Home 2. Features Guardrails

Guardrails

Last updated on Dec 07, 2025

Guardrails define your organisation's non-negotiable terms and escalation triggers, empowering business teams with safe self-service while protecting the company from unacceptable risk.

What are Guardrails?

Guardrails are business rules that automatically flag, require approval for, or block certain contract terms based on your organisation's risk tolerance. They tell business users: "You can handle this yourself" or "You need legal review for this."

Example Guardrails:

  • "Any contract over $100,000 requires CFO approval"

  • "Non-compete periods exceeding 12 months must be reviewed by legal"

  • "Unlimited liability is never acceptable - block automatically"

  • "Data processing in non-EU countries requires privacy team review"

Why Use Guardrails?

Enable Self-Service

  • Business teams can handle standard contracts independently

  • Clear boundaries reduce legal bottlenecks

  • Faster deal cycles without compromising legal safety

Protect the Company

  • Catch high-risk terms automatically

  • Ensure compliance with company policy

  • Prevent costly mistakes

Improve Efficiency

  • Legal focuses on complex issues, not routine questions

  • Automated flagging saves review time

  • Consistent application of risk criteria

Guardrail Components

1. Name

Clear, descriptive identifier


Examples:

- "High-value contracts - CFO approval required"

- "Extended non-compete period"

- "Unlimited liability prohibition"

2. Trigger Description

What causes this guardrail to activate


Examples:

- "Contract value exceeds $100,000"

- "Non-compete period longer than 12 months"

- "Contract includes unlimited liability language"

- "Data processing outside EU/US"

3. Business Area

Which department or function this applies to

Available types:

  • Financial - Payment terms, pricing, contract value

  • Procurement - Vendor agreements, purchasing

  • Privacy - Data protection, GDPR compliance

  • Legal - Legal terms and conditions

  • Commercial - Sales, customer agreements

4. Action

What happens when triggered

Three action types:

Block (Red/Stop)

  • Prevents action from proceeding

  • User cannot continue without resolution

  • Requires legal involvement to override

Example: "Unlimited liability is never acceptable - contract cannot proceed"

Special Approval (Orange/Caution)

  • Requires specific approver (legal, CFO, etc.)

  • User can request approval

  • Clear escalation path

Example: "Contracts over $100K need CFO sign-off"

Flag for Review (Yellow/Warning)

  • Alerts user to potential issue

  • Suggests legal review

  • User can proceed with acknowledgment

Example: "This non-standard payment term should be reviewed by legal"

5. Enabled Status

Whether guardrail is active

  • Enabled - Actively monitoring

  • Disabled - Temporarily inactive (for testing or exceptions)

Accessing Guardrails

  1. Click "Guardrails" in the left sidebar

  2. Or navigate to /guardrails

  3. View all guardrails in your organisation

Permissions required: Legal or Admin functional role to create/edit

[SCREENSHOT: Guardrails list page]

Creating a Guardrail

Step 1: Basic Information

  1. Click "Add Guardrail" (top-right)

  2. Enter guardrail details:

  • Name - Clear, descriptive

  • Trigger - Detailed description of what activates it

  • Business Area - Select from dropdown

  • Action - Block, Special Approval, or Flag

  1. Click "Create"

[SCREENSHOT: Create guardrail dialog]

Example: Financial Guardrail


Name: High-Value Contract Approval

Trigger: Any contract with total value exceeding $100,000

Business Area: Financial

Action: Special Approval

Status: Enabled

Example: Privacy Guardrail


Name: Non-EU Data Processing

Trigger: Contract involves processing personal data outside EU/US

Business Area: Privacy

Action: Flag for Review

Status: Enabled

Example: Legal Guardrail


Name: Unlimited Liability Block

Trigger: Contract language includes unlimited liability or no liability cap

Business Area: Legal

Action: Block

Status: Enabled

Managing Guardrails

Editing Guardrails

  1. Click on guardrail in the list

  2. Click "Edit" button

  3. Modify any field

  4. Click "Save Changes"

What you can change:

  • Name and description

  • Trigger criteria

  • Business area

  • Action type

  • Enabled status

Enabling/Disabling Guardrails

To disable temporarily:

  1. Click the toggle switch next to guardrail

  2. Guardrail becomes inactive

  3. No longer triggers or alerts users

Use cases for disabling:

  • Testing new workflows

  • Special project exceptions

  • Temporary policy changes

  • Gradual rollout of new rules

Deleting Guardrails

  1. Click on guardrail

  2. Click "Delete" button

  3. Confirm deletion

  4. Guardrail is permanently removed

Warning: Deletion is permanent. Consider disabling instead if you might need it again.

