Getting a contract signed can feel like a finish line. After days or weeks of back and forth, redlines, approvals and pressure from the business to just “get it over the line”, the moment of signature often comes with a collective sigh of relief.

But the reality is, that’s not the end. It’s just the end of the beginning.

Too often, contracts are quietly filed away post-signature and never looked at again until something goes wrong. A missed renewal, a KPI that never gets tracked, a liability that wasn’t logged. And when that happens, the legal team is suddenly back in the spotlight, asked why no one flagged the issue sooner.

Here’s why your contract management can’t stop at signature, and what to do about it.

Risks don’t disappear once the ink’s dry

Every contract carries obligations, timelines, dependencies and commercial expectations – and they don’t manage themselves. Without a clear handover or follow-through process, even a watertight contract can lead to real-world risk.

Common pitfalls include:

• Auto-renewals flying under the radar. Suddenly you’re locked in for another year of a service no one uses, or worse, the business intended to renegotiate but missed the window.
• Service level commitments going unchecked. If your supplier isn’t meeting agreed targets and no one’s monitoring performance, you lose the leverage (and the legal basis) to enforce remedies.
• Regulatory or data obligations falling through the cracks. From data sharing agreements to audit rights, if no one’s tracking who’s meant to do what and when, your compliance risk goes up fast.
• Missed opportunities to negotiate. Without a clear view of your contract landscape, it’s impossible to identify patterns, consolidate spend, or push for better terms.

What your post-signature plan should cover

 You don’t need a sprawling CLM system or endless admin to close the loop on contract risk. A few simple processes can make a world of difference:

• Clear internal owners. Every contract should have a named business owner who is accountable for performance, renewals, and day-to-day management, and knows when to bring legal expertise back in.
• Track the critical stuff. Set up a lightweight register (a shared spreadsheet is fine) that logs renewal dates, key obligations, notice periods, and any bespoke details. Make sure someone’s keeping it up to date.
• Review before it’s too late. Set calendar reminders to review contracts 60 to 90 days before their renewal. Use that time to assess performance, check compliance and decide whether to renegotiate, renew or exit.
• Embed legal at the right points. You don’t need to babysit every contract, but make sure there’s a feedback loop if a dispute crops up, a supplier underperforms, or a clause needs rethinking next time.

The goal? Fewer surprises, more control

Legal doesn’t have to manage every contract forever, but it does need to set the business up to manage them well. By establishing a straightforward, sensible post-signature process, you can minimise firefighting, safeguard value, and anticipate risks before they materialise.