Contracts come with risk. That’s nothing new. What is new? A better way to measure it.
Today, we're introducing IntelAgree's new risk scoring module, available now in our 25.2.2 release. This powerful new feature turns subjective contract risk assessments into objective, measurable data that everyone in your organization can understand and act on.
Let's explore what it is, how it works, and why this release marks a major shift in how organizations communicate, negotiate, and grow:
What is Risk Scoring?
Risk scoring turns your contracts into a risk profile you can actually see, track, and respond to. By assigning scores to specific attributes (like payment terms, expiration dates, and auto-renewals), then rolling those into an overall contract risk score, IntelAgree gives you a full picture of exposure — contract by contract, and across your entire portfolio.
There are two ways to use it, with options for both standard users and customers with our full Saige Assist suite:
- Risk Scoring (Standard): You choose which contract attributes matter, set scoring bands, assign weights, and build your formula to create a risk framework that's uniquely yours.
- Saige Assist: Risk Scoring: Let AI do the heavy lifting. Just tell Saige Assist which attributes to assess, and it automatically builds a scoring configuration for you. Perfect for getting started, flexible enough to grow with you.
How It Works
Whether you choose standard or Saige Assist setup, the core functionality works the same way. Here's how to get started:
For Standard Risk Scoring
1. Navigate to risk scoring tab: Access the risk scoring tab at the contract type level (e.g., MSAs, NDAs, SOWs).
3. Configure scoring bands: For each attribute, create bands that define low, medium, and high risk. For example:
- If contracts with a party from North America represent low risk (score: 1-3, color: green)
- If contracts with parties in Europe represent medium risk (score: 4-6, color: yellow)
- If contracts with parties in certain high-regulation regions represent high risk (score: 7-10, color: red)
5. Select your formula: Choose how individual attribute scores combine into an overall contract risk score using an average or total calculation.
For Saige Assist: Risk Scoring
1. Identify important attributes: Tell Saige Assist which contract attributes matter most for your risk assessment.
2. Let AI configure your model: Saige Assist automatically generates appropriate scoring bands, weights, and formulas based on industry best practices and your specific priorities.
3. Review and refine: Fine-tune the AI-generated configuration if needed, or approve it as-is to implement immediately.
4. Start scoring contracts: Begin analyzing your contract portfolio with your new risk scoring model right away.
Why We Built Risk Scoring (And Why You'll Love It)
The challenge with contract risk has always been perspective. Every team sees contract risk through their own lens, and without common ground, every contract review becomes a battle of opinions.
Risk scoring fixes this by creating a universal language for risk across your organization. It will:
- Turn the subjective into objective: When everyone sees the same risk score based on your organization's criteria, debates shift from "Is this risky?" to "How do we address this risk?" The data settles the question so you can focus on solutions.
- Prove your team's impact: Track how your negotiations directly impact risk scores with each contract version. Leadership gets a clear view of how your work steadily reduces exposure and protects the business over time.
- Speed up approvals: Set risk thresholds that automatically route low-risk contracts through standard approvals while escalating high-risk deals to senior reviewers. Stop playing email tag about who needs to review what.
Legal teams often spend their time on whatever contract issue lands on their desk first, not necessarily what poses the greatest risk to the business. Risk scoring reorders that queue based on measurable criteria — financial exposure, strategic importance, timeline pressures—so the highest-impact contracts get handled first.
This reflects our core belief that contract management should be strategic, not reactive. The agreements you sign today create obligations that will shape your business for years to come. Risk scoring ensures these decisions are guided by measurable business impact rather than whoever happens to be calling. You control your contracts, rather than your contracts controlling you.
What's Coming Next
We're just getting started with risk scoring. In upcoming releases, you'll see:
- Meta Attribute Risk Scoring: Extend risk assessment to complex clauses like indemnification and limitation of liability.
- Risk Visualization Dashboard: See your risk profile across your entire contract portfolio with interactive graphs.
- Playbook Integration: Automatically generate playbook rules from your risk scoring configuration to standardize negotiations.
The Bottom Line
Contract risk has always existed in your organization — but now you have the tools to measure it, communicate about it consistently, and manage it proactively.
Schedule a demo and learn how risk scoring fits into your contract intelligence strategy.
