Onboarding Lifecycle & Contract Management Software
Simple onboarding is critical regardless of the amount of contracts involved in the onboarding process. A streamlined onboarding procedure saves time for organisations of all sizes during this critical due diligence process. It also ensures the parties that they will not be inconvenienced by the procedure. There are methods to make this procedure as easy as feasible, depending on the demands.
Several Contract Management Systems offer a turnkey service that will import and de-duplicate all of the existing contracts, extract the information user needs (end date, autorenew, payment terms, parties, etc), and complete the set-up process for the user, which include establishing all of the contract’s reminders.
Contract management is the method of regulating contract formulation, implementation, and analysis in order to maximise an organization’s operational and financial performance while minimising financial risk.
Organizations are under increased pressure to save expenses and enhance corporate performance. Contract administration is a time-consuming aspect of the company, highlighting the necessity for an efficient and automated contract management system.
The Three Pillars of Onboarding Lifecycle & Contract Management Software
Contract management software depends on three different factors. These are:
Digital Onboarding
As per market research carried out by IndustryARC, the onboarding software industry is anticipated to be worth $1.35 billion by 2025.
In general terms, onboarding meaning can be explained as integrating a new employee into an organisation or familiarising a new consumer or client with one’s products or services.
To define onboarding – it’s a collection of processes or activities designed to smoothly integrate contract employees or freelancers into an organisation. Activities include, but are not limited to, writing a contract agreement, training, providing resources, and so on.
Even though the documents that are required in various countries differ from each other in some cases. Nevertheless, some general documents are accepted in practically every country.
These include:
- Government-Issued Photo-based Identity Card
- Passport
- Driver’s License
- Debit/Credit Cards
Any KYC verification method will have four key components that determine the procedures involved in a KYC check. These components are regulated and vary based on jurisdictional AML standards, however, they remain consistent across geographies and industry categories.
These include:
- Document Verification
- Customer Authentication
- Liveness Checks
- Facial Recognition
Digital Onboarding with KYC Verification – Process Flow
In 2020, Video-based KYC verification emerged as a completely remote alternative to regular manual KYC verification. Video KYC is now used extensively by regulated businesses such as banks, insurers, and investment firms.
Video KYC can be performed with the aid of an official from the financial institution (FI), or it can be performed without assistance in what is known as self-onboarding.
While these methods are not identical, they do have a skeleton framework. In general, the stages involved in assisted Video-based KYC verification are as follows.
- The customer is invited to participate in Video KYC by email or text. The customer agrees to the procedure and logs in.
- The customer submits digital copies of their KYC documents. These may include passport, driving licence, debit/credit card, and so on.
- Following document upload, the official initiates a video conversation with the client.
- Live images of the customer and authentic KYC documents are captured by the official.
- The official then begins the liveliness check by asking the customer a series of randomized system-generated questions.
- The customer’s location data is captured using geo-tagging.
- The official concludes the video call and saves the video with date and time-stamps, for future reference.
- AI algorithms and OCR are utilised in the backend to extract data from the uploaded document images. APIs extract KYC data from databases and use it to validate the information given.
- If the KYC verification is successful, the customer is added to the system. Otherwise, the official has the option of restarting the Video KYC procedure.
Features of Video-based Digital Onboarding
Digital onboarding software with video integrations utilize several top-of-the-line features to make customer verification more intuitive, secure, and quick.
- Smart ID & Face Match
Digital onboarding software leverages AI-powered algorithms & OCR to extract data from uploaded image documents and verify these to a high degree of accuracy using standard databases.
- Real-time Document Verification
Several photo-based IDs can simply be photographed and uploaded onto the onboarding portal for smart algorithms to authenticate. Onboarding software typically takes less than a minute to verify several hundreds of IDs.
- Configurable Workflows
Businesses can use low-code workflow building blocks to configure their own onboarding journeys to suit their specific requirements. These workflows can also be scaled up to meet onboarding demands while ensuring compliance with regional AML regulations.
