Get Contracts Signed Faster
Every day a contract sits unsigned costs you money—delayed revenue, stalled projects, frustrated customers. This page gives you diagnosis, quick fixes, and workflows to automate follow-up.
Identify your bottleneck in 60 seconds. Get concrete steps you can implement this week.
Where Are You Stuck?
Pick the problem that sounds most like your situation
Symptoms you recognize
- Approvals keep looping back for more sign-offs
- It's unclear who must approve what
- Deadlines slip while waiting for responses
What to do next
- Set clear approval rules by contract type, risk, and value
- Use automatic nudges and escalation to keep things moving
Common Contract Execution Time challenges:
- Approvals take too long: Contracts bounce between legal, finance, and executives. Each handoff adds days. You're never sure who's holding things up or why.
- Approvals keep looping back for more sign-offs
- It's unclear who must approve what
- Deadlines slip while waiting for responses
- Counterparty delay at signature stage: You've done your part, but the other side is sitting on the contract. No visibility into whether they've even opened it. The deal is stuck at the finish line.
- Contract sent for signature — then nothing
- Deal is stuck at the finish line
- No way to know if counterparty has even looked at it
- Too many redlines and exceptions: Every contract turns into a negotiation. Multiple rounds of edits take weeks. New exceptions keep appearing even after you think terms are agreed.
- Multiple rounds of redlines on every contract
- New exceptions keep appearing late in the process
- Standard terms get questioned repeatedly
- Handoffs slow everything down: Contracts get bounced between teams with no clear owner. Status lives in email threads. Nobody knows who's responsible for the next step.
- The contract gets bounced between teams
- No single owner or shared status
- People ask 'where is this?' constantly
How ElasticFlow Helps
Simple, powerful tools that work with what you already use
Know exactly where every contract stands
See all your contracts in one dashboard. No more hunting through emails or asking around for status updates.
Automatic reminders do the follow-up for you
Stop chasing signatures manually. The system sends reminders and escalates when things stall.
Get contracts signed faster
Teams using these workflows cut their signing time significantly. Less waiting, more doing.
Benefits of improving Contract Execution Time:
- Know exactly where every contract stands: See all your contracts in one dashboard. No more hunting through emails or asking around for status updates.
- Automatic reminders do the follow-up for you: Stop chasing signatures manually. The system sends reminders and escalates when things stall.
- Get contracts signed faster: Teams using these workflows cut their signing time significantly. Less waiting, more doing.
Pick the Pack That Matches Your Bottleneck
Each pack is curated for a specific problem. Start with one workflow, add more as needed.
Workflow packs for contract execution:
Approvals take too long
- Automated Contract Review Workflow: Automates routing based on contract type and value
- Contract Compliance Monitor: Tracks approval status and flags overdue items
- Clause Risk Analyzer: Identifies risky clauses that need senior review
- Automated Contract Review Workflow: Replaces manual triage with automatic routing rules
- Contract Compliance Monitor: Adds tracking and escalation for approval deadlines
Signature is stalled
- Automated Contract Review Workflow: Sends automatic signature reminders on schedule
- Contract Negotiation Intelligence: Shows which contracts are stuck and why
- Renewal Risk Monitor: Tracks renewal signatures and flags delays
- Automated Contract Review Workflow: Sets up basic reminder sequence (24h, 48h, 72h)
- Contract Negotiation Intelligence: Creates dashboard of all pending signatures
Too many redlines
- Clause Risk Analyzer: Identifies which redlines are standard vs. need review
- Contract Negotiation Intelligence: Tracks redline patterns across contracts
- Automated Contract Review Workflow: Routes redlines to appropriate reviewer automatically
- Clause Risk Analyzer: Highlights which clauses deviate from standard
- Contract Negotiation Intelligence: Analyzes redline patterns to improve templates
Handoffs slow everything
- Contract Compliance Monitor: Creates single view of all contracts and their status
- Automated Contract Review Workflow: Automates notifications when contracts change stage
- Regulatory Compliance Tracker: Ensures required steps aren't skipped
- Contract Compliance Monitor: Sets up basic status tracking dashboard
- Automated Contract Review Workflow: Connects approval to signature automatically
7 Quick Wins You Can Implement This Week
Concrete actions you can take today. No system changes required.
