Contracts Teams Operating Efficiencies

Evidence and data. A key benefit identified by multiple interviewees was the significant improvement in operating efficiencies for the legal and contract management team and adjacent business teams — particularly in managing ancillary contracts such as NDAs, vendor and procurement agreements, partner and reseller contracts, and marketing-related documents. Prior to adopting LinkSquares CLM, these contracts were often handled through fragmented workflows involving email, spreadsheets, and disconnected repositories, resulting in delays, inconsistent approvals, and limited visibility. LinkSquares CLM addressed these challenges through a combination of features: automated and streamlined workflows that routed contracts for review and approval; a centralized, searchable repository with smart tagging and metadata extraction; self-service contract generation using preapproved templates; and execution using e-signature solutions including LinkSquares Sign and integrations with Adobe Sign and Docusign. Interviewees emphasized that these capabilities enabled their legal teams — and their functional counterparts — to reduce turnaround times, empower business users, and maintain control over contract quality and compliance.

• The head of commercial operations for a data protection services firm elaborated: “The old system was clunky — people never knew where their stuff was. Now, with intake forms and automated routing, we’re turning things around in five days or less — before, things were dragging for weeks.”

• The VP of commercial legal for an enterprise software firm simply stated, “Now we’re processing contracts faster every quarter than we would have with the old system.”

• The legal operations manager for a database software provider described the efficiency impact: “Now the user can generate the agreement — that they would have been emailing to ask about — and literally within 2 minutes, they’ve got the agreement they want. That’s the standard [company-name]-verified agreement, and they don’t have to wait.”

• The VP of finance and legal for a software discovery organization observed: “Before, our NDA turnaround was seven to nine working days — now they’re processed within 24 hours. In the last six months, the average turnaround is nine working hours.” They went on to add, “The time to sign now is 2.2 working days. In the past, it was more than five days.”

Modeling and assumptions. This benefit quantifies the productivity improvement for the core legal and contract management team and its functional counterparts (based on the nature of the contract) exclusively for new ancillary and complex contracts (defined below). The contribution of the core legal and contract management team on new sales and major contracts and contract renewals is quantified in subsequent benefits. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite processes 360, 371, and 382 ancillary contracts in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3, respectively. Ancillary contracts include vendor and procurement contracts, partner and reseller agreements, NDAs, contracts related to marketing relationships, etc.

• Before LinkSquares CLM, it took two FTEs from contracts teams 6 hours of effort per FTE to work on an average ancillary contract.

• The net improvement in productivity for ancillary contracts processing is 32% in Year 1, 36% in Year 2, and 40% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp of LinkSquares CLM.

• The composite processes 238, 245, and 252 “complex plus” contracts in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, respectively. The complex plus category includes the 200 complex contracts in Year 1, plus 7.5% of new sales contracts that require extra processing time due to complexity.

• In the prior state, it took two FTEs from contracts teams 20 hours each to work on an average complex plus contract.

• The net productivity improvement for complex plus contract processing is 40% in Year 1, 45% in Year 2, and 50% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp of LinkSquares CLM.

• The blended fully burdened hourly rate for a professional working on ancillary and complex plus contracts is $69 (rounded). This is based on involvement of 75% junior lawyers, 5% senior lawyers, and 20% functional business professionals.

• Forrester applied a productivity adjustment factor for the composite organization that represents the percentage of productivity savings realized. For example, 1 hour of time savings does not necessarily translate into 1 hour of productive work. For these productivity-based cost savings, Forrester assumes that the composite organization’s employees working on these contracts productively utilize 75% of their time savings.

• To put these numbers in perspective: The composite organization realizes 2.5, 2.9, and 3.3 FTE equivalent savings in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, respectively, for the professionals involved in processing ancillary and complex plus contracts.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences and that productivity gains will vary among organizations depending on the following factors:

• The time spent on processing these types of contracts in the prior state will depend on the nature of the legacy tools used and the sophistication of the professionals involved.

• Productivity benefits may vary based on the degree of adoption of the LinkSquares CLM platform.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of under $615,000.

Time Savings For Exception Handling Of Major Contracts

Evidence and data. One of the more compelling benefits consistently cited by interviewees was the significant time savings realized during the exception handling of major contracts — those that triggered escalations and required involvement from contract managers, senior legal professionals, and executives. These high-stakes agreements often demanded rapid turnaround, precise coordination, and deep visibility across departments. LinkSquares CLM enabled this efficiency through a combination of features including structured intake forms, automated approval workflows, centralized collaboration, and a searchable repository powered by smart term extraction and AI-driven analytics. By streamlining the entire lifecycle — from intake to negotiation to postsignature analysis — interviewees noted that LinkSquares CLM empowered their contracts teams to manage escalations with speed and confidence, reducing the time spent on executive-level contract reviews from days or weeks to hours and freeing up senior staff to focus on strategic priorities.

