Contract lifecycle management software (CLM) should simplify your life, not complicate it. The right tool saves time, reduces risk, and helps your business grow. However, with so many solutions available, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start. This checklist is designed to help you cut through the noise and identify what you need now, and what will continue to work as you expand, without unnecessary complexity or high costs.
We've organized this checklist into three key categories to guide your search:
- The Basics (Foundational CLM Essentials)
: These are the fundamental features every contract management solution should offer—no hidden fees or steep learning curves. They are the essentials to help you transition from spreadsheets to a more efficient way of working. - Start Automating Workflows (CLM Features that Keep Work Moving): Once the basics are in place, it's time to streamline and accelerate your processes. These features eliminate repetitive tasks, reduce bottlenecks, and keep your contracts moving efficiently.
- Automate from Start to Finish (CLM with Advanced Integrations and Power Add-ons):
For rapidly scaling teams or those handling high volumes, these features provide end-to-end efficiency. While powerful, they may not be necessary from day one.
The Basics (Foundational CLM Essentials)
Start here. These features should be standard and require no custom implementation, advanced configuration, or pricey add-ons.
Fast Setup and Ongoing Support with Actual Human Help
Look for a solution that makes importing contracts—whether 10 or 10,000—easy and doesn't require IT assistance. When you need help, you should receive it from a real person who understands your account, not a chatbot or a paywalled support tier.
Ease of Use (Really)
The right platform should simplify the entire contract process, from drafting to approval, signature, and renewals, and facilitate easy collaboration, even with external parties. Don't just take their word for it—try it yourself. If a free trial isn't easy to navigate, it will only get harder.
Find-anything Search That Delivers
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and keyword search are the baseline. Smart search goes further, allowing you to ask natural-language questions and get precise results. No more guessing filenames or digging through folders—just fast answers and significant time savings.
Enterprise-Grade Security
Contract data is sensitive, and your platform should treat it accordingly. Look for bank-level encryption, secure servers, and regular updates. If you wouldn't trust it with your credit card, don't trust it with your contracts.
Scalable Repository
Beware of storage limits and unexpected fees as your needs grow. Your contract management system should scale with you without adding complexity or forcing constant plan upgrades. You need a secure place to keep contracts organized and accessible, whether you manage 50 or 50,000.
Flexible File Handling
Not all contracts are clean, digital, or created using your templates. Ensure your system can handle third-party documents, scanned files, and the everyday realities of modern contract workflows. Your platform should accommodate all contract shapes and sizes.
AI-powered Organization
AI in contract management isn't just a buzzword—it's about eliminating tedious manual work. The right AI features can cut hours off contract processing by automating data entry and intelligently organizing contracts.
Date Tracking + Email Alerts
Start dates, end dates, auto-renewals—your contract management software should track everything. Look for a tool that flags every key date and sends reminders, so you never miss a deadline or get stuck with an unwanted contract.
Custom Fields, Dashboards & Reports
Reporting should be easy. Your contract management software should offer the flexibility to track what matters most to your team. This means customizable fields, intuitive dashboards, and easy-to-generate reports that fit your needs, not the other way around.
Affordable, Transparent Pricing
Affordability is relative to your business needs. Choose a solution with features you'll actually use, avoiding costly extras. Consider the total cost, including setup, training, and maintenance. Look for transparent pricing and true value that fits your budget without surprises.
RELATED: 14 Best Contract Management Software: 2025 Buyer's Guide
Start Automating Workflows (CLM features that keep work moving)
Ready to level up? These features streamline processes and reduce busywork. You've got the foundation; now simplify how contracts are initiated, routed, and signed with fewer delays, follow-ups, or manual steps.
Single Sign-On (SSO)
For many businesses, SSO is a requirement. It streamlines logins, strengthens security, and reduces IT workload by connecting your contract management system to your existing identity provider.
Intake Forms
Getting contracts into your system should be simple. Look for features like intake forms to standardize requests, speed up drafting, and reduce manual entry. The easier it is for your team to add contracts, the more accurate and complete your system remains.
Templates
If you frequently use the same contract types (e.g., NDAs, vendor agreements), templates are a huge time-saver. Generating customized contracts in a few clicks allows your team to move faster and focus on higher priorities.
Approval Workflows
Automating contract approvals is a game-changer if you have the right system. Keep contracts moving without endless email follow-ups. Automated approvals prevent bottlenecks, reduce delays, and ensure the right people review at the right time.
Simple Editing
Fix a typo, edit a clause, or revise a draft—all without version chaos. Your platform should let you make quick changes directly or open documents in Word for full editing.
In-Platform Commenting
No more email chains. Keep conversations where the work is happening. In-platform commenting lets your team collaborate in real-time—no more email threads or scattered feedback. Ask questions, flag issues, and loop in the right people without leaving the contract.
Word Integration
Your team already works in Word—your contract management system should too. With Word integration, you can draft, edit, and redline contracts using full Word functionality, all while keeping everything tracked in one central place. Lock documents while they’re being edited, view version history, and stay aligned across teams—without the confusion of downloading and reuploading files.
E-Signature
The right e-signature solution keeps everything in one place and eliminates those "where's the final signed version?" moments that waste everyone's time. With integrated e-signature capabilities, you can transform the final step of contract management from a headache into a seamless experience.
RELATED: What is Contract Lifecycle Management and Why is it Important?
Automate from Start to Finish (CLM with Advanced Integrations and Power Add-ons)
For teams ready to scale and optimize the entire lifecycle. These power features aren't always essential at the beginning—but they can make a huge difference as your contract volume grows. Think smarter systems, deeper integrations, and more visibility. These can significantly improve how you work, but they’re not deal-breakers for everyone.
AI Contract Review
AI-powered review is no longer a futuristic extra—it’s one of the most requested features out there. The right tool can surface potential risks, suggest stronger language, and help teams review contracts faster and more consistently.
Out-of-the-Box Integrations
Your contract platform should work seamlessly with tools you already use—like Slack, Teams, Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, or e-signature tools like DocuSign, etc.. These built-in or Zapier-enabled connections help you save time, cut duplicate work, and make collaboration smoother across your organization.
API Access
Need to connect your contract platform to custom tools or build something specific for your process? A robust API gives your team the flexibility to integrate exactly the way you need.
Other Features
While valuable, these features are often underused and add cost and complexity. A simpler, more budget-friendly solution may be better unless you truly need this functionality.
One more thing—don’t underestimate the value of great support and easy implementation.
A lot of platforms say they’re simple… until it’s actually time to implement and adopt. Look for a provider that offers quick onboarding (think days, not months), personalized support from real humans, and a proven track record of fast, smooth implementation. Some providers charge extra for help or leave you hanging when questions come up. Others (like ContractSafe) handle the heavy lifting, offer unlimited support, and help you go live fast—so your team sees value right away, not six months from now.
By focusing first on the essentials—organizing your contracts, tracking key dates, and making information accessible to everyone who needs it—you’ll create a system that delivers immediate value and lays the groundwork for more advanced capabilities as your needs grow.
You might not need every feature today, and that’s okay. The right contract management solution should help you stay organized now, making it easy to scale, add users, control access, and track what matters most. It should be secure, cloud-based, and affordable—built to support your team today and ready to grow with you tomorrow.
Ready to revolutionize your contract management?
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(with detailed feature breakdowns not included here)
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