NDA is a typical contract that despite its simplicity may require a lot of time for processing manually. Automation reduces this time to minutes and eliminates legal involvement, while ensuring 100% compliance of the document.
MSA automation uses AI-based technology to draft, approve, execute, review, and track MSAs.
A person prepares the MSA by answering simple questions. The answers are inserted into a pre-approved, compliant template. Any related documents are generated automatically depending on the MSA’s terms. Once everything is ready, documents are sent to the counterparty to e-sign.
MSAs usually require additional documents such as order form templates, pricing schedules, and others. Addendums can be generated automatically according to the information in the MSA.
The main challenge of MSAs is the complexity of the document’s logic. Users often may not know an MSA requires adding or removing specific clauses. With automation, users simply have to choose which features their company will provide, and the necessary applications or wording that will be added automatically.
MSAs frequently need addendums, and the more paper you need, the higher the cost of the documents. The time a lawyer spends is another major expense. Automation can help save these costs so they can be redirected to where they’re really needed.
Automation allows you to avoid spending a lot of time searching for templates and figuring out which appendices you need. Templates are always at your fingertips, and conditional logic will take care of related documents.
How you can tell when your MSA workflow needs improvement
Manually preparing additional documents for your MSA takes time and leads to delays. And nobody likes missing appendices once it’s time to sign the deal.
Missing due dates may lead to breaking obligations. Also, MSAs usually last for a certain period of time and automatically renew afterward. If you miss this date, you can be locked into unfavorable terms without the possibility to renegotiate.
MSAs outline the relationship between parties, including risks, responsibilities, and dispute resolutions. If you miss some important parts, it can lead to unfair responsibilities and compensation of damages you’re not responsible for.
Copy-pasting information or entering it manually can lead to many errors. Nobody likes reading typos in contracts, but it’s even worse when those typos lead to costly consequences.
When contracts aren’t stored in one place, they’re difficult to find, and you can never be certain you’re using the latest version. If you’re not, it may lead to incompliance and breaches.
See how your MSA automated workflow can look like
Our demo takes an average of 57 seconds and you will receive a perfect NDA. That’s how fast you can draft all your documents, too
AXDRAFT does all the automation heavy-lifting for you. But these steps will help you get through the automation process, regardless of the software you choose.
MSAs outline and govern activities and responsibilities between parties. This information usually stays the same from client to client. You need to identify which parts are variable and what questions they answer. Usually, it’s names, dates, etc.
We recommend setting up a process where users can simply generate an MSA and send it to a counterparty without involving a lawyer. With automation, such responsibilities can be delegated to business departments without risk.
Prepare alternate clauses for situations when clients have comments or questions. Lawyers won’t have to spend as much time on changes, and contracts stay 100% compliant. When clients get their answers, and both parties agree on changes, the MSA gets signed.
Use automation to generate order forms, pricing schedules, and other MSA-related documents. They can be automatically filled out according to the data in the MSA.
65% of business teams bypass lawyers to get things done faster. Learn how to delegate legal tasks to other teams while keeping legal in control of contractual and other legal processes.
Essential features to look for in MSA automation software
Conditions allow you to create addendums for any contract easily and pull all counterparty data without errors or need to manually reenter it.
Automated notifications will always inform you about key dates beforehand so that you won’t miss payment dates, renewals, terminations, or other important events.
When multiple users can redline documents side-by-side in real time, edits can be seen and discussed instantly. Changes can also be tracked and rolled back if needed, helping speed up negotiations.
With a centralized repository, you can always be sure that you’re using the latest versions of templates. It also helps keep all information close at hand.
This feature can help your business units and stakeholders request, draft, and sign contracts on their own. It saves tens of hours each week for both business and legal departments.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
An MSA contract is used to outline and govern all activities and responsibilities between two or more parties. It is needed to provide indemnification and allocate risks that may occur in a business relationship.
An MSA outlines a relationship between parties, while an SoW describes in detail the terms & conditions of project delivery. An SoW is not a separate document. Rather, it often goes alongside an MSA.
Any company that plans to provide long-term or short-term services to a customer needs to sign an MSA. It is a solid foundation for any kind of business relationship, and it makes signing future contracts faster and easier.
A Statement of Work can be a good foundation for a Master Service Agreement as it outlines the details of the service that will be provided. But an SOW should only be drafted after you have decided on the general guidelines of your relationship, which fall under an MSA.
It is important to include 4 things: what you will do, what the other party will do, what you will do together, and every issue that you may encounter in a business relationship. Make sure to not only outline responsibilities, but also the risks and dispute resolutions.
An MSA is valid until the expiration date unless you include an option to extend the duration of the contract. Usually, a contract lasts for 1 year before automatically renewing itself unless decided otherwise by the parties involved. But it is up to you to determine the initial period and extension options.
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Here’s how much AXDRAFT CLM helps you save annually on each 1,200 contracts you process
Speed up your business with automation
Automated contracts are the new reality for legal departments. Optimizing workflows will help teams close deals faster and cut down on routine.
AXDRAFT is very easy to use and produces documents quickly. It is entirely customizable, and customer support is extremely responsive. In our case it allows attorneys to be more productive and less reliant on the availability of a legal assistant to draft estate planning documents and probate pleadings and related documents.
Automate MSAs and don’t puzzle over which annex should be added. The system will add them according to the conditions in the document.
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