The VP of commercial legal for an enterprise software firm described their experience: “Every one of our major categories of contracts has on average about 1.5 major escalations per contract. Each one of those eats up about 2 hours of executive escalation time, and there are multiple people involved. The total hours among the teams involved to evaluate one of these exceptions is 5 hours or more.”

Modeling and assumptions. This benefit quantifies the productivity improvement for the senior contract and legal professionals and executives who need to be involved in these high-stakes new major contracts (defined below). This benefit does not duplicate any baseline process efficiencies for the core legal and contract management team other than the incremental involvement needed from senior lawyers. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite processes 400, 412, and 424 major contracts — that get escalated and require executive review — in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, respectively. Specifically, this represents approximately 20% of the new contracts each year, irrespective of contract type.

• Before LinkSquares CLM, it took 7.5 hours of executive and senior lawyer effort per major contract — over and above the routine work of the legal and contract management team.

• The net time savings per major contracts processing for these senior leaders is 58.3% in Year 1, 63.0% in Year 2, and 66.7% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp of LinkSquares CLM.

• The blended fully burdened hourly rate for a professional working on contract exceptions is $162 (rounded). This is based on 50% of executive management time and 50% of senior lawyer time.

• Forrester applied a 75% productivity adjustment factor for the professionals working on these major contracts.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences and that time savings will vary among organizations depending on the following factors:

• The number of major contracts requiring executive exception handling will vary by industry and organization.

• The time expended per major contract review in the prior state will vary based on the processes and tools available.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of just about $495,000.

Reduced Risk Exposure For Major Contracts

Evidence and data. Beyond accelerating contract workflows, LinkSquares CLM played an important role in reducing business and legal risk exposure — particularly for high-value or high-complexity contracts that carried significant implications if mishandled. Interviewees consistently highlighted how the platform’s structured intake, automated workflows, and AI-powered contract analysis helped identify and flag deviations from standard terms, enforced use of approved templates, and ensured timely reviews by the right stakeholders. With features like smart term extraction, searchable repositories, and customizable alerts, contracts teams could proactively monitor risk indicators such as liability caps, renewal clauses, and jurisdictional inconsistencies. This visibility and control not only reduced the likelihood of missed obligations or unfavorable terms but also minimized the need for costly escalations and reactive legal interventions, enabling organizations to manage risk with greater confidence.

• The head of commercial operations for a data protection services firm explained: “Now we tag in finance and compliance when we’re negotiating, and they have to approve certain language — there’s a clear audit trail. Multiple times it has saved us: Finance would ask who agreed to something, and we could show them the activity window with the exact approvals.”

• The assistant general counsel for a personal products provider elaborated: “It would take [our legal manager] anywhere from a week to a month to respond to these audits depending on the scope. Now it’s minutes to run the query, and reviewing results is down to hours — tops maybe a day or two.”

• The VP of commercial legal for an enterprise software firm described their experience: “Every time we make an exception, like agreeing to high limits of liability or bespoke security obligations, it eats up maybe 5 hours of executive escalation time. Now we can track and manage those exceptions proactively.”

Modeling and assumptions. The previous benefit addressed the time savings achieved with the automation of the LinkSquares CLM platform for major contracts requiring exception handling. This benefit still focuses on those new major contracts but specifically examines the reduction in potential financial exposure enabled by deploying LinkSquares CLM. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• About 20% of the new contracts each year comprise major contracts that get escalated and require executive review (same as in B1).

• The potential financial exposure per contract is $100,000. For simplicity and to be conservative, this is equivalent to the average annual contract value for a sales agreement for the composite.

• The probability of liability — or risk exposure — prior to deploying LinkSquares CLM is 1%.

• The net improvement in risk exposure with LinkSquares CLM is 24% in Year 1, 27% in Year 2, and 30% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp of LinkSquares CLM.

• Row C5 captures the probability of financial risk after the use of LinkSquares CLM: 0.76% in Year 1, 0.73% in Year 2, and 0.70% by Year 3.

• The reduction in financial risk exposure is the difference between row C4 and row C6.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences and that the improved security posture will vary among organizations depending on the following factors:

• The potential financial exposure per contract (its dollar value) is likely higher than modeled.

• The probability of financial risk in the prior state (and therefore the improved level with LinkSquares CLM) will vary by industry, product type, and company.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of slightly more than $247,000.

