Business Contracts – Sale And Supply Of Goods Or Services Agreements
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Sale and supply of goods or services agreements
These may be backbone agreements that are regarded as crucial to the growth and success of the business. They may relate to the core product or service provision by the business without which the business cannot grow or exist. Alternatively, they can support with the smooth operation of a business down the supply chain.
The award-winning team at Wilson Browne will consider all the key legislation that is relevant to your contract relating to the business to business sale and supply of goods or services. As these key legislations impact the supply agreements, we recommend that you leave it to the experts in our team to ensure that you have a legally enforceable contract that adequately minimises your risks while also helping you to achieve your business objectives.
You may decide to trade based on standard terms and conditions, or you may instruct us to draft a bespoke contract which you decide to negotiate with a supplier or customer. We will always tailor our advice to your business needs.
Standard terms and conditions
Standard terms and conditions provide a cheap and efficient way of concluding contracts without consulting a legal advisor each time. They also provide a consistent way of applying uniform terms across all of a business’ supply chain. Small businesses seem to regularly trade on standard terms although they are also common in medium-sized and large businesses as well.
Issues arise when another party does not agree to the standard terms or prefer their own standard terms; a situation called the ‘battle of the forms’. In addition, a business may fail to take the required steps to ensure that they have effectively incorporated the standard terms into a contract, leading to exposure to disputes.
Another issue is that a party to a contract may be able to establish that there was a ‘course of dealing’; this is where they prove that the parties have been consistently trading on other contract terms separate to the counterparty’s standard terms for a period. Another key issue to consider is that exclusion and limitation of liability under standard terms and conditions is subject to the reasonableness test set out in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.
These and other issues not mentioned are all complex legal issues that we consider when dealing with your standard terms and conditions. We are here to support you to produce standard terms and conditions that will stand legal scrutiny along with additional advice on how to ensure there is effective incorporation.
We appreciate these are legal issues that you need support on; that is why we are here to provide the guidance you need to avoid the common risks that arise from using templates commonly found on the internet that are not tailored to your business or your commercial transactions.
Bespoke agreements
As standard terms and conditions will not be relevant or suited to every transaction or party, you may decide to produce a bespoke agreement that you are able to negotiate with another business for the procurement of goods or services.
Bespoke agreements cost more and they require more time to produce in comparison with standard terms and conditions, but they permit a business to accommodate specific arrangements with a particular supplier or customer.
They also make disputes less likely in the future as the parties will have had an opportunity to negotiate and agree to terms that best suit their respective commercial interests. As bespoke agreements are more accommodating, they are useful when a business undertakes to establish long-term supplier relationships which bring certainty in revenue.
We can also design unique bespoke agreements that meet your emerging business needs. Our team of innovative and experienced legal professionals will work with you to understand your business aims and then design an agreement from scratch to satisfy your requirements.
When it comes to getting expert legal advice on contracts, no matter what type they are, “dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s” is paramount – getting it right now could save a lot of time, money and inconvenience later. Talk to our expert team today on 0800 088 6004 for a free, confidential, no-obligation initial chat.