Request and Approval WorkflowContract Management
Updated:
To request a contract or approval for a contract, Users with the Requestor role can access the Request button on the Contracts page. The Request button will start a quick two step process to gather information about the contract and the request.
Step 1: Requested Contract Details
Lextree begins by asking for information about the contract. There are only three required fields, but many more options.
Parties
The Requestor selects the other party to the contract if your organization has already added them to Lextree. If there counterparty is new, then the Requestor can select Add a new option to enter a new party.
Type
Requestors select the type of contract in the Type field. The available contract types come from Settings > Lookups & Fields > Contract Types. Only Admin users can make changes to the list of contract types. You can update this choice later if necessary.
Short Description
The Requestor can enter a short description of the contract which helps other users identify the contract at a glance.
Entities
If the contract is through a particular corporate subsidiary or affiliate, the Requestor can choose that legal entity.
Department
To assign the contract to one or more internal departments, the Requestor can choose the department or departments by clicking in the field.
Custom fields
Any custom fields which an Admin user created in Settings will appear next.
Tags
Requestors my select applicable Tags to further categorize or describe the contract.
Groups
It is important that the Requestor selects one or more Groups for the contract. Groups determine who has access to the contract. Requestors can only see the Groups to which they belong.
Notes
Finally, Requestors can add any notes about the contract.
The Requestor then selects Submit. Lextree will then display the next step.
Step 2: Assign the Task
In the Task field, the Requestor can describe the purpose of the task, Approve contract for outside network services, for example.
The available workflows for the Requestor show in the Assigned Task Workflow field. Admin users create and maintain these workflows in Settings > Users & Groups > Task Workflows. Lextree will route this contract request according to the task workflow selected.
The Requestor does not need to know the steps of the workflow or who is involved in the workflow. Lextree handles all the routing automatically.
In the Document Title field the Requestor adds a title for the document. This title can be changed later in the workflow.
The Requestor then select the Document Type and assigned a Due Date.
There is an option to Include a document before submitting the contract request. This is checkbox opens additional fields to upload a document or link to a document.
This feature is particularly useful in two situations. First, if the other party supplies a proposed contract, the Requestor can add that document to the request so that it is kept together.
Second, if your organization allows Requestors to upload partially completed contracts or other forms, then they can upload those documents with the contract request.
Step3. Complete Assigned Tasks
Once the Requestor submits the contract request, Lextree does several things automatically. Everyone in the first step of the workflow receives an email alert about the request along with a link to the task in Lextree.
Lextree will also update the Dashboard to reflect the new request and related tasks.
There will also be Task Details page where everyone on the task can collaborate with additional documents and comments. Users who are authorized to approve or complete the next step of the process will see additional features, including an Approve, Complete, or Publish button depending on the step in the workflow and the user’s permissions.
Lextree is an effective tool for contract requests and approvals.