Drawing up Legal Contract

[phiber]

Hi, not sure if this is in the right section. Just started a company, and we would like to hire someone to do a fixed piece of work (as per specification). We would be paying a fixed price for this work, and it would need to be delivered within a certain period.

Anyone know where I can get a contract of this sort, or if there is legal firm I can be referred to that can assist?

We are a small startup, really don't want to be paying a R1000 per contract, but also don't want to put something together that has no legal binding.

Please help!

PS: I've seen the netlawman thread, it is something I will look into as well.

 

[Paul Hjul]

with a few exceptions (a fairly big one of course being credit agreements) there aren't formality requirements for a "contract" having a clear understanding between the parties is what matters.

The Netlaw guys seem to be gearing in a presence on this forum and should be looked at and there is always old and trusty Hortors prepacks that people seem to use quite often (the forms can/could be bought at CNA). The reality though is that if you are a business you really should have legal skills on hand and have an attorneys firm in the equation in a general sense.

 

[rrh]

Whilst I appreciate the fact that you are trying to limit your financial exposure by going fixed-price for fixed-work, do not forget to make allowance for variances.

I've known developers to program to specification knowing full well that - as a result of flaws in the specification - the delivered solution will also contain major flaws.

 

[saturnz]

What is the value of the contract? If it is sizeable (more than R20 000) and will impact the sustainability of your operation I would spend the money on a decent contract- especially where outputs may be a contention as suggested by the two previous posters.

Also remember legal expenses are tax deductible.

 

[phiber]

Thanks for responses.

We are busy looking around for a firm, but this is a small contract to start with. Also with it being the holiday period, can't really get anyone on the phone to speak to, or the numbers coming back are a little scary to start with.

rrh, you make a good point, we have discussed variances, and the developer is comfortable to allow for a set number of changes to the spec. We will definitely work these into the contract though.

saturnz, it is a smallish contract but its a critical component of our operation. Didn't realize they were tax deductible, so that's something we will consider too.

We've got a little time before we have to finalize, so we definitely chat to an attorney and see if we can get a reasonable price. If not, we will go the netlawman/hortors way.