Accelerated Revenue Impact From Improved Contracts Processing

Evidence and data. A recurring theme noted by the interviewees was the measurable acceleration in sales contract processing time following the deployment of LinkSquares CLM, which translated directly into faster time to revenue. By streamlining intake, automating approvals, and integrating seamlessly with platforms like Salesforce, LinkSquares enabled sales teams and the legal and contract management team to collaborate more efficiently and reduce contract lifecycle bottlenecks. Features such as structured intake forms, real-time status tracking, and centralized activity windows ensured that contracts were routed, reviewed, and signed with minimal delay. This reduction in contract cycle time — from weeks to days in many cases — not only improved operational velocity but also allowed organizations to recognize revenue sooner, enhancing growth and financial performance.

• The head of commercial operations for a data protection services firm described their experience: “I would say things were dragging weeks [before LinkSquares]. Now the turnaround times are a lot faster. That visibility and speed help us make more money faster.”

• The assistant general counsel for a personal products provider explained: “On average, four professionals touch a contract, sometimes up to seven or eight. Now the process is much faster. The likelihood that attorneys have to ask follow-up questions, which was almost a certainty before, is now much less.”

• The VP of commercial legal for an enterprise software firm described their experience: “By accelerating the time frame of closing sales contracts, you can bring them into revenue faster. And it’s recurring.”

• The legal operations manager for a database software provider observed: “We’ve minimized the lag that happens by people just sending an email to one person. The gains there are massive.”

• The VP of finance and legal for a software discovery organization stated: “The turnaround has improved up to 70%. It tells me we can close more contracts and provide a better experience for our client.”

Modeling and assumptions. This benefit focuses on the faster time to revenue impact driven by accelerated processing time for new revenue-generating (or sales) contracts. Compared to the prior state, the composite organization can consistently close revenue-generating contracts faster than before with LinkSquares CLM. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite has 500, 515, and 531 revenue-generating contracts in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, respectively.

• In the prior state, each new revenue-generating contract had a 12-week cycle time.

• The improvement in sales contract processing time is 30% with LinkSquares CLM. The net improvement (row D3) is based on the effectiveness ramp of the LinkSquares CLM: 24% improvement in Year 1, 27% in Year 2, and 30% by Year 3.

• This corresponds to 2.9, 3.2, and 3.6 weeks of cycle time saved for each revenue-generating contract in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, respectively.

• The average contract value for a three-year deal is $300,000 for the composite organization. Therefore, the average annual contract value is $100,000.

• Row D6 captures the incremental revenue per contract gained from faster processing in the first year of the newly signed contract.

• To determine the net business impact for the composite, Forrester converts the revenue benefit into operating profit. Forrester assumes that the operating margin for the composite’s industry is 14%.

• To put these numbers in perspective: The revenue for the composite organization realized in row D7 represents 0.74%, 0.85%, and 0.98% of incremental revenue for Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, respectively. This benefit does not capture the additional revenue capacity freed due to the contract cycle processing efficiencies.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences and that the incremental revenue gains will vary among organizations depending on the following factors:

• Sales contract processing cycle times will vary by the types of products sold, the industry, and the company.

• Annual contract value (and length of terms) will vary. However, Forrester estimates the $100,000 average annual contract value used for the model based on the number of legacy sales contracts assumed, the incremental revenue-generating contracts, and the annual revenue for the composite.

• The operating margin is business and industry dependent and therefore may be higher or lower than estimated for the composite.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of upward of $886,000.

Reduced Revenue Leakage On Contract Renewals

Evidence and data. In addition to accelerating contract execution (benefit D), LinkSquares CLM helped the interviewees’ organizations proactively manage contract renewals to avoid revenue leakage — particularly in sales agreements where missed renewal opportunities or unfavorable autorenewal terms could have financial consequences. Customers highlighted how the platform’s automated reminders, smart term extraction, and customizable alerts surfaced renewal dates and key commercial terms well in advance. This visibility allowed sales teams to renegotiate pricing, adjust terms, or terminate agreements before they autorenewed under outdated or unfavorable conditions. By centralizing contract data and enabling precise tracking of renewal timelines, LinkSquares CLM empowered organizations to protect revenue and maintain control over their contractual obligations.

• The head of commercial operations for a data protection services firm elaborated: “The system allows us to set up tasks to notify us of upcoming renewal dates. It helps us make sure we don’t miss those renewals or renew something we don’t want to.”

• The VP of commercial legal for an enterprise software firm explained: “Before LinkSquares, we had no system for tracking all the renewal dates — we would miss renewal dates, get stuck with autorenewals, or get stuck with price escalation clauses. Having LinkSquares allowed us to get ahead of all of those and either cancel contracts before they renewed, downsize them, or negotiate a lower price.”

• The VP of finance and legal for a software discovery organization noted: “Before, people were spending time chasing contracts: where is it, what version, who approved it? Now, we have reminders three months ahead of renewals or end-of-term contracts. The system flags it automatically.”

Modeling and assumptions. This benefit focuses on potential revenue that the composite might lose, or have leak through, by missing dates or terms and conditions for sales renewal contracts, which are still part of the composite’s new contracts (approximately 2,000 each year). Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:

• The composite has 940, 968, and 997 sales renewal contracts in Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, respectively.

• The average annual contract value is $100,000.

• Before LinkSquares CLM, the composite experienced revenue leakage of 10% overall. So $9.4 million of overall revenue leakage in Year 1 relative to potential renewal revenue of $94 million.

• The net time improvement in revenue leakage is 16% in Year 1, 18% in Year 2, and 20% by Year 3, based on the effectiveness ramp of LinkSquares CLM.

• This corresponds to revenue leakage of 8.4% in Year 1, 8.2% in Year 2, and 8.0% by Year 3 after deploying LinkSquares CLM.

• Row E7 reflects the revenue recaptured as a consequence of using LinkSquares CLM.

• To determine the net business impact for the composite, Forrester converts the revenue benefit into operating profit, which is 14% for the composite.

Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences and that the incremental revenue gains will vary among organizations depending on the following factors:

• Sales contract terms and conditions will vary.

• Annual contract value will vary.

• The operating margin is business and industry dependent and therefore may be higher or lower than estimated for the composite.

Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 20%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of more than $482,000.

Unquantified Benefits

Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:

• Ease of use and fast implementation. Interviewees consistently highlighted LinkSquares CLM’s intuitive interface, ease of deployment, and minimal reliance on IT. They could configure templates, workflows, and repositories quickly, often without external help. This ease of use was especially valuable for lean teams needing rapid adoption. The VP of finance and legal for a software discovery organization said: “LinkSquares may be the easiest system to implement that I’ve seen. I’m not a developer, but I was able to encode all my templates and workflows myself in one week.”

• Ability to scale without adding headcount. Several interviewees noted that LinkSquares enabled their legal and contracts management teams to handle growing contract volumes and complexity without needing to hire additional staff. This was especially important for fast-growing or lean organizations. The legal operations manager for a database software provider said: “Even though the complexity of our agreements has increased, we’ve still only got two commercial attorneys. We wouldn’t be able to cope without this system.”

• Responsive customer support. Multiple interviewees highlighted LinkSquares’ customer success team as a standout feature. They described the support as proactive, responsive, and customized, which contributed to smoother onboarding and ongoing optimization. The head of commercial operations for a data protection services firm said: “They’ve customized our dashboard, implemented our feedback, and never charged us for it. Their customer service is excellent.”

• Accessibility and collaboration. Interviewees praised LinkSquares for supporting distributed teams across geographies. They noted that the cloud-based architecture and role-based access controls made it easy for global users to collaborate securely and efficiently. Additionally, the platform’s centralized activity tracking and integration with tools like Salesforce and Slack helped break down silos and improve cross-functional collaboration. The legal operations manager for a database software provider said: “We’re in the US, UK, India, and across Europe. The system works globally — it’s been essential for remote collaboration.”

Flexibility

The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement LinkSquares CLM and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:

• Tailored visibility and permissions. Interviewees observed that the platform supported granular access controls and metadata tagging, allowing their organizations to tailor visibility and permissions as teams grew or shifted. This ensured sensitive contracts would only be accessible to the right stakeholders, even in complex or global environments. The legal operations manager for a database software provider said: “HR contracts are only visible to HR and legal; marketing sees only vendor contracts. It’s flexible enough to match our org structure.”

• AI-powered search and term extraction for strategic insights. Interviewees appreciated the AI capabilities in LinkSquares Analyze, especially for surfacing key terms, clauses, and risk indicators across large volumes of contracts. This flexibility enabled contracts teams to respond quickly to audits, regulatory changes, or strategic reviews without manual digging. It also enabled executives to surface strategic insights into their installed customer base.

• Unexpected use cases like M&A. Several interviewees found that they could use LinkSquares CLM for more than just sales or vendor contracts — extending into HR, compliance, and even M&A due diligence. This flexibility allowed teams to centralize and streamline processes they hadn’t initially planned to automate. The legal operations manager for a database software provider said: “We started with commercial contracts, but now we use it for HR, marketing, and even copyleft reviews. It’s become our go-to system for anything contract related.”

Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).