Remove unnecessary approvers
Every contract needs 5+ sign-offs, even simple renewals
Create approval tiers by risk/value. Low-risk contracts (<$25K, standard terms) need only one approver.
Making exceptions 'just this once' that become permanent workarounds
Assign one stage owner
Contracts bounce between teams with nobody clearly responsible
Designate one person per contract who owns movement (not content). They're responsible for follow-up.
Making the stage owner also responsible for legal review—separate movement from content
Add a ready-to-sign checklist
Contracts get rejected at signature for missing info or wrong entity
Before sending for signature, verify: correct entity, all signers identified, all attachments included.
Skipping the checklist when you're in a hurry—that's when mistakes happen
Reduce redline loops with fallback positions
Same clauses get negotiated on every contract
Create pre-approved fallback language for your top 5 most-negotiated clauses. Sales can offer these without legal review.
Creating fallbacks that are too restrictive—they need to actually resolve the counterparty's concern
Fix status chaos with one shared view
People constantly ask 'where is this contract?' via email or Slack
Create one dashboard or spreadsheet showing every active contract, its stage, owner, and days in stage.
Building a complex system nobody updates—start simple and make updates automatic
Make deadlines and escalation the default
Contracts take as long as they take—no urgency, no consequences
Set SLAs by stage (e.g., 48h for approval, 72h for signature). Auto-escalate when breached.
Setting SLAs without escalation paths—deadlines without consequences are just suggestions
Quick wins for improving contract execution time:
- Remove unnecessary approvers: Every contract needs 5+ sign-offs, even simple renewals. Action: Create approval tiers by risk/value. Low-risk contracts (<$25K, standard terms) need only one approver.. Avoid: Making exceptions 'just this once' that become permanent workarounds
- Assign one stage owner: Contracts bounce between teams with nobody clearly responsible. Action: Designate one person per contract who owns movement (not content). They're responsible for follow-up.. Avoid: Making the stage owner also responsible for legal review—separate movement from content
- Introduce a signature follow-up cadence: Contracts sit at signature stage for days with no follow-up. Action: Set up: 24h gentle reminder, 48h sales owner alert, 72h executive outreach. Automate it.. Avoid: Sending too many reminders too fast—space them out and escalate gradually
- Add a ready-to-sign checklist: Contracts get rejected at signature for missing info or wrong entity. Action: Before sending for signature, verify: correct entity, all signers identified, all attachments included.. Avoid: Skipping the checklist when you're in a hurry—that's when mistakes happen
- Reduce redline loops with fallback positions: Same clauses get negotiated on every contract. Action: Create pre-approved fallback language for your top 5 most-negotiated clauses. Sales can offer these without legal review.. Avoid: Creating fallbacks that are too restrictive—they need to actually resolve the counterparty's concern
- Fix status chaos with one shared view: People constantly ask 'where is this contract?' via email or Slack. Action: Create one dashboard or spreadsheet showing every active contract, its stage, owner, and days in stage.. Avoid: Building a complex system nobody updates—start simple and make updates automatic
- Make deadlines and escalation the default: Contracts take as long as they take—no urgency, no consequences. Action: Set SLAs by stage (e.g., 48h for approval, 72h for signature). Auto-escalate when breached.. Avoid: Setting SLAs without escalation paths—deadlines without consequences are just suggestions
Copy-Paste Message Templates
Stop writing follow-up emails from scratch. Copy, customize the [brackets], send.
