As a supplier of products or services, you are likely to work with a range of commercial customers during your business journey. You will need to ensure you enter into a legally binding agreement with your customers so you have terms to govern your contractual relationship. For several customers, you may agree to provide a standard service. Other customers may have more bespoke and nuanced requirements. This will inform the type of contract you agree with your customers. This article will explore the difference between bespoke contracts and standard terms and conditions with business customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a supplier, having a clear record of the commercial terms you have agreed to with your customers is vital. A contract is an important document to govern your legal relations with customers and gives you various legal rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In particular, you should reach an agreement formally recording key express terms, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A commercial agreement can help protect your business significantly if things go wrong. For example, it can help reduce or limit liability for breaching your contractual obligations. It can also help protect you from various risks, such as giving you certain rights if your customer fails to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will be exposed to significant risks without a commercial agreement with your customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standard terms and conditions<\/a> are generally a set of legal terms that form part of your customer contract. They will be commonly annexed to an Order Form, Purchase Order or Scope of Work document, which describes the products or services the customer orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standard terms and conditions allow you to streamline and standardise your contractual arrangements. This is because you can use one set of standard terms and conditions that you issue to all customers to sign. It is important to ensure your standard terms and conditions form part of your customer agreement and are properly incorporated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is common for suppliers to state that their standard terms and conditions are non-negotiable. Therefore, suppliers who deliver very similar products or services to a range of customers will often rely on standard terms and conditions. For example, standard terms and conditions would be suitable for a business that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standard terms and conditions are often a quick and easy way for suppliers to contract. These terms are often \u2018ready to go,\u2019 and a supplier can quickly issue them to customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some customers may, however, seek to propose changes to a supplier\u2019s standard terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\n\n