In this article, I discuss how Utah DHHS transitioned from fragmented contract management to streamlined, automated processes for multilevel approvals, compliance, and audit-ready records.
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If bottlenecks in your contract management is a headache for your government body, read on as I describe how Utah's Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) tacked their challenge head-on with the help of FlowForma’s Process Automation platform.
The DHHS process involved six different stakeholders, which became problematic, especially as the approvals were handled via email. Imagine the chasing that they would have to do and the coordination across departments.
They also had a problem with data visibility. It was difficult to see the stage of contract, what was approved and where the bottlenecks were.
In this article, I outline how the DHHS tackled it’s contract management challenges with process automation, introduce the DHHS as they describe their contract automation journey, and provide the provide practical steps other government and public sector teams can follow to get the same outcomes.
Government contract management involves overseeing every stage of a public contract from planning and procurement to compliance, performance, and renewal.
Whether you’re managing a federal contract management process or a regional one, the core steps remain the same:
The process can quickly become fragmented since these contracts often pass through multiple hands, including compliance officers, financial controllers, legal teams, and external vendors.
That’s why digital process automation tools are increasingly being adopted: to bring visibility, structure, and accountability into a workflow that otherwise relies on spreadsheets and paper trails.
I regularly speak with government bodies, and I see the same challenge amongst many of them.
Government tend to work at a slower pace compared with then private sector, and are therefore slower to migrate away from legacy platforms that are used to manage contracts.
Managing contracts with tools such as InfoPath, SharePoint Designer, or Excel might get the job done, but they weren’t built for today’s complexity. Most lack modern features like centralized dashboards, real-time updates, or automation logic.
Take Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), for example. Before adopting automation, they managed over 100 forms manually, including contract-related workflows. The result? Bottlenecks, inconsistent tracking, and compliance issues across departments.
By moving away from manual, paper-based processes, DHHS gained greater visibility across departments and improved audit readiness while staying independent from IT teams throughout the rollout.
The department’s contract management process was one of the most painful bottlenecks. Previously, contracts had to go through six levels of approval, often taking months due to manual emails and coordination.
Now automated via the FlowForma Process Automation platform, approval times have drastically reduced. Contracts used to take months to get signed, now they’re approved within 1 to 5 days.
The department's internal audit office requireed comprehensive records of all contracts, including who approved each step and when. With FlowForma’s audit trails, DHHS could easily track every step of the process, ensuring full compliance with internal policies and regulations.
The ability to capture and report on metadata, such as approval timelines and user access, has been a game-changer, saving time, boosting efficient and ensuring compliance.
In this video, you'll discover how Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services has streamlined its contact management process through automation, improving compliance and ensuring a seamless audit trail.
Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) describe it's contract automation journey
Five benefits of automating government contract management
Utah DHHS reduced a six-level contract approval process that previously took months to a 1-5 day turnaround.
This meant that contracts were processed and approved faster.
Every approval, amendment, and signature in Utah DHHS's contract process is now automatically timestamped and logged, giving their internal audit office complete traceability across hundreds of contracts without manual record-keeping.
Before automation, Utah DHHS had no central view of where any contract stood, now every stakeholder can see outstanding approvals, completed steps, and bottlenecks in real time without chasing a single email.
By eliminating manual coordination across six approval levels, Utah DHHS freed up significant staff time that had previously been absorbed by contract chasing, time that now goes back into delivering public services.
While government contracts differ in scope and requirements, many include repetitive, rules-based tasks that are ideal candidates for automation.
Here are the most common contracts government teams can streamline:
3 types of government contract management
These contracts are widely used in public infrastructure projects, product procurement, and service agreements. The terms are clear: a set amount is paid once work is delivered.
Automation helps here by triggering tasks tied to milestones, like sending invoices when a deliverable is marked complete or logging shipment details as equipment is dispatched.
These are common in research, emergency healthcare response, and federally funded grants, where expenses can shift over time. Manual oversight of allowable costs can quickly get overwhelming.
Automation solves that by flagging out-of-scope expenses, tracking receipts, and alerting teams when compliance thresholds are about to be breached.
Used frequently for IT consulting or maintenance work, these contracts depend on precise time logging and material use. Automating time entry approvals, rate validations, and invoicing ensures nothing falls through the cracks, even if the project runs over months or involves multiple teams.
To achieve scalable results across departments, government teams must establish a strong foundation for contract management.
