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As companies race to close deals and scale operations, legal teams must ensure that the time contracts take to process match in speed.
Because as we all know, slow contract turnaround can stall deals, frustrate stakeholders, and drain legal resources. And on top of that, manual processes that are full of emails, versioning issues, and approval delays, only make matters worse.
In response, many are turning to legal contract automation software. By digitizing and streamlining the contract lifecycle, this type of legal technology is helping in-house legal teams reduce delays, improve consistency, and accelerate business outcomes.
What is Legal Contract Automation Software?
Rather than manually gathering contract details, drafting agreements from scratch, and going through rounds and rounds of revisions to ensure everything is accurate, legal teams can use contract automation software to set up routine workflows, apply pre-approved templates with standard terms, and track agreement progress in real time.
For in-house legal teams, this means enabling business users to self-serve on common contracts like NDAs, MSAs, and vendor agreements, without compromising legal oversight. It reduces the time lawyers spend on low-risk, high-volume contracts and frees them up to focus on more strategic work.
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Common Delays in Manual Contract Processes
Manual contract workflows are full of slow, repetitive steps that create bottlenecks for legal teams. Some of the most common delays include:
- Intake via multiple channels, with no clear form or process
- Starting from scratch for every contract or using outdated templates
- Multiple rounds of back-and-forth revisions with business teams
- Chasing down approvals over email with no visibility into who’s next
- No real-time tracking, making it hard to know where a legal matter stands
These delays waste time, slow down deal cycles, and pull legal away from higher-value work.
How Contract Automation Speeds Up Agreement Turnaround
Contract automation eliminates repetitive manual steps, helping legal teams move faster without sacrificing accuracy or control. Instead of handling every request individually, legal can create automated workflows that guide users through pre-approved templates and routing. This frees up capacity for legal teams, shortens turnaround times, and supports faster deal cycles across the business.
🤖 Self-Service for the Business
Teams like Sales or HR can generate standard agreements like NDAs or offer letters without waiting on legal. For example, with Checkbox, internal clients can quickly generate contracts themselves by filling out a simple web-form that creates a contract using pre-approved templates with built-in logic and standard terms. This reduces legal bottlenecks and gets contracts out the door faster.
↪️ Automated Approval Workflows
Contracts are routed to the right stakeholders automatically, speeding up sign-off and reducing the need to follow-up. For example, with Checkbox, once a step in the contract lifecycle is complete, the platform will automatically send the contract to the right people for review and approval by using customizable workflows that decide who needs to see each contract. This speeds up approvals and reduces delays caused by back-and-forth communication or missed handoffs.
👀 Centralized Tracking
Legal can see the status of every contract in real time, reducing confusion and unnecessary check-ins. For example, some contract and workflow automation tools such as Checkbox offer a centralized dashboard so legal can see the live status of every matter in one place. Stakeholders also get a tracking link (similar to tracking a package) so they can check the progress of their request at any time. This cuts down on time spent chasing updates and improves visibility across teams.
Key Features of Legal Contract Automation Software
The most effective legal contract automation platforms offer features that go beyond document generation to actually streamlining processes within the contract lifecycle from beginning to end. Here are some key features to look for:
Use Cases for In-House Legal Teams
Legal contract automation software is especially valuable for in-house teams at fast-growing companies, where volume is high and resources are stretched. It helps legal scale support without adding headcount, by empowering the business to self-serve on low-risk contracts while retaining oversight. Here are some common use case examples:
Sales Agreements
Sales teams can quickly generate NDAs, MSAs, and order forms on their own using pre-approved templates, ultimately accelerating deal cycles.
HR Contracts
HR can generate employment agreements, offer letters, and contractor agreements through guided workflows that ensure compliance and consistency.
Procurement & Vendor Contracts
Business teams can submit requests and generate standard procurement contracts, with automated approvals based on value or risk level.
Marketing & Partnerships
Teams can self-serve on influencer agreements, sponsorship contracts, or co-marketing terms using templates that reflect legal’s guardrails.
How Checkbox Supports Contract Automation
Checkbox is a full legal intake and matter management platform that enables in-house legal teams to automate and manage the entire contract lifecycle, from request to renewal, in one centralized system. Here’s how Checkbox helps accelerate agreement turnaround:
End-to-End Contract Automation
Checkbox automates every stage of the contract process, from initial request and contract generation, through collaboration, approvals, e-signatures, and even renewal tracking. This means fewer handoffs, faster cycles, and no gaps in the process.
Self-Service Contract Generation
Business users can generate contracts like NDAs, MSAs, and offer letters by filling out a simple web form. Checkbox uses pre-approved templates and conditional logic to instantly create compliant, ready-to-send contracts, freeing up legal from repetitive tasks.
Customizable Approval Workflows
Customized using no-code workflow automation tools, contracts can be routed automatically to the right stakeholders based on legal’s specifically defined criteria like contract type, deal value, or risk level. Lawyers no longer has to chase approvals or manually manage handoffs.
Centralized, Searchable Contract Repository
All contracts are stored in one place, making it easy for legal and business users to search, access, and track documents without relying on email threads or shared drives.
Real-Time Tracking & Transparency
Legal teams have complete visibility into where each contract stands with centralized dashboards. Stakeholders also receive tracking links to follow the progress of their requests.
Integrations With Existing Systems
Legal contract automation software such as Checkbox integrates with CLM, CRM, e-signature tools, document storage, and other business systems to fit naturally into your existing workflows and reduce friction across teams.
By automating the full contract lifecycle and centralizing contract data, Checkbox helps legal teams speed up cycle times, scale support, and deliver a faster, more consistent experience to the business.
Want to learn more? Book a demo today to see how Checkbox can help accelerate agreement turnaround and improve efficiency across your legal department.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does AI-driven automation reduce contract processing time in legal teams?
AI-driven automation eliminates repetitive tasks like data entry, routing, and version control by auto-generating contracts and guiding them through approvals. This reduces manual handoffs and speeds up end-to-end turnaround.
What specific compliance risks are mitigated by contract workflow automation?
Automation enforces use of up-to-date templates, approval rules, and audit trails, reducing the risk of human error, non-compliance, and unauthorized contract terms.
How can automated contract data improve strategic decision-making in law firms?
Centralized, structured contract data provides insights into volume, turnaround time, and risk exposure, helping legal teams allocate resources and demonstrate impact to leadership.
In what ways does real-time visibility impact legal team productivity and risk management?
Real-time visibility into contract status helps legal teams prioritize work, avoid duplicate efforts, and catch delays or risk factors early, improving both speed and control.
What future developments could further accelerate agreement turnaround with AI tools?
Advancements in generative AI and predictive analytics could enable fully dynamic contract drafting, smarter triaging, and proactive risk flagging, reducing turnaround even further.
What is the difference between contract automation and CLM software?
Contract automation focuses on speeding up contract-related processes like creation, approvals, and execution, while CLM tools help teams manage the broader contract lifecycle. Legal teams often use automation tools like Checkbox to complement or streamline CLM workflows.
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