The Case for a Dedicated Renewals Function – No Matter Where It Lives
David Pinto | Principal Consultant | RenewalsHub
April 2025
This Isn’t About Org Charts
Let’s be clear right from the start: this discussion is NOT arguing for or against a standalone Renewals organization.
Whether renewals ownership should sit in Sales, Customer Success, Revenue Operations or within a Renewals-specific organization is a decision that depends entirely on your business model, customer segments, product complexity and existing organizations structures. There is no one-size-fits-all answer and anyone who says otherwise probably hasn’t worked across enough companies!
What IS universal, though, is this:
Renewals needs to exist as a distinct business function.
Not just a collection of scattered tasks. Not just a “shared responsibility.”
A real, intentional motion with defined roles, processes, ownership and metrics.
And that’s what this discussion is here to support.
When Renewals Is “Everyone’s Job,” It Gets No Attention
In many companies, renewals is spread across multiple organizations:
Sales owns larger renewals (sometimes)
Customer Success and/or a Renewals team handles smaller ones (usually)
Operations creates quotes
Channel teams follow up with partners
And no one owns the overall result
The outcome?
Multiple data silos, gaps in customer coverage, fragmented and compartmentalized execution, little-to-no customer hand-off processes, poor visibility into the status of the renewal, inconsistent customer experiences and forecasting that’s more wishful thinking than data-driven reality.
When ownership is fragmented, accountability disappears.
And when renewals becomes “everyone’s job,” it often ends up being no one’s priority.
What a Renewals Function Really Means
Having a renewals function doesn’t necessarily mean standing up a new department.
It means treating renewals with the same rigor and clarity you apply to net-new sales, onboarding or support.
A true renewals function includes:
A defined charter: What is the team responsible for? Renewing? Retaining? Expanding? All? A combination of?
Clear roles and responsibilities: Even if renewals are handled by multiple teams, the “who does what, when, where and how” must be clearly defined, understood and aligned across organizations.
Documented processes and playbooks: So that execution is consistent across segments, geographies, teams and individuals.
Metrics that matter: Such as forecast accuracy, on-time renewal rate, expansion uplift, retention rate by segment.
Functional leadership: Someone who owns the motion, even if they sit within a larger organization.
This kind of structure enables renewals to be optimized, automated and scaled.
Why a Dedicated Renewals Function Matters Now More Than Ever
Renewals have always mattered, but in today’s subscription economy, they’re mission-critical and foundational to recurring revenue success.
As customer acquisition costs rise, customer retention drives accelerated revenue and profit growths.
As product portfolios expand, so does the complexity of the renewal motion, driven by customer segmentation, product support requirements, multiple pricing options, contract variability and entitlement dependencies.
As digital engagement increases, automation, messaging and timing become essential to delivering a seamless, repeatable renewal motion.
A dedicated function enables:
Focus: Renewals aren’t treated as an afterthought or a secondary task, but as a significant contributor to customer lifecycle value and profitable growth.
Consistency: Customers receive an appropriate, repeatable and scalable experience.
Clarity: You can measure renewals performance against a set of clearly-defined metrics, spot churn risks and expansion opportunities early and make long-term impacting improvements faster.
Signs You Haven’t Built the Function Yet
It’s easy to assume “we’ve got renewals covered” - until you realize the function itself hasn’t been intentionally designed.
Here are a few warning signs that the renewals function isn’t really in place, or that there is room for improvement:
You have people working on renewals, but no one owns the outcome.
Forecasts rely on spreadsheets, gut feel or individuals’ intuition.
Customer handoffs between teams are ad-hoc and/or undocumented.
Renewals performance varies wildly by region, customer segment and/or individual.
Internal debates about “who should own renewals” never get resolved.
If these sound familiar, it’s not a people problem. It’s a function design problem.
What Good Looks Like
A mature renewals function is built on clarity, not complexity.
It doesn’t necessarily require a large team, but it does require thoughtful design:
Segment-specific strategy: High-touch, mid-touch and digital-led approaches that match customer value.
Playbooks and timing: Defined cadences and messaging by renewal type.
Aligned roles: Sales, Customer Success, Renewals, Channel and Ops know where they fit and where they don’t.
System integration: CRM, quoting, contract and workflow tools work together, not in silos.
Governance: One leader or team is accountable for renewals performance and pipeline visibility.
The structure should be formalized but flexible enough to accommodate the nuances of key variables such as geography, customer segment, product, contract type and local governance. The renewals function, however, should not. It should be a well-documented environment where all players are clear on their roles, responsibilities and expectations and all operating from the same playbook.
First Function, Then Structure
In our consulting work, we’ve seen companies waste months debating where renewals should sit, when the real problem was that no one had ever defined what the function needed to be.
Organization structure should be the outcome of strategy, not the starting point.
Ask this first:
What outcomes are we trying to drive?
What are the core responsibilities?
What skills and tools are required?
What handoffs or coordination points are needed?
Then, and only then, decide how to staff it and structure it, with a clear direction for future evolution and scale.
Final Thought - The Function Comes First
The takeaway isn’t that you need or don’t need a standalone renewals organization.
It’s that you need a renewals motion that’s built with intention.
One that’s accountable, measurable and repeatable.
Some companies will benefit from a standalone Renewals organization. Others will embed the function within Sales and/or Customer Success teams. Or a combination of all. There is no right or wrong approach - as long as the renewals motion is designed, not improvised, or evolves unmanaged over time.
Because when renewals is treated like a strategic revenue function, not just a back-office process, it delivers measurable impact across retention, revenue and customer experience.
Not sure if your company has built a true renewals function or just divided the tasks?
Take our free 2-minute RenewalsHub Renewals Maturity Self-Assessment to identify gaps and start building your renewals motion with intent.