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Construction works are always done through the signing of contracts. In every construction work, there must be contracts made with the owner, subcontractors, suppliers, consultants, architects, and vendors. The process of manually handling these documents has increasingly become difficult as the construction works become more complex and big in size. The reason why selection of appropriate contract management software for construction projects has become important for modern construction companies.
Construction contracts are not just agreements that are legally binding; they also cover the scope of work, payment schedules, change orders, deadlines, compliance issues, warranty agreements, insurance, and dispute resolution, among others. This can lead to delays in the completion of the construction work, budget overrunning, and even disputes arising from legal issues.
It is the modern technology that helps construction companies in organizing contracts, automating approvals, managing responsibilities, making modifications, and encouraging cooperation between project team members. Thus, there is no necessity in searching for the required contract in e-mails, documents, etc., since all the contracts can be found in one location.
When choosing a good product, one needs to consider such factors as the size of the company, number of projects, regulations, additional software, and the necessity of cooperation. In this blog, the best contract management systems among eleven of the most popular ones will be described.
Construction firms involve the handling of some of the most paperwork-intensive projects within any business.webp?width=300&height=300&name=Untitled%20design%20(78).webp)
sphere. In a single project there can be hundreds of contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders, change orders, insurance certificates, permits, and so on.
The more complex a project gets, the less efficient and risky it is to manage the paperwork manually. People spend valuable time searching for documents and checking whether the document is the latest one.
Without the proper system, such occurrences might go unnoticed. Payment schedules, insurance renewal, warranty expiration dates, and many other deadlines should always be monitored.
New contract management software for the construction sector will enable your business to store all your contracts within one software and make them available to everyone who should see them. Legal experts, project managers, procurement officers, accountants, and senior management personnel will all use the same contracts.
In addition, the use of automation technology means that you save time on paperwork. With workflows you will be able to automatically send your document to the right person, and notifications will always inform you about important dates.
However, most importantly, the contract management software will reduce risks.
All platforms are not developed with the construction industry in view. Though there are several platforms that are excellent in handling the contracts, yet the construction companies will gain immensely from those platforms that can handle large projects.
All the contracts created in a construction company within a particular project can be captured by contract management software. All the contracts will be available in one place, and therefore, they will be easily accessed. There won’t be any need for searching.
Nearly all construction contracts require approvals from construction managers, legal advisors, procurement people, financial advisors, and management personnel.
Workflow automation is responsible for ensuring that these construction contracts are always routed to the appropriate stakeholders.
Change orders are prevalent in construction projects. Manually maintaining the change orders will result in confusion from a financial, time, and scope point of view.
A well-managed contract management process captures all the changes, modifications, and approvals that are done through an audit trail.
The clauses regarding insurance, safety responsibility, licensing, warranty, payments, and regulatory compliance are part of the construction contract.
Automatic software that keeps track of these responsibilities helps ensure that the firm complies throughout the entire process.
The artificial intelligence field is impacting the way construction companies manage their contracts.
With new systems, it is now possible to abstract lengthy contracts, determine missing clauses, recognize dates, detect risks, and simplify contracts without reading through them.
Presently, construction companies use ERP software, accounting software, project management software, Microsoft 365, CRM software, and electronic signatures software.
Selecting software that is compatible with the existing processes becomes quite easy for them.
For construction businesses requiring a full contract lifecycle management solution, there is Dock 365 CLM, which.webp?width=300&height=300&name=Untitled%20design%20(80).webp)
happens to be one of the best software solutions in the market.
Dock 365 CLM is developed using Microsoft 365 and SharePoint; such software helps construction firms manage their contracts' lifecycle from drafting and negotiating to approval, execution, monitoring, renewal, and reporting using the contract lifecycle management process.
It automates the approval process, generates contract templates, monitors subcontractors' commitments, manages changes, and tracks project milestones without the use of spreadsheets and email follow-ups.
