Earlier this year, a few of our clients asked a question that, in retrospect, was obvious: “Why do we need to sign two contracts for a bit of art? Can’t you just handle it?”

Lightbulb.

Contract negotiation is second nature to us. By acting as prime contractor, our clients would only need to sign once, with CDR. We handle the vendor agreements, they approve the key terms, and just like that: operational overhead gone.

Ok, great idea. But turning that into a reality meant more than paperwork. We needed a robust accounting system that could track every cent and handle every contract variation, milestone, and change. All while delivering 100% accurate reporting on status, spend, timesheets, and approvals.

And we needed to do this the right way. 

So we built internal dashboards. They worked so well, we thought: why not share them with the whole project team?

A few rabbit holes later, we’re excited to introduce CDR Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM).

Partnership Governance That Actually Works

Our CLM is a system that helps ensure game development partnerships stay aligned, compliant, and on track. It went through R&D for most of the year as an internal tool, but thanks to the speed and clarity it brought our team, we rolled it out to all CDR clients and providers as well.

CLM exists to drive alignment through transparency. It helps us track the complexity inherent in game partnerships, requiring us to pay attention to every key milestone, every invoice, and how it tracks against the forecast. The CLM flags variances in budgets or delivery dates and pushes us to address them, all while keeping these things surfaced for all parties to see.

We also crafted the CLM so that most of the time you don’t even have to open it. The info is there when and if you need to reference it, but alignment comes through timely notifications and reminders that keep your project moving without adding overhead.

To be clear, CLM isn’t a platform. Platforms imply a kind of self-service, whereas partnerships are human-to-human. Reconciliation doesn’t happen in software, it happens through real-world conversations, ensuring issues are resolved early and alignment is preserved.

Think of the CLM (and CDR!) as the project manager who never sleeps—constantly monitoring progress, flagging issues before they become problems, and ensuring everyone has the same information at the same time.

CLM Features

The CLM is built to handle the inevitable variations every deal requires, because no two projects (and no two partnerships) are exactly alike. We’ve built flexibility into the system, so whether Milestone, T&M, or Price Per Asset, every contract can be easily adjusted to fit the changes that always come. 

Financial forecasting

‍How much spend have you committed to, when are those payments expected to be made? The CLM track actuals in real time, flagging projects that may be trending over budget or hours.

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Project approvals

Make it easy to determine when payments should be released, while surfacing misalignment early if a project is off target or budget.

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Contract changes

‍Stop letting key contract updates live in someone’s notes. Our CLM makes all contract and milestone changes transparent and trackable. Keep one source of truth and never lose alignment on critical decisions.

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Proactive communication

‍The system notifies teams when action is needed and keeps notifying them until it’s done, so nothing falls through the cracks.

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By codifying these processes in an organized, easy to read system, you can be confident trusting your external operations to CDR. There will be no ambiguity about project status, contract terms, or payment readiness—it’s all right there on your CLM.

Ultimately, CLM is about reducing friction and risk. Our clients can focus on their creative work while we handle the details, ensuring transparency, governance, and overall project health.

CDR Contract Lifecycle Management is another step in our mission to make external partnerships easier, safer, and more valuable for everyone.