Best practices for government contract management
Here’s how to improve contract management for government with automation:
If your contract still begins with a static PDF or email template, you’re already a step behind. Smart digital forms capture cleaner data and minimize manual input. Fields can auto-fill based on vendor IDs, department codes, or previous contract history, saving time and reducing input errors from the start
This video shows how FlowForma makes it easy to build digital forms that drive workflows:
2. Define roles and workflow logic
Not all contracts require the same approval process. High-risk contracts may necessitate legal review, while low-value renewals can be automatically approved. This is where workflow logic becomes essential.
FlowForma allows teams to design no-code workflows that manage routing, escalation, and deadline alerts without the need for programming.
Contracts should include essential elements like required clauses, version control, and pre-signature validation. Embedding these checks directly into the workflow makes it easier to stay compliant with regulations such as FAR, GDPR, or internal policies.
Additionally, maintaining digital audit logs helps streamline external reviews and reduce compliance-related stress while managing risk.
To make the setup even easier, FlowForma’s AI Copilot provides intelligent suggestions during workflow creation. It helps users define processes faster by recommending logic based on existing workflows.
Whether you're building a new approval route or updating an existing one, the Copilot improves accuracy and saves time by reducing manual effort and potential errors.
In this interactive demo, you'll see how FlowForma Copilot can build a government contract risk management process in minutes. With just a simple text prompt, Copilot builds out a process prototype that can be adapted for any government organization. This demo clearly illustrates how AI-powered process automation can greatly boost productivity while strengthening compliance and risk management.
Also read: For more on how automated workflows support business process compliance, this article by FlowForma offers helpful insights.
Automation only delivers value when it's actively used. Securing buy-in from key stakeholders—such as contract owners, department heads, and legal teams—is essential for successful implementation.
One effective strategy is to start with pilot projects that demonstrate clear, measurable benefits. When internal champions share tangible wins, like shorter approval cycles or improved reporting accuracy, it builds momentum and encourages broader adoption across the organization.
Every process has friction points. Are approvals delayed by legal? Are renewal reminders sent too late? Monitoring key metrics—such as SLA breaches, turnaround time, and contract volume—helps optimize workflows over time.
For example, the A14 Integrated Delivery Team in the UK, a joint venture between Costain, Skanska, and Balfour Beatty, automated several workflows with FlowForma, including Material Requisition Requests and Permission to Dig.
This shift to FlowForma created a centralized data hub accessible from remote locations, improving speed, consistency, and ensuring a digital audit trail for every action.
Explore how the A14 Integrated Team used FlowForma to digitize field requests and centralize operations on the go.
For large-scale government infrastructure projects, this level of process clarity and control is essential, especially when multiple partners and approvals are involved.
Want to see how contract automation works? This short video shows what government contract automation looks like in action with FlowForma: (Utah State)
It all starts with a digital form. FlowForma allows contract owners to create forms tailored to the type of agreement, whether it's a grant, procurement request, or vendor contract. Smart fields can auto-fill using existing databases, pulling in vendor IDs, department names, or budget codes.
Once the form is set, users define the routing logic. With FlowForma’s workflow automation builder, teams can drag and drop rules that guide the contract through various approval stages.
For example, contracts above a certain value can be automatically routed to legal, while standard renewals go straight to finance. Every condition is built to match real-world policy.
When the form is submitted and the workflow begins, FlowForma can instantly generate the contract document using pre-approved templates.
Contracts are approved directly within the workflow, with built-in e-signature and automatic date-stamping. Every stakeholder gets notified when it's their turn to sign, keeping the momentum intact and approvals trackable.
Completed contracts are archived in a secure, searchable system. You can filter by contract ID, department, vendor, or approval status.
Meanwhile, audit logs are created automatically, showing exactly who reviewed, edited, and signed each document—critical for compliance and reporting.
Contract automation is reshaping how government agencies manage vendor agreements, approvals, and compliance, bringing structure, speed, and accountability to a traditionally manual process.
FlowForma offers a no-code, end-to-end solution built with the public sector in mind, allowing teams to automate complex contract workflows without waiting on IT.
With FlowForma, departments can route approvals faster, reduce audit stress, and replace spreadsheets and paper trails with clean, digital workflows. Whether it’s a high-value procurement or a grant agreement, every contract becomes easier to manage, track, and report on.
Start simplifying your government contract management process with FlowForma, book a demo today.
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