Artificial intelligence capabilities help review the contracts more easily by summarizing the contracts, extracting information, and mitigating risks.
Best for: Construction companies already using Microsoft 365 that want complete contract lifecycle management with workflow automation and AI capabilities.
Procore is one of the most popularly used construction management software packages, and the software also offers good document management and contract management functionalities.
Using Procore, construction firms have the ability to manage their contracts, as well as other aspects such as documents, request for information, budget, submittals, and field collaboration in one package.
Best for: Mid-sized and enterprise construction companies already using Procore for project management.
All the elements of project management, document preparation, collaboration, and contract management are included in the Autodesk Construction Cloud.
This software allows for the linkage of contract with project scheduling, drawings, cost management, and fieldwork, offering more visibility into the whole construction process.
The integration of the tool with other Autodesk products provides additional value for design-build and engineering firms.
Best for: Engineering, design, and large commercial construction projects.
Oracle Primavera Unifier is an application designed specifically for companies undertaking highly complex capital projects.
This software application enables users to handle the contract, procurement, change, budgeting, compliance, and governance of multiple large projects.
This software application has proven to be quite popular in the construction of infrastructure, government, and megaprojects.
Best for: Large enterprises managing complex infrastructure and capital construction projects.
ContractWorks provides simplicity along with the secure storage of contracts, document management using AI, reporting, alerts, and e-signing features.
The easy-to-implement nature of the software is very beneficial for construction companies who want to manage their contracts without having to undergo a lengthy implementation process.
It also comes with unlimited users in many of its subscription packages.
Best for: Small and medium-sized construction businesses seeking affordable contract management.
PandaDoc provides all the above-mentioned components in one solution that includes document creation, proposals, quotations, contracting, approvals, and e-signing.
The construction industry frequently uses PandaDoc for preparing contractor agreements, supplier agreements, proposals, and documents for customers using its templates.
The automation functions of PandaDoc reduce time wasted on paperwork and speed up the contract preparation process.
Best for: Contractors focused on document generation, proposals, and digital signatures.
Oracle Aconex is an application specifically developed for large projects which require coordination and collaboration between many people throughout the whole project life cycle.
The most distinguishing characteristic of Oracle Aconex is its audit trail. All modifications of documents, all approvals, and all correspondence can be tracked in the system. This means less disputes and more accountability. That is why Oracle Aconex is especially efficient when it comes to projects with many parties involved.
Best for: Large infrastructure projects requiring extensive document control and multi-party collaboration.
Agiloft is very flexible contract lifecycle management software with an option to customize according to different business process without requiring any coding at all. Construction companies have the capacity to change the process of approval, reporting dashboards, templates, and contract stages according to their requirements.
This software has the ability to offer contract search, obligation management, reminders and reporting through artificial intelligence technology. These features will help in tracking the performance of the contract and reducing administrative activities.
Such kind of flexibility will be useful for the organizations with complex approval and contract process.
Best for: Construction companies requiring highly customized contract workflows.
Ironclad is focused on simplifying collaboration when it comes to legal matters and automating processes related to contracts. With Ironclad, organizations can create contracts faster, automate approvals, carry out digital negotiations and keep an eye on the entire contract process.
Ironclad will be beneficial for construction firms managing many sub-contractor contracts, procurement contracts, and supplier negotiations owing to its collaboration and review process. Automation of the search process with the help of artificial intelligence makes this process even faster.
While initially Ironclad was created for legal departments, today it is widely used by various organizations.
Best for: Large construction companies with dedicated legal and procurement teams.
Icertis is an example of contract management software that caters to sophisticated governance and compliance requirements. This software consists of contract intelligence through artificial intelligence and workflow automation, obligation management, analytics, and enterprise integration.
This software will be ideal for construction companies that conduct their operations in many geographical locations or have thousands of contracts in place. This software will enable the firm to detect any risk that may exist in the contracts and also ensure compliance with the terms of the contract throughout its entire lifecycle.
