What to check before buying CLM software, and what each item tells you
Dylan Conkle
Key takeaways
- Check five things, in order: SOW pricing structure, the e-signature record, invoice from the signed SOW, renewal reminders, and what the PSA, RMM and accounting sync moves. Each has a trial test.
- The answers tell you more than the features. A SOW priced in prose means someone re-keys numbers forever. A reminder that lives in a calendar instead of on the agreement means a renewal will slip.
- For signed workflows, the template question is "what do I sell?" PandaDoc fits proposal-heavy sales teams. XClause fits MSPs selling recurring managed services.
Why a checklist beats a feature list
Every contract tool's feature page says templates, e-signature, reminders and integrations. The words are the same because the words are cheap. What differs is what sits behind each one, and you only find that out by running the thing.
So here are the five checks I would run in any trial, with the test for each and what the result tells you about the next two years.
1. How is the SOW priced?
The test. Build a SOW with 25 workstations at $50, 5 servers at $200, a one-time setup fee, and a 10% discount on one line. Then change the workstation count to 30.
What a pass looks like. Each managed unit is a line with a count, a rate and a recurring flag. The monthly total updates itself. The setup fee stays out of the recurring total. The discount survives the edit.
What it tells you. If the price lives in a paragraph, the tool is a document editor with a signature button. Every count change, every renewal re-price and every invoice will be typed by a person, and one of them will type it wrong. In XClause the builder works from units, and the rate escalation you pick (the higher of CPI or 5% by default, a fixed percentage, none, or your own clause) becomes contract language the client signs.
2. What does the e-signature record contain?
The test. Sign a test document and open whatever the tool calls the audit record or certificate.
What a pass looks like. Signer name and email, a timestamp to the second, IP address and device, how the signer was authenticated, and the verbatim consent text they agreed to. Then ask one more question: what is hashed? XClause stores a SHA-256 hash of the executed PDF and appends a certificate of completion to it, so a copy produced later can be checked against the one that was signed.
What it tells you. A record that is only a green "Signed" badge is the record you will be holding when a client says they never agreed to the rate. A vendor that can tell you exactly what is hashed, and what is not, is a vendor that has thought about the dispute.
3. Can the signed SOW become the invoice?
The test. Sign the SOW from step one. Then try to produce the first invoice without opening a spreadsheet.
What a pass looks like. One line per managed unit at the agreed count and discounted rate, one-time charges on their own lines, and the option to repeat it monthly. In XClause that is one action on the signed SOW, or automatic at the last signature if you switch invoice generation on for that SOW. Emailing it to the client is a separate switch, and both are off by default.
What it tells you. If the answer is "export to PDF and rebuild it in your accounting tool", the tool stops at the signature and the retyping starts there. That is where the monthly total and the invoice total begin to drift apart.
4. Where does the renewal reminder live?
The test. Set a renewal date 100 days out on the test agreement. Find where the reminder is configured and who receives it.
What a pass looks like. The reminder is on the agreement, with offsets you choose, and it can go to the client as well as your team. XClause sends at any mix of 90, 60, 30, 15 and 7 days, to your team, the client or both, on every plan. Contracts you import default to all five; contracts built in the standard form use your account default, which ships as a single 30-day reminder, so set that default on day one.
What it tells you. A reminder in a calendar belongs to a person. A reminder on the agreement belongs to the agreement. The first one leaves when the person is on a client site that week.
5. What does the sync actually move?
The test. Ask the vendor, for each of your PSA, RMM and accounting tools, which records go in, which go out, and when. Write the answers in a table. Vague answers are answers.
What a pass looks like. Named records and directions. For XClause on Pro: clients move both ways with ConnectWise PSA, Autotask, HaloPSA, SuperOps and your ledger; device counts come in from NinjaOne, SuperOps and IT Glue and never go back; invoices go out to QuickBooks Online, Xero and FreshBooks, with payment status read back. XClause does not write invoice line items into any PSA. The one outbound billing write, managed unit counts onto ConnectWise agreement additions, is off until you switch it on.
What it tells you. "Two-way sync" on a feature page is a hyperlink. A table is a contract. The vendor who fills in the table is the one whose sync you can plan around. More on this in why two-way sync breaks between contract tools and PSAs.
What are the best template tools for signed workflows?
It depends on what the signed document is for.
| If you sell | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Proposals and quotes across many deal types | PandaDoc | Polished document design, templates, e-signature, CRM and payment integrations; $19 or $49 per seat per month billed annually |
| Recurring managed services under an MSA and SOW | XClause | MSA, SOW and NDA templates drafted by independent MSP attorneys, a SOW builder with managed units, e-signature, invoice from the signed SOW and renewal reminders, flat per MSP company from $99.99/mo |
One detail worth checking on any template tool: are you handed a copy at signup, or do you build from the live template? XClause builds every agreement from the live template, so when an attorney revises a clause the next SOW you build picks it up. Agreements already signed do not change, and should not.
Running the checklist
Do all five in one trial, with one real client's numbers. Starter is $99.99 a month for an MSP of up to 2 people and 15 clients, Pro is $199 a month with no caps and the integrations, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial that is not charged until it ends. If a check fails in XClause, tell us; we answer within one business day, and a fair failure goes on the roadmap.
The longer version of this list, with the clause-level checks, is on the MSP contract software checklist.
PandaDoc prices are from pandadoc.com/pricing as of November 9, 2026. Prices change, so check the vendor's page before you buy.