Talk to us about your contract management.
A thirty-minute introductory call, no obligation. We listen to your contract flow, ask questions, and are honest about when custom development pays off and when a standard platform is the smarter choice.
Service · Web development
Custom contract management software development.
A central home for your contracts — from first draft through to renewal. Versions, clauses, e-signing, approval workflows and alerts on expiry. Custom built for your legal, procurement or HR team, with the integrations your working process actually needs.
Why bespoke CLM rather than off-the-shelf?
The Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) market is full of strong off-the-shelf platforms: DocuSign CLM, Ironclad, Conga, Agiloft, ContractWorks, Concord, PandaDoc and Juro. For an average organisation with a straightforward contract process, such a platform is often the right choice. We do not replace these for commodity work.
But once your contract flows become industry-specific, or the system needs to integrate deeply with your ERP, HRIS or a proprietary quoting engine, off-the-shelf platforms start to fall short. That is where we build bespoke contract management software: an application that fits precisely with your clause library, your approval paths and the source systems your contract data comes from.
We work with legal and procurement departments, HR teams managing hundreds of employment contracts, property companies with lease portfolios, finance providers with credit agreements, advisory firms with client contracts, and software vendors who want to speed up master service agreements. The underlying principle is always the same: the system should work the way your organisation works, not the other way around.
Three flavours of contract management software.
Which one fits depends on where your organisation stands today and what the system needs to do in future. We advise on the right flavour in the first conversation; sometimes the conclusion is that an off-the-shelf platform is sufficient.
Central contract repository
A secure place where all live contracts are indexed, searchable and version-controlled. Metadata such as counterparty, term, notice period and owner is extracted and visualised. Alerts on expiry or automatic renewal ensure no contract rolls over by accident. Suited to organisations still working with shared folders, email attachments and Excel overviews.
Version controlMetadata extractionExpiry alertsFull-text search
End-to-end CLM application
The full contract lifecycle in one application: drafting from templates and a clause library, redlining with the counterparty, approval workflows across legal, finance and management, e-signing via DocuSign, Signhost or Adobe Sign, and monitoring of obligations after signature. Includes an audit trail that complies with eIDAS and GDPR. Designed for departments professionalising contract management as a process of their own.
Template engineClause libraryApproval workflowE-signing integration
Deeply integrated CLM platform
Custom contract management software that serves as the backbone of a wider business process. Deep integrations with ERP (order data becomes contract data automatically), CRM (deal to contract without retyping), HRIS (employment agreements flow into onboarding) and payment and invoicing systems. Includes AI-assisted clause review and reporting on contract value, term and risk. Built for organisations with hundreds to thousands of active contracts and industry-specific workflows.
ERP/CRM integrationAI clause reviewReportingMulti-entity
What you get at the end.
A working contract management application plus everything around it so you can run it yourself, with no black box that keeps you dependent on us. We developed this approach from earlier custom projects, where we often see that document management systems and CLM overlap and need to be designed together.
- The CLM application itselfProduction and staging environments, running in your cloud (GCP/AWS/Azure) or hosted by us, your choice.
- Codebase plus documentationFull source code, architecture overview, build instructions and an incident runbook.
- Clause library and templatesSet up together with your legal team. Approved text blocks, alternative wordings and fallback clauses per contract type.
- IntegrationsWorking connections to your ERP, CRM, HRIS or e-signing provider, depending on scope. See also our smart API integrations for our approach.
- Admin manual and trainingWritten for your legal and IT teams: how to add roles, manage templates, read the audit log and run exports. Plus two training sessions for key users.
- Management contract (optional)Monitoring, backups, security patches and ongoing development. A fixed monthly fee with four response-time levels.
When bespoke development is the right choice.
Four patterns that organisations typically come to us with. If you recognise one, we would be glad to talk further, even if only to help you choose between a custom build and a standard platform.
Industry-specific
Off-the-shelf CLM doesn't fit
Your contracts contain sector-specific clauses, statutory requirements or calculations that DocuSign CLM, Ironclad or Agiloft do not support out of the box. A standard platform needs more adaptation than a focused custom build.
