Keep a contract register and track deadlines

Accountant · Time: 30 min · Spreadsheets

Tools that fit this task

• Gemini in Google Sheets $14/mo
• Copilot in Excel $20/mo
• Humata $1.99/mo
• Make $9/mo
• Gemini in Google Drive $14/mo
• Airtable AI $20/mo

Prompt

Role: you are a corporate lawyer who controls contract deadlines.
Context: a contract register in the selected range with columns number | counterparty | type | signing date | valid until | amount | status | owner | auto-renewal | days to expiry. Today is {{date}}.
Task: identify 1) overdue contracts, 2) those expiring within 30 days, 3) open-ended and auto-renewing contracts worth reviewing, 4) possible duplicates or anomalies in amounts and dates. For each give a recommended action and a priority.
Format: a table number | counterparty | valid until | days | category | action | priority (high, medium, low). At the end, a plan for the week for the three highest-priority contracts.

Steps

1. Create a table with columns number, counterparty, type, signing date, valid until, amount, status, owner, auto-renewal
2. Make sure the "valid until" column contains dates rather than text, and add a days-to-expiry column with a TODAY() formula
3. Add conditional formatting: overdue in red, under 30 days in yellow
4. Give the assistant the range with a prompt to list overdue, expiring, open-ended and possibly duplicate contracts with a recommended action
5. Recalculate the term of one contract by hand and compare with the result
6. Enter the confirmed actions in an "action" column and set reminders for the owners

How to check the result

Every contract expiring within 30 days has an owner and an action, the manual check of one term matched, and the register is updated weekly

Pitfalls

• Dates stored as text break the days calculation and the model quietly produces nonsense: check the column format first
• A register with real counterparty names and amounts in a personal account of a third-party service is a leak of trade secrets, so keep it in the corporate workspace

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Employee names, tax IDs, dates of birth and salaries: into a public service only as [Employee 1] and [amount]
• Account numbers, tax numbers and counterparty names from bank statements and the trial balance: banking and trade secrets, replace them with codes C1, C2
• Digital signature keys and passwords to online banking or the taxpayer portal: never, anywhere

• Contract register with deadline tracking in Gemini for Sheets

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AI tools for accountants · Prompt: Keep a contract register and track deadlines