This article will provide you with an overview of what entities are, how they function in Ironclad, and how to configure them.
What are Entities in Ironclad CLM?
In Ironclad CLM, entities serve as a single, unified hub for all the organizations or partners you engage with, such as companies, contractors, educational institutions, and other collaborators. This enables quick contract creation and provides insights about your counterparties. You can easily understand your overall relationship with a company and find recently signed contracts.
Entities include companies, individuals, partners, and vendors you regularly do business with. Ironclad CLM lets you store essential information to streamline future contracts and keep all contract details in one place.
How Do I Configure Entities?
Data Manager
First, in Data Manger, you need to configure your relationship types, which define how you interact with your entities. Relationship types offer two key benefits: 1) they allow you to categorize entities by tagging them with the appropriate relationship type, and 2) they help you track the relevant details and data points for each entity, tailored to its specific type.
- Customer: Used for companies you sell goods or services to.
- Partner: Used for companies that you partner with.
- Vendor: Used for companies you buy goods or services from.
You can also create additional relationship types in Data Manager.
Next, configure the properties you want to include for each relationship type. Entity properties are data points you want to collect and track. These are shared with your team and can be reused throughout Ironclad. For each relationship type, you can set required properties, remove properties, or view property details. Data Manager provides a central location to manage all your entity properties.
Entities Tab
After setting up your relationship types and entity properties in Data Manager, you can add entities to Ironclad. In the Entities tab, you can create single entities or import entities in bulk. You can then configure Workflow Designer to use entities in your workflows.
Filter Entities
You can filter entities on the Entities tab similar to how you filter workflows and records on the Dashboard. There are three default filters displayed on the Entities tab: Relationship, Status, and Business Type. You can click on one or multiple of these filters to define your filtering criteria.
To start basic filtering, click All to display the filtering dropdown. Select a filter from the dropdown. You can filter by entities, properties, relationship, status, and business type.
After you select a filter, you need to select a condition for that filter. Conditions are dynamic to the data type of the filter. Check out the table below for more information on each type of data:
| Type of Data | Description |
|---|---|
| Strings |
Is: Exact match for the filter Contains: Matches the text anywhere it appears in the filter |
| Numerical Values |
Is between: Allows you to set a range Other options: >, ≥, <, ≤, = |
| Tuples | Tuples do not have conditions. They only have filter option itself. |
| Dates |
Is between: Allows you to set a range Is: Exact match for the filter Is After: All dates after the entered date (excluding the entered date) Is On or After: All dates after the entered date (including the entered date) Is Before: All dates before the entered date (excluding the entered date) If On or Before: All dates before the entered date (including the entered date) |
Saved Views
You can use saved views on the Entities tab similar to how you save views on the Dashboard. Views are a combination of saved filters and columns that allow you to easily access relevant entities without having to manually search each time.
The Views panel is located on the left. You can open or close it by clicking the Hide sidebar icon indicated by two arrows.
Next to each view’s name in the view header, there is a count of entities in that view. This number reflects the number of entities shown in the table at that moment, including when filtered by search.
How Do I Use Entities in Workflows?
In Workflow Designer, you can configure the Who is the counterparty? question at the top of the Counterparty Information section that will be presented on the launch form. By default, this section is added to the top of the form. You must choose a relationship type and map the entity properties to properties in the workflow. This ensures data syncs correctly across Ironclad and automatically fills in launch form questions when users select an entity or counterparty.
After publishing the workflow configuration, you can launch a workflow from it. When you type a counterparty name in the entities counterparty field, you can select the relevant company from the dropdown menu. The entity's information then automatically populates the launch form. This reduces manual data entry time and improves the accuracy of counterparty information.
How Do I Get Started?
To get started with entity management, we recommend walking through the following help center articles: