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How to put an end to your NDA process nightmare
Head of Product - CPO, AODocs · Apr 19, 2023 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are one of the most common business contracts. Companies may manage NDAs across several business relationships. Businesses have to sign NDAs with prospects, clients, suppliers, employees… it quickly adds up. Due to these high volumes, non-disclosure agreements can quickly become a source of risk for your business, when ownership, review rules and storage are unclear.
NDAs document confidentiality obligations. Their scope and enforceability depend on the agreement and applicable law; the legal team should determine the wording and review requirements. If your business has to deal with high volumes of NDAs without a proper NDA management process in place, your company is facing important compliance and legal risks:
- An NDA could easily fall through the cracks and be signed without prior review by your legal team.
- Even when an NDA is appropriately reviewed and signed, there is a chance it will not be properly stored and you won’t be able to locate it when you actually need it a couple of years down the road.
Beyond the above legal risks, a poorly managed NDA process can also directly affect your revenues through the increased duration of your sale cycle and by creating unnecessary ill-will with prospects right from the start.
There are some process improvements you can put in place to make review ownership, approval status and signed-document storage clearer:
- Centralize your storage of NDAs.
- Provide sales with non-negotiable templates.
- Educate the sales team on the importance of NDAs and the need for prior legal review.
- Have one person on your legal team who will own NDAs.
The above may be common sense but it’s actually challenging to implement as it can be hard to get people to comply. A configured tool can support the NDA management process you put in place. One option is a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution to route and track your NDAs from creation, review, and approval to signature and storage.
If you want to allow your business users to speedily and autonomously generate NDAs within approved templates and configured review rules, with signature follow-up and centralized storage, AODocs CLM supports these document workflows. Legal reviewers retain decisions on exceptions and required approval before signature.
And beyond NDAs, a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution can be a key asset for your business. Check our earlier blog post on “Why Should You Automate Your Contract Management Process” which details the key benefits of a CLM Solution.
Frequently asked questions
When should a self-service NDA be sent to legal review?
Use the review rules established by the legal team. Changes to approved wording, unusual confidentiality obligations or a counterparty's own form should follow the designated exception path. The workflow should identify these cases before signature rather than assuming that every document called an NDA can use the same template or approval route.
What is the NDA process?
An NDA process covers requesting the agreement, selecting or drafting the wording, reviewing exceptions, obtaining approval, completing signatures and storing the executed document. Assign an owner at each step and track incomplete signature requests. The legal team defines the review rules; sending a signature request is not proof that the NDA has been signed and filed.
What information should accompany a signed NDA in the repository?
Keep the signed NDA with the parties, effective date, responsible owner and relevant duration or review dates drawn from the agreement. Preserve related approval records and negotiation material needed by your process. Legal should define any retention requirements; metadata and centralized storage support retrieval without determining whether the NDA is enforceable.
