Business Contracts

It’s important to ensure that you are dealing with parties on terms that are in your best interests. Good business contracts will help avoid problems and uncertainty later.

Depending on the transaction or the nature of your business, there might be opportunities to set your own terms.  In that case, we frequently draft template agreements and contracts that can be used to create business relationships based on terms and conditions which are fair, effective and practical.

In other cases, the business or person with which you are dealing might give you their own terms.  In this event, we encourage our customers to obtain advice to ensure those terms are not unfair or detrimental to them and their business.

In either event, proper care should be taken to ensure you are entering into that business relationship in a way that does not create unnecessary or unreasonable risk to you and your business.

Some of the most common business contracts we assist our customers with include:

Supplier Agreements

These can be from the perspective of either:

• Suppliers of goods or services
• Customers who are acquiring goods or services from a supplier.
• Good Supplier Agreements often contain clauses about:
• Payment
• Pricing and period pricing reviews
• Delivery and timeframes
• Ordering procedures
• Insurance requirements
• Warranties for defective goods or services (including terms required under the Australian Consumer Law)
• Security for payment, e.g. directors guarantees and any secured interests on the Personal Property Securities Register
• Ownership and use of intellectual property e.g. promotional activity using logos and brand names
• Dispute resolution procedures.‍

Trading Terms and Conditions

It is essential for any business to consider having effective and practical trading terms and conditions between the business and its customers/clients. This can help to ensure the business relationship runs smoothly and that the interests of the business are protected should a problem arise.We frequently draft trading terms for businesses from all types of industries.

•  While different industries do have specific needs, we find that most trading terms and conditions should include terms such as:
• Payment terms
• Supply terms – e.g. delivery of goods; provision of services
• Requirements that the customer/client must comply with
• Warranties for defective goods or services (including terms required under the Australian Consumer Law)
• Security for payment, e.g. directors guarantees and any secured interests on the Personal Property Securities Register.
• Dispute resolution procedures.

Contacts

Mitchell Zadow, Managing Principal, Accredited Specialist, Commercial Law

Every business is different and so every business needs different business contracts. For expert advice on how to protect your business interests, please get in touch.

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