Contract Renewals Board

The Contract Renewals Board is a visual tool that uses a Kanban-style representation to track the progress of the contract renewal process. The Renewals board is structured into 4 phases: Backlog, In review, In progress, and Done. This organized layout simplifies staying informed about your progress and determining the necessary actions to be taken.

Without a centralized system, companies risk missing important deadlines, renewing contracts with unfavorable terms, or failing to secure critical contracts, leading to costly mistakes, legal disputes, and reputational damage. The Renewals Board provides transparency and accountability, allowing team members to identify bottlenecks or issues and take corrective action quickly. By adding contracts as cards and moving them through different phases, the Renewals Board ensures consistent management and clear visibility of each contract's status to everyone involved. In conclusion, the Contract Renewal Board is a powerful tool for businesses that want to manage their contract renewal process in a streamlined, efficient, and effective manner.

Using Renewals Board

To access the Renewals Board, go to Contracts, and click on the Renewals Board tab.

The board is structured into 4 phases:

Backlog
The Backlog column tracks contracts needing renewal, including new contracts and changes to existing ones. All new contracts are added to the Backlog phase, where they can be reviewed and prioritized for further action.

In Review
Contracts that need to be reviewed are moved to this column. Contracts in this section are assessed against renewal criteria. Approved contracts progress to the next phase.

In Progress
The In Progress column tracks contracts undergoing renewal. Activities like negotiations, legal reviews, and revisions are monitored in this phase. Progress is tracked, and any issues or bottlenecks are identified and addressed.

Done
The Done column is where completed contracts are moved. This phase tracks contracts that have been successfully renewed and ensures that all required actions have been completed. Once a contract has been moved to the Done stage, it is considered complete.

Scoping Renewals Board

You can use search and filtering capabilities to conveniently manage the numerous services within organizations and on the Renewals Board. These features enable easy and efficient tracking of specific services amidst a potentially extensive list.

The Renewals Board offers a search feature where you can type the service name to find if its corresponding card is already in the renewal process.

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Note

Only contracts within 6 months before their renewal will appear on the board, ensuring focused visibility.

Additionally, the filter option allows you to refine the contract list based on specific criteria, including custom fields. This feature lets you easily sort and view contracts that meet your desired filtering conditions.

Adding Contract to the Renewals Board

Contracts are automatically displayed on the renewal board six months before their renewal, eliminating the need for manual board creation. Each contract is represented by a card, which showcases the following contract details in a left-to-right order:

• Service Logo
• Service Name
• Remaining days until the renewal
• Contract Name (Contract Start date - End date)
• Contract Value
• Renewal decision

Clicking on a contract card opens a side panel on the right side of the board. The panel provides an extended overview of relevant renewal information and includes a Best Practice checklist for the renewal process.

Review service lifecycle: This prompt is meant to verify if the service is still needed within the organization.

Verify service compliance: This prompt is to check the security aspects of the service.

Confirm budget approval: This prompt suggests users verify if financial sources are available for the renewal.

Define the next purchase order: This prompt suggests users define the product type and quantity for the next contract period.

Workflow in Renewals Board

Backlog: This lane contains, by default, all contracts that will at least be renewed in the next 6 months.
The Backlog lane contains all the contracts that require attention. At this stage, no actions are required since this lane act as a "Renewal backlog".

In Review: In this column, users will keep all contracts that require Service assessment. During this step, the team will go through the Renewal tasks and, based on the assessment results, determine the appropriate decision to be made.

In Progress: In this stage, the Service assessment has been completed, and negotiations with the Service provider have started.
Contracts moving to this stage need to have a decision documented; otherwise, SMP will request you to provide it via the following pop-up:

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If a decision is removed from a contract that is currently in the In Progress phase of the renewal process, it will be moved back to the In Review lane.

Done: This is the final stage of the renewal process and contains all contracts where the negotiations are finished. At this stage, a new contract has been signed and is to be added to SMP.
While moving a contract with the 'Renew' decision to the Done column, you will be asked to confirm the step in 2 possible ways:

• Confirm - for a simple confirmation.
• Confirm & add a new contract - for confirmation and adding a new contract. You will be redirected to a new contract form prefilled with the same data as the previous contract. Simply adjust these details and click Save

A confirmation prompt window will also appear while moving a contract with the 'Termination' decision to the Done column.

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Note

If a decision is modified for a contract that is already in the Done phase, it will be moved back to the In Progress phase.

If a decision is removed for a contract that is already in the Done phase, it will be moved back to the In Reveiw phase.

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The Contract Renewal process does not require the customer to get through all status lanes. Users can move a contract directly from Backlog to Done when needed. In this case, users will be asked to make the decision on renewal with either Renew or Terminate, as shown below:

The Contract Renewal Boards can be a beneficial asset for your organizations to centralize and streamline the entire contract lifecycle, from the initiation to renewal. This tool enhances collaboration, visibility, and control over contractual information. You can explore how Contract Renewal Boards help you to realize the SaaS Contract Management use case in your organization.