Considering the kind of features that this software offers, it will only be suited for large companies.
Best for: Enterprise construction firms managing complex compliance and large contract portfolios.
Contracts 365 is designed for companies running on the Microsoft 365 platform. It uses the Microsoft system and hence allows companies to manage the creation, negotiation, approval, filing, and monitoring of contracts through software programs such as SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, and Word.
Companies that run their businesses using Microsoft software systems do not need to introduce an entirely new process for agreement management. Contracts 365 provides functionalities like searching, reporting, obligation management, and automated reminders through artificial intelligence.
Best for: Construction companies already invested in Microsoft 365.
Construction companies differ from each other in terms of their priority sets. There is a very big distinction in.webp?width=300&height=300&name=Untitled%20design%20(79).webp)
priorities set between the smaller home construction company using multiple sub-contracts and a multinational construction company dealing with billions of dollars worth of construction projects.
Affordability and usability along with better document management is what small companies are more concerned about, while mid-sized companies pay attention to workflow automation, approval, e-signature, and collaboration tools.
The bigger companies need advanced compliance management tools, machine learning based analytics, enterprise-level integration, auditing and reporting tools and more.
Having Microsoft 365 deployed already, it is also important to take into account the integration capabilities with existing technical infrastructure as well. Better integration means less training required, no redundancies, and easier adoption of the product.
Ultimately, the best construction software does not necessarily mean having the most number of tools. It means having the right toolset for your needs and processes.
The choice of the platform is made according to the following criteria. First, you need to identify the problems of your contract management process. Consider how many contracts you manage yearly, how many parties are involved in it, and how complex the projects are.
Integrations are also an essential criterion. Construction companies prefer using ERP systems, accounting, project management, Microsoft 365, CRM solutions, and digital signatures. This will allow you to avoid creating information silos and improve your efficiency.
Last but not least, consider the problem of scalability. As your company develops, you do not want to change the entire system because it does not work efficiently anymore.
The next point is that you have to consider what kind of automation capabilities the solution will offer. Approvals, renewal reminders, obligation management, AI contract analysis assistance, and reporting can greatly help you automate and increase the transparency of your projects.
The last but not least point for consideration is the total cost of ownership of the solution.
Contract management software in the construction sector will be perfect in ensuring that such software caters for all the needs of the organization in terms of operation, the level of project complexity, compliance issues, and technology overall.
For organizations interested in only storing documents, then light software will be perfect for them. For organizations interested in generating proposals and digital signatures, then document management software will cater for their needs. Large companies that undertake infrastructure projects have greater needs.
However, for those organizations looking for full-fledged contract management systems should consider solutions that combine document management, workflow management, contract intelligence, obligations management, reporting and business applications integration.
By not considering software that just offers document storage but that of which offers management throughout the whole process, then construction companies will be able to improve collaboration, risk mitigation and approval processes among others.
For any successful construction project, contract management is needed in order to ensure that the project is on track, meets requirements, and is profitable. As the size of construction projects continues to grow, manual methods of contract management bring about more risks, inefficiencies, and administrative complexities.
Construction contract management systems are systems developed to deal specifically with all aspects of contract management lifecycle in construction projects.
In the end, it will depend on the unique features of your business and its future plans and strategies. Using proper contract management software, construction firms can improve collaboration and avoid all kinds of risks associated with their operations.
Dock 365 CLM is a great solution for you if you need an integrated contract lifecycle management software built on Microsoft 365, which provides you with such options as: Contract drafting and automation, Contract approvals and collaboration, Subcontract management, Contract obligations tracking, Compliance monitoring, and Contract intelligence.
Ready to simplify construction contract management?
Schedule a free demo with Dock 365 today and discover how intelligent contract lifecycle management can help your business reduce risk, improve efficiency, and deliver projects with greater confidence.
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