Category: STAR

Why contracting makes customers leave

How many customers does your organisation lose before you even know it? You have no idea about the business you never heard from because they walked away [David Avrin] When does the customer experience start? It is often well before your first contact with them. The internet has profoundly changed

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Relational contracts for better relationships

At the 2023 World Commerce and Contracting Summit, Elizabeth de Stadler from Novcon said: we should not lose sight of what we are actually here to do: which after all is to… help clients to form relationships and to define the rules of those relationships in a way that is

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Limiting letters of intent

Financial limits in letters of intent are used to protect the client – because they rarely include a fixed price and are relying on ‘reasonable costs’ – and as an incentive for the contractor to sign the full contract.   These limits on the client’s liability to pay for works are

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Using contracts to share risk

The risks on a project, as well as the rewards, need to be shared equitably. Contracts have a significant role to play in what is sometimes referred to as managing with risk ie going ahead with a project while accepting that there will always be a degree of uncertainty… and

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Love and celebrate deals

How many times does the legal process suck the life out of your deal? Legals are meant to support and work with sales, marketing and procurement. Too often, we hear that legals are more of a barrier to doing business – they sabotage sales. Back in 2011 the Office for

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Using and sharing info

Often in contracts, clauses relating to using and sharing information are split into ‘legal chapter headings’ ie topics that make sense to the contract writer but don’t necessarily reflect the needs of the contract user. When I create contracts I prefer a user-focused heading like ‘using and sharing documents and

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Will they pay on time?

Late payment is a perennial issue, and the UK construction sector is no exception. When the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 introduced mandatory reporting on Payment Practices and Performance in 2017, not a single BuildUK main contractor member paid invoices within 30 days. A payment period of 30

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How not to create your subcontract

During my decades reviewing construction contracts, often the worst ones are subcontracts. These are the three ways in which they are abused. Dumping on your subcontractor Main contractors (through their contract terms) are guilty of some of these sins: making their subcontractors sign up to all sorts of nasties that

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Essential 10: Limits

There are two key ways to limit the supplier’s liability for claims arising from a project. First, the contract should clearly define the extent of your supplier’s obligations, so both parties really understand what your supplier is responsible for. Secondly, your contract can include limits – in time or money

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Essential 9: Procedures

Contracts are not just about what scope your supplier is providing – they also explain how you are going to work with your supplier. For example, a subcontract should set out the processes for getting the subcontract works to dovetail smoothly into the wider project. Procedures deal with everything from

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