Contract management templates

Contract lifecycle management involves several key stages:

1. Review – Understanding the contract’s terms, obligations and timelines
   
2. Performance monitoring – Checking that each party meets their contracted obligations
   
3. Change management – Making formal changes to the contract if parties, terms or timeframes need updating (via assignment, novation or variation)
4. Renewal – Managing contract extensions, whether by notice or automatic renewal
   
5. Termination – Ending the contract early if needed either by agreement or by notice
   

Record-keeping – Maintaining a complete record of all changes and correspondence.
Using the right legal documents at each stage keeps your contracts effective and enforceable.

Common pitfalls include:

• Failing to track key dates such as renewal, review or termination points
  
• Not documenting changes properly, leading to potential disputes
  
• Using the wrong legal process (e.g. assignment instead of novation)
  
• Lack of internal visibility, meaning teams don’t follow the latest version
• Not reviewing performance against the contract

Good contract management avoids these risks and protects your business.

Contract administration usually refers to the initial drafting, negotiation and signing of the contract.

Contract management takes over once the contract is live. It involves monitoring performance, managing changes, handling disputes and updating terms when circumstances change.

Both roles are important, but contract management is ongoing and ensures your contract stays fit for purpose throughout its term.

• Effective contract management helps ensure that each party delivers on their obligations
• It improves compliance by making key dates, duties and changes clear and trackable
• It also supports performance by allowing for timely updates to terms, avoiding misunderstandings and disputes

By using the correct legal documents, you reduce risk and keep the contract working for your business.

Contracts should be reviewed regularly – at inception, on key dates (e.g. renewal points), when circumstances change or at least annually.

You should also review if:

• A party is changing (e.g. due to a sale or restructure)
• Key terms need updating (e.g. pricing or deadlines)
• You want to end the agreement early either by mutual consent or by notice

Regular reviews ensure your contracts stay legally effective and commercially relevant.

This section includes a number of different contract templates that, in light of future events and circumstances, may become necessary from time to time during the life of a contract and for contract lifecycle management.

• for a change of parties: assignment or novation of the contract
• for a change of terms: variation or amendment and restatement of the contract
• for termination: agreed termination of the contract

During the existence or term of a contract, a number of events may take place which mean that the contract needs to be managed or changed in some manner.

The management or change could arise for a number of reasons, including:

• change to the parties: a change to the parties to an agreement may occur for a variety of reasons.  The change can be structured as either the assignment or novation of the agreement.  The reasons for the change include:
  • the sale by one of the contracting parties of its business, which includes the benefit of that contract
  • an intra-group corporate reorganisation
• change to the terms: the parties may negotiate new or different terms for their agreement.  This might be due to a change in circumstances which result in the parties agreeing new terms or perhaps a change which is negotiated following one party not being able to comply with the original agreement.  The changes might include:
  • price: change to the price payable under the contract
  • time for performance: change to the time by which a party’s obligations are due to be performed
  • term: an extension to the duration of the agreement
  • other contractual terms: one or more changes to other contractual terms, including a change of team members who will perform services
• termination of the agreement: the parties may agree to bring an agreement to an end earlier than originally envisaged