Whether you’re buying a car, commissioning a portrait of your dog, or embarking on a work contract, every negotiation has its own unique concerns and challenges. But there are also some important fundamentals that apply across the board. For example, contract redlining is one of the most commonly used negotiation techniques in business, and it’s found in many other contexts as well.
If you’ve never heard this term before (or if you’re not sure what it means), don’t worry! We’ll walk through everything you need to know about redlining in this brief article.
What is Redlining a Contract?
In the simplest terms, contract redlining is the process of reviewing a contract, marking changes and requests on it, and then submitting it back to the other party. This shows that you are serious about your requests and helps clarify what is acceptable to both parties.
When Should You Redline a Contract?
Before signing a contract, of course! Once the deal is done, it’s too late. You can’t negotiate anymore, and your options are limited to either accepting the terms or pulling out. In other words, redlining before signing is important because it allows you to negotiate changes that may not be possible once all parties have signed on the dotted line.
How To Redline a Contract?
The basic premise is simple enough. You just strike out anything you don’t like from the contract so that the other party knows what to amend; however, the actual process of doing this can be time-consuming and stressful.
When it comes to redlining contracts, there are three options, each with pros and cons: you can use a red pen, you can use a redline tool, or you can use contract review AI tools .
Red pens tend to bleed through the paper, making them difficult to read after they’ve been used. They also tend to fade over time so that what was once red becomes brownish or orangey in color.
Contract redlining tools are a better option because they’re designed specifically for this purpose; they have a thicker nib than most pens and won’t bleed through the paper as easily as a pen would. They also have an eraser on the back of them so that if you make a mistake while redlining, it’s easy enough to correct it before anyone else has seen it!
Contract review AI tools is generally considered to be the best option these days because it saves time by doing all the work for you! It analyzes your contract and highlights any areas where changes need to be made automatically so that all you have to do is approve or reject each suggestion, saving both time and stress!
Why is Redlining a Contract Difficult?
Redlining a contract can be difficult because it requires a high level of knowledge and experience with various business practices. It’s important to know what types of clauses are standard in contracts and what types are not, as well as which clauses you cannot include because they may be illegal or unethical. If you’re not familiar with these things, you may end up accidentally including something that could cause trouble later down the line.
Plus, the actual process of redlining contracts is extremely tedious, boring, monotonous, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. Therefore, whenever possible, it’s best to use an A.I. software that can save you a ton of time, money, and stress throughout the negotiation process.
Recommendation
There are a few different contract review AI tools available on the market, and any of them will be better than doing things manually, but these tools are not all created equally. BlackBoiler is certainly one of the best contract review AI tools available at the moment. In fact, using BlackBoiler can enable you to review, redline, and markup a complicated contract in as little as 15-minutes.
So, if you aren’t an expert in contract law, don’t have time to spend hours or even days sorting through your contract and redlining, or you just don’t want to deal with the stress of the process, then be sure to check out BlackBoiler today.