Deep integrations
ERP/HRIS integration critical
Contract data must stay automatically in sync with your ERP, HRIS or CRM. Re-keying causes errors and backlogs. A SaaS CLM can partly do this via APIs, but the workflow is not integrated deeply enough.
Volume and scale
Hundreds of contracts under audit pressure
You manage thousands of active agreements subject to strict audit requirements from GDPR, eIDAS or sector regulators. The current mix of folders and email threads does not give you enough control.
Ownership
No vendor lock-in
You no longer want to pay a licence fee per seat, or you want to keep full ownership of the code, the data and the hosting model. Custom development gives you that control back.
How a CLM project works with us.
1
Introduction and intake
A conversation in which we establish which contract types need to run through the system, which departments will work with it (legal, procurement, HR, finance, sales) and which compliance requirements apply, such as GDPR, eIDAS and any sector regulators.
2
Planning and clause workshop
A workshop with your legal team, plus interviews with end users in procurement or HR. At the end: a validated scope, an initial screen flow, and a prioritisation of which contract types enter the system first.
3
Building in sprints
A working build every sprint, which your team tests along the way. We build incrementally: first the repository and templates, then workflows and e-signing, then integrations. A first usable version is ready after a few sprints; a production-ready rollout takes a project spanning several sprints.
4
Migration and rollout
Existing contracts are migrated and indexed. Key users are trained. We roll out in phases by department or contract type, so there is no big-bang risk and you can adjust along the way.
5
Operations and ongoing development
After go-live, the management contract takes over: monitoring, security patches and small developments based on user feedback. We remain available for larger extensions such as additional contract types or new integrations.
Not yet sure about a large project?
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Core features of a custom CLM.
Not every project needs everything. Together we determine which modules are built first and which later. A few core pillars almost always come back.
Templates and clause library
Contracts are no longer drafted in loose Word files but generated from approved templates and reusable clauses. Lawyers maintain the library; the business works from a form that pulls in the right text blocks. This logic overlaps strongly with a document configurator, and we can reuse that.
Word/PDF exportConditional clausesApproval chainTrack changes
Approval flows and e-signing
Configurable approval paths: an NDA contract is routed to legal and sent straight out; a supplier agreement above a set threshold also goes to finance and the board. After that, e-signing via DocuSign, Signhost or Adobe Sign. We build against their official APIs, so the legal evidence trail stays intact.
Conditional routingThreshold valuesReminderseIDAS evidence
Repository, alerts and AI review
Once signed, the real management phase begins. The repository tracks terms, notice periods, automatic renewals and SLA milestones, with notifications sent to the owner. LLM-based clause review can scan incoming contracts from counterparties for deviations from your standard wording. It is a first-pass review, not a replacement for your lawyer.
Renewal alertsSLA milestonesLLM reviewRisk reporting
Which departments we build for.
Contract management is not the domain of a single department. We often build for combinations, particularly procurement with legal, or HR with finance, because the same agreements affect several stakeholders.
Legal and procurement
Procurement contracts
Supplier agreements, framework contracts, NDAs and SLA annexes. Often integrated with a supplier management platform so that supplier data, certificates and contracts come together in one view.
HR
Employment and flexible contracts
Permanent contracts, fixed-term contracts, freelancer agreements and renewals. Integration with HRIS (AFAS, Visma, Personio) so that onboarding and the contract flow stay in sync.
Property and letting
Lease and management contracts
Lease agreements, management contracts and service agreements for property portfolios. Includes automatic rent indexation and alerts for notice periods.
Finance
Credit and financing agreements
Credit agreements, leasing contracts and financing structures with covenants and periodic reporting obligations, which the system monitors.
Advisory firms
Client and engagement contracts
Engagement letters, retainer agreements and project SOWs. Often integrated with project administration or time registration so that scope, milestones and invoicing stay aligned.
