How to Configure Guardrails for Your Business Team

Set up automated rules that enable safe self-service while protecting against risk.

Time Required: 20-30 minutes

Difficulty: Intermediate

Prerequisites: Legal or Admin role, understanding of company risk tolerance

Step 1: Identify Key Risk Areas

Before creating guardrails, determine what needs protection:

Common risk areas:

Financial: Contract values, payment terms, discounts
Legal: Liability caps, indemnification, IP rights
Privacy: Data processing, retention, cross-border transfers
Commercial: Term length, auto-renewal, exclusivity

Gather input from:

Legal team (what terms are non-negotiable?)
Finance team (what thresholds matter?)
Compliance team (what regulatory requirements exist?)
Business teams (what slows them down currently?)

Step 2: Create Your First Guardrail

Start with a simple, high-impact guardrail:

Go to "Guardrails" (left sidebar)
Click "Add Guardrail"
Create a financial guardrail:

Name: "High-Value Contract Approval"
Trigger: "Any contract with total value exceeding $100,000"
Business Area: Financial
Action: Special Approval
Status: Enabled

Click "Create"

Your first guardrail is active!

Step 3: Create a "Block" Guardrail

For non-negotiable terms:

Click "Add Guardrail"
Create:

Name: "Unlimited Liability Block"
Trigger: "Contract includes unlimited liability or no liability cap"
Business Area: Legal
Action: Block
Status: Enabled

Click "Create"

This prevents any contract with unlimited liability from proceeding without legal intervention.

Step 4: Create a "Flag" Guardrail

For items needing review but not blocking:

Click "Add Guardrail"
Create:

Name: "Extended Payment Terms Review"
Trigger: "Payment terms beyond Net 60 days"
Business Area: Financial
Action: Flag for Review
Status: Enabled

Click "Create"

This alerts users but lets them proceed with acknowledgment.

Step 5: Build Department-Specific Guardrails

For Sales Team:


Guardrail: "Large Discount Approval"

Trigger: "Discount exceeds 25% from list price"

Area: Commercial

Action: Special Approval (VP Sales)

For Procurement:


Guardrail: "Multi-Year Commitment"

Trigger: "Contract term exceeds 24 months"

Area: Procurement

Action: Special Approval (CFO + Legal)

For HR:


Guardrail: "Extended Non-Compete"

Trigger: "Non-compete period exceeds 6 months"

Area: Legal

Action: Flag for Review

Create 3-5 guardrails per department based on their common scenarios.

Step 6: Test Your Guardrails

Before full rollout:

Disable all new guardrails temporarily
Work with one business user to test:

Do guardrails trigger correctly?
Are triggers clear and accurate?
Is action appropriate (block vs. flag)?

Refine based on feedback
Enable once validated

Step 7: Communicate to Business Teams

Create simple guidance for users:


Email Template:

Subject: New Self-Service Guardrails for Contract Review

Team,

We've implemented automated guardrails to help you handle

routine contracts faster while ensuring compliance:

GREEN LIGHT - Proceed freely:

- Contracts under $100K

- Standard playbook terms

- Payment terms Net 30-60

YELLOW - Flag for review (can proceed with acknowledgment):

- Payment terms beyond Net 60

- Non-standard but reasonable terms

RED - Stop and get approval:

- Contracts over $100K

- Unlimited liability

- Multi-year commitments

Questions? Contact [email protected]

Happy contracting!

Legal Team

Step 8: Monitor and Adjust

After 2-4 weeks:

Review guardrail trigger rates (Settings > Audit Logs)
Identify patterns:

Too many triggers? Threshold may be too low
Never triggering? Threshold may be too high
High override rate? Maybe too strict

Adjust thresholds and actions accordingly
Gather feedback from business users

Recommended Starter Set

For most organisations, start with these 5 guardrails:

High-Value Approval ($100K threshold, Special Approval)
Unlimited Liability Block (Always block)
Extended Payment Terms (>Net 60, Flag)
Large Discount (>25%, Special Approval)
Multi-Year Term (>24 months, Flag)

Add more as needed based on your specific risks.