# Transaction management > Keeping each deal organized from accepted offer to closing: contract dates and deadlines, documents and signatures, tasks and the people involved, usually in software the agent, team and brokerage share. Also called: transaction management software, deal management. Topic: For agents. Once an offer is accepted, the job changes from finding a client to meeting deadlines. Transaction management is how agents and their brokerages keep every one of them in view. ## What does transaction management cover? A transaction file holds everything about one deal: the [purchase agreement](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#purchase-agreement) and any addenda, the key dates, the parties and how to reach them, the documents each side needs, and the tasks that move it to closing. The dates drive it. Acceptance starts the clock on [earnest money](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/earnest-money), inspection, appraisal and financing, and each [contingency](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/contingency) has a deadline. Missing one can cost a client a protection they were counting on. ## Who does the work: the agent or a transaction coordinator? Solo agents often run their own files. Busy agents and teams hand much of the work to a [transaction coordinator](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#transaction-coordinator), who collects documents and signatures, tracks dates and keeps the lender, the title company and the other agent on schedule. Brokerages review the file too. Most require certain documents before a deal closes or a commission is paid, and they keep the file for as long as state law requires. ## How do e-signatures fit in? Most contracts and disclosures are now signed electronically. Under the federal [ESIGN Act](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#esign-act) and the state laws based on [UETA](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#ueta), an electronic signature generally has the same legal effect as ink, as long as the parties agree to do business electronically. A good [E-signature](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#e-signature) tool keeps an [audit trail](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#audit-trail) for each document: who signed, when, and proof the file didn’t change afterward. Sending from the transaction file means the signed copy lands in the right deal on its own. ## What should agents look for in transaction management software? Dates calculated from the contract, with reminders before each deadline. A checklist for each kind of deal, so a listing and a purchase each get the right documents. Signatures sent from the deal. And a connection to your [CRM](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/real-estate-crm), so the client’s record shows the deal and the follow-up after closing. For teams, check who can see each file and how a coordinator, an agent and the broker share the work without emailing documents around. Keep wiring instructions out of plain email, too, since [wire fraud](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#wire-fraud) targets closings. ## Common mistakes - Tracking contingency deadlines in your head or on a paper calendar. - Emailing documents back and forth instead of keeping one file per deal. - Sending wiring instructions by plain email. - Losing touch with the client after closing because the deal and the CRM don’t talk to each other. ## Questions ### Is transaction management the same as a CRM? No. A CRM manages people and follow-up; transaction management manages one deal from contract to closing. Many agents want both on the same record so nothing gets typed in twice. ### Are e-signatures legal for real estate contracts? In the United States, generally yes. The ESIGN Act and state UETA laws give electronic signatures the same legal effect as ink when the parties agree to sign electronically. Check your state and brokerage rules for exceptions. ### When does a transaction file start? Usually when an offer is accepted, though many agents open it when they write the offer, so drafts and disclosures live in one place from the start. ## Related terms - [Transaction coordinator](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#transaction-coordinator): The person who manages a deal’s paperwork and deadlines from contract to closing: collecting signatures and documents, tracking dates, and keeping the lender, title company and agents on schedule. - [E-signature](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#e-signature): A signature made electronically, by typing, drawing or clicking to sign, that federal and state law generally give the same legal effect as ink, real estate contracts included, when the parties agree to sign electronically. - [Audit trail](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#audit-trail): A time-stamped record of who did what to a document or record and when, such as who opened, signed or changed it, kept as proof if anyone questions it later. - [Purchase agreement](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#purchase-agreement): The signed contract between a buyer and a seller that sets the price, earnest money, contingencies, closing date and other terms of a home sale. Once both sides sign and deliver it, it’s binding, subject to its contingencies. - [Closing](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary#closing): Closing is the final step of a real estate sale, when the buyer and seller sign the documents, the money changes hands and the deed is recorded, transferring ownership to the buyer. - [Contingency](https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/contingency): A contingency is a condition in a home purchase contract that must be met for the sale to go ahead, such as a satisfactory inspection, an appraisal at or above the price, or loan approval, each with its own deadline. ## Sources - [15 U.S.C. 7001, the ESIGN Act (Cornell LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7001) - [Uniform Law Commission, Electronic Transactions Act](https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=2c04b76c-2b7d-4399-977e-d5876ba7e034) Checked 2026-10-02 by the Broker & Agent team. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Source: https://brokerandagent.com/glossary/transaction-management