SaaS and software vendors
Master service agreements
MSAs, order forms, DPAs and SLA addenda. With a sales-friendly flow from the CRM, so that a closed deal becomes a signed contract within one working day.
Compliance and security.
Contract management directly touches the GDPR, eIDAS and, depending on your sector, sector-specific rules. We build these frameworks in as standard, in consultation with your legal and security teams. For the wider automation movement around this, see document workflow automation.
- GDPR by designAccess on a need-to-know basis, data minimisation, retention periods configured per contract type, and technical support for the right to erasure.
- eIDAS-compliant signingIntegration with qualified e-signing providers. The legal evidence package (signature certificate, hash, timestamp) is stored with the signed document.
- Immutable audit trailWho viewed, edited, approved or signed what, and when. Append-only log with a cryptographic hash chain, exportable for auditors.
- Encryption and hostingTLS in transit, AES-256 at rest, hosting within the EU with a hyperscaler of your choice. Encrypted backups with a tested restore path.
- Penetration testing and DPIAFor production-ready CLM projects we carry out a DPIA at the start and a penetration test before go-live. Findings are resolved before we go live.
Frequently asked questions.
What clients typically want to know before commissioning custom contract management software.
What is the difference between CLM and a document management system (DMS)?
A DMS is a general place to store, version and share documents, think Microsoft 365, M-Files or a SharePoint setup. CLM is specific to the contract lifecycle: drafting from a clause library, approval workflows, e-signing, and monitoring obligations after signature. A good CLM uses a DMS layer under the hood, but adds the domain knowledge that generic document storage doesn't offer.
Do you replace DocuSign CLM, Ironclad or Agiloft?
Generally not, and to be honest, we often recommend standard platforms when your contract process is relatively generic. DocuSign CLM, Ironclad, Conga, Agiloft, ContractWorks, Concord, PandaDoc and Juro are mature platforms with a great deal of investment behind them. We build custom solutions when your process is industry-specific, when integrations are deep and critical, or when the licence costs of a SaaS platform become unsustainable at your scale.
Which e-signing provider should we choose?
For Dutch markets, our clients usually choose Signhost, DocuSign or Adobe Sign. Signhost offers strong Dutch compliance and iDIN signing; DocuSign is the global standard with the broadest integrations; Adobe Sign fits well if you already work within the Adobe ecosystem. We build against their official APIs, so we can select one or support several in parallel. We make the choice together, based on your legal requirements and the markets you operate in.
How does AI-based clause review work?
We deploy an LLM to compare incoming contracts from counterparties against your own standard clauses. The system flags deviations, missing clauses and unfamiliar wording, and suggests replacement text from your library. Importantly, this is a first-pass review for your lawyer, not a replacement. Legal assessment remains human work; AI saves reading time on the initial pass.
What about GDPR and eIDAS?
We build in GDPR from the outset: data minimisation, retention periods per contract type, need-to-know access, and technical support for the right to erasure. For e-signing, we integrate with eIDAS-compliant providers, so the evidence package (certificate, hash, timestamp) is attached to every signed document. We factor in sector-specific rules (Wft, NEN 7510, DNB circulars) where they are relevant to your industry.
Can this integrate with our ERP, CRM or HRIS?
Yes, that is often exactly why custom development makes sense. We build integrations with SAP, AFAS, Exact, Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot, Salesforce, Personio, Visma and Workday, depending on what you run. Usually via REST API, sometimes via Peppol, EDI or an ESB. We choose the integration layer in consultation with your IT department.
What determines the cost of a custom CLM?
Four factors weigh most heavily: the number of contract types and variations, the complexity of the approval workflows, the number and depth of integrations with your other systems, and the migration of existing contracts. We work in fixed sprint budgets so you can steer scope sprint by sprint, and we are transparent about what fits into which sprint.
How long before we can go live?
A first workable version of a central repository can be live within a few sprints. An end-to-end CLM with templates, workflow and e-signing takes several sprints. A deeply integrated platform with ERP and HRIS integrations is a longer project. We almost always roll out in phases, so end users see value before the whole system is finished.