Terms and conditions for business

[Lorrymac]

I'm just about to roll out my own business which has been in development for the last few months. I have the company registered, bank accounts, letterheads and business cards, a business plan, an accountant. however regarding terms and conditions i'm not sure what to do. do i need to see a soliticor? all the T&C's will be will be: what I will do, what they will do, when i want paying, and the get out period for both parties (in brief). is this something i can put together myself or does it need to be put together by a legal body to be able to be used in court in case i needed to chase someone for money? should i also have a contract for some sort for both parties to sign before entering into business?

any help/advice would be greatefully received.

Lorraine

[buildersmate]

From what you say above, it seems likely you are selling B2B products/services, not selling to the general public.
In my line of business the organisations I am dealing with are much bigger than me and they have their own T&Cs, which broadly I have to accept or lump it. I read them very carefully before signing the acceptance of their purchase order. If you need to initiate your own, your could spend money on a solicitor or get hold of a purchase order from a similar business, turn it over and read what the typical clauses are and adapt them. It depends how much you know about contract law, I guess.

[Twenty20]

As buildersmate says, you can 'adapt' someone else's T&Cs. Try and keep them as simple as possible. Make the payment terms clear. Even if you are dealing with bigger organisations it's quite common for them to adapt to your payment terms. I would always put our payment terms in the quote and also have them on the website.

Depending on what sort of business youre in, and the value of your invoices, you can take payment by credit or debit card or ask for a part payment up front if your worried about not getting paid. Again, this can be in your T&C.

We only tend to have contracts to sign where the project is very large and then payment terms, stage payments can be set out.

Don't be afraid to tell them what your T&C are. You'll come across as more professional if you state 'these are my terms' rather than accepting anything they suggest. You can always adapt to clinch the deal anyway.