If you’re responsible for managing contracts, you already know the pain of missed renewals and surprise auto-renewals. Maybe you’re the only person in the company who actually knows where the contracts are. Or maybe you inherited a sea of spreadsheets and shared drives. Either way, you want a system that just works—no more nagging reminders in your calendar or frantic last-minute emails.
This guide is for anyone who wants to use Agiloft to actually track contract renewal dates and get reminders that are reliable and (mostly) hassle-free. I’ll show you a straightforward way to get this working, flag the gotchas, and help you avoid wasting time on features you don’t need.
Step 1: Understand How Agiloft Handles Contract Dates
Before you start, it helps to know what Agiloft actually does with contract dates. Agiloft is flexible—sometimes too much so. Out of the box, it can track all sorts of dates: contract start, end, renewal, termination, review, and so on. The catch is, you have to set up your system to make these dates work for you.
What matters for renewal tracking? - At a minimum: Make sure every contract record has a “Renewal Date” field (sometimes called “Expiration Date”). - If you’re dealing with auto-renewals, you may also want a “Notice Period” field—how much advance warning you need before a contract renews automatically.
Pro tip: Don’t get bogged down creating fields for every possible date unless you have a real, legal reason. Most teams only use 2–3 date fields in practice.
Step 2: Check (or Add) the Right Fields in Your Contract Table
Navigate to your Contracts table in Agiloft. You’ll need fields for: - Renewal Date / Expiration Date - Notice Period (e.g., “60 days” or “90 days”) - Maybe a “Renewal Reminder Sent” checkbox (optional, but handy for tracking)
How to check: 1. Go to Setup > Tables > Contracts. 2. Click on Fields. 3. Look for a field called “Renewal Date,” “Expiration Date,” or similar. If it’s not there, add it. 4. If you want to send reminders X days in advance, add a numeric “Notice Period” field as well.
Don’t overthink naming—just be consistent.
Step 3: Populate Your Contracts with Key Dates
If you’re starting from scratch, this is the tedious part. But it’s worth it. Get your renewal dates into Agiloft, one way or another:
- Manual entry: If you have a manageable number of contracts, just enter the dates directly in Agiloft.
- Bulk import: For lots of contracts, use the import tool. You can upload a CSV with contract names and renewal dates.
Heads up: Garbage in, garbage out. If your dates aren’t accurate now, your reminders will be wrong later. Double-check as you go.
Step 4: Set Up Reminder Rules (a.k.a. Scheduled Actions)
Here’s where Agiloft actually earns its keep: automated reminders. You want the system to email you (or someone else) before a contract renews—ideally with enough time to do something about it.
How to create a reminder: 1. Go to Setup > Business Rules > Contracts. 2. Click New Rule. 3. Choose a “Scheduled Action” or “Time-based Rule.” (Agiloft’s wording varies, but you’re looking for something that can run daily.) 4. Set the criteria. For example: - Renewal Date is within the next 60 days (or whatever your notice period is). - Renewal Reminder Sent is not checked. 5. Set the action: - Send an email reminder to the contract owner or relevant team. - Optionally, update “Renewal Reminder Sent” to checked—so you’re not spammed daily.
Sample condition:
Renewal Date >= TODAY() AND Renewal Date <= TODAY() + Notice Period AND Renewal Reminder Sent = false
Who should get reminders? - The contract owner (whoever is responsible for the deal) - Maybe legal, procurement, or whoever needs to act
Don’t CC the whole company. That’s how reminders get ignored.
Step 5: Test Your Reminder Workflow
Set up a dummy contract with a renewal date within your notice period. Trigger the rule manually or wait for the scheduled run.
Check: - Did the email show up? - Did it go to the right people? - Does it make sense, or is it full of weird placeholders?
If not: Go back to the rule and tweak until it works. Test it with a real contract owner before you roll it out.
Pro tip: Keep the reminder email short and clear. “Contract X renews on DATE. Click here to review.” That’s plenty.
Step 6: Stay on Top of False Positives and Reminders Fatigue
No system is perfect, and Agiloft isn’t magic. You’ll run into: - Reminders for contracts that are already terminated or superseded - Emails that get ignored because there are too many, or they sound generic
How to avoid this: - Make sure your contract statuses are correct (active, expired, terminated, etc.). Use these in your rule criteria. - Limit reminders to only those contracts that really need attention. - Review the reminder rule every few months to tweak notice periods, recipients, or message content.
What NOT to do: - Don’t set up weekly reminders unless you love being ignored. - Don’t try to automate reminders for contracts you’ve never reviewed. Clean up your data first.
Step 7: (Optional) Build a Renewal Dashboard
If you want to get fancy, you can create a dashboard or report showing: - Contracts renewing in the next X days - Contracts with no renewal date (so you can fix them) - Contracts where reminders have been sent but not acknowledged
This isn’t required, but it can help if you’re managing dozens or hundreds of contracts. Just don’t waste days building dashboards nobody looks at—stick to what’s useful.
Step 8: Keep It Simple and Review Regularly
The best contract reminder system is the one you actually use. Set a calendar reminder to review your Agiloft rules every 6–12 months. Contracts change, people leave, and your process will need tweaks.
Quick checklist: - Are the right people getting reminders? - Are there contracts missing renewal dates? - Are reminders being ignored? (If yes, ask why. Then fix.)
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Automated email reminders that give you actual time to act - Clean, up-to-date contract data - Simple rules you can explain to a new hire in five minutes
What doesn’t: - Overly complicated workflows with dozens of fields and rules - Reminders that go to a shared mailbox nobody checks - Assuming “set and forget” will work forever—contracts and teams change
You can ignore: - Fancy analytics on renewal trends (unless you’re a huge company) - Trying to automate every edge case from day one - Over-customizing Agiloft before your basic process works
Wrapping Up
Tracking contract renewals in Agiloft isn’t rocket science, but it does take some upfront work. Start with the basics: get your dates in, set up one solid reminder rule, and make sure it works for your team. Don’t fall for the hype that more features mean more control—most of the time, simple wins. Iterate as you go, and you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches (and missed deadlines) down the line.