Turn Contracts Into Corporate Assets:
How to Build Your Business Case for AI-Based CLM Software
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Read MoreSection 1
The High Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Waiting to Fix Contract Management Is a Risk You Can’t Afford
Some contract risks are obvious. Others aren't — until it’s too late.
A supplier fails to meet obligations, and no one catches it until penalties pile up. A renewal auto-executes at outdated pricing, quietly inflating costs. A deal gets stuck in negotiations, and the customer walks.
Contracts touch every dollar in and out of the business. Yet, they’re often scattered across inboxes, buried in shared drives, or managed poorly through outdated systems, and the impact is staggering:
SECTION 2
Why AI-Based CLM Software is a
Business Advantage
Sales teams want faster deal closures. Finance focuses on cost control. Legal prioritizes risk reduction. Every department has different priorities, but they all share the same dependency: contracts.
Contract Clarity & Consistency Benefits Everyone
When contracts are accessible, intelligent, and connected, every department works better — not just on their own, but together. AI-powered CLM makes that possible by turning contracts into a shared source of speed, insight, and alignment:
Legal:
From Gatekeeper to Growth Enabler
Legal teams face immense pressure from every direction. Stakeholders want contracts turned around faster. Regulators expect airtight compliance. The C-suite needs legal to manage risk without slowing deals down.
But here's the problem:
- Contract review eats up hours. Routine redlines, manual risk assessments, and tracking down key contract terms take time away from higher-value legal work.
- Compliance is a moving target. Regulations change, and tracking obligations across hundreds (or thousands) of agreements is nearly impossible without the right tools.
- Stakeholders bypass legal altogether. Frustrated with slow turnaround times, teams may use outdated templates or sign agreements without proper review — exposing the business to unnecessary risk.
- Legal is blamed when things go wrong. Missed renewal deadlines, unfavorable terms, or a contract dispute? The spotlight turns to legal, even when the root issue is poor contract visibility.
AI-powered CLM software, however, removes the roadblocks that slow legal down. Machine learning models analyze contracts in seconds, flagging risky clauses, deviations from standard terms, and missing obligations — so legal doesn’t have to hunt for them. Automated approval workflows route contracts to the right stakeholders instantly, eliminating the manual back-and-forth that drags out negotiations. Intelligent CLM software ensures every contract is searchable, every obligation is tracked, and every action — edits, approvals, renewals — is logged automatically.
The result? Contract management stops being a source of friction, and legal teams regain the time, visibility, and control they need to protect the business without slowing it down.
Procurement:
No More Surprises in Supplier Agreements
Pricing, SLAs, rebate thresholds, renewal timelines — every supplier decision comes down to numbers. Procurement teams live by these figures, but the reality is that contract data isn’t always where it needs to be. It’s scattered across systems, buried in PDFs, or stored in spreadsheets that only a handful of people maintain. Teams operate on outdated price sheets, suppliers reference different terms, and by the time discrepancies are caught, the business has already lost leverage — or money.
Before a contract renews or a supplier agreement is signed, procurement teams need to know:
- Are we unknowingly overpaying because of outdated terms or missed renegotiations?
- Do we have unclaimed rebates or discounts buried in supplier agreements?
- How many of our vendor contracts renew soon, and are we prepared to renegotiate?
- Which suppliers are consistently failing to meet SLAs, and where is that costing us?
AI-powered CLM brings contract intelligence to the forefront, making supplier agreements easier to manage and optimize. AI scans contracts to highlight price variations, automatic renewals, and missed cost-saving opportunities — giving procurement teams the leverage to act before terms are locked in. Automated alerts keep approvals moving forward, ensuring negotiations happen on time.
With AI ensuring every agreement is optimized and enforceable, procurement teams are better equipped to reduce costs, strengthen supplier relationships, and enhance business outcomes.
Sales:
When the Last Mile of the Deal Becomes the Fastest
Reps know their contract pipeline inside and out. What they don’t always know is how contracts impact those deals once they’re in motion. A customer renewal is coming up — was there an opportunity to upsell? A price adjustment clause exists — did anyone catch it before sending the quote? A deal stalls in legal — who’s responsible for moving it forward? When these answers aren’t clear, revenue slips through the cracks.
Here’s how contract delays hurt sales the most:
- Closing slows down. A deal is won, but contract approvals take too long, delaying revenue recognition.
- Reps lose control. Every redline means another round of approvals, pulling legal into simple, repeatable agreements.
- Renewals go untracked. A customer churns because no one flagged their contract expiration in time.
- Time is wasted. Instead of selling, reps are stuck chasing signatures, finding the right templates, or waiting for legal feedback.
With AI-powered CLM, sales teams don’t have to rely on legal for routine contracts. They generate agreements instantly using pre-approved templates, so standard deals move forward without delays.
AI makes it easier to find upsell opportunities, pricing flexibility, and renewal terms before it’s too late.
Generative AI allows reps to ask, “What’s the termination clause in this agreement?” or “When does this customer’s discount expire?” and get an immediate answer — no searching, no legal bottlenecks.
Finance:
Visibility Into Every Dollar You’ve Agreed To
Finance teams thrive on predictability. They track every dollar in and out of the business, forecast revenue, and ensure compliance with financial regulations. But unpredictability doesn’t just come from market shifts or economic downturns — it comes from within the contracts that govern every financial obligation.
This is how contract risk becomes a financial problem:
- Creates forecasting gaps. Without visibility into upcoming renewals, variable pricing structures, or contract expirations, revenue projections become guesswork.
- Cash flow disruptions. Payment terms and escalation clauses exist in contracts, but without tracking, discounts are missed and late fees go unbilled.
