Tag: contract process

Is your contracting easy for clients?

I love it when ideas from another industry make sense for contracts. Gavin Scott of Loaf training was talking at the Professional Speaking Association about customer service. He said that 34% of client loyalty comes from being easy to deal with. Lightbulb! Contracts are one of the first elements of

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Review your contract: no need!

Frankly there are some clauses in contracts which are little more than plastering over the cracks in poor relationships or in the pre-contract process. When reviewing your contract you should beware any of my ‘favourites’ (I use that term loosely): cancellation ‘we can terminate your contract if you don’t have

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A hierarchy of contract processes starting at the bottom of a pyramid with reactive (few processes, chaotic approach, business comes first), moving through developing, efficient, measured (with visible repeatable and measurable processes which are well-controlled) and the top is proactive contracting with continuous improvement.
Sarah Fox

Contracting as a process

In a series of articles for journals and LinkedIn, I have outlined my view of contracting as a process, rather than treating contracts as stand-alone documents and their creation as drive-by events. A contract process maturity model This is a tool designed to refine this idea and future-proof your contracting

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Signatures are not required

Getting a contract wet signed (pen & ink) is becoming increasingly difficult when many clients are virtual, businesses do not have offices, and the cost of postage outweighs the benefits. In the construction industry, parties often start with the intention of getting a signed contract, but these good intentions are

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One-upmanship or trust?

Alan Sugar once said: I have always been an honest trader. I come from a school of traders where there was honour in the deal. No contracts, just a handshake and that’s it, done. That’s the way I prefer to do business… Can You Contract with a Handshake? looked at

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Are you in a hurry?

As David Chappell says: it is difficult to think of any other cause responsible for more difficulties and disputes in construction contracts than the employer being in a hurry Construction Contracts Q&A, 2011 There are 3 approaches to letters of intent: Follow the guidance from eg the RICS, CIOB and

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Contractual bullying: payment hurdles

Although you cannot avoid mandatory legislative requirements, such as the right to suspend or claim interest for late payments, some unscrupulous payers include unenforceable conditions, perhaps hoping the other does not know the law?! Another vexatious approach is to make compliance with a legal right almost impossibly tricky, creating hurdles

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Lessons from failure: contract before works

Which should come first: works or contract? Well you might expect me to say the contract but here’s why… The defective car park In 2001, two companies were trying to agree the terms for a long-term agreement on a variety of projects. One of those projects was in a hurry,

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Making up for poor contract process?

Getting a contract in place before you provide works, goods, or services is not something the UK construction industry is great at (roughly one-third of projects start without any contract). But I expect more of the companies that sell a simple off-the-shelf product. So when I bought my recent JCT

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