Today, businesses are now operating in much more complex and difficult times, with contractual relationships under increasing scrutiny following political and economic changes around the world.

Now, businesses want and need better communication, transparency throughout all transactions, and a much-improved contract.

And this is where our watertight services come in. 

Helping you achieve greater clarity and certainty in your contracts, we aim to improve working relationships and business efficiencies while avoiding costly litigation.

Watertight contracts

In its simplest form, a contract helps to ensure that both parties honour their pre-agreed commitments, with a clear understanding of what is required, due dates, and potential consequences if services are not met.

Watertight contracts are ultimately legally binding agreements that protect your interests. Binding between parties, enforceable by the courts.

Often businesses draft contracts and rarely return to these to review and develop, which shouldn’t be the case.

A commercial contract protects a business from risk. Hence, it must be up to – date, comprehensive, and robust.

Those businesses that can withstand the ongoing political and economic landscape are those that are well-prepared and protected while maintaining a degree of flexibility to allow businesses to respond to any eventuality.

Problems with loosely defined contracts

• Contracts can be open to interpretation
• They can be difficult to enforce if you run into problems.
• One party might believe there are different terms in place compared to the other party.
• The language surrounding rates and terms and conditions can be ambiguous and limiting
• Copy and pasted contracts aren’t tailored or suitable for specific business contracts.

A watertight service starts with….

Reviewing your current contracts. It’s important to review what contracts you have in place to understand better what needs improving and tightening up. We’d recommend checking those contracts that use standard terms, have a limited bespoke agreement, and those contracts that are not fit for purpose.

This is also the case if you’re trading cross-border. You would be well advised to regularly review your commercial contracts to ensure that they still protect and safeguard you from new and updated legislation changes.

Most businesses will use an industry-standard document; however, what is required is for this to be tailored and developed to meet the individual’s request and party needs.

Legally binding contracts are prepared using a set framework outlining how the parties work together daily, including communication and information sharing.

These framework agreements allow you to effectively outline your contractual relationship, which should contain the duration of the contract, termination policies, payment terms, expected service levels, liability clauses, exclusivity, and any other relevant provisions.

Of course, the terms of the agreement can vary depending on the transaction. However, the framework should always be there as a robust guide.

What a contract should include

Watertight contracts should be mutually agreeable and must include every aspect of production and supply, anticipating all risks and including the most appropriate safeguards to protect the business.

When writing a contract and terms and conditions, there are some key elements that you MUST include to support both sides; these include:

• Parties involved, i.e., who is doing what for whom.
• Agreed provisions
• Offer and acceptance, i.e., one party has agreed to provide/offer something, and the other party accepts this.
• Rights and responsibilities
• Change control mechanisms
• Clauses that outline and detail any amendments
• Could you include `no show` fees?
• Consider intellectual property, and if you need to include this, identify who owns the name, trademark, domains, etc.
• Outline and clearly state the rates agreed and details surrounding the exchange of money.
• A degree of flexibility.

Transparency throughout the contract is key. Make sure to use plain English and avoid using industry jargon. You want to guide positive behaviour, not mislead people into something they don’t feel comfortable with.

A watertight agreement should be clear and comprehensive, covering all legal and commercial terms. In addition, the contract should be fair and balanced for both parties, and this is where communication is key.

Communicating and documenting all agreements and being wholly transparent is what creates not only a good contract but also develops a positive working relationship.

At Bhayani Law, we save you time and money when you use our experience in watertight services to assist in drafting watertight contracts and agreements, all to help you avoid costly disputes.

We believe that your contracts should fit with your overall business strategy; that’s why we work closely with you to help identify and prepare for future risks and opportunities.

Creating watertight agreements ensures there is no scope for dispute, a contract that no one can misunderstand.

We recognise that you are working and dealing with people, not robots; that’s why we’re here to protect both parties’ bottom line; call us today on 0333 888 1360 or email your requirements to [email protected], and we’d be happy to help.