How Business Users Experience Guardrails

During Contract Work

When a business user works with a contract that triggers a guardrail:

Block Action:

  1. System detects triggering condition

  2. Red alert appears

  3. "This action cannot proceed - requires legal review"

  4. User cannot continue

  5. Must contact legal to resolve

[SCREENSHOT: Block alert example]

Special Approval Action:

  1. System detects triggering condition

  2. Orange alert appears

  3. "Approval required from [specific person/team]"

  4. User can request approval directly

  5. Approver notified

  6. User waits for approval to continue

[SCREENSHOT: Approval request dialog]

Flag for Review Action:

  1. System detects triggering condition

  2. Yellow warning appears

  3. "Recommended: Have legal review this"

  4. User can acknowledge and continue

  5. Or user can request review

  6. Audit trail logs user's choice

[SCREENSHOT: Flag warning with options]

Requesting Approvals

  1. Guardrail triggers "Special Approval" action

  2. User clicks "Request Approval"

  3. Form appears:

  • Who needs to approve

  • Why approval is needed

  • Contract details

  • User's message/justification

  1. Click "Send Request"

  2. Approver notified via email and in-app

  3. User receives notification when approved/denied

Guardrail Strategies

By Department

Sales Team:


Guardrail 1: Discount > 30% → CFO Approval

Guardrail 2: Payment terms beyond Net 60 → Legal Flag

Guardrail 3: Custom T&Cs requested → Legal Review

Guardrail 4: Deal > $250K → VP Sales + CFO Approval

Procurement Team:


Guardrail 1: Contract > $50K → Procurement Manager Approval

Guardrail 2: Multi-year commitment → CFO Approval

Guardrail 3: New vendor (not in system) → Compliance Review

Guardrail 4: Unlimited liability → Block

HR Team:


Guardrail 1: Non-compete > 6 months → Legal Review

Guardrail 2: Executive level → CEO Approval

Guardrail 3: Equity compensation → CFO + Legal Approval

Guardrail 4: Remote work abroad → Tax Team Review

By Risk Level

Low Risk - Flag Only:

  • Standard contracts with slight variations

  • Known vendors/customers

  • Low financial exposure

  • Non-sensitive information

Medium Risk - Approval Required:

  • Higher financial value

  • New counterparties

  • Modified standard terms

  • Cross-border elements

High Risk - Block:

  • Unacceptable legal terms

  • Regulatory violations

  • Excessive liability exposure

  • Conflicts of interest

Integration with Playbooks

Guardrails and Playbooks work together:

Playbooks define what's acceptable:

  • Standard clause language

  • Approved alternatives

  • Not acceptable terms

Guardrails enforce the boundaries:

  • Alert when deviating from playbook

  • Block non-playbook "not acceptable" terms

  • Require approval for alternative language

Example Integration:

Playbook says:

  • Standard: Liability capped at fees paid

  • Fallback 1: Liability capped at 2x fees

  • Fallback 2: Liability capped at $100K

  • Not acceptable: Unlimited liability, cap > 5x fees

Guardrails enforce:

  • Guardrail 1: If unlimited liability → Block

  • Guardrail 2: If cap > 5x fees → Block

  • Guardrail 3: If cap between 2-5x fees → Flag for review

Best Practices

Creating Effective Guardrails

Do:

  • ✅ Be specific - "Contracts over $100K" not "big contracts"

  • ✅ Use measurable criteria - Objective triggers, not subjective

  • ✅ Test before enabling - Create disabled, test, then enable

  • ✅ Document rationale - Why this guardrail exists

  • ✅ Start conservatively - Easier to loosen than tighten

  • ✅ Get input from business - They know their pain points

  • ✅ Review regularly - Guardrails evolve with business needs

Don't:

  • ❌ Over-guardrail - Too many blocks frustrate users

  • ❌ Use vague triggers - "Unusual terms" - what does that mean?

