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Other Contract Templates 

All people have entered into a contract of some kind with verbal ones as children and in written contracts as adults. You enter into a contract with the DMV that you will abide by rules of the law with the penalty being the suspension or revocation of your license. Contracts do differ in terms, agreements, pricing, and even what party has the advantage. Some contracts give one party an immense amount of power which needs to be avoided when possible.

Written contracts are required in many situations as one party could lie about terms or the existence of a verbal contract. Witnesses of a verbal contract can help bring clarity to a situation but written contracts are more reliable. Written contracts will be great to clarify the terms of an agreement as this rarely can be done with a verbal contract as there are too many factors/aspects of the contract to remember.

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Best Practices for Contracts

There is a tendency to get excited to sign certain contracts without reading the fine print. A lease for a home or car can have harsh penalties you incur for a small damage to the leased property. Businesses in all industries have quite a few types of contracts that are used commonly in a variety of industries. Take time to read all of the contract to look for any strange wording or something that just seems off.

There could be terms that a person might not understand which requires them to ask a question or seek the help of a legal professional. Not all legal professionals will specialize in certain types of contracts as different branches of law have different procedures. Take the time to take the contract to a legal professional that specializes in contract law in a specific business niche. Having them review or write up legal paperwork will protect both parties entering into the agreement.

A breach of contract being addressed in court can ruin a person’s professional reputation. Do not allow negligence to impact your career by being viewed as a lack of business ethics. In the digital age, one social media comment could lead to a variety of reprimands from others depending on their follower account. Do not give anyone a reason to tarnish your or your business’ reputation that you have worked hard on!

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Local Laws Matter

Some partnerships have multiple locations of business across the country. The partnership agreement along with the division of the company will need to be put into terms that align with state laws where the business is headquartered. If all owners live in the same area the dissolution of this will be far easier due to lack of need to travel. Do not lose a legal battle due to a small technicality put into a contract to trick you or a business partner.

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Fixed Price Contracts

A fixed-price contract could be for a service or a product. Most people enter into a contract with a seller when they pay their monthly fee to receive a product or service. Failure to provide this will result in the contract being broken. Below are tips for what to include in a fix price contract:

• The service or product should be specified.
• The payment terms or receipt should be given at the time the payment is made. Transaction IDs on online payment giants can come in handy when it comes time to refer to which clients have paid. These types of payment companies also charge to provide seller and buyer protection which has its own terms of service that sellers/buyers both agree to.
• If to be paid later in full, the amount of upfront payment needs to be specified.
• If there is some kind of monthly renewal, detail whether automatic withdrawal is available. A customer might buy a fixed-price subscription box of wine that they rely on for gifts or dinner parties. The fixed price allows them to easily budget for this.

Plenty of web designers offer design along with other services at a fixed rate. This allows for easier budgeting for a buyer as the price will be fixed regardless of the website takes more time than anticipated. As long as the scope of the project doesn’t totally change then the fixed price will be upheld.

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Unilateral Contracts

These are unusual due to the fact that only one party is promising something of value. Rewards for lost items are a great example or even a reward for a lost pet. These contracts often are not written out as the cash exchange happens when the found item is traded. The proof will only require a flyer or ad that was posted with the promise of the reward if someone claims that you have stolen it.

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Bilateral Contracts

Both parties agreeing to exchange services or something of value for mutually beneficial reasons are common. These usually will require a few details that are listed below:

• Description of the relationship and what is being exchanged.
• Compensation terms and length of the contract need to be explicitly noted. Payment penalties should also be included to help avoid tension from late payment occurring regularly. Usually, companies settle up with each other once a month or once a quarter depending on the contract.
• Grounds for termination of the relationship due to ethical reasons or lack of payment.
• NDAs are commonly signed to protect information about both companies.
• Amendments to the contract need to be agreed upon by both parties. There is a chance that a new contract can be formed to do more business together. Upping an order for a specific service or product monthly is a prime example.
• There can be a clause where work cannot be subcontracted although this is uncommon in many industries.

Two-sided agreements whether it is between individuals selling items to each other or businesses working together need to be in writing. Take the time to look up a template that is specific to your situation.

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Unit Priced Contracts

In unit priced contracts a wholesaler will buy a unit to fill inventory as need at the unit’s price. For long-term business relationships, the unit price will be fixed in order to predict costs/revenue for both parties. Below are details that need to be included in unit priced contracts:

• Price per unit needs to be defined along with a minimum monthly or annual order number if this is included.
• The terms need to be explicit about returning damaged or dysfunctional units. Most sellers will cover this but this is not true in all cases. Reduce the likelihood of tension by including who is liable for the products upon delivery to customers.
• Bulk ordering is a popular unit priced contract reason as buying in bulk will help improve profit per sales on a fast-selling product.

You might be in a unit priced contract if you purchase a certain number of pounds of produce weekly to stock your stall at a farmer’s market. Many of these are verbal although when dealing with much more volume and overall value, a contract will provide security to the buyer and seller. Retail stores will have these types of deal with manufacturers along with eCommerce professionals that work with wholesalers.

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Contracts With Home Renovation Experts

The contract with a home builder or home renovation expert can be extremely complicated. The scope of the project could be an entire house rather than simply painting the outside of the home. The one aspect that homeowners do not realize is that there will be extra costs if hidden damage is found. Contractors cannot simply build around a rotting board/roof as they could be liable if someone is hurt.

The liability should be a very big concern as paying an unlicensed contractor can leave you liable if anyone is hurt due to poor construction or a person working is hurt on your property. Below are what should be listed on the contract between you and a contractor:

• Explicitly detail the project with pictures associated and set costs. This will protect you in case a contractor simply orders too much for the project to earn more profit just to use the material on another project. The materials that are
• The insurance company the contract has should be listed along with the policy number. License number and other certification should also be included. This allows a client to check to see if the information is real before the contract is signed.
• Payment terms should be included as some projects might require weekly payment to cover labor costs. Purchasing materials on your own can help save on a project as the contractor will only be able to charge for labor.

The last thing that anyone wants to do is to have a renovation paid for that is nothing of what they wanted. Doing the proper research along with an ironclad contract can protect you. Do not pay for everything at once before work is done or anything is paid for. This can be a recipe for disaster if a person is less than ethical or they ask to be paid in cash.

Contracts of all kinds will require a different template so do your research before writing anything up!