Key Takeaways

• The contract approval process is a major bottleneck for deal velocity, often slowing down revenue due to manual routing, unclear policies, and missing information.

• Rushing approvals without governance introduces risks: wrong pricing, missed compliance obligations, and executing incorrect versions.

• A streamlined approval workflow includes clear approval matrices, risk-tiered routing, metadata-driven workflows, centralised version control, and automatic approval capture.

• A strong Delegation of Authority (DOA) Matrix prevents unnecessary escalations and ensures the right people approve the right deals.

• E-signature speeds up execution while maintaining legality and auditability.

• A CLM like SpotDraft accelerates deals through workflow automation, real-time visibility, centralised communication, self-serve workflows, and built-in DOA logic.

• Automating the contract approval process improves sales cycle time, strengthens compliance, and reduces operational friction across legal, procurement, and sales teams.

Introduction

In 2025, deal velocity has become a core business priority. Yet for most organizations, the contract approval process remains one of the slowest and most frustrating bottlenecks for both legal and business teams. Sales waits on Legal. Legal waits on approvers. Approvers wait for clarity. And the deal waits.

The issue isn’t effort, it’s inefficiency. The blockers are familiar: endless back-and-forth email threads, unclear ownership, outdated approval rules, misaligned expectations between teams, and manual processes that don’t scale. According to a global study by World Commerce & Contracting (WorldCC), poor contract management practices cost companies nearly 9% of their annual business value.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can speed up contract approvals without increasing risk. The key is modernizing how approvals are designed, routed, and tracked, using clearer roles, smarter workflows, and automation that removes unnecessary back-and-forth.

In this blog post, we’ll break down why approvals move slowly, the risks of accelerating them without control, what a streamlined approval workflow should look like, and a step-by-step framework to fix bottlenecks. We’ll also explore how CLM platforms like SpotDraft help teams accelerate deals while ensuring compliance and reducing risk.

Why Contract Approvals Are Still Slower Than They Should Be 

For most organizations, slow contract approvals aren’t caused by a single problem. Multiple small inefficiencies influence the delay. The most common issue is manual routing, where contracts move through long email chains with no clear ownership. This leads to delays, duplicate reviews, or stakeholders missing requests entirely.

Another major blocker is ambiguous approval policies. When teams don’t know who needs to approve what, contracts are either over-escalated (too many reviewers) or under-escalated (the wrong people reviewing). In many cases, Legal is pulled into low-risk or routine agreements, even when their approval isn’t necessary.

Approvals also slow down when the contract itself is incomplete, such as when metadata, pricing details, SOWs, or risk notes are missing. Each missing detail triggers rework, clarification loops, and re-reviews. 

Version control issues make this worse, forcing teams to reopen reviews because the “latest” draft wasn’t actually the latest. Outdated templates in Sales or Procurement create even more inconsistency.

Finally, most teams struggle with visibility. No one knows where the contract is stuck, who needs to act next, or when approval is expected.

All these issues directly impact the business: delayed revenue, slower vendor onboarding, unnecessary escalations, and higher operational costs. A broken approval workflow doesn’t just slow deals; it slows the entire organization.

The Risks of “Fast but Uncontrolled” Approvals 

Moving contracts quickly is important, but moving them without control creates serious business risk. Fast approvals are not good approvals if no one verifies what is inside the agreement. When teams rush, key clauses often go unreviewed, exposing the company to liabilities or unfair terms. Pricing mistakes also slip through incorrect discounts, outdated rate cards, or unapproved commercial terms.

Compliance risks rise as well. Failure to meet GDPR, DPDPA, SOC 2, or HIPAA requirements can lead to audit failures or penalties. In many rushed workflows, there is no clear record of who approved what, which becomes a significant problem during audits or disputes. Another common issue is executing the wrong contract version because teams approve files from email instead of a central system.

Sometimes, business teams even bypass legal review entirely to close deals faster. This may help in the moment, but it creates long-term financial, legal, and regulatory exposure.

From a CFO or GC perspective, deal velocity must never come at the cost of auditability, compliance, or commercial accuracy. A fast deal that introduces risk is not a win: it’s a future problem waiting to surface.

What a Streamlined, Risk-Smart Approval Process Looks Like

A streamlined contract approval process removes confusion, reduces waiting time, and keeps risk under control. It is built on clear rules, reliable workflows, and technology that prevents delays and mistakes.

1. Clear Approval Matrices

Every contract should follow a defined approval matrix based on contract type, contract value, risk level, and counterparty. This prevents random escalations and ensures the right people sign off at the right time. A strong matrix also supports your delegation of authority (DOA) policy.

2. Standardized Templates & Playbooks

Using approved templates, clause libraries, and playbooks keeps commercial terms and legal terms consistent. This reduces unnecessary redlines and eliminates risky custom language.