Counterparty Follow-up
3 templatesGentle follow-up (24 hours)
Standard follow-up (48 hours)
Final follow-up (72+ hours)
Internal Escalation
2 templatesInternal escalation to deal owner
Executive escalation
Request Missing Info
2 templatesRequest missing signer information
Request missing contract details
Message templates for contract follow-up:
- Gentle follow-up (24 hours) (counterparty): Hi [Name], Just checking in on the [Contract] we sent over yesterday. Let me know if you have any q...
- Standard follow-up (48 hours) (counterparty): Hi [Name], Wanted to follow up on the [Contract] sent on [Date]. We're ready to move forward on our...
- Final follow-up (72+ hours) (counterparty): Hi [Name], I wanted to reach out one more time about the [Contract]. We're targeting [Target Date] ...
- Internal escalation to deal owner (escalation): Hi [Deal Owner], The [Contract] with [Company] has been pending signature for [X] days. Here's the ...
- Executive escalation (escalation): Hi [Executive], The [Contract] with [Company] ([Deal Value]) has been stalled for [X] days at the s...
- Request missing signer information (missing-info): Hi [Name], We're ready to send the [Contract] for signature, but we need a few details: • Full leg...
- Request missing contract details (missing-info): Hi [Name], Before we can finalize the [Contract], we need clarification on: • [Specific question 1...
Playbooks & Cheat Sheets
Practical guides you can print, share, and use immediately. No fluff, just procedures.
A step-by-step cadence for following up on stalled signatures without being pushy.
Send contract with clear deadline and next steps in the cover email
Sets expectations upfront. Counterparties respond faster when they know the timeline.
Send a gentle check-in: 'Just making sure this arrived. Any questions?'
Catches delivery issues early. Shows you're attentive without being pushy.
Send a more direct follow-up with specific ask: 'Can you confirm you'll sign by [date]?'
Moves from passive to active. Gets a commitment or surfaces blockers.
Escalate to the counterparty's internal champion or your deal owner
If the signer isn't responding, someone else needs to nudge them internally.
Executive-to-executive outreach if still stalled
Last resort. Shows this is important and gets senior attention on their side.
Three Ways to Move Faster
Focus on outcomes, not process overhead
Visibility
See what's stuck and who's next. One dashboard shows every contract, its stage, and how long it's been waiting.
Momentum
Automatic follow-up and escalation. Reminders go out on schedule, escalations happen when SLAs breach. No manual chasing.
Repeatability
Turn best practices into workflows. What works once becomes the standard process for every contract.
Replace "Universal" Thresholds with Context
Targets vary by industry and model. Don't chase a single global number.
Contracts close in under a week. Full visibility into status, automatic reminders handle follow-up, minimal manual intervention required.
Focus on edge cases and exceptions. Look for the 10% of contracts that take longest and fix those specific bottlenecks.
Most contracts close in 1-2 weeks. Some visibility into the process but still requires manual follow-up and status checking.
Implement automatic signature reminders first—it's the fastest win. Then add a status dashboard so you can see what's stuck.
Contracts regularly take more than 2 weeks to get signed. Constantly chasing people for status updates. No clear visibility into where things are stuck.
Start with the basics: create a shared status view and assign clear owners. Then add reminders. Don't try to fix everything at once.
Efficiency benchmarks:
- Good: Contracts close in under a week. Full visibility into status, automatic reminders handle follow-up, minimal manual intervention required.. Applies to: . Source:
- OK: Most contracts close in 1-2 weeks. Some visibility into the process but still requires manual follow-up and status checking.. Applies to: . Source:
- Needs Attention: Contracts regularly take more than 2 weeks to get signed. Constantly chasing people for status updates. No clear visibility into where things are stuck.. Applies to: . Source:
How Teams Like Yours Fixed It
Real situations, real changes, real results
SaaS company cut signing time from 6 weeks to 2 weeks
Legal team reviewed every contract manually. Sales complained about deals stalling. No visibility into where contracts were stuck.
Implemented tiered approvals (standard contracts skip legal) and automatic signature reminders. Created a dashboard showing all pending contracts.