- KYC & KYB Support
Onboarding lifecycle management solutions can be configured to onboard both clients and businesses using easy customizations.
- Client Profile Dashboard
All clients, vendor, and partner profiles along with their corresponding documents and stages of onboarding can be viewed and managed on a smart dashboard.
- Omnichannel Integrations
Businesses can integrate with digital onboarding software in multiple easy ways that require zero third party assistance. APIs, Mobile SDKs, and web portals all ensure that businesses can start onboarding digitally with no hitches.
Apart from this, KYC can also be performed offline. The offline KYC process can be carried out using biometric verification. This involves scanning the customer’s identifying characteristics such as retina, iris, fingerprints, or face and matching these input data with stored and pre-validated details obtained from standardized databases.
Contract Management
Contract Documentation includes all documents that are part of, comprise, or evidence the agreement, including these Scenarios and any quotations, offers, orders, acknowledgements of orders, acceptances, and specifications of the purchaser or seller, as well as any documents referred to in any of them.
The Key Elements of a Contract
When it comes to preventing contract breaches and guaranteeing effective performance, having a strong grasp of the contract conditions is priceless. Here is a collection of the contract documents, along with a description of what they include:
- Agreement:
The agreement is the most important document in the building contract package. This is essential to “the contract,” the basis upon which the remainder of the project specifics is created. This document will outline the overall goal of the contract as well as the contract fee.
- Terms and Conditions:
The basis of the building contract agreements is primarily the general conditions. Most notably, general conditions establish all of the contractual parties’ rights and duties. Furthermore, it will define the duties and obligations of each party.
The general conditions, frequently contained inside a series of particular clauses, establish the game plan for how to proceed in the case of any challenges on the project. This includes the submission of modification orders, payment application acceptance, and other notice obligations.
- Scope of Work:
A construction contract must have a clearly defined scope of work, often known as a statement of work. This document will define each contractor’s specific tasks and objectives.
The scope of work specifies how much work the contractor must perform in order to meet their contractual responsibilities. When drafting change orders and punch lists, the scope is a vital reference point.
- Quantity Bills:
A bill of quantities is not required on all contracts, although it can be useful. A bill of quantities is a detailed description of the materials, parts, and labour needed. Typically, this list is offered during the bidding process.
The goal is for potential bidders to be able to estimate their expenses and streamline the assessment process. The bill of quantities is often prepared by a quantity surveyor or construction estimator.
Onboarding Contract Management – Process Flow
Contract lifecycle management using contract management software enables a contract to go through certain stages. The stages can be listed below:
- Request & Initiation – This is the first stage of the contract lifecycle that involves business stakeholders discussing the essential details of the contract, agreement, renewal, etc. A business professional submits a request to legal for drafting a contract and once initiated, further actions are taken.
- Drafting – This procedure is streamlined in CLM by generating the contract using templates and clauses from the library, with the support of an AI-enabled wizard for crucial clause recommendations.
- Negotiations – Smart contracting software allows parties to negotiate in real time, reducing email clutter and speeding up the process.
- Approval – Approvers may trace who made what modifications to the contract once it is forwarded for approval using the CLM. This clarifies the contract’s revisions as well as the duties allocated to the parties participating in the contracting process.
- Signatures – Smart contract management software provides electronic signature solutions, allowing the concerned party to send the contract online for esignature rather than having it sent to their location. They may sign mass contracts and save a substantial amount of time by using eSign technologies.
- Contract Storage – Once onboarding contracts are executed, they’re tagged and stored in a centralized repository where they’re searchable based on contract stage, stakeholders, contract owner, or contract type. The storage repository is shared across the organization with strong user controls to ensure high visibility and restricted access for legacy contracts.
- Contract performance – Parties agree on and adhere to the extra requirements as well as the previously indicated rules, guidelines, and practises in order to avoid late payments, litigation, and further stymie the process. If a party fails to comply with the agreed-upon conditions, they are accountable for the measures outlined in the contract or previously negotiated with stakeholders.
