The top 25 contract analytics you need to be aware of 

Contract analytics have moved well beyond tracking clauses or signature dates. What once sat as a static PDF full of fine print is now a live source of business intelligence. They give legal, procurement, finance, and sales teams the clarity to spot risks, act on opportunities, and move the business forward with confidence.

The right analytics can help you:

• Expose risks before they become costly (as proven in this Forrester TEI study).
• Unlock revenue tied up in delays or missed terms
• Keep deals moving from negotiation to close
• Gain clear visibility into your contract portfolio
• The organizations that use them well are the ones that stay ahead.

Here are 25 metrics that matter, and why:

1. Cycle Time by Contract Type

Measure how long it takes to get from contract request to signature. Break it down by NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, or other contract types. This helps you identify where delays are happening and where process improvements will have the most impact.

2. Clause Deviation Rate 

Track how often your standard clauses are being edited or replaced during negotiations. High deviation often points to misalignment between business goals and legal templates or recurring red flags that could be pre-negotiated.

3. Third-Party Paper Rate 

Keep tabs on how often you’re signing contracts on someone else’s paper. Contracts on third-party templates tend to take longer and come with more legal risk. This metric highlights the need to push back or streamline reviews.

4. Negotiation Duration 

Drill into how long it takes to get through the redlining process. Long negotiation cycles usually mean inconsistent playbooks, slow approvals, or unclear authority.

5. Risky Term Frequency

Track how often certain flagged terms appear in your contracts. Things like uncapped liability or broad indemnities should not become the norm. This helps legal teams intervene before risk accumulates.

6. Obligation Compliance Rate 

Measure how consistently you’re meeting contractual obligations such as delivery deadlines, payment schedules, or reporting requirements. It’s not just about closing contracts, but following through.

7. Revenue Leakage from Missed Milestones 

Identify how much revenue is lost because of missed billing events, forgotten escalations, or uncollected payments. This metric shows the downstream financial impact of poor contract oversight.

8. Contract Value vs. Realized Value

Compare the value originally agreed upon with what’s actually collected or delivered. This gap tells you whether your contracts are performing as expected or if operational friction is eating into margins.

9. Renewal Rate and Timing 

Track how many contracts are renewed and when those renewals are taking place. This helps forecast revenue, identify churn, and ensure that auto-renewals don’t go unnoticed.

10. Auto-Renewal Risk 

Monitor which contracts have auto-renewal provisions and whether those provisions are being flagged with enough notice. Without a system in place, auto-renewals can lock you into outdated or unfavorable terms.

11. Top Trends by Counterparty 

Analyze how often and under what terms you’re contracting with the same customers, vendors, or partners. Understanding these patterns can help negotiate better deals or identify preferred templates.

12. Jurisdiction and Governing Law Trends 

Evaluate which jurisdictions are appearing most often in your contracts. This matters for enforceability, dispute resolution, and understanding where your legal exposure is concentrated.

13. Data Privacy Clause Coverage

Check how frequently contracts include appropriate data protection language. Whether it’s GDPR, CCPA, or HIPAA, the presence and strength of these clauses matter more than ever.

14. Force Majeure Inclusion Rate 

See how many of your contracts include force majeure language and whether it’s strong enough to protect your business. Recent global events have made this clause a key area of focus.

15. Payment Term Trends 

Understand the average payment terms being agreed to across your contracts. Trends toward longer payment cycles might impact cash flow and indicate the need for tighter financial controls.

16. Termination Clause Consistency 

Review how termination clauses vary across similar contracts. Inconsistent language can lead to confusion and disputes, especially in high-volume contract portfolios.

17. Indemnity Clause Risk 

Measure how often indemnification terms deviate from your standard. Too much variation can create unwanted liability, especially if you’re unknowingly accepting indemnities that should be mutual or capped.

18. Contract Volume by Department or Region 

Break down contract activity by business unit, region, or team. This helps allocate legal resources more effectively and spot regional or departmental trends.

19. Execution Method Analysis 

Track how contracts are being signed, whether through e-signature or manual methods. A shift toward digital execution can be an indicator of maturity and process modernization.

20. Pending Approvals and Aging Contracts 

Highlight contracts that have been sitting in draft, redline, or approval stages for too long. This helps legal operations teams prioritize and resolve backlogs.

21. Contractual Commitments by Type

Inventory commitments like exclusivity, rebates, pricing guarantees, or volume discounts. Knowing what you've promised helps prevent unintentional breaches or overlooked obligations.

22. Audit Trail Completeness 

Evaluate whether contract versions, approvals, and negotiations are fully documented. A clean audit trail supports compliance, dispute resolution, and regulatory reporting.

23. Average Number of Redlines per Contract 

Track how many redlines each contract typically goes through. High volumes might suggest training gaps, over-negotiation, or a need for better templates.

24. Contract Expiry Forecast 

Forecast upcoming contract expirations on a rolling basis (30, 60, 90 days out). This gives stakeholders time to renegotiate, terminate, or renew without surprises.

25. ESG and DEI Clause Inclusion

Identify how many of your contracts include commitments to environmental, social, or diversity principles. These clauses are becoming increasingly important in procurement, RFP responses, and corporate reporting.

Conclusion

Whether you’re using a modern CLM platform or conducting manual audits, these 25 analytics help transform contracts from static documents into strategic business assets.

If you’re not measuring these things, you’re flying blind. If you are measuring them, but not acting on them, you’re just creating dashboards for dashboards' sake. The real power lies in turning analytics into action.

Learn how Conga CLM can track these metrics for you automatically.