Legal contract management software
Legal contract management software keeps each client agreement in one record, with its value, dates, text, signatures and instalments. In jaah law the client signs from the link in the e-mail the firm sends, with no account needed. Once a Draft contract has both signatures, it turns Valid. From then on, the system checks every hour and drafts an invoice for each instalment that falls due.
This contract software for law firms and legal departments is one part of jaah law, the law firm management software.
A contract's instalments, before the contract is valid.
- Auto Invoicing
- Due Date
- Generate Now
- Invoiced
Why client agreements slip
- The signed copy sits in an e-mail or a drawer.
- Nobody notices the end date until it has passed.
- Instalments are billed from memory, or not at all.
The six states of a contract
Drafting
Being prepared; the client cannot sign it yet.
Draft
Ready for the client to sign from the link.
Valid
Signed by both sides, or set Valid by hand.
Expired
Set by the system after the end date.
Closed
Closed by the firm when the work is done.
Cancelled
Stopped by the firm, with a reason.
From draft to invoice in six steps
Draft from a template
A contract can start from a template. Choosing it, once the client is set, copies its value and writes the firm's name, the client's name and the value into the text.
Templates are the firm's own, written by a manager; none comes with the app.
A new contract starts in Drafting, which the client cannot sign; Mark Drafted turns it Draft.
Send it for signature
Send Report opens an e-mail to the client with the Contract Report PDF; Send Formula, one with the shorter Contract Formula Report.
Both e-mails are in the client's language and carry the contract's link. The firm reviews each e-mail, then sends it.
The send actions of a draft contract.
- Send Report
- Send Formula
- Send Report
- Send Formula
The client signs
The client opens the link and signs on the contract's page, with no account needed.
The link carries a secret code, checked before a signature is saved. The client can sign only while the contract is Draft, and only once.
The page also shows the dates, amount, text and description, with a PDF to print and a thread to write to the firm.
Valid when both have signed
The firm signs on the Signatures tab, before or after the client. When a Draft contract has both signatures, it turns Valid by itself.
Outside Draft the signature boxes are read-only; Set to Draft reopens them.
Set Valid turns a Draft contract Valid by hand, for one signed on paper, for example.
Bill the instalments
On the Auto Invoicing tab, the amount is split into instalments, each with an amount and a trigger, usually a due date.
When the contract has an amount, an instalment that would take their total above it is refused.
Every hour, the system drafts an invoice for each instalment that is due on a valid contract, for the billing team to confirm.
Generate Now drafts an instalment's invoice at once, on a valid contract.
The tab shows how much is invoiced, drafts included, and how much is unpaid.
Expiry, renewal and cancellation
A daily job marks a valid contract Expired once its end date has passed.
The expiry reminder, off by default, e-mails the client once per end date, up to 30 days before it by default.
There is no renewal button: Duplicate makes a copy with a new number, in Drafting, without signatures or instalments. The firm sets its new dates.
Cancel asks for a reason from the firm's own list, which starts empty, and an optional note for the history.
Linked to the cases and consultations
A case or a consultation can name its contract among the client's valid contracts; another client's contract is refused.
The link locks once the case is won, lost or cancelled, or the consultation done or rejected.
On a Consulting contract, one Consulting instalment bills each linked consultation once, at that instalment's amount. It bills a consultation within the hour after it is linked, whatever its state.
Notices by e-mail and WhatsApp
- Activation notice, off by default: an e-mail when the signatures make a contract Valid, to the people the settings choose.
- Expiry reminder, off by default: one e-mail to the client per end date, and a to-do for a person the settings name.
- With WhatsApp connected, a client with a phone number gets the Contract Report PDF when the contract turns Valid, on by default.
- Also on by default: a message with the signing link when the firm signs first, the cancel and close messages, and an alert to the followers when the client signs first.
- Ready for Signature, Expiring Soon and Expired ship off.
The contract settings, as they ship.
- Auto Contract Reminder
- Send Activation Notice
- Auto Contract Reminder
- Send Activation Notice
What a contract records
| Number | Automatic, with the year in it. |
|---|---|
| Client | One per contract, required. |
| Type | General by default; other apps add more types, such as Cases and Consulting. |
| Dates and amount | Start date, end date and amount. |
| Agreement | The text, from a template or written in place. |
| Signatures | The client's and the firm's, each dated. |
| Instalments | Amounts with their trigger, and the invoiced totals. |
| Status | One of the six states, with a reason if cancelled. |
| Change history | Who changed the main fields and when; not the text. |
Contract reports
Two PDFs, both in the client's language: the Contract Report and the shorter Contract Formula Report.
Both carry the agreement text and the signatures; the first adds the client's details, the dates, the amount and the description.
Access rights for contracts
- Three rights, one per user: Read-only, User: Own Documents (the contracts they created or follow), Manager: All Documents.
- Managers also keep the templates and the cancel reasons.
- Phones get the same contracts and rights in the browser.
What jaah law does not do with contracts
- It does not check who signs: a signature is an image with its date, with no certificate.
- It ships no ready-made templates, and a template fills in three fixed details only.
- It never renews a contract by itself.
- It never confirms or sends an instalment invoice: each stays a draft.
- The cap covers the instalments, not the invoices: a Consulting instalment bills its amount for every linked consultation.
- The contract's page has no payment button.
- It keeps no versions of the agreement text: edits to it are not logged, even after signing.
Questions about legal contract management software
What does legal contract management software do?
It keeps each client agreement in one record, with its value, dates, text and signatures. In jaah law, its amount can also become instalments, drafted as invoices.
Does the client need an account to sign?
No. The client opens the link in the firm's e-mail and signs on the contract's page; the system checks the link's secret code first.
When does a contract become valid?
When a Draft contract has both signatures, the client's and the firm's, it turns Valid by itself. Set Valid also turns a Draft contract Valid by hand, for one signed on paper.
Can a contract bill each consultation it covers?
Yes, on a Consulting contract: its Consulting instalment bills each linked consultation once, at that instalment's amount, as a draft invoice, whatever the consultation's state.
Is the client reminded before the contract ends?
Yes, if the firm turns the reminder on; it is off by default. The client then gets one e-mail per end date.