Track and Manage Obligations

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you'll be able to:

• Define the role of Obligation Management in Salesforce Contracts.
  
• Describe the unique features of Obligation Management.
  
• Explain the benefits of Obligation Management for improving customer relationships and minimizing risks.
  
• Create and manage contract obligations.
  

Contract Obligations

Now that you've created and signed a contract, the next step is to make sure that all parties fulfill their commitments. Contracts outline key obligations such as delivery schedules, payment terms, and compliance requirements, but managing these obligations manually can be a real pain! Without a clear system in place, businesses risk missed deadlines, compliance issues, and damaged customer relationships.

That's where Obligation Management in Salesforce Contracts comes in. This feature helps teams track, fulfill, and manage contract obligations efficiently, keeping commitments visible, viable, and on schedule.

Obligation Management Defined

At Cloud Kicks, sales reps like Candace are responsible for ensuring that every sneaker order is delivered on time, invoices are paid, and all contractual terms are met. As the company grows and contract volume increases, manually tracking each obligation becomes a challenge. Missing a deadline ‌can result in frustrated customers and lost revenue.

With Obligation Management, organizations like Cloud Kicks can easily manage commitments, maintain strong client relationships, and make sure nothing slips through the cracks. This feature is designed to track, fulfill, and manage the commitments set out in signed agreements. Sales reps like Candace can monitor all aspects of a contract, from delivery schedules to payment terms and compliance requirements.

To help businesses stay on top of commitments, Salesforce Contracts categorizes obligations based on their status.

The image shows different obligations associated with a contract.

In this example, the non-compliant payment obligation is flagged for follow-up, while the compliant service warranty obligation meets its contractual terms. These statuses give teams a clear view of commitments, helping them act early to prevent issues.

Key Features of Obligation Management

Obligation Management helps businesses stay accountable, reduce contract risks, and ensure deadlines are met. Here's how.

• Track obligations: Get a clear view of every contract commitment, from product deliveries to payment deadlines.
  
• Assign obligations: Delegate obligations to specific team members to ensure accountability.
  
• Monitor status: See which obligations are completed, pending, or at risk before they become a problem.
  
• Receive alerts and notifications: Get automatic reminders for upcoming deadlines to stay proactive.
  
• Integrate with workflows: Connect obligations with existing Salesforce processes to simplify execution.
  

With these tools, Candace can log commitments, assign tasks, and receive updates to keep Cloud Kicks running smoothly.

Increase Success with Obligation Management

With features like tracking, notifications, and real-time updates, organizations like Cloud Kicks can efficiently manage contracts, meet deadlines, and keep clients happy.

• Work smarter, not harder: No more digging through spreadsheets. A centralized system means faster decision-making.
  
• Avoid compliance issues: Status updates help teams catch risks early before they escalate.
  
• Improve customer relationships: Proactive updates on key contract milestones build trust and transparency.
  
• Increase accountability: With clear ownership of obligations, everyone knows their role in fulfilling contract commitments.
  

Thanks to Obligation Management, Candace no longer scrambles to track sneaker orders or chase payments. Instead, she can focus on selling sneakers and building customer relationships, knowing every contract is on track.

Now that you've explored the features and benefits of Obligation Management, it's time to try it out. Create your first contract obligation in Salesforce to see firsthand how this feature keeps commitments on track.

Create Obligations

Follow the steps in your Developer Edition Org to create a non-compliant obligation.

1. From the App Launcher , find and select Salesforce Contracts.
   
2. In the Lightning Navigation bar, click Contracts. From the list view dropdown, select All Contracts.
   
3. Click the contract you created in the previous unit for Acme Sneakers Quote.
   
4. ​​On the Contract record detail page, show the Obligations tab and click New Obligation.
   
   
5. Add these details:
   
   • Name: Payment in 30 days
     
   • Assignee: Your name (for this exercise)
     
   • Party: First Party
     
   • Status: Non-Compliant
     
   • Start Date: Today
     
   • Description: Payment needs to be made in 30 days.
     
6. Save your work.
   

Great job! You've successfully created a new obligation for your contract.

With Obligation Management, you can focus on what you do best: strengthening relationships, delivering value, and growing your business. Create your first obligation in Salesforce Contracts, and see how this feature transforms the way you manage commitments!

Resources

• Salesforce Help: Obligation Management
• Salesforce Help: Create an Obligation from the Contract Record Page
• Salesforce Help: Default Obligation Values