A contract register for your company: how to get control

Most companies keep contracts scattered across inboxes, folders and drawers. The overview does not exist until someone builds it; the deadlines exist regardless.

Why a contract register

A lease that auto-renews because nobody gave notice in time quickly costs a year of rent. A register is not an archive but a list of decisions with dates: what ends, what renews, and when you must speak up.

What it must contain

Counterparty, contract type, end date, notice period, whether it auto-renews, and who owns it internally. Without the notice period the end date is worthless: the decision happens at the deadline, not at expiry.

Why the spreadsheet dies

A spreadsheet works the month it is made. Then a new contract arrives by email, nobody enters it, and the overview is dead without anyone knowing. The system must nag you, not the other way around.

The simplest routine that works

Collect the PDFs in one place, record the four date fields per contract, and get one fixed weekly alert covering everything in the next 90 days. One person owns the routine; everyone can add to it.