How To Know If Your Team Needs To Automate Your Contract Process

Every modern business runs on contracts: sales agreements, onboarding packets, vendor forms, compliance acknowledgments, NDAs, renewals, approvals, and more. Whether you’re managing a small team or supporting an entire organization, contracts are woven into daily operations. Yet despite this reality, many companies still rely on outdated manual processes that slow everything down.

Printing, scanning, emailing PDFs back and forth, chasing signatures, and waiting for stakeholders to respond all create friction. Not only does this waste hours of productive time every week, but it also introduces errors, delays, and inconsistent experiences for both employees and customers.

This is where eSignature automation steps in as a game-changing solution. By eliminating repetitive tasks and streamlining the flow of documents, businesses can accelerate operations, reduce administrative overhead, and improve their professional image.

In this article, we’ll walk through the key signs your organization is ready to automate, the benefits of moving to an eSignature workflow, and how teams can transition smoothly. You’ll also discover how platforms like Blueink help businesses simplify their contract process without unnecessary complexity, making automation accessible for teams of all sizes.

The Growing Need for Contract Automation

The rise of remote work, digital transformation initiatives, and paperless operations has pushed organizations to rethink how they manage documents. According to industry research, businesses waste as much as 30% of their time on manual document handling: printing, preparing, sorting, filing, and chasing signatures. These inefficiencies directly impact revenue, customer experience, and internal productivity.

Manual contracting is not just slow; it’s expensive. Studies show the average organization spends hundreds of dollars per employee each year on outdated, paper-based workflows, from ink and paper to storage, labor hours, and administrative corrections.

Competitive companies are adapting quickly. Businesses that once relied heavily on wet signatures are moving toward secure eSignature platforms to simplify operations and reduce friction. What used to take days can now take minutes. The ability to send a contract digitally, sign from any device, and obtain automated status tracking is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity.

Staying competitive means eliminating bottlenecks and adopting tools that scale. That’s why more teams are embracing contract automation, especially as customer expectations rise and turnaround times become a deciding factor for winning deals.

What Does Contract Automation Mean?

Contract automation refers to using digital tools to streamline the creation, sending, signing, and tracking of agreements, without manual steps slowing the process down.

At its core, it integrates eSignatures, templates, automated workflows, and real-time tracking into one seamless experience. Instead of printing documents or manually emailing PDFs, teams can automatically route contracts through the correct approval paths, notify signers, and monitor progress in real time.

It’s important to distinguish between:

eSignature Tools

These platforms (like Blueink) focus on secure, legally compliant signing workflows: sending documents, collecting signatures, and maintaining audit trails without unnecessary complexity.

Full Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) Systems

CLM software is broader and often used by legal teams. It includes contract drafting, negotiation workflows, obligation management, analytics, and advanced configuration. While powerful, CLM systems can be costly, complex, and overwhelming for teams simply looking to improve signing workflows.

Where Blueink Fits

Blueink sits at the ideal middle ground:

• Streamlined, secure eSigning
• Easy automation of sending and tracking
• Simple templates, in-person signing, SMS delivery, and audit trails
• No bulky, enterprise-heavy features that teams don’t need

For most organizations, especially small and growing businesses, adopting automated eSignature workflows is enough to cut hours of manual work, reduce errors, and improve turnaround times without the learning curve of a full CLM platform.

Signs Your Team Needs To Automate Your Contract Process

1. Your Contract Approvals Take Too Long

If your contracts constantly get stuck in review, sit in inboxes for days, or require multiple reminders, your team is experiencing a classic bottleneck. Slow turnaround times can quietly sabotage business operations, especially in sales, HR, and vendor management.

Imagine a sales rep ready to close a deal, but the prospect is forced to wait days for the contract to arrive, sign, or be approved internally. That delay can turn enthusiasm into hesitation, or worse, push the customer toward a competitor.

Contract automation eliminates these gaps.

Automated routing, instant notifications, and mobile-friendly eSignatures ensure documents reach the right people at the right time. Instead of waiting for approvals, teams can move deals and agreements forward in hours, not days.

2. Your Team Spends Hours on Repetitive Tasks

Manually preparing PDFs, printing, scanning, renaming files, organizing folders, emailing documents, and chasing signatures drains time and energy that could be used for higher-impact work.

Repetitive tasks also increase the risk of human error, version conflicts, incorrect fields, and missed signatures.

Automation solves this by letting teams:

• Use templates for frequently used documents
• Auto-fill fields with saved information
• Send contracts with one click
• Trigger reminders automatically
• Eliminate manual follow-up
• Reduce the back-and-forth communication that slows everything down

With tools like Blueink, teams can eliminate busywork and reclaim hours each week to focus on strategic tasks, not administrative ones.