- Renewal – The contract recorded in the repository can be revisited and renegotiated by the parties. Contracts that have expired may also be renewed.
How Contract Management Streamlines Onboarding Journeys
An ideal contract management system offers several features to simplify and accelerate the onboarding process:
- Centralized Contract Repository
A good contract management system requires all contracts to be maintained electronically in a single database. Users want quick and simple access to contracts and contract data and will value solutions that provide several ways to view information – at the contract, organisation, contact, document, or task level.
- Stringent Security Measures
Contract software secures company papers by allowing regulated document access. It aids in the protection of confidential data contained in contracts.
- Template and Clause Libraries
Contract software solutions provide organisations with a large contract clause library and template options, which help to speed up contract creation.
- Smart Collaboration
By offering a virtual platform for parties to engage, agreements may be completed much more quickly, allowing for rapid contract completion and implementation.
- Performance Analytics & Audits
Contract software streamlines business decision-making by providing data analysis on metrics. Document activity proof is provided by detailed audit reports of signatures and Document activities.
Execution Management
Following discussion and negotiation, the contract is verified and executed using the related parties’ eSignatures to ensure that the document is legally accepted and genuine. The manner of signing and signer information are added in accordance with the person or corporate ID cards. The encrypted contract document is distributed to stakeholders, who are then prompted to eSign on the specified document.
The Smart CLM tool speeds up the process by establishing a time restriction for signers to complete eSigning. At the completion of the procedure, the signers’ signatures are affixed to the paper, and the contract’s effective execution is enforced.
The majority of the time, esignatures are used to validate documents. Authorized persons can use the e sign to determine the origin, author, and other parties engaged in the document. To sign genuine documents, it is simple to utilise the electronic signature technique, which normally involves a one-step verification using OTP.
E signing, on the other hand, does not provide notably high levels of document security. In general, e signs use a basic encryption approach that allows the signed document to be changed if it falls into the wrong hands.
Digital signing capabilities are provided by advanced electronic signature software. A normal electronic signature allows a signee to sign electronically, but an advanced electronic signature allows a signee to sign digitally by sealing the signature with the precise date and time of signing.
Digital signature certificates essentially assure that signatures are not altered after they are signed, hence eliminating the need for a professional notary.
Execution Management – Process Flow
Execution management software is integrated with UAE pass to enable hassle-free signatures for clients who are in the process of onboarding, account opening, or applying for services such loans, insurance policies, or even utilities.
Clients can eSign documents in the following ways.
OTP-based e signatures
Electronic signatures can be used to sign documents by verifying an OTP sent via email or text.
- Log In – The user logs into the execution management portal
- Upload Document – The documents to be eSigned are uploaded or drafted using templates
- Invite Signers – Signers are invited to sign either in sequence or at the same time via an email or text invite
- eSign – The signers receive OTPs which are entered in the eSign portal to sign the documents instantly
- Store & Download – The signed documents are stored on the dashboard and copies are sent to all stakeholders for reference
USB Token e signatures
These signatures employ Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs) and PKI (public key infrastructure) to authenticate documents using signatures. Signers use a private key to sign and public key for verification.
Here are the steps involved.
- Insert the USB Token into the system.
- Install the necessary drivers on your USB Token.
- Check the DSCs for legitimacy on the web browser.
- Download the documents to be signed as PDF
- Open the documents and personalize authentication options by creating a signature
- Note down the customized certificate details for reference.
- Enter the private key issued to encrypt the signed document
- After digitally signing, save the eSigned document with copies for reference
In a nutshell, the procedure for signing contracts is represented below:
Accelerating Onboarding With Digital Execution Management
eSignature software integrated with digital onboarding and contract management offers several features to scale up and expedite onboarding procedures.
- Scalable Signature Workflows
eSignature software enables businesses to invite multiple signers at once and get documents eSigned en masse. This helps boost operating capacity for FIs by accelerating account opening and loan disbursal workflows.
