The beauty of business is that – subject to a couple of important exceptions – you get to choose (or at least negotiate) the terms on which you do business.
It is amazing how many businesses do not take advantage of this simple fact.
Act now to improve your service delivery, get paid sooner, and limit your liability... only upside.
Standard Terms & Conditions should set the "framework" in which you deal with your customers.
Our #1 Reason you need Standard Terms & Conditions is because it is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.
You can:
- Define what it is you are (and are not) going to do for your customer. By clearly setting out the scope of your obligations you will improve your relationship with your customers, and minimise the chance of a dispute.
- You avoid having to do things you have not budgeted for, and avoid being sued for things that you did not even know you were asked to do.
- You get to find out if your client is credit-worthy, and avoid breaching the Privacy Laws.
- You ensure you can get paid by having recourse to the owners of the business, rather than dealing with a company "shell".
- You limit your liability in so many ways it is hard to fit them all in: You exclude warranties that may be otherwise implied by law. You limit your liability to an amount you can afford to pay, or to a limit for which you are insured. This avoids "betting the farm" each time you sell goods or provide services.
- You disclaim responsibility for things you cannot reasonably afford to control.
- You set out when you will invoice, and when you expect to get paid. You also get rights to enforce payment, charge interest if you are paid late, and claim recovery costs.
- If you are selling goods, you may take a security interest in the goods you supply until you get paid, and get your goods back if your customer goes broke.
- If you are selling services, you may get a lien over the product of your efforts - a form of "security" for getting paid.
There is no excuse for not having comprehensive and defensive Standard Trading Terms in place will ALL your customers.
You should also carefully review the trading terms that your suppliers try and force on you.
Get a comprehensive set of Trading Terms & Conditions in place today. Contact Catriona Hartigan on 1300 654 590 or by email at catriona@adlaw.com.au.
