Direct answer
A complete contract renewal review should verify the current agreement and dates, confirm the decision owner, assess ongoing need and service performance, review supplier and evidence context, gather finance and stakeholder input, compare renewal, renegotiation, replacement, and exit options, complete required approvals, issue any formal notice correctly, and update the contract record after the outcome. Start early enough to finish these steps before the notice deadline.
1. Confirm the source and deadline
Current document set
- Confirm the executed agreement, schedules, amendments, extensions, and relevant notices.
- Verify the current term, expiry/end date, renewal mechanism, notice period, and notice method.
- Record the source and reviewer for any date used in the decision plan.
- Escalate ambiguous wording for authorised specialist review rather than guessing.
Decision timetable
- Set an internal review start and decision due date before the notice deadline.
- Allow time for approvals, supplier discussion, drafting, delivery, and evidence of notice.
- Name the decision owner and each required contributor.
2. Review the operating case
Need and scope
- Confirm whether the service, product, site coverage, volume, and specification are still required.
- Identify planned organisational, site, system, or service changes that affect the next term.
- Check whether other agreements duplicate or depend on this contract.
Performance and delivery
- Review service issues, incidents, complaints, missed actions, and unresolved changes.
- Gather input from contract users, site teams, operations, and the current owner.
- Separate evidenced performance from anecdote and record unresolved information gaps.
Supplier and evidence context
- Review current supplier contacts, ownership, and operational dependencies.
- Check required evidence, expiry dates, open requests, and approved exceptions.
- Do not treat a software status as a legal or regulatory compliance conclusion.
3. Assess the decision options
Commercial and budget
- Confirm current spend or value and the relevant budget owner.
- Identify pricing changes, indexation, credits, committed volumes, and unresolved invoice issues where applicable.
- Record the information still needed from finance, procurement, or the supplier.
Options
- Renew on current terms where valid and approved.
- Renegotiate scope, price, service, dates, or operating requirements.
- Run a replacement or sourcing process with enough transition time.
- Exit or close the service with a documented transition and data/document plan.
- Record an authorised exception when the preferred timetable cannot be met.
Decision record
- Record the selected option, rationale, evidence reviewed, approvers, decision date, and next action.
- Keep commercial and legal advice with the authorised source rather than paraphrasing it as system-generated certainty.
4. Complete the formal action and update the record
Formal action
- Prepare and approve the required notice, extension, variation, replacement agreement, or closure instruction.
- Use the required delivery method and retain evidence of sending, receipt, or signature as appropriate.
- Track any supplier response or condition still outstanding.
Operational completion
- Attach or reference the final document and decision evidence.
- Update status, owner, scope, value, supplier/site relationships, and the next term's dates.
- Close superseded tasks and create new mobilisation, transition, or review work.
- Set the next operational and renewal review dates.
Renewal outcome record
| Record | Minimum detail | Why keep it |
|---|---|---|
| Decision | Renew, renegotiate, replace, exit, or approved exception | Makes the current direction visible |
| Rationale | Concise evidence-backed reason | Prevents future reviewers reconstructing the choice from email |
| Authority | Decision owner and required approvers | Shows that responsibility stayed with authorised people |
| Formal evidence | Notice, signed document, delivery/receipt evidence, or closure record | Connects the operating status to a source |
| New operating facts | Status, dates, value, owner, scope, next review | Keeps future reminders and reports accurate |
Related resources
Continue the topic
How to track contract renewalsBuild the portfolio-level queue that brings this checklist into use.Expiry date vs renewal date vs notice dateVerify the timeline before setting internal milestones.Contract renewal tracker templateTrack the decision owner, dates, status, and next action in XLSX or CSV.Supplier compliance checklistReview evidence and approved exceptions as one input to the decision.