The eight fields
- Supplier and scope. Who, and what the agreement actually covers. One line is enough.
- Annual value. A best estimate is fine. Order of magnitude matters more than precision.
- Start date. Useful for understanding how terms have drifted over time.
- End date. The date the agreement expires if nobody does anything.
- Notice period and notice date. The calculated date by which you have to act. This is the field that pays for the exercise.
- Auto-renewal. Yes or no. If yes, the notice date is not optional.
- Internal owner. A named person, not a department.
- Where the signed copy lives. A link or a location, so the register survives the person who built it.
What to add only if you will maintain it
Price mechanism, indexation, liability cap, exit provisions, data protection status and performance measures are all useful, and all only useful if they are accurate. Add them for your largest agreements and leave the rest at eight fields.
Who should own it
One named person, usually in finance or operations. Shared ownership is how registers die. The owner does not need to negotiate anything. They need to keep the list true, and put every notice date in a shared calendar with a reminder three months ahead.
What good looks like after six months
- Any director can see what is signed and when it ends, in under a minute.
- No agreement renews without somebody deciding that it should.
- Renewal conversations start three months out rather than three weeks out.
- New agreements get added when they are signed, because somebody owns it.
None of that requires software. It requires one list and one owner.