So you’ve started to scale your business and you’ve signed a lot of contracts? Great! Are you constantly referencing PDFs to understand your customers based on what you’ve agreed to in the contracts? Not so great.
Knowing how to extract data from contracts is a hairy subject. PDF’s are great for the function that play but not great in terms of structured data. The frustration intensifies when dealing with data trapped in negotiated contracts. The problem with this is that each and every contract becomes unique. It makes it hard to create an automated process to extract PDF data because there is no standardization. The wording can be very nuanced and cause issues for any automated solution. So we need a solve to the question of how to extract data from contracts.
How To Extract Data From Contracts – The Hard Way
The most common workaround for this issue involves good old-fashioned manual work. A lot of companies will get to the point that they are constantly having to return to long form contracts to reference them for details. This gets tedious and pulls your customer service team, renewals team and finance team off more valuable work and into file dumpster diving.
Once you recognize this pain and the time that your team is wasting on it the most common reaction is to hire a low cost resource to do this for you. This approach saves the team time by extracting and formatting the bulk of data from old contracts initially. Then, this resource can work on extraction on an as-needed basis going forward. Here’s the process you can go through to get a resource in place.
Contract Extraction Resource On Upwork
Hiring a person from Upwork to review a company’s sales contracts and extract important data points into a spreadsheet format involves several steps. Upwork is a popular platform for finding freelancers with various skills, including contract review and data entry. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to go about this process:
Click on “Post a Job” and select the relevant category, such as “Legal” or “Data Entry.”
Write a detailed job description that includes:
– The nature of your company and industry.
– The specific skills and qualifications required (e.g., experience in contract review, familiarity with sales contracts, proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets).
– The expected deliverables (e.g., a spreadsheet with extracted data points).
– The estimated project duration.
– Your budget or hourly rate.
– Set Up Filters and Review Proposals:
As proposals come in, you can filter candidates based on their ratings, hourly rates, and relevant experience. Review the proposals carefully, and shortlist candidates who seem well-qualified.
Interview Shortlisted Candidates
Conduct interviews with the shortlisted candidates to assess their suitability for the project. Ask about their previous experience in similar tasks and request samples of their work. Choose the freelancer who best matches your project requirements and has a strong track record on Upwork. Discuss the terms of the contract, including the scope, payment schedule, and deadlines. Ensure both parties are clear on expectations before moving forward. Share the sales contracts with the selected freelancer securely.
Data Extraction and Review
The freelancer will review each sales contract and extract the specified data points into a spreadsheet format. They should maintain accuracy and consistency throughout the process. Review the extracted data to ensure it meets your requirements and is error-free. Provide feedback to the freelancer for any necessary revisions.
Payment and Completion
Once you are satisfied with the work, release payment through Upwork’s payment system. Consider leaving a review and rating for the freelancer based on their performance.
Secure Data Handling
Ensure that any sensitive or confidential information in the contracts is handled securely and in accordance with privacy regulations.
Contract Backup and Archive
Safely store the extracted data and contract copies for future reference or auditing purposes.
By following these steps, you can effectively hire a freelancer from Upwork to review your company’s sales contracts and extract important data points into a spreadsheet format while maintaining control over the process and ensuring quality results.
Redline What Matters
Raise Changes For Approval To Turnaround Contracts Faster
How To Extract Data From Contracts – The Easy Way
Contract Sent has been designed for this process exactly. We know that things in early stage companies are messy and non-standard. We also know that pain that this can cause later on down the road of you don’t get your contract data extraction process in place early.
Contract Data Extraction In The Flow Of Work
We’re build a tool that manages the contract negotiation process from end to end. From contract version control to approvals and use case information. During this contract negotiation we’ve allowed for the extraction of data by your legal and sales teams in the flow of work.
This means that as soon as you get your contract signed you already have your data extracted, formatted and plugged in to your reporting. It’s formatted so that you can import it into your CRM or plug it into a template MRR waterfall. It’s as simple as that.
But I Already Have A Bunch Of Contracts
Of course, we look to get you started by doing the hard work of extraction for you and setting you up in Contract Sent so you’re ready to go. Check out our contract extraction service here.
