If you are starting at a new school, or simply wishing to improve upon or review your current contract management practice, the following questions are a good place to start.

1. How many contracts and licenses does your school have?

2. How many of these are your responsibility? Who else in the school manages contracts?

3. Which are your highest value contracts?

4. Which contracts involve services which are essential to the school opening?

5. Which contracts have a history in your school of being problematic?

6. Which of your contracts have the longest tie-in period?

7. How are contracts stored? Is this secure?

8. How are notice periods flagged up to you?

9. If you are planning Academy conversion, do you understand how this will affect your current contracts?

10. Do you have any contracts that were negotiated as a group?

11. Do you know your options for exiting a contract where the supplier has failed to deliver? Have you ever done this?

12. Do you have active contact details for your account manager at each company you hold a contract with?

13. Do you have a contract management strategy?

14. What do you think would most improve your contract management?

15. What bodies, organisations, companies or individuals do you know have that give advice on drawing up specifications, tendering, contract negotiation or management?

16. How much do you know about how other schools manage contracts?

17. Would you consider your contract management to represent best practice?

18. What tips would you have for other schools, with less experience than you of contract management?

19. Taking a rough guess, what value do you think you could free up in your school through better contract management (eg avoiding rollovers, ensuring all SLAs are met, drawing up more accurate specifications, working with a cluster group on a tender)?

Every’s Business Management module makes contract management easy, and prevents any unwanted rollovers or autorenewals. To see how you can make contract management easy within your school, book a demo with a member of our team.