online defies traditional software categorisation. It is a sophisticated collaboration platform that supports process management, team coordination, and portal solutions \u2013 while also excelling in web content management. This versatility makes it highly valuable across a wide range of business applications. As a result, many organisations are leveraging SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365 as strategic platforms to support the implementation of their digital transformation initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Why you should manage contracts digitally with SharePoint Online \u2013 and not with an \u201cExcel contract management template\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Excel is still a popular tool for contract management<\/a>. However, if your organisation already uses \u2013 or plans to use \u2013 SharePoint Online or Microsoft 365, it makes perfect sense to manage contracts within that environment. A dedicated contract management solution not only benefits end users, but also brings significant advantages for IT teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contract management with SharePoint Online<\/a> and Microsoft 365 represents a valuable next step in digital maturity. With a professional solution, contracts can be stored and linked intelligently within SharePoint Online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you could maintain both a contract file and a project file. Instead of saving the same document multiple times on a shared drive, the contract can now be linked directly within the project file and accessed with ease. In another scenario, a user could jump straight from a supplier contract to the corresponding supplier record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contracts often require extensive coordination. They need approvals from various departments and frequently involve collaborative editing. SharePoint Online integrates seamlessly with familiar tools like Word, allowing multiple users to work on contract documents simultaneously \u2013 all within a familiar interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also clear benefits for IT: using a central platform instead of multiple standalone products helps build internal expertise around SharePoint Online as a strategic solution. This reduces the need for training and lowers maintenance overheads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>SharePoint Online contract overview list vs. a comprehensive contract management solution<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With web-based lists and document libraries, SharePoint Online already offers essential features for contract management as part of its standard functionality. These tools can be used to maintain contract metadata \u2013 much like a centralised Excel list \u2013 while documents themselves are stored in document libraries. This alone provides a significantly more efficient way to manage active contracts. It\u2019s certainly a more elegant approach than relying on an Excel template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this method can still lead to some familiar challenges in contract administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the key drawbacks include:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n