3. You Have No Clear Visibility Into Contract Status

Not knowing where a contract stands is one of the most common pain points for growing businesses. Without automation, it’s normal to hear questions like:

• “Has the client opened the document yet?”
• “Who still needs to sign?”
• “Did legal already approve this version?”
• “Why wasn’t I notified when it was completed?”

This lack of visibility leads to missed deadlines, duplicated work, and unnecessary stress.

With automated contract workflows, teams gain:

• Real-time dashboards
• Automatic status updates
• Notifications when documents are opened or signed
• Complete audit trails
• Centralized access to all in-progress agreements

You shouldn’t need to guess what’s pending. Automation tells you instantly.

4. Compliance and Security Risks Keep You Up at Night

Manual contract handling introduces serious risks:

• Lost or deleted documents
• Unverified signatures
• No version control
• Sensitive data sent through unsecured channels
• Difficulty proving authenticity

As businesses grow, these risks multiply, and so does the potential for legal issues or compliance violations.

Automated eSignature workflows offer:

• Encrypted documents
• Tamper-evident audit trails
• Multi-factor identity verification
• Secure storage
• Clear version tracking
• Legally binding signatures (ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS compliant)

Platforms like Blueink provide cryptographically secured Certificates of Evidence for every completed agreement, giving organizations stronger legal defensibility and peace of mind.

5. Your Business Is Scaling, But Your Process Isn’t

What works for a team of three won’t work for a team of thirty. As your business grows, contract volume typically increases too, along with complexity, turnaround expectations, and customer demands.

If your current process already feels strained, scaling will only amplify inefficiencies. Expanding contract volume without automation can lead to:

• Longer approval cycles
• Higher error rates
• More time spent on admin work
• Delayed revenue
• Frustrated team members

Automation grows with you.

Whether you're sending 20 or 2,000 documents each month, eSignature workflows scale effortlessly and reduce the operational burden on your team.

6. Customer or Employee Frustration Is Rising

Slow, confusing, or inconsistent contract processes create friction. Customers expect digital convenience. Employees expect streamlined tools.

When contracts require printing, scanning, signing, and emailing, it creates a frustrating experience that reflects poorly on your business.

Common frustrations include:

• Customers struggling to sign from mobile devices
• Delayed onboarding due to slow approvals
• Incorrect or missing fields causing back-and-forth
• Miscommunication about deadlines or next steps

Automating your contract process improves professionalism and customer satisfaction by:

• Allowing users to sign from any device
• Providing a clean, modern signing experience
• Removing unnecessary steps
• Ensuring clarity and consistency

A smooth eSignature experience makes your brand look organized, efficient, and easy to work with.

Benefits of Automating Your Contract Process

Automating your contract workflow isn’t just about convenience, it fundamentally transforms how teams operate. When businesses shift from manual, paper-heavy workflows to streamlined eSignature automation, the results are immediate and measurable.

Below are the most impactful benefits organizations experience.

Faster Turnaround Time

Automation removes the delays caused by printing, scanning, emailing, and waiting for manual approvals. Contracts move from “sent” to “signed” dramatically faster, often in minutes.

This helps teams:

• Close deals sooner
• Onboard employees faster
• Approve vendor and compliance documents quickly
• Shorten internal review cycles

Speed becomes a competitive advantage, especially in industries where timing determines revenue.

Reduced Administrative Costs

Every minute spent formatting PDFs, following up for signatures, or managing paper documents is time your team isn’t spending on strategic work.

Contract automation reduces or eliminates:

• Paper and ink costs
• Printing and scanning
• Physical storage
• Administrative labor hours
• Manual errors that require rework

Even small businesses see significant cost reductions simply by streamlining their signing workflows.

Fewer Errors and Improved Compliance

Manual document handling increases the risk of:

• Incorrect or missing fields
• Lost versions
• Unverified signatures
• Non-compliant storage practices

With automated workflows, teams can:

• Use standardized templates
• Ensure mandatory fields are completed
• Track every action through a secure audit trail
• Maintain consistent version control
• Reduce legal risk with tamper-evident documents

Platforms like Blueink provide cryptographically secured Certificates of Evidence, strengthening legal defensibility.

Better Contract Visibility and Accountability

Automation provides real-time insight into who has viewed, signed, or delayed a contract. This visibility keeps teams aligned and prevents deals or agreements from stalling.

Dashboards and alerts help teams:

• Monitor high-priority documents
• Identify bottlenecks
• Maintain accountability
• Keep customers and internal stakeholders informed

With full transparency, nothing falls through the cracks.

Enhanced Client and Employee Experience

Today’s customers expect seamless digital experiences. Slow signing processes reflect poorly on your business, even if the contract itself is solid.

