Every contract has its own conditions when it comes to cancellation, yet one thing that gets overlooked frequently is the notice period. Whether you are not satisfied with the product or performed services of an organization, or the services don’t fit your business needs anymore, when you want to terminate a contract, you don’t want to be forced to renew it just because you did not give your notice on time. In this article, we will guide you through the best practices on how you can make sure to never miss a notice period again. 
Top 5 best practices on how to never miss a notice period:
1. Mark June 30th and September 30th as important dates
2. Sort contracts on termination dates
3. Read & record the small print
5. Automate the process with contract management software
1. Mark June 30th and September 30th as important dates
A contract based on a calendar year means that it runs for a strip of twelve consecutive months commencing January and ending December. Big contracts with high commitment, like a social secretariat, social security fund and insurances are usually based on this model. Due to the high amount of commitment, a notice period of maximum six to minimum three months is very normal.
As the termination date of these calendar based contracts is always January first, it’s easy to calculate back three and six months. Make sure to set an automated, annual reminder at the beginning of June and September (ideally in a contract reminder software) that will help you to remember that the possible period to give your notice is ending soon.
2. Sort contracts on termination dates
In contract terminology, the termination date is usually defined as the date that one of the parties ends the contract. Obviously, the contract termination date is critical to your contract management. To efficiently create an overview of all notice periods, sort your contracts based on termination date, and make sure to read the terms and conditions to know if a notice period applies.
Surely, this sounds easier than it is when you have to manually stay on top of numerous contracts while doing your daily job. Luckily, a contract reminder software, like Contractify, will give you a clear overview by sorting the contracts automatically on termination date with just one click of a button.
- Apply the filter “termination date” to your contract collection and;
- Set an automated reminder that will give you a push notification once the notice period of a contract is about to end.
This will save you time, frustration, and in the end, money, because contracts will solely be extended by choice instead of by missing the notice period.
3. Read & record the small print
Many contracts have clauses that permit the parties to terminate the contract earlier than originally agreed on. These clauses contain the exact terms and conditions under which the early termination can effectuate. In general, the parties agree that notice must be provided in a certain form and at a certain time.
When this type of special conditions apply, make sure they won’t get lost or forgotten in the small print. For instance, when you are using a contract management system, you can add these conditions as a side note in the metadata of the contract. As a result, all related parties will be aware of the special conditions and are able to act accordingly when relevant.
4. Filter on counterparty
As a big organization, the chances are likely that you collaborate with organizations that provide services, like;
- Social secretariat;
- Social security fund;
- External service for welfare and prevention.
These are usually long-term collaborations that include several contracts, which is why the exact details contained in the contracts might have disappeared to the background.
In order to get an overview of the agreements and the related notice periods, just filter on the name of the counterparty in a contract management software like Contractify, to get a list of all contracts that need evaluation before renewal. Remember that these contracts are most likely based on a calendar year. Perform this action before June and September, and you can be sure that you won’t miss the notice period.
5. Automate the process with contract management software
If you can guarantee control over all the details in your contracts at any time, such as being aware of a notice period, this will spontaneously lead to fewer unwanted contract extensions and save your organization money and frustration.
To tackle this work in a simple and efficient way, let yourself be helped by a contract management software that specializes in facilitating this kind of typical contract administration tasks. With automated contract management software, you will receive automatic reminders, which allows you to schedule and perform the necessary follow-up work in a timely manner.
Would you like more information about how to get started with contract automation?
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