3. Risk-Tiered Workflows

Not all agreements require the same level of scrutiny. Low-risk contracts (like NDAs) should move through an automated workflow, while high-risk or high-value deals route to senior approvers. This protects compliance without slowing the sales cycle.

4. Metadata-Driven Routing

When approvers are assigned automatically based on contract metadata, like value, geography, data processing, or deal type, bottlenecks disappear. No more manual forwarding or guessing who should approve next.

5. Real-Time Visibility

Everyone involved should be able to see contract status, owners, pending approvals, and blockers. This eliminates guesswork and reduces the need for follow-up emails.

6. Collaborative Review + Single Version of Truth

Teams should review one shared, updated version, not five conflicting files. Centralized version control prevents rework and approval delays.

7. Automatic Capture of Approvals

Every approval must be logged with time, date, and approver identity. This strengthens audit readiness, contract compliance, and leadership reporting.

A process like this balances speed with control, helping Legal Ops, Sales Ops, and leadership accelerate deals without increasing risk.

How to Streamline Your Approval Process (A step-by-step framework)

Here is a practical, actionable framework for Legal Ops to remove bottlenecks and create a faster, risk-smart contract approval process.

Step 1: Map Your Existing Approval Process

Start by interviewing legal, sales, procurement, and finance. Document the current workflow, including exceptions, pain points, and frequent delays. Identify where contracts get stuck, who becomes a bottleneck, and which approvals slow down deals.
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Step 2: Classify Contracts by Risk & Value

Create clear contract tiers:

• Tier 0: NDAs and simple renewals
• Tier 1: Standard low-risk agreements
• Tier 2: High-risk or high-value deals
• Tier 3: Custom or strategic contracts

This classification helps design approval paths that match risk, not volume.
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Step 3: Define Approval Rules & Escalation Paths

Set rules for who approves what:

• Finance approvals for large discounts
• InfoSec reviews for data-sharing agreements
• Legal review thresholds
• Executive sign-off for strategic deals

This prevents unnecessary escalations and ensures controlled oversight.
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Step 4: Build Standard Templates & Clause Playbooks

Use pre-approved templates, fallback clauses, and playbooks. This reduces reliance on legal and keeps negotiation aligned with company policy. It also minimises redlines and speeds up review cycles.
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Step 5: Enable Self-Serve Workflows for Low-Risk Contracts

Allow business teams to handle Tier 0 and Tier 1 contracts on their own. Automated workflows let them generate, negotiate, and sign low-risk documents without waiting for legal, improving deal velocity.
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Step 6: Centralise Communication & Version Control

Keep all edits, redlines, comments, and approvals in a single system. This avoids confusion caused by email chains, outdated files, and conflicting versions.
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Step 7: Automate Routing & Notifications

Use workflow automation to send contracts to the right approvers instantly. Automatic reminders eliminate manual follow-ups and keep deals moving.
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‍Step 8: Provide Teams Visibility Into Status

Give sales, procurement, legal, and finance access to dashboards showing contract status, pending approvals, and blockers. Transparency reduces repeated status requests and frustration.
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Step 9: Capture Approvals Automatically

Record every approval in a digital audit trail with timestamps, user identity, and version history. This strengthens compliance and makes audits easier.

‍Step 10: Monitor KPIs & Optimize Continuously

Track key metrics:

• Contract cycle time
• Approval time per team
• Number of escalations
• Compliance misses
• % of contracts completed through self-serve workflows

Use this data to improve your approval matrix, templates, and routing logic over time.

This step-by-step framework creates a contract approval process that is fast, predictable, compliant, and easy for teams to adopt.

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Creating a Contract Approval Process

Even well-designed approval workflows fail when these common mistakes creep in. Keep them short, simple, and avoidable:

1. Over-engineering approval flows: Too many steps slow everything down. Keep workflows lean and purposeful.

2. Adding unnecessary approvers: If someone isn’t adding real value or risk oversight, they shouldn’t be in the chain.

3. Allowing teams to use outdated templates: Old versions create compliance gaps, negotiation delays, and inconsistent terms.

4. No feedback loop between Legal Ops and stakeholders: Without feedback, workflows become outdated, and friction continues to build.

5. Not training teams on new processes: Even the best workflow fails if people don’t know how to use it.

6. Not revisiting approval matrices regularly: Business priorities change. Your approval logic also needs the same, so review it at least once a year.

7. Relying on manual reminders and follow-ups: Manual nudges slow deals. Automated notifications keep everything on track.

These mistakes may look small, but together they create massive approval delays and unnecessary risk.

Implementing a Delegation of Authority (DOA) Matrix

A Delegation of Authority (DOA) Matrix is the backbone of a fast and compliant contract approval process. It defines who can approve what, based on the contract’s type, value, and risk level. Without a DOA matrix, teams guess who should sign off, or escalate everything to Legal or leadership, slowing deals unnecessarily.

