Should My Business Have a Services Agreement?
If your business provides services, then the answer is YES!
A Services Agreement is an essential document for every service-based business! If you’re just starting out, you should put a Services Agreement at the top of your ‘legal document priority list’ (which is definitely a list everyone has). For existing business owners, whether you’ve been going ok without one or rolling out some stock-standard agreement you found from a Google search, you should put it back on your legal document priority list, as it only becomes more important as your business grows.
A tailored, well-drafted Services Agreement both protects your business (for example, in the event that a customer or client makes a claim for defective services) and clearly deals with important business policies such as cancellations, payment timing and methods, insurance etc.
A Services Agreement should also be customised for your specific business and the services you provide, because one size does not fit all when it comes to these kinds of agreements. From matters such as specific legislation that might apply to the industry (eg. NDIS, medical services, specific privacy law requirements), how much notice must be given for a cancellation, to the basic style and tone of the document, different businesses will have different requirements, so it is important that your Services Agreement reflects what your business needs. This is where you can get unstuck if you ‘take inspiration from’ (eg. copy) another business’ Services Agreement (you might be copying something that isn’t actually very good) or buy a generic online document! For example, if you provide support services for NDIS participants, then grabbing a Services Agreement from the website of your local gym is probably not going to be suitable for your business.
Whether you’re starting a new business or have been operating for a while and either don’t have a Services Agreement or you would like a second opinion on your current Services Agreement, the expert Business Law Team at Enterprise Legal can help. At Enterprise Legal, we take the time to learn about your business before preparing your Services Agreement.
Contact the Business Law Team today or book in for your Free Business Health Check: