Contract Status or spreadsheets?
Most NEC contracts are run on spreadsheets and e-mail, and many of them run well. Here is where a spreadsheet does the job, where it starts to cost you, and what changes with Contract Status.
Side by side
| Job | With spreadsheets and e-mail | With Contract Status |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Someone types each period in and has to remember the contract's rules. | Reply dates are worked out from the contract's own periods on each record. |
| Who owes what | You filter the sheet, and then you chase people for an answer. | An Action List shows what you owe, what they owe and what is overdue. |
| Both sides | Each side keeps its own copy, and the two drift apart. | Both sides work from the same record, with drafts private until they are submitted. |
| The record | A cell can be changed, and nothing shows who changed it or when. | What was done, by whom and when is kept on the record. |
| Contract rules | One template is copied around, and is often wrong for the next form. | Each contract is set up as the form it is, with its own words and registers. |
| Across contracts | Someone rebuilds a report by hand each month. | Dashboards and reports run across your contracts. |
| When someone leaves | The live position leaves with their laptop and inbox. | The position is in the system, and their replacement picks it up. |
When a spreadsheet is enough
One or two simple contracts, a small team, and someone careful who owns the sheet. If that is you, keep it. Our free registers and trackers are built for exactly that, and the Notice Builder will write your notices.
When it starts to cost you
- Several contracts, or several forms, at the same time
- Replies or notices being missed, or found late
- People spending their week chasing dates
- Nobody can state the position without asking round
Not sure which you are? The Contract Health Check takes about five minutes.
Moving across
You do not have to move everything at once. Set up one contract and run it alongside what you have now, then decide. For the general argument, without our product in it, read NEC software vs spreadsheets. To make the case to someone else, use the business case calculator.
See the difference for yourself
The guided tour is a working copy with sample contracts. Issue a notice, switch sides, and watch the reply date appear.