Contract Management

Hello, all. I search the discussion board but did not find a post that seemed to apply to by question. I would like some insights on what if any documents should be uploaded into Venminder in the event there is not what is traditionally considered a "contract". I noticed that there are multiple types of contracts available in the drop down when uploading a contract. If we have a subscription to a standard service - such as a subscription to Adobe or a standardized rental of equipment for a sound system - what is the expectations as far as what we should upload? I am in the way of thinking that any of those listed documents should be uploaded, even if it is the only one that we have for a vendor.

My thoughts are that even if that is an invoice for a service, it should be uploaded since there is a potential for renewal dates, changes in cost, and even the introduction of vulnerabilities in using a service or software that is not in house. At the very least, we will have notification for the renewal and could appropriately terminate the subscription or just let them expire. However, I do not want to overload my team and start requesting excessive documents that may not be necessary. When asking for a contract to upload, I have been told that we don't have a contract and that it is just a subscription. An invoice is still a written agreement for payment for products or services. Is it useful to upload items such as an invoice or standard terms (saved as a PDF from a website) or am I overthinking it?

My thoughts are that whatever is uploaded as a 'contract' is for your benefit so use it as it meets your needs.  If we do not have a contract or some sort of an agreement, we will upload a quote or an invoice or even a screen shot of the purchase just so that we have something to refer to.  Many times the invoice includes important term information that is vital in managing the vendor and the relationship. 

You ask a good question, and I don't believe you are overthinking things. I have been in the same situation and understand completely. I will add the invoice, contract, agreement, subscription invoice etc. to Venminder and I will either change the Term to perpetual and vice versa depending on the service and terms found within the document. Additionally, I will add notes to the vendor dashboard so that I can document any information pertaining to the vendor and or document on file such as the contract/invoices you mentioned. I will also use and set reminders on the vendor dashboard to assist with reviewing documents uploaded this helps me stay on task and this way I don't miss anything. You can also set the documents for review as an oversight task. I hope this helps. 

Agree with others posting here. Whatever artifacts you need to clearly understand the product/service, terms of the product/service contract (even if it is a click-through agreement, try to get a download) and any other relevant information. I've had clients come up short during audits because they did a click-through agreement and didn't have anything but the initial purchase receipt. Make use of your tool to set periodic reminders for renewals.