- Profit margin erosion. Suppliers don’t always apply negotiated discounts, and customers don’t always pay what they owe. When contracts aren’t enforced, finance bears the cost.
AI-powered CLM brings financial predictability back into contracts by making every term, deadline, and obligation visible and actionable. Instead of manually tracking payment schedules, escalations, or renewal dates, finance teams receive automated alerts before revenue is lost or costs increase.
AI scans agreements to flag discrepancies — missed pricing adjustments, billing errors, or unclaimed cost savings — so finance teams can act before problems hit the balance sheet.
IT:
Balancing Security and Scalability with CLM Systems
When technology works, no one notices. When it doesn’t, IT takes the heat. That’s why every new platform must meet a high bar: will it integrate smoothly, protect sensitive data, and scale without creating more work? Contract management is no different — if contracts exist in silos, IT carries the burden of fixing broken workflows, troubleshooting integrations, and managing access issues.
Some of the challenges that IT teams face include:
- Fragmented Systems. Contracts stored in standalone tools create data gaps between CRM, ERP, and procurement platforms.
- Security Risks. Uncontrolled access and weak audit trails make compliance difficult.
- Scalability Struggles. Outdated systems can’t support growing contract volumes or evolving business needs.
- Unnecessary Maintenance. Workarounds, manual data pulls, and permission issues add to IT’s workload.
AI-powered CLM software is designed to integrate with the systems IT teams already trust. Instead of forcing teams to manage contracts in yet another disconnected system, end-to-end CLM software connects key contract data with Salesforce, Workday, and other enterprise applications, ensuring workflows stay intact.
Security features — like role-based access, encryption, and audit logs — keep sensitive contract data protected without requiring extra oversight.
As contract volumes grow, AI-driven workflows scale with the business, reducing IT’s long-term maintenance burden.
Results
If your answer was “Not a critical need,” then you:
Likely have a CLM system in place, possibly even one that claims to use AI — but not all AI-powered CLMs are created equal. Some platforms are overly complex to configure, making automation more of a burden than a benefit. Others aren’t truly end-to-end, leaving teams stuck with manual workarounds for key contract stages. Even if your current system seems to work, it’s worth assessing whether it’s driving efficiency — or just creating new bottlenecks under a different name. It’s also worth examining how easily the CLM platform integrates with systems your teams already use — like Salesforce, Workday, or your legal tech stack — since poor integration can quietly undermine adoption and limit cross-functional impact.
If your answer was “Needs deeper assessment with your teams,” then you:
Might have a system, but without automation, contract intelligence, or cross-functional visibility, it’s not fixing the core issues. Or maybe you’re getting by without a CLM, and the friction just hasn’t caught up — yet. But as volume grows, so will delays, risks, and compliance gaps. That’s why it’s worth assessing how well your current approach supports the way your teams actually work. Does it provide AI-powered visibility into obligations and risks, or leave legal and procurement chasing down answers? Does it integrate not just with your CRM or ERP, but with the broader legal tech stack your teams rely on? If the system can’t adapt to how your teams operate — like routing requests from Aqua or auto-generating contracts during onboarding — it’s likely creating more work than it’s solving.
If your answer was “Yes, you need it,” then you:
Are already feeling the strain of slow approvals, missed obligations, and scattered contract data — and it’s costing your business. At this stage, the question isn’t whether you need CLM, but which vendor is the right fit. Not all solutions offer true AI-powered contract intelligence, seamless integrations, or automation that actually reduces workload. The next step is narrowing your options by evaluating platforms on usability, configurability, and AI capabilities to ensure your CLM investment drives real business impact.
Want to share or revisit later?Download the flowchart to assess your need for AI-powered CLM.
Common Objections You’ll Hear — and How to Answer Them
A process that “works” isn’t the same as one that’s optimized. The biggest threat to contract management isn’t just bad contracts — it’s good contracts trapped in a bad system:
A Practical Checklist for Vetting CLM Software Vendors
Want to take the checklist with you? Download it here and work through it with your team.
How to Avoid CLM ‘Shelfware’ and Drive Better Adoption
Implementation is as much a mindset shift as it is a technological shift. CLM adoption often fails for one of three reasons:
1. Implementation was rushed (or handled by the wrong people). If teams aren’t engaged early, don’t understand the system, or workflows aren’t customized, people won’t use it.
2. There’s no clear ownership or accountability. CLM is cross-functional, but when no one takes charge of adoption, departments fall back into old habits.
3. The system is underleveraged. A CLM platform’s value is in its automation, intelligence, and integration, not just storage capacity. If teams don’t know how to use these features, they won’t see the real ROI.
Wrapping Up
No one invests in CLM software just to swap one set of frustrations for another. The goal is to eliminate the bottlenecks, risks, and inefficiencies that make contract management a constant uphill battle. But getting to that outcome depends on choosing the right system — and the right vendor.
Red flags to watch for when evaluating CLM vendors:
- Vague or overly controlled demos – AI should be easy to test. If a vendor won’t provide hands-on access, question why.
- Unrealistic AI promises – Features that don’t exist yet or sound too good to be true often are. A solution should work now, not be a future update.
- Lack of real-world proof – Strong AI solutions come with case studies, measurable results, and customer success stories. If there’s no proof, there’s a reason.
- Lack of transparency – A vendor should clearly explain how their AI works, what data it uses, and how security is handled.
- Being quick to change pricing – Frequent pricing adjustments, unclear cost structures, or unexpected fees signal instability. A vendor should be clear about costs from the start.
The right CLM system should feel less like another tool to maintain and more like a competitive advantage — one that keeps teams ahead of risks and roadblocks instead of reacting to them. IntelAgree was built to give companies full control over their contracts, helping them close stronger deals, enforce better terms, and eliminate costly mistakes before they happen.