Docfield 2024 recap: from specialised solution to full-fledged CLM

When we started Docfield 5 years ago, our mission was simple: help organisations focus on their core purpose rather than get bogged down by administrative, legal, and compliance-heavy contract work. For several years, we honed our craft in the education sector, simplifying the creation of complex documents like Onderwijs- en Examenreglementen (OERs).It was always clear to us that we could do more, and in 2024 we're proud to realise that vision. We evolved from a specialised tool into a comprehensive Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) platform, empowering customers across different industries to manage their contracts more intelligently, efficiently, and confidently. It was a year in which we didn’t just improve our product—we redefined our place in the market and helped our clients do the same in theirs.

I. Becoming a complete CLM solution

What does it mean to become a “full-fledged” CLM solution? We’ve always excelled at the initial stages of a documents lifecycle; helping clients create well-structured contracts and documents, maintaining a single source of truth, and ensuring everyone was working from the correct template. But this year we went further. Instead of contracts living as static files locked away in a folder, we helped our customers transform them into dynamic assets.Our strengths in the pre-signing phase enabled us to launch deeper capabilities for negotiation, signing, and renewal management. Bringing more phases of the contract lifecycle under one roof meant customers no longer had to jump between tools or settle for manual processes. This way, Docfield can ensure best practices, consistency, and compliance were baked in rather than tacked on at the end.This shift might sound abstract, but the results were very concrete. Consider the education sector, where creating an OER is a legally mandated but time-consuming task. In 2024, our customers created over 1,000 OERs using Docfield. Read more about the OER here.  By standardising the process and automating repetitive steps, we saved them a staggering 150,000 hours of work; time they could reinvest in teaching, research, and student engagement. That time equates to roughly €8.5 million in value. The impact isn't just a nice statistic; it directly influences how institutions allocate their limited resources, allowing them to refocus on delivering quality education rather than wrestling with documents.In the education sector, we were thrilled to welcome several new clients who share our commitment to enhancing the teaching and learning experience. Among them: LOI (part of Salta Group), Avans, Saxion, Christelijke Hogeschool Ede, and HAS. By implementing Docfield, these institutions have joined a growing community of forward-thinking educators.

II. Breaking out of our comfort zone

The genetics of Docfield is in the education sector, but we always suspected that what we had learned there—how to simplify complex, repetitive contract work—could be applied to other industries. In 2024, we proved it. Companies in HR, real estate, and healthcare embraced Docfield. Some streamlined paper processes, others replaced Microsoft Word, and yet others made the switch from CLM competitors. We're humbled to learn that Docfield can add value to clients that have tried numerous solutions without success. HR teams, for instance, found that creating, negotiating, and signing employment contracts no longer required sifting through scattered files or relying on memory to ensure compliance. Real estate firms discovered that leases and agreements could be set up using predefined templates, ensuring every deal was consistent and professionally presented. Healthcare providers used Docfield to navigate a maze of regulatory requirements with greater peace of mind, knowing their contracts would always reflect the latest standards. In all these new verticals, the story was the same: our customers spent less time dealing with administrative friction and more time delivering their core value.

III. Growing as a team, growing as a company

Behind the success of our customers stands a team committed to delivering quality at pace. This is no easy feat, given the number of 'unknowns' that comes with approaching new markets. Not only from a sales and product perspective, but also in the guidance we sought from our advisors and valued investors. With each new face that we welcomed to the team, we welcomed a new perspective and approach. Together, we worked hard to ensure the smooth landing of new customers and their continued success using the Docfield system.By listening closely to what customers asked for and what they struggled with, we made Docfield feel like an extension of their own teams rather than an external tool they had to “learn” or “manage.” The result is a platform that feels naturally supportive, helping customers do their best work rather than standing in their way.

IV. Celebrating simplicity and professionalism

Contracts are the backbone of trust in business relationships. By simplifying the contract journey, we allowed usres to showcase their professionalism, maintain consistency in their terms and conditions, and guarantee compliance without having to monitor every minor detail themselves.Our customers now present their clients with contracts that look and feel right. Clean, consistent, and in their own house-style, they deliver contracts that are free of errors and inconsistencies. Sales teams close deals faster. Legal departments rest easier. Operations teams no longer waste time reconciling contract details in spreadsheets. Every stakeholder benefits from a streamlined process that ensures nothing slips through the cracks.

V. Preparing for 2025 and beyond

2024 sets the stage for even more exciting developments in 2025. Our main priority is to build more intelligence into the system. Whereas it is currently mostly an infrastructure for users to execute, we want the system to come up with suggestions and itself be proactive in guiding users to a solution. In this way, we hope to help users anticipate bottlenecks and risks, drive efficiency and excellence, and identify the best path for their orgnisation. We’ll dig deeper into the industries we’ve begun to serve and possibly enter new territories where high-volume, high-stakes contracting is the norm. Our aim is to empower customers with an even richer set of capabilities, always staying true to our core principle: contracts should drive efficiency, predictability, and growth.