Automation improves the entire experience by enabling:

• Mobile-friendly signing
• Clear instructions and required fields
• Faster turnarounds
• A cleaner, more professional signing interface

A polished eSignature workflow signals reliability, organization, and attention to detail.

How eSignatures Fit Into Contract Automation

eSignatures are the foundation of contract automation. Although automation includes routing, reminders, templates, and tracking, the moment that matters most is the signature itself. That’s why choosing the right eSignature solution is critical.

Here’s how eSignatures power the entire automation process.

eSignatures Eliminate Manual Steps

Instead of downloading, printing, signing, scanning, and sending documents, recipients can sign securely from any device in seconds. This reduces friction for both internal teams and external stakeholders.

Automation with eSignatures enables:

• One-click sending
• Mobile and desktop signing
• Automated reminders
• Pre-built templates
• Instant confirmation and tracking

Connecting eSignatures to Workflows

In modern businesses, contracts rarely involve a single step. They often require:

• Manager approval
• Legal review
• Multi-party signatures
• Conditional routing

By integrating eSignatures into automated workflows, teams ensure documents move through every stage without manual intervention.

Where Blueink Simplifies the Process

Blueink provides a streamlined approach that fits seamlessly into automated workflows without overwhelming teams with unnecessary complexity.

Key advantages include:

• Reusable templates for repetitive documents
• Bulk Send for distributing high-volume agreements
• SMS delivery, ensuring recipients see the document faster
• In-person signing for hybrid workflows
• Fine-grained permissions for teams and departments
• Detailed audit trails for compliance
• Cryptographically secured Certificates of Evidence for every completed document

Whether your team is handling onboarding packets, vendor agreements, client contracts, or compliance documents, Blueink makes automation easy to adopt and scale.

How To Get Started With Contract Automation

Transitioning from manual workflows to automated eSignature processes doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right plan and tools, your team can see improvements within hours, not weeks. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make the switch smoothly and successfully.

1. Audit Your Current Process

Start by mapping every step in your existing contract workflow. Ask questions like:

• How are contracts created?
• How are they reviewed and approved?
• How are signatures collected?
• Where are documents stored?
• What causes the most delays?

This baseline helps you identify inefficiencies and choose the right features to address them.

2. Identify Bottlenecks and Pain Points

Once your workflow is mapped, pinpoint the areas that slow the process down. Common bottlenecks include:

• Waiting on manual approvals
• Needing to print and scan documents
• Errors in form fields
• Lack of visibility or status tracking
• Chasing signatures through email

These pain points will guide your automation priorities.

3. Choose a Secure and Simple eSignature Tool (Start With Blueink)

Not every business needs a full CLM platform. For most teams, automated eSignatures alone solve 80–90% of contract inefficiencies.

Blueink is designed for organizations that want:

• Automated routes and reminders
• Secure and compliant eSignatures
• Straightforward templates
• SMS delivery for higher completion rates
• In-person signing options
• Audit trails and Certificates of Evidence
• Fine-grained permissions for multi-team environments

It provides everything you need to automate signing, without the heavy, expensive features businesses rarely use.

4. Set Up Templates for Your Most Used Documents

Templates dramatically increase consistency and reduce preparation time.

Examples include:

• NDAs
• Sales agreements
• HR onboarding forms
• Vendor contracts
• Compliance acknowledgments
• Authorization forms

With Blueink, you can pre-build fields, roles, and routing paths so your team can send documents in one click.

5. Train Your Team (Keep It Simple)

Effective adoption doesn’t require a full training program. Most teams learn eSignature tools in minutes.

Focus training on:

• How to send documents
• How to use templates
• How to track signing activity
• Who approves what
• How automation replaces manual follow-ups

The simpler the tool, the faster your team will adopt it and the faster your efficiency improves.

6. Measure Improvements and Optimize Over Time

Once automation is in place, track your results.

Key metrics include:

• Average contract turnaround time
• Errors or missing fields
• Number of documents completed monthly
• Time saved per employee
• Customer satisfaction or feedback
• Contract completion rates with/without SMS delivery

Use these insights to refine workflows and expand automation where it provides the most value.

Real-World Example: Before and After Contract Automation

To understand how impactful automation can be, let’s look at a real-world scenario comparing typical manual workflows to the streamlined processes enabled by eSignature tools like Blueink.

Before Automation: A Slow, Frustrating Workflow

A growing services company needed clients to sign onboarding agreements, payment authorizations, and compliance forms before work could begin. Their manual process looked like this:

• Admin downloaded a template
• Filled out customer details manually
• Exported the PDF and emailed it
• Client printed, signed, scanned, and returned the document
• Missing fields often required resending the entire packet
• Admin saved the file manually into the correct folder
• Team members had to be notified separately

Turnaround time averaged 3–5 business days, and deals frequently stalled because customers couldn’t print or scan the documents quickly.

