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\n Download this free Supplier Contracts Checklist to ensure your contracts will meet your business\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n\nDownload Now<\/a> <\/section>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n For instance, if a customer presents you with an unsuitable contract, you could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A flexible and reasonable approach will help your business resolve the problem more effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a good idea to seek legal advice if you are struggling with an unsuitable contract. Professional legal advice can be invaluable when a contract is unfit for purpose. As such, it is sensible to involve a lawyer qualified in contract law to help address the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lawyer can help in many ways, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lawyers are skilled at contract drafting and negotiation on behalf of clients. As such, working with an experienced lawyer can help you address these problems more quickly and confidently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\n\n
Seek Legal Advice <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Some contracts, such as software development agreements, are particularly bespoke and require careful thought and niche drafting to ensure they are correct and reflect what commercial parties have agreed to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, there may be instances where a third party provides you with a contract. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a crucial example of where a contract is not fit for purpose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- you are a supplier of services with your standard terms and conditions. A customer demands and insists that you use their standard vendor’s terms and conditions instead, or they will refuse to do business with you. However, the customer’s terms are not at all suitable. For instance, they miss crucial niche clauses around your service delivery, intellectual property rights, and how you will process personal data during the contract. Using the customer’s terms will, therefore, put your business at risk. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Using a contract that is unsuitable is risky in various ways. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- the contract may not correctly address each party’s obligations, meaning there is more scope for misunderstandings and disputes;<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the contract can omit critical protections that protect your business from risk, such as bespoke limitation of liability provisions. This could expose your business to heavy financial liability; <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- the contract could generally create confusion and result in your business breaching it, for instance, by including obligations irrelevant to your project; as a customer, entering a contract unfit for purpose could mean you are liable to pay the costs of products or services you have not requested; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- as a supplier, using unsuitable and problematic contracts can result in significant questions and negotiation time and negatively impact your reputation. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
As such, it is always important to properly assess the suitability of commercial contracts before entering into them, both as a supplier and a customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What To Do If a Contract is Unsuitable?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you believe a contract is not of satisfactory quality, you should understand it creates risk for your business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, there are some key steps you can take to address the problem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consider Which Changes Are Needed <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Initially, you will need to take reasonable care to review the terms of the relevant contract and identify necessary changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n