What’s the Best Tool to See Contract Budgets?

It’s a lot easier to get a clear picture of your budget forecast when you have a tool to see contract budgets. Then you can construct upcoming budgets around a holistic view of contract costs and deadlines.

With contract management software, for example, you can view all upcoming deadlines, or a breakdown of all contracts’ statuses. Then you can export your contract data for deeper budgetary analysis in Excel, or in your enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool of choice.

Here’s how to use your contract management tool to see contract budgets.

How to view contract deadlines for budgeting

Contract management tools allow for an efficient overview of both forthcoming and past contract deadlines. Using a platform like Concord, you can navigate to the Deadlines section to view a detailed summary of forthcoming deadlines, lifecycle dates, financial stipulations, and clauses. 

This data is auto-filled from each contract’s Summary Panel, which is populated at the contract’s creation, upload, or signing stage. Concord utilizes this data to generate deadline notifications and reports, and to facilitate data exports.

On this page, you can also filter your deadline report. Just click Filters to view documents based on their deadline date, as follows:

• All: All deadlines 
• Upcoming: Deadlines in the future
• Past: Deadlines that have already occurred
• Unknown: Deadline information is unknown or incomplete

To get more fine-grained information, you can also filter by deadline type, as follows:

• Lifecycle: Lifecycle dates, such as an end date or renewal date
• Financial conditions: Financial conditions of clauses
• Main clause: Date-based conditions of clauses 

You can also filter your deadline reports based on custom tags you’ve applied to documents, so you can see deadlines by department or project.

How to extract contract details to an Excel file for budgeting

In Concord, you can automatically extract main contract conditions as an Excel file. You’ve got three different options for doing this.

Option #1: Export contract titles and parties

Export a comprehensive Excel file containing conditions from all your contracts by navigating to the Actions menu in your Concord Document Inbox and selecting Export List. This generates a spreadsheet detailing each contract’s title, current status, and involved parties.

Option #2: Export all deadlines

To focus on contracts and their respective deadlines, use the Filter function in the Deadlines tab and then choose Export List. This creates an Excel spreadsheet that includes documents with upcoming deadlines along with detailed deadline information for each contract.

Option #3: Export all contract conditions

For a detailed export containing all contract terms, go to the Reporting section in Concord, open a report, apply necessary filters to select desired contracts, and click Export. This will produce a spreadsheet that includes comprehensive data from the contracts’ Summary Panels, such as lifecycle details, dates, clauses, and any information in smart fields, which may include financial values.

How to construct budgets in Excel using contract data

Constructing a detailed and effective budget in Excel using your contract data can significantly streamline your financial planning process. Below are specific, actionable tips that you can follow:

Import your contract data into Excel

Start by exporting your contract data from your contract management tool into an Excel spreadsheet. You can usually do this directly via an “Export to Excel” feature. Ensure each contract’s details like start dates, end dates, payment terms, and financial obligations are included in separate columns.

Organize data into meaningful categories

Once your data is in Excel, organize it into categories that make sense for your budget planning. Use separate sheets or tables for different types of contracts or departments. This helps you maintain a clean and organized dataset, making the analysis more straightforward.

Use formulas to calculate totals and forecasts

Apply Excel formulas to calculate sums, averages, and future projections based on your contract terms. For instance, you can use =SUM() to tally total costs, =AVERAGE() for average monthly expenses, and =FORECAST.LINEAR() to predict future spending.

Create pivot tables to analyze the data

Use pivot tables to gain deeper insights into your budget data. Pivot tables enable you to quickly summarize and analyze large amounts of information. You can segment the data by different parameters, such as by contract value, duration, or department, which aids in making informed budget decisions.

Use conditional formatting to highlight key figures

Apply conditional formatting in your Excel sheet to highlight important data points, like contract renewal dates, upcoming payments, or budgets nearing their limits. This visual aid helps you stay alert to critical elements that could affect your financial planning.

Link your budget to a dynamic dashboard

Build a dynamic dashboard in Excel by linking your budget tables and charts. This dashboard can provide real-time updates on your financial status, offering a visual representation of budgets versus actual spending, upcoming financial obligations, and other critical financial metrics.

How to choose a tool for viewing contract budgets

Selecting the right contract lifecycle management (CLM) tool to view and manage your contract budgets is crucial for maintaining financial control and oversight. Here are key criteria to consider when evaluating different CLM platforms:

Assess integration capabilities

Check if the CLM tool makes it easy to cross-populate data to your existing financial systems, such as ERP software, accounting tools, and other data analytics platforms. Integration capabilities simplify data transfer and help make sure your budgeting tools are always updated with the latest contract information.

Evaluate data visualization features

Choose a CLM tool that offers robust data visualization features. The ability to generate real-time graphs, charts, and dashboards from contract data helps you quickly assess financial performance and make informed decisions. Look for tools that allow customization of reports to match your specific needs.

Consider user accessibility and interface

Select a tool with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. It should allow easy access to all necessary functionalities without a steep learning curve. Consider a platform that offers mobile access or a web-based interface, which can greatly enhance flexibility and accessibility for users on the go.

Review security and compliance features

Ensure the CLM tool complies with industry standards and regulations relevant to your organization. It should offer robust security measures to protect sensitive contract data. Features like encryption, access controls, and audit trails are essential for maintaining data integrity and security.

Analyze scalability and flexibility

The chosen CLM tool should be scalable to accommodate your organization’s growth and flexible enough to adapt to changing business needs. This includes the ability to handle an increasing volume of contracts, as well as the flexibility to customize workflows and processes.

Test customer support and service

Solid customer support can make a significant difference in how effectively you can utilize a CLM tool. Evaluate the support services offered by the provider, including availability of training, help desks, and technical support. Prompt and reliable customer service can help resolve issues quickly and minimize downtime.

With these criteria in mind, you’ll be well-positioned to select a tool for viewing a summary of your contract details. And once you’ve got your data extracted using your tool of choice, it’s much easier to make data-backed decisions about budgeting.

Forecast your contract budget, with Concord.

Book a demo