Do Your Terms of Business Protect How You Do Business?

Most businesses will either not have any terms of business or will have a set of terms put together at some point in the past which have never been looked at again. However, in these difficult times having a set of terms and conditions that have been tailored to your business and the market that you operate in may make all difference in getting paid or in dealing with a dispute with a customer or supplier.

Ideally your terms and conditions should set out:
• what your product or service is;
• the procedure for delivery of your product or service;
• the time and method of payment;
• the circumstances in which the contract can be terminated or brought to an end; the consequences or termination;
• the limits as to what you will be liable for;
• if court action does become necessary, that your case will be brought in the Northern Irish courts. This last matter can become important if you export even if it is to ROI or GB. If you do not specify that any dispute will be dealt with by the NI courts then you could be faced with the added expense of bringing or defending proceedings in the country where your customer is situated. You can also include a provision for Alternative Dispute Resolution in your terms and conditions such as mediation or arbitration. This can keep the costs of a dispute down as well as keeping the dispute more private.

Of course if your customer is a large multiple then it’s probably the multiple’s terms and conditions that will apply. But this does not mean that they should not be looked at. It is important that if you enter into a contract with a large customer, such as a multiple, that the terms are reviewed by a solicitor. The review may enable you to better negotiate certain terms with the customer and even if there is no room for negotiation, you should always go into a contract knowing exactly what the duties and obligations are for both you and the customer and what options may be open to you if the commercial relationship goes sour. You can also then make use of that information in your management of the job.

Terms and conditions can also be used as part of your effective credit control system.

Terms and conditions should also be periodically reviewed to ensure that they always reflect and protect the way you do business.

Angela Brady is Principal of Brady Solicitors. Brady Solicitors focus exclusively on advising and providing legal services to business clients. She offers a free one hour consultation and can be contacted at a.brady@bradylegalni.com or on 07834321482.