How 3 Lean Teams Set Ironclad Up in Weeks – with $0 in Implementation Costs

For lean legal teams navigating the complexities of contract lifecycle management (CLM), finding an efficient, cost-effective solution can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. If you’re building a new legal team, or running legal on your own, a workflow solution tailored to your needs that you can set up yourself might be all you need to radically transform contracting. Why spend resources — budget or headcount — on bells and whistles when you could set up only what you need by yourself?

That’s the path these three dynamic companies took with Ironclad’s Self-Start onboarding route. Most lean legal teams don’t need a massive implementation, where product, legal, and IT teams on both sides all have to get heavily involved. With its $0 implementation cost and user-friendly experience, Ironclad’s Self-Start changes the game. Legal teams sign up and drive the Ironclad implementation themselves using a pre-loaded Ironclad instance and a set of self-serve guides and Ironclad Academy courses. After a quick check in with Ironclad customer success to make sure the instance is set up correctly, they’re ready to go, though if they do need additional IT support, it’s available. Simply put, the Self-Start route provides a powerful, adaptable path for companies looking to streamline their contract processes while maintaining autonomy.

Let’s take a look.

CallMiner: A Clean Rip and Replace of Inefficient Systems

Christina Graham did everything she could to make the old system work. A contracts manager in the legal department at CallMiner, a leading speech analytics platform, Christina is her team’s point person when it comes to contracting platforms. So she worked closely with another CLM on a lengthy implementation, even taking a weeklong programming course in preparation for diving into the XML code that governed her team’s workflow.

“I don’t write software code, and it just wasn’t feasible for me to manage a platform where I had to be,” Christina said. But when CallMiner wanted to change their workflow and their legacy CLM sent a $25,000 dollar estimate to do the work, it was time for a change.

After seeing Ironclad’s no-code platform, CallMiner decided to onboard using the Ironclad Self-Start route, and Christina said they’ve seen a drastic improvement in contract management in the year since. For starters, the implementation process was smooth — and fast. Christina and her team ripped and replaced their old system with Ironclad in just two weeks! Guided by a clear vision of the workflow she wanted to create, Christina leveraged Ironclad’s user-friendly interface and intuitive tools to adapt the platform to her team’s needs.

Internal feedback at CallMiner has been overwhelmingly positive. Average contract turnaround times have shrunk by 40%, dropping from 7.6 to 4.6 days. The onboarding process grew simpler, no longer requiring individual training sessions. CallMiner users can easily navigate the system, monitor the status of contracts, and receive documents via email.

Christina also mentioned Ironclad’s commitment to taking user feedback into account, as changes suggested by her team were implemented in future releases. Enhanced view and edit functionality now captures headers and images, improving the overall user experience. As a result, trust and satisfaction with the Ironclad platform grew within the CallMiner ranks. “That Ironclad was willing not only to listen, but also take action, is a really good sign when you’re looking for a platform that’s going to grow with your business,” she said.

Today, Christina is excited about the doors that fully utilizing Ironclad’s AI and Connect features will open, especially the ability to further enhance data mining and reporting. “We’re hoping to be able to pull more data about what clauses are being negotiated the most, what clauses are causing the most friction,” she said. Easy implementation, and a forward-thinking approach to contract management? Looks like CallMiner found the CLM they were searching for.

Certn: Creating an Efficient Contracting Process That Scales

Legal Operations Manager Shannon Davidson was the first legal hire at Certn, a global technology company specializing in background checks and ID verification. After running the department solo for just a few months, it was clear the company was in need of an efficient contracting process. The solution? Ironclad’s Self-Start program.

“I was in over my head since I was the first legal hire at a startup company,” Shannon said. “We didn’t have an efficient way to keep track of redlines, or have any real process for version control. So I didn’t have a choice but to get going as soon as I possibly could.” Self-Start allowed Shannon to get going with Ironclad as quickly as possible, trying it with smaller clients, and adjusting and fixing things on the fly. It took about three months of trial and error to get the workflow down, and then Certn had a contracting process that was both robust and adaptable. “The Ironclad team was fantastic to work with, and Self-Start was so easy to implement,” Shannon added.

Before Ironclad, contracts were manually stored, making it difficult to keep track of the latest versions and client interactions. Ironclad let Certn pull all of their contracts together into a single source of truth so they could easily see history, manage revisions, and reduce risk. Today, Certn continues to expand its operations, and thanks to Self-Start, contracting is no longer a blocker but a business enabler.

Shannon’s team has grown to nine people, and they’ve all taken to Ironclad. The platform has helped improve contract turnaround times and has created a consistent process with the sales team; improving communication and internal stakeholder relationships overall. Prior to implementations, redlines could take up to two weeks. Now, it’s unusual if providing initial feedback takes more than 24 hours.

It’s also making life easier for Shannon. “It was really exciting for us because we had this really sophisticated solution that automatically signaled to our clients that we were established and professional ,” she said. Ironclad let Certn grow at their own pace on a really reliable platform, as she put it. “It made it a lot easier on me. It’s like having another lawyer with me.”

StoneEagle F&I: Solo GC Streamlines Processes with Ironclad

Michael Curylo was the lone General Counsel at StoneEagle F&I, a company that provides reporting and analytics to the retail automotive industry. Tasked with implementing a system to manage contracts and legal processes within the company, Michael needed to stand up a solution quickly. He recognized the need for a system that could manage contracts from start to finish, and integrated easily with Salesforce. StoneEagle’s IT team backed Ironclad, noting that because it had the best documentation and the easiest implementation out of the contenders he had brought to them, they knew it would work. So with their blessing – backed by positive reviews from industry leaders – he went with Ironclad.

Before Ironclad, StoneEagle had no formal process for managing contracts. Documents would often get lost, and there was regular confusion over who was authorized to sign contracts. With Ironclad’s Self-Start program, Michael met these challenges head-on. It took him about a week with Ironclad’s online courses and videos to understand the platform and start building what he needed. Just under a week, actually: Michael set up workflows, imported documents, and got the system up and running in just four days.

These days, Michael uses Ironclad for a variety of tasks, including  managing workflows and approval controls, creating non-negotiable, self-service agreements for purchasing and compliance, and gather insights and generate reports for board meetings.. He also uses the system to ensure that all contracts go through him, which has helped streamline the company-wide process and reduce errors. “Ironclad’s Self-Start program has made my work as a solo GC manageable,” he said.

StoneEagle’s sights are set on growth, and Michael plans to expand the legal team and increase training within the company to improve self-service capabilities. As a solo GC, Self-Start He also sees potential for Ironclad to be used in any forthcoming mergers and acquisitions. All in all, Ironclad Self-Serve has been a hit at StoneEagle, and Michael’s just getting started. “For a small legal team, there is no better product — from process to execution — that I’ve seen,” he said.

Empowering Legal Teams Everywhere

Onboarding with Ironclad’s Self-Start implementation route gave these organizations the opportunity to swiftly and seamlessly upgrade their contracting processes with faster turnaround times, more efficient workflows, and improved risk management. As a path tuned to the needs of smaller companies, Ironclad Self-Start empowers teams like Certn, StoneEagle F&I, and CallMiner to take org-wide ownership of contracts without all the administrative overhead that eats up bandwidth. And with the Ironclad Community, they’ll have all the resources they need to problem-solve, brainstorm ideas, and exchange solutions to continuously iterate and improve their implementation–no extra engineering or customer support required.

To learn more about how Ironclad can improve your contracting processes and try it out for yourself, sign up for a free trial today.