  • ❌ Set and forget - Review quarterly

  • ❌ Block everything - Enable appropriate self-service

  • ❌ Ignore feedback - Business users will tell you what's not working

Balancing Control and Efficiency

Too restrictive:

  • Everything requires approval

  • Business bypasses legal entirely

  • Deals move to shadow IT/processes

  • Legal becomes bottleneck

Too permissive:

  • Risky contracts slip through

  • Inconsistent terms

  • Potential liability exposure

  • Compliance issues

Just right:

  • 70-80% of routine contracts self-service

  • 20-30% require legal review

  • Clear criteria for escalation

  • Business understands boundaries

Rollout Strategy

Phase 1: Pilot (Week 1-2)

  • Create 3-5 core guardrails

  • Enable for one department only

  • Gather feedback

  • Refine triggers and actions

Phase 2: Expand (Week 3-4)

  • Add department-specific guardrails

  • Enable for all departments

  • Monitor trigger rates

  • Adjust thresholds

Phase 3: Optimize (Month 2+)

  • Review analytics

  • Identify bottlenecks

  • Remove unnecessary guardrails

  • Add missing coverage

Monitoring and Analytics

Guardrail Activity

Track how guardrails are performing:

Metrics to monitor:

  • Trigger rate - How often each guardrail activates

  • False positives - Triggers that shouldn't have happened

  • Override rate - How often legal overrides blocks

  • Approval turnaround - Time from request to approval

  • Business feedback - User satisfaction with guardrails

Access analytics:

  1. Go to Settings > Audit Logs

  2. Filter by "guardrail" actions

  3. Export for analysis

Optimization

High trigger rate (>50% of contracts):

  • Threshold might be too low

  • Consider raising the bar

  • Or change from Block to Flag

Low trigger rate (<5% of contracts):

  • Guardrail might be redundant

  • Or threshold too high

  • Review if still needed

High override rate (>30%):

  • Guardrail too strict for business reality

  • Adjust criteria

  • Or change action type

Common Guardrails

Financial Guardrails


1. Contract Value Tiers

 - <$10K: No approval needed

 - $10K-$50K: Manager approval

 - $50K-$250K: Director + Legal review

 - >$250K: CFO + Legal approval

2. Payment Terms

 - Net 30: Standard, no review

 - Net 45-60: Finance team flag

 - >Net 60: Finance + Legal approval

3. Pricing/Discounts

 - <20% discount: Sales manager

 - 20-30% discount: VP Sales

 - >30% discount: CFO approval

Legal Guardrails


1. Liability

 - Capped at fees paid: Approved

 - Capped at 2-3x fees: Legal review

 - Capped >3x fees: Block

 - Unlimited: Always block

2. Indemnification

 - Mutual, limited: Approved

 - One-sided: Legal review

 - Uncapped: Block

3. Term Length

 - 1 year auto-renew: Standard

 - 2-3 years: Legal review

 - >3 years: CFO + Legal

Privacy/Security Guardrails


1. Data Processing

 - EU/US processing: Approved

 - Other countries: Privacy team review

 - No data protection: Block

2. Security Requirements

 - Standard SOC2: Approved

 - Custom security: InfoSec review

 - Lower than SOC2: Block

3. Data Retention

 - <2 years: Standard

 - 2-5 years: Legal review

 - >5 years: Privacy + Legal approval

Troubleshooting

Guardrail not triggering

Check:

  • Guardrail is enabled (toggle on)

  • Trigger criteria matches the situation

  • User has correct permissions

  • Refresh the page

Too many false positives

Solutions:

  • Refine trigger criteria to be more specific

  • Adjust threshold values

  • Change from Block to Flag

  • Gather user feedback on what's not working

Users bypassing guardrails

Investigate:

  • Are guardrails too restrictive?

  • Is approval process too slow?

  • Do users understand the purpose?

  • Is there a gap in guardrail coverage?

Address:

  • Streamline approval workflows

  • Educate users on risk

  • Make compliance easier than bypass

  • Adjust guardrails based on feedback

Can't create guardrail

Verify:

  • You have Legal or Admin role

  • All required fields completed

  • Business area selected

  • Action type chosen

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