Business & Commercial Due Diligence Solicitors

Contractual Agreements with suppliers and customers

Suppliers

Many businesses flourish by having agreements with other companies to supply goods and services. For example, the business may have a website which is hosted by an IT Company, or perhaps computers and software which are serviced by specialist computer companies. Newsagents will be dependent upon wholesalers to provide newspapers and magazines. Care homes will have agreements with their Local Authority regarding the payment of fees for some of the residents.

We therefore make enquiries regarding all agreements and inspect them so that we can advise you on all the consequences. For example:-

• What’s being provided to the business?
• How much does it cost?
• When are payments due?
• When does the agreement end?
• Can you end the agreement early and switch to other suppliers?

Customers

Depending upon the nature of the business (e.g. companies providing a service), written agreements with customers may be the lifeblood of the business. Without those customers, the business would fail. For example, if you have an office cleaning company, you need a regular commitment from offices in the form of an annual contract. Similarly, a care home has written agreements with its residents, not only to show the amount payable for the services provided (i.e. the monthly care home fee), but also setting out the obligations of each party.

Not only do we examine all these agreements, but we also ask questions on what the agreements say and whether either of the parties have not kept to the agreement. For example, we would find out if payment has not been made in full (or at all) for the services provided and what steps have been taken to collect the arrears.  We would also advise you how to deal with payments that come in at different times – and how to split them up into the period before completion of the sale and the period after completion of the sale.

Call Business Lawyers Direct today on 0845 371 0701 or contact us via our online enquiry form and one of our senior solicitors will be pleased to discuss your requirements.