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So I started a small business offering a service that is provided through-out the month and is billed monthly. This service could be stopped at any point, but I want to make sure the following are clear between us and our client:

  • Price
  • Deliverables and when to expect them
  • What is included and what is not
  • Payment schedule

What type of contract should I use? Do I have to use a contract, or any document with a signature at the end will be good enough?

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1 Answer

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You definitely want a contract. Just about any document with a signature at the end constitutes a contract, but in addition to the things you mention in your question you should disclaim warranties and have a limitation of liability clause.

If you have a tight budget, you can do this on your own and don't need a lawyer. Find 3-4 contracts from companies that provide similar services and adapt them to your needs. You should avoid copying paragraphs exactly, but it is pretty easy to reword them so that they are different.

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Do I need an Service Level Agreement or a Statement of Work or something else? I just need that to know where to start looking. Thanks for the suggestion. – Geo May 25 '11 at 11:52
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@Geo - An SLA would include the limitation of liability clause and more, so yes, that should be a section of your contract. To write your own SLA do the same thing that Kekito suggested, look at a handful of industry ones and take what you like. As for the statement of work, I find them helpful for both parties, so I would recommend it. – Justin C May 25 '11 at 12:07
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@Geo: In my experience, an SLA is one section of a larger contract. An SLA creates certain obligations for yourself, so you might not want to provide one unless the customer asks for it or provide one that you know can meet with 100% certainty. – user6603 May 25 '11 at 12:22
@Geo: You don't need a statement of work. That is a particular style of contract where you are contracting with a big company and you will likely have multiple contracts with them. – user6603 May 25 '11 at 21:04

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