Mastering Contract Creation: Moving from Manual to Streamlined Workflows

In our previous blog, we explored the complete journey of Contract Lifecycle Management(CLM) from creation to renewal.

Now, let’s dive deeper into the first and most crucial stage of the lifecycle: Contract Creation.

Contract creation is where every business relationship begins. It’s the foundation of trust, clarity, and compliance, yet for many organizations, it’s also where inefficiencies and risks first emerge.

In this article, we’ll explore what contract creation truly means, why it matters, and how modern solutions like PACT are transforming this once time-consuming step into a faster, more consistent, and more collaborative process.

What is Contract Creation?

Contract creation is the process of drafting, structuring, and finalizing a legal agreement between two or more parties. It defines the terms of engagement, outlining obligations, responsibilities, deliverables, and timelines that govern how the relationship will operate.

Traditionally, this process has relied heavily on manual work starting from scratch in Word documents, copying clauses from old agreements, and managing feedback through endless email threads. But in today’s business world, where speed, accuracy, and collaboration are essential, this manual approach no longer scales.

Why Contract Creation Matters

Every organization, from startups to global enterprises, runs on contracts. These agreements define vendor relationships, customer commitments, partnership terms, and employee obligations. When the creation process is inefficient or inconsistent, it can lead to:

• Delays in deal cycles due to manual drafting or missing data
• Legal and compliance risks from outdated or incorrect clauses
• Lost revenue opportunities caused by slow approvals or unclear terms
• Frustrated teams juggling multiple document versions and scattered feedback

In contrast, a well-structured creation process ensures clarity, compliance, and control, laying a strong foundation for smooth negotiation, faster execution, and long-term value realization.

How Contracts Are Created: The Traditional Way

In many organizations, contract creation still looks something like this:

• Drafts written in Word and shared via email
• Clauses copied from previous contracts
• Manual approvals routed across departments
• Limited visibility into the contract’s progress or history

While familiar, this method comes with major drawbacks:

• Inconsistent language and clause usage
• Confusion over the latest version
• Lack of traceability and accountability
• Slower turnaround and higher legal workload

Essentially, every new contract feels like starting from scratch.

The PACT Approach to Contract Creation in Jira

Creating contracts shouldn’t be a maze of emails, attachments, and scattered spreadsheets, and with PACT, it isn’t.

PACT transforms contract creation into a guided, transparent, and data-driven experience, all within Jira.

1. Centralized & Configurable Setup

Every contract in PACT begins with structure and control. Legal and project teams can define pre-approved templates and clause libraries, ensuring every agreement complies with organizational standards.

Because PACT is built natively on Jira, teams can also leverage existing Jira workflows or create their own custom workflows and templates to match their organization’s unique contract management process.This flexibility allows every department, from Legal to Operations to align PACT with their exact business needs.

2. Guided Contract Authoring

No more starting from scratch. Users can create a new contract directly from the PACT Home page dashboard, based on the configuration set by the admin or project team.

After the contract is created, users can view all contract details and related fields in the Contract Details Table, while the Contract List displays all contracts in one place where they can easily sort, filter, and refresh the list as needed.

3. Smart Workflows & Status Tracking

Once a contract is created, PACT keeps it moving intelligently.

Contracts automatically route through Jira-powered workflows, sending them to the right reviewers and approvers at the right stage.

Users can:

• Filter contracts by status (e.g., Done, In Review, Approved)
• View timeline tags like "Expiring Soon", "Expiring Today", and "Overdue" for proactive tracking
• Refresh the list to view instant updates in real time

This ensures that no contract gets stuck, and every team stays aligned from creation through approval.

The PACT Advantage

With PACT, contract creation evolves from a manual, fragmented process into a guided, intelligent, and fully configurable workflow.

Teams gain the flexibility to use Jira’s existing workflows or build their own, ensuring every agreement starts strong with structure, consistency, and confidence.

Benefits of Streamlined Contract Creation

Switching to a unified contract creation process delivers real-world improvements:

• Faster Turnaround: Approvals complete in hours, not days.
• Consistency: Templates ensure contracts follow organizational standards.
• Reduced Legal Bottlenecks: Business users can self-generate routine contract drafts.
• Clarity & Transparency: Real-time status tracking reduces manual follow-ups.
• Scales Effortlessly: As contract volume grows, workflows continue to run smoothly.
• Improved Collaboration: Legal, procurement, and delivery teams stay aligned through shared visibility and structured workflows.

Conclusion: Laying the Foundation for Better Collaboration

Effective contract creation sets the stage for everything that follows negotiation, approval, execution, and performance.

By automating this first step, organizations not only gain efficiency but also build a strong foundation for better collaboration and negotiation, the focus of our next blog in this CLM series.