Contract to Supply

I have a small limited company and wish to complete a simple one page contract to supply a service to a client at a price for a period of time.

We do not have the resources to employ a contractual legal person to draw up the contract. Secondly, if we did this then the customer would also have to employ his legal team to scrutinise the contract. Then it would take months and singificant money to complete!

In short, what are the minimum requirements for a contract to supply document to be considered legal and binding for both supplier and customer?

Thanks

Do you really think it is a good idea to take advice on this from anonymous posters on the internet?

If it is as simple as you say then your solicitor's fee will reflect that. And neither will it take 'months'.

But you're the boss.

Have your client issue you with a purchase order listing the items and time-frames for supply and specifying payment terms, using one line for each month the service is to be supplied for.

Quote PO and line on your invoices.

Vanilla said:

Do you really think it is a good idea to take advice on this from anonymous posters on the internet?

If it is as simple as you say then your solicitor's fee will reflect that. And neither will it take 'months'.

But you're the boss.

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The contact in the company I am supplying to has advised that if I draw up a contract that 'looks' like it is legal then he will have to pass onto his legal department. He does not want this as he knows this will delay the completion of contracts and supply of the service.

In terms of posting to anon. subscribers I am interested in peoples views and experiences of similar situations.

I understand what you are saying but am I right in thinking that at the end of the day what you need is a legally enforceable contract?

Vanilla said:

I understand what you are saying but am I right in thinking that at the end of the day what you need is a legally enforceable contract?

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No; in the real World we could not afford to get into a legal battle with this large company. If it was the case that the company defaulted on the agreement we would refer them to the agreement and trust/hope that they would see sense and right the wrong.

However, if they decided to ignore the agreement and we were forced to take them to court then the cost of the court action would far outweigh the benefits of winning the case. Their legal resources far outweigh ours and just because we have right on our side does not necessarily mean they would roll over and admit they are wrong.

I have been down this road before where a semi-state company was in breach of an agreement and we employed legal people to try to enforce the agreement. Consequently, they employed their legal people. After a game of paper tennis between the two legal companies we ended up with a bill of €15000 only to be told that the legal people were making no progress and that we would have to fork out another €15000 to keep going.

There is always a cost benefit to taking legal action. There is little point in winning the battle and losing the war...

Your original post asked for help on making a legally binding contract. It seems that you don't actually care whether it is or not. In which case you're asking for advice in the right place and at the right price.

Noel,

I always find it very suspicious when one contracting party wants to avoid "bringing in the lawyers", particularly when they have an inhouse legal team available to them. Some very big companies have ethical guidelines that they commit themselves too when dealing with much smaller suppliers. You should expect more from this company.

If I were you I would set out in letter format the main terms of your agreement; i.e. what you're supplying, when you're to supply it, where it has to be delivered, who pays delivery costs, how much you're to be paid and when, and lastly an interest rate for late payments.

Ask them in the letter to sign a copy of it and return it to you as evidence of their agreement to the terms.

If this is too "legal" for them then frankly you are wasting your time with that company.

Besk of luck,

Kate.

Vanilla said:

Your original post asked for help on making a legally binding contract. It seems that you don't actually care whether it is or not. In which case you're asking for advice in the right place and at the right price.

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Vanilla ; you are obviously in the legal profession. Sorry for bothering you!

Kate has provided sound advice in her post.

Kate10 said:

Noel,

I always find it very suspicious when one contracting party wants to avoid "bringing in the lawyers", particularly when they have an inhouse legal team available to them. Some very big companies have ethical guidelines that they commit themselves too when dealing with much smaller suppliers. You should expect more from this company.

If I were you I would set out in letter format the main terms of your agreement; i.e. what you're supplying, when you're to supply it, where it has to be delivered, who pays delivery costs, how much you're to be paid and when, and lastly an interest rate for late payments.

Ask them in the letter to sign a copy of it and return it to you as evidence of their agreement to the terms.

If this is too "legal" for them then frankly you are wasting your time with that company.

Besk of luck,

Kate.

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Many thanks Kate; breath of fresh air. This will do nicely.