Standard contracts now close in days, not weeks. Legal focuses on complex deals. Sales has visibility and stops asking 'where is my contract?'
Procurement team eliminated signature chasing
Spent hours every week following up with vendors who hadn't signed. No way to know who was holding things up or why.
Set up automatic reminder sequence (24h, 48h, 72h) with escalation to vendor's internal champion. Added status dashboard.
Follow-up is automatic. Dashboard shows exactly which contracts need attention. Team reclaimed a full day per week for other work.
Finance got predictable month-end closes
Month-end close was unpredictable. Couldn't forecast which contracts would be signed in time for revenue recognition.
Real-time status dashboard shows where every contract stands. Automatic alerts when contracts are at risk of missing close date.
Finance can forecast close dates accurately. No more scrambling at month-end. Revenue recognition is predictable.
Business case studies:
- SaaS company cut signing time from 6 weeks to 2 weeks: Before: Legal team reviewed every contract manually. Sales complained about deals stalling. No visibility into where contracts were stuck.. Change: Implemented tiered approvals (standard contracts skip legal) and automatic signature reminders. Created a dashboard showing all pending contracts.. After: Standard contracts now close in days, not weeks. Legal focuses on complex deals. Sales has visibility and stops asking 'where is my contract?'
- Procurement team eliminated signature chasing: Before: Spent hours every week following up with vendors who hadn't signed. No way to know who was holding things up or why.. Change: Set up automatic reminder sequence (24h, 48h, 72h) with escalation to vendor's internal champion. Added status dashboard.. After: Follow-up is automatic. Dashboard shows exactly which contracts need attention. Team reclaimed a full day per week for other work.
- Finance got predictable month-end closes: Before: Month-end close was unpredictable. Couldn't forecast which contracts would be signed in time for revenue recognition.. Change: Real-time status dashboard shows where every contract stands. Automatic alerts when contracts are at risk of missing close date.. After: Finance can forecast close dates accurately. No more scrambling at month-end. Revenue recognition is predictable.
Real Results from Tracking Contract Execution Time
Here's what happens when you have clear visibility into this metric
Automated reminders and routing eliminate common delays
Automatic reminders handle follow-up so you can focus on other work
One dashboard shows everything—no more hunting through emails
Start Tracking Contract Execution Time Now
Join teams already improving their metrics with AI-powered automation. Get started in minutes, no technical expertise required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about tracking and improving Contract Execution Time
What is Contract Execution Time in plain language?
It's the time from when a contract is ready to sign to when it's actually signed by everyone. Think of it as 'time stuck at the finish line.' Most of this time is waiting—for approvals, for signatures, for responses.
Why do contracts usually stall at the finish line?
Three main reasons: unclear ownership (nobody knows whose turn it is), no follow-up system (things sit in inboxes), and too many approval loops (every contract needs 5 sign-offs). Fix these and contracts move.
How do I identify the bottleneck in my process?
Look at where contracts spend the most time. Is it in internal approvals? Waiting for counterparty signature? Redline negotiations? Usually one stage accounts for most of the delay. Fix that first.
What can I fix quickly without changing policy?
Start with visibility and reminders. Just knowing where contracts are stuck and sending automatic follow-ups can cut signing time significantly. No policy changes needed—just automation.
How do I speed up counterparty signature without being pushy?
Automated reminders feel less pushy than personal follow-ups. A friendly 'just checking in' email at 24 and 48 hours, followed by escalation to their champion at 72 hours, moves things without damaging relationships.
How do I accelerate without increasing legal risk?
Don't skip reviews—eliminate waiting time. Pre-approved fallback language, tiered approvals by risk level, and parallel processing where possible. You're removing idle time, not removing oversight.
Where should I start in ElasticFlow if I have limited time?
Start with signature tracking and reminders. It's the fastest win—immediate visibility into stalled contracts and automatic follow-up. Most teams see results in the first week.
Use the Contract Execution Time workflow
Start improving your Contract Execution Time with ready-to-use workflows and automation.
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