How the City of Dahlonega Replaced Spreadsheet Tracking with One Central Contract Repository

A simple, searchable repository with renewal notifications and flexible organization

Dahlonega chose ContractSafe because it gave the city an easy way to organize contracts, tag documents, and keep renewals visible without shifting all responsibility onto the city clerk or city manager.

“ContractSafe is easy to use, and it gives us the customization we need. We can tag contracts, organize them our way, and automatically notify the responsible department when a renewal is coming up.”

— Allison Martin, City Manager, City of Dahlonega

With ContractSafe, departments can still manage vendor relationships directly. The system alerts the responsible people when a renewal is approaching, giving them time to work with vendors and get renewal documents ready for the agenda instead of rushing at the last minute.

Features that replaced spreadsheet tracking with an organized contract process

• Central document repository gives Dahlonega one place to store contracts, intergovernmental agreements, memorandums of understanding, renewals, and related records.
• Custom tags and folders help the city organize agreements by department, system, vendor, or document type.
• Automated renewal notifications alert the responsible department 60 to 90 days ahead of renewals, so vendor conversations start earlier.
• Controlled folder access lets the city group related agreements together while limiting access to sensitive folders when needed.
• Selective e-signature supports agreements Martin can execute within her spending threshold and that do not require governing body approval.

The initial rollout focused on getting control of the city's existing documents: loading agreements into one system, organizing them, and putting renewals on a schedule. That process also helped Dahlonega identify contracts that had not been reviewed in a long time and decide which services needed to be renegotiated or bid.

Customer support helped the city set up the system around its document volume and needs.

“The support experience with ContractSafe has been great. The team took the time to understand our needs, the number of documents we had, and how we needed the system set up. They gave us the flexibility to make it work for the city.”

— Allison Martin, City Manager, City of Dahlonega

Dahlonega primarily uses ContractSafe as a central document repository, with renewal tracking, folder organization, permissions, and selective e-signature supporting the workflows around that core recordkeeping need.