- Virtual Audit Trail
By storing an indelible record of all document-related activities and signature details such as time, location, IP address & more, businesses can rest assured that they’re compliant with contract regulations.
- Template Libraries
eSign workflow solutions offer extensive template libraries for legal or sales teams to choose from. Templates can be used to expedite contract drafting and create multiple legally valid agreements at once. These can then be approved and sent instantly for signatures.
- Signature Verification
Every eSigned document is affixed with a signature certificate which can be used to ensure that the document hasn’t been tampered with. The certificate will also include crucial information regarding the signers or the public key to decrypt the document.
The Benefits of Onboarding Lifecycle and Contract Management Software
The features that the contract management software provides come with certain benefits that help in streamlining the businesses. These benefits include
- Cost Effective Onboarding
By automating the process from negotiation through signature and execution, CLM cuts TAT from days to minutes. E signing removes the need for physical signatures and the associated logistics, saving time and effort spent on contract approval and execution.
- Process Transparency
All modifications made to documents are recorded by CLM. It informs parties about who made the modifications and when they were made, as well as the responsibilities assigned to the parties and other important information. As a result, everyone participating in the contract is aware of their duties and activities with the contract.
- Faster Negotiations
Using a CLM system, parties may discuss terms and remark or propose in real-time resulting in streamlining of businesses. To speed up the process and safeguard the document, CLM provides templates and clause libraries with clause locking.
- Centralized Storage
Businesses can recover and renew documents in considerably less time with a centralised storage system. It allows for smoother cooperation, faster contract tracking, and quicker contract modifications.
- Increased Efficiency
By simplifying contract administration, decreasing human mistakes, and saving time, organisations may enhance their workflow efficiency and become more productive.
- Deadline Alerts
There are no missed deadlines since CLM keeps track of expiry dates, renewals, and other critical data. It also alerts the parties involved when a contract reaches its expiration date and becomes available for renewal.
Contract Management Software and its Role in Various Industries
A contract automation system helps to expedite and simplifies contract administration procedures for firms in a variety of sectors. Among the industries that can profit from this software are:
- Banks and Financial Institutions
Inefficient contract management can expose firms to significant regulatory problems. That is why financial institutions such as banks and NBFCs prioritise contract administration. Automation helps by providing finance teams with increased contract trackability, easier version control, and improved document visibility, all while maintaining a high degree of security.
- Insurance
An automated strategy to handling the multiplicity of insurance agreements assists these organisations in more effectively creating, executing, and tracking them. The AI-powered contract management technology reduces risks for insurance companies by assuring contract compliance.
- Retail
To stay ahead of their competition, retailers must have total insight into both sales performance and supply chain operations. Using the finest contract management software assists retail organisations in overcoming these difficulties by providing a platform for greater vendor communication, contract visibility, and risk management.
- Human Resources
Any company requires contract management for efficient employee onboarding and other related activities. Smart contract management software enables easy process of onboarding and generation of contract for the employees with proper terms and conditions.
- Pharmaceutical Businesses
While introducing a new medicine to the public, pharmaceutical companies must also file a number of paperwork to ensure administrative compliance. Using automated contract management relieves these businesses of this load.
- Manufacturing Industries
Manufacturing companies must enter into several contracts on a daily basis, which they may streamline and simplify with contract automation software. The programme also allows for the easy tracking of each contract throughout its existence, making it a valuable tool for manufacturers.
CONTR.ACT: SignDesk’s Premier Contract Management Software
Contract management with AI-enabled software would undoubtedly make the process more easy and fluid. CLM software is essential for organisations since it guarantees that the objectives of each of their papers are met. It is critical to maximise the performance of all contracts produced by firms.
Businesses may use SignDesk’s contract automation software to handle contracts successfully over their entire life cycle. SignDesk provides organisations with one of the best contract management software systems for creating, collaborating on, executing, storing, and renewing contracts.
Contact our CLM specialists to learn how SignDesk can transform the way you manage business contracts.
