Managing clinical trials is no easy task. Between juggling timelines, tracking documents, coordinating teams, and meeting compliance requirements, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks, especially if you’re still relying on spreadsheets, emails, or manual processes.
That’s where a Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) comes in. But how do you know when it’s time to make the move? Here are five clear signs your clinical operations are ready for a CTMS, and how a solution like Xolomon can help.
1. You’re managing more than one trial at a time
Running a single clinical trial is demanding. Running multiple trials at once, across different sites, teams, or therapeutic areas, adds a whole new level of complexity. Without a central system, important milestones, budgets, and regulatory deadlines can easily get lost.
A CTMS allows you to view all your active trials in one place, track progress in real time, and manage resources more effectively.
2. Your team relies on spreadsheets to track progress
Spreadsheets can be useful, but they weren’t built for clinical research. Manual data entry, version control issues, and limited visibility often lead to delays and errors.
A CTMS replaces scattered Excel files with a structured, secure environment where everyone works from the same real-time data. No more emailing updated versions back and forth.
3. You’re losing visibility over site performance and patient enrolment
If you’re constantly chasing updates from sites or struggling to spot which studies are falling behind, it’s time to streamline.
With a CTMS, you get dashboards that show enrolment trends, visit tracking, site activity and deviations, all in one view. This helps your team act early and stay on track.
4. Protocol amendments are causing chaos
When study protocols change, it often means revising timelines, documents, and site instructions. Doing this manually (especially across multiple centres) is a recipe for confusion and non-compliance.
A CTMS enables centralised updates that flow directly into task lists, visit schedules, and document repositories, so everyone stays aligned, even when things shift.
5. Budget tracking and invoicing are getting messy
Clinical trials involve complex budgets with milestone-based payments, site reimbursements, and vendor costs. If you’re using separate tools to manage finances, there’s a high risk of delays or missed payments.
A CTMS with a built-in finance module lets you manage contracts, track payments and automate invoicing, all while linking financial data directly to operational progress.
Xolomon: making research accessible
If any of these challenges sound familiar, your team is likely ready for a CTMS. Adopting a tool like Xolomon’s CTMS can help you streamline operations, reduce admin burden, improve compliance, and ultimately deliver studies more efficiently.
Don’t wait for things to break. Get ahead with the right system in place.