Start by listing approval levels for key categories, such as pricing changes, discount thresholds, data-sharing, vendor onboarding, or high-risk terms. Then assign the right decision-makers: Legal, Finance, InfoSec, Procurement, Sales Leadership, or the Executive team.

Monetary thresholds are essential. For example:

Deals under $25K → Sales Manager
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$25K–$250K → Finance + Legal
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Above $250K → CFO/CEO

A clear DOA matrix removes confusion, stops over-escalation, and ensures signature authority is exercised correctly. It becomes even more powerful when baked into workflow automation, so contracts are routed instantly to the right approvers, no manual chasing, no mistakes.

The Role of E-Signature in Approvals

E-signature is now a standard part of the contract approval process, and for good reason. It is legally valid under laws like the ESIGN Act, eIDAS, and India’s IT Act, making digital signatures as enforceable as handwritten ones. This eliminates the delays caused by printing, scanning, or waiting for physical signatures.

Speed is the biggest advantage. E-signature tools allow approvers to sign from anywhere, on a desktop, tablet, or mobile. So deals don’t stall when an executive is traveling or working remotely. You also get automatic timestamps, audit logs, and identity verification, which strengthen compliance and record-keeping.

When combined with CLM workflow automation, e-signatures finalize contracts faster, reduce errors, and provide complete visibility into who signed what and when. It’s one of the simplest ways to accelerate deal cycles without increasing risk.

How a CLM Like SpotDraft Speeds Up Approvals Without Increasing Risk

A CLM platform can remove much of the friction that slows approval workflows. Instead of juggling emails, tracking down approvers, or re-reviewing outdated versions, teams work inside one unified system that handles process control, routing, and compliance automatically.

SpotDraft speeds up approvals in several key ways:

1. Automated Workflow Routing

Contracts move instantly to the right approvers based on contract value, risk level, geography, or data usage. No more manual forwarding or guessing who should sign off.

2. Built-In DOA & Approval Rules

Your Delegation of Authority matrix lives inside the system. SpotDraft applies signature authority rules consistently, preventing unauthorized approvals and over-escalation.

3. Self-Serve Workflows for Low-Risk Contracts

NDAs, renewals, and standard MSAs can be executed without waiting for Legal. This reduces bottlenecks and allows teams like Sales and Procurement to move faster.

4. Real-Time Visibility for Every Stakeholder

Dashboards show who needs to approve next, where delays exist, and how long contracts have been stuck. This transparency alone reduces cycle time dramatically.

5. Centralized Communication & Version Control

All redlines, comments, and attachments stay in one place. No divergent drafts. No lost edits. Reviewers always see a single source of truth.

6. Automated Reminders & Notifications

Approvers receive instant alerts, and follow-ups happen automatically, removing the constant chase work that slows Legal and Sales Ops teams.

7. Integrated E-Signature & Audit Trails

Approvals and signatures are captured automatically with timestamps, identity data, and complete audit logs, making compliance and reporting effortless.

By combining workflow automation, approval logic, and risk controls, SpotDraft shortens cycle times without sacrificing compliance, accuracy, or oversight. The result: faster deals, fewer bottlenecks, and stronger governance, all at the same time.

Quick Reference: Approval Best Practices Checklist

Use this checklist to keep your contract approval process fast, clear, and low-risk:

Conclusion 

A slow, unpredictable contract approval process doesn’t just frustrate teams; it directly delays revenue, creates compliance gaps, and increases operational cost. The good news is that most approval delays come from fixable problems: unclear ownership, outdated templates, manual routing, and a lack of visibility. With the right structure and technology, approvals can move faster without adding risk.

A modern, risk-smart approval workflow gives teams clarity on who needs to approve, in what order, and why. It keeps everyone working from the same version, reduces back-and-forth, and ensures every decision is properly logged. When supported by workflow automation and a CLM like SpotDraft, approvals become smooth, predictable, and audit-ready.

If you’re ready to remove bottlenecks, shorten contract cycle times, and give Sales, Legal, and Finance full visibility into the approval pipeline, now is the time to modernise your process.

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FAQs

1. Why do contract approvals slow down?

Because routing is manual, approvers are unclear, and teams use outdated templates or versions. A clear approval matrix and automation fix most delays.

2. How does workflow automation help?

It sends contracts to the right approver instantly, triggers automatic reminders, and removes email chasing. This shortens sales cycle time and reduces errors.

3. What is a Delegation of Authority (DOA) matrix?

It defines who can approve which contracts based on value and risk. It prevents over-escalation and ensures only the right people sign off.

4. How does a CLM reduce approval risk?

A CLM centralizes versions, enforces approval rules, maintains audit trails, and blocks outdated templates, keeping the process fast and compliant.