Errors, incomplete forms, and version confusion were common. Team frustration grew as volume increased.

After Automation With Blueink: Fast, Consistent, and Error-Free

Once the company adopted Blueink, the workflow instantly changed:

• Admin selected a template
• Fields populated automatically
• Contract was sent via SMS + email
• Client signed from their phone in under a minute
• Mandatory fields prevented errors
• Blueink provided an instant Certificate of Evidence
• Team received real-time updates and could start work immediately

Turnaround time dropped from 3–5 days to less than 1 hour, even faster for contracts signed via SMS.

The company reported:

• 90% reduction in manual admin time
• Fewer errors and zero lost documents
• Happier customers, who no longer needed printers or scanners
• Better compliance, thanks to audit trails and secure storage

This is the power of contract automation, a small change with huge operational impact.

Common Myths About eSignature and Automation

As businesses modernize their workflows, misconceptions about eSignatures and contract automation still linger. These myths often prevent organizations, especially small- and mid-size teams, from adopting tools that could dramatically improve efficiency. Let’s clear them up.

Myth 1: “It’s only for large enterprises.”

Many believe automation is too advanced or expensive for small teams. The truth? Contract automation is often most beneficial for small businesses because it eliminates repetitive tasks and reduces the administrative burden on lean teams.

eSignature platforms like Blueink are built to be simple, scalable, and cost-effective, helping small organizations save time without overwhelming them with complex features.

Myth 2: “It’s expensive or complex to set up.”

Unlike full CLM systems that require weeks of implementation, modern eSignature tools can be set up in hours. You can create templates, send documents, and automate reminders without needing IT support.

Most businesses start with the basics:

• Templates
• Required fields
• Automated routing
• Notifications
• Secure storage

From there, you can scale as needed. No heavy onboarding, no complexity.

Myth 3: “It’s not legally valid.”

This is one of the biggest misconceptions. Electronic signatures are legally recognized in most countries under laws such as:

• ESIGN Act (U.S.)
• UETA (U.S.)
• eIDAS Regulation (EU)

Platforms like Blueink meet, and often exceed, these standards with encrypted documents, audit trails, and Certificates of Evidence that offer stronger legal defensibility than handwritten signatures.

FAQs About Automating Contract Processes

1. Is an eSignature legally binding?

Yes. Electronic signatures are legally valid in the U.S. under the ESIGN Act and UETA, and in the EU under the eIDAS Regulation. When you use a compliant platform like Blueink, your signed documents come with audit trails and tamper-evident security for added legal protection.

2. How long does it take to automate a contract process?

Most businesses can begin automating within hours. With a tool like Blueink, all you need to do is upload your documents, create templates, and set your workflow. No complex setup or technical training required.

3. Do I need a full contract management system to automate contracts?

No. Full CLM systems are helpful for large legal teams, but most organizations can automate 80–90% of their workflow simply through eSignature automation. Platforms like Blueink provide everything you need, such as templates, routing, tracking, audit trails, without adding unnecessary complexity.

4. How can automation improve security?

Automation enhances security with:

• Encrypted documents
• Identity verification
• Audit trails
• Tamper detection
• Controlled access and permissions

This is far safer than emailed PDFs or paper documents that can be lost or altered.

5. Can small businesses benefit from contract automation?

Absolutely. Small teams often feel the pain of manual workflows the most. By eliminating repetitive tasks, reducing errors, and ensuring faster turnaround times, automation frees up hours of admin work each week.

6. What types of contracts are best suited for automation?

Almost any contract can be automated, including:

• HR onboarding packets
• Sales proposals and agreements
• Vendor contracts
• NDAs
• Compliance forms
• Renewal documents
• Authorization forms

If your team sends it more than twice, it’s a strong candidate for automation.

The Future of Contracting Is Automated

Digital transformation is no longer optional. It's the standard. Organizations that continue relying on manual, paper-heavy workflows will face mounting delays, higher operational costs, and increasingly frustrated employees and customers.

Automation empowers businesses to:

• Move faster
• Reduce human error
• Improve compliance
• Deliver a professional signing experience
• Scale without adding administrative strain

eSignatures are at the heart of this shift, and platforms like Blueink make the transition simple, secure, and accessible for teams of all sizes.

The future belongs to organizations that streamline their processes, adopt modern tools, and remove friction from every part of their workflow. Contract automation isn’t just a trend. It’s the next standard of efficiency and trust.

See how Blueink simplifies eSigning for teams of all sizes. Start your free trial today.