When does an agreement become a legally binding contract?
A considerable amount of negotiation takes place via email and telephone and it is very important to understand when a discussions becomes legally binding agreement. A contract can be created verbally on the phone or by email, just as well as in writing, but to be legally binding, it must contain four essential elements:
1) An unconditional offer must be made by one party to the other.
2) An unconditional acceptance of the offer by the other party.
3) Some form of consideration given by each party (monetary or otherwise).
4) There must be an intention by both parties to create a legally binding relationship.
It is also advised that sufficient information on important contractual terms such as price, payment, acceptance criteria and delivery time are also included.
To avoid any misunderstandings, you should mark all written communications, emails as well as letters, during negotiations as being "subject to contract" to avoid the risk of accidentally entering into a binding contract.
Where terms of a contract are agreed on the telephone, such terms should be confirmed in writing and sent to the other party in order to avoid disputes arising in the future as to what has been agreed between the parties.
Five steps to make contracts work better for you
We cannot always have the perfect partner and if there are doubts as to whether the contracting party will meet your expectations, it is very important to include provisions that help to secure a satisfactory outcome:
1) Set clear expectations. Specify what each party is expected to do and add performance obligations, like “provide services in accordance with best industry practice" etc.
2) Use change control. This provision enables either party to request a change, and for it to be considered in an agreed forum and under an agreed procedure.
3) Benchmark. This is used to measure the performance of a contractor against the market standard and is fairly common in longer-term contracts such as an outsourcing.
4) Set liquidated damages. It is a fixed payment that is payable to compensate for loss or damage suffered if the supplier fails to perform to the contracted standards.
5) Add "right to termination". The law does not give automatic right to terminate for material breach so to have this right, a clause must be provided in the contract.
How to get the best value out of your customers
For every business some customers are more valuable than others. This can be for a range of reasons, from the size of their purchases to the relative ease of managing their account. This guide outlines how to identify the customers who are most valuable to you and provides tips on selling more to them and attracting new hih-value customers....read more....
VAT registration delays - new firms "fighting for survival"
Start-up businesses are struggling to set up and expand because of delays of between three and five months waiting for VAT numbers, according to UHY Hacker Young, the national accountancy group. HM Revenue & Customs is supposed to complete most VAT registrations within two weeks.
According to accountancy group, the delays are due to administrative backlogs as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) carries out anti-fraud checks as part of its clampdown on carousel fraud and inefficiencies in processing applications.
Businesses waiting for VAT numbers can face restrictions on their capacity to trade. For example, small businesses without VAT numbers may not be able to get invoices paid, and property deals can collapse because the law requires that the buyer is VAT registered for some types of property transactions.
Story link:
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/taxlegal/9_17/vat-registration-delays-2.shtml
------------------------------------------------------
e-retail market developments in the UK
The latest review by IMRG, the UK's leading industry body for e-retailing, revealed some interesting facts and changes in the UK online industry, including the followings:
- 16.5 million UK homes now have a broadband connection, accounting for 63% of all UK households
- Searches for online discount vouchers have grown 48% in the past year
- Just 3.8% of UK consumers shop online for groceries on a weekly basis
- One in eight Brits have fallen victim to identity fraud last year
- The dominant UK online shops are Amazon.co.uk (1), Argos (2), Play (3) with Next (4), up five places, with the fastest growth in online sales in recent months. They are followed by Amazon.com (5), Marks and Spencer (6) and Tesco (7).
Story link:
http://www.imrg.org/8025741F0065E9B8/(httpPages)/90A4596C7EF05D938025741F00691DAA?OpenDocument
-------------------------------------------------------------------
£10,000 for your idea on how to protect crowded urban environment
The 2nd annual Crowded Places Challenge aims to bring fresh thinking to the problem of protecting the general public from the threat of terrorism in crowded urban environments.
To improve our ability to understand and model crowd behaviour, the Global Security Challenge, together with BAE Systems and the UK's INSTINCT Programme launched this competition to uncover the creative capabilities of innovators that may help in countering terrorism. The judging for this award will focus mainly on the disruptive potential of the technology, focusing less on its maturity.
The winners will receive the following prizes and awards:
£10,000 GBP cash award for 1st Place
Mentorship by an industry leader (tbc)
Up to 5 of the most promising submissions may be invited to test their technology in the INSTINCT Technology Demonstrator in November 2009
Apply today: http://www.globalsecuritychallenge.com/gsc_competitions.php#crowded
A considerable amount of negotiation takes place via email and telephone and it is very important to understand when a discussions becomes legally binding agreement. A contract can be created verbally on the phone or by email, just as well as in writing, but to be legally binding, it must contain four essential elements:
1) An unconditional offer must be made by one party to the other.
2) An unconditional acceptance of the offer by the other party.
3) Some form of consideration given by each party (monetary or otherwise).
4) There must be an intention by both parties to create a legally binding relationship.
It is also advised that sufficient information on important contractual terms such as price, payment, acceptance criteria and delivery time are also included.
To avoid any misunderstandings, you should mark all written communications, emails as well as letters, during negotiations as being "subject to contract" to avoid the risk of accidentally entering into a binding contract.
Where terms of a contract are agreed on the telephone, such terms should be confirmed in writing and sent to the other party in order to avoid disputes arising in the future as to what has been agreed between the parties.
Five steps to make contracts work better for you
We cannot always have the perfect partner and if there are doubts as to whether the contracting party will meet your expectations, it is very important to include provisions that help to secure a satisfactory outcome:
1) Set clear expectations. Specify what each party is expected to do and add performance obligations, like “provide services in accordance with best industry practice" etc.
2) Use change control. This provision enables either party to request a change, and for it to be considered in an agreed forum and under an agreed procedure.
3) Benchmark. This is used to measure the performance of a contractor against the market standard and is fairly common in longer-term contracts such as an outsourcing.
4) Set liquidated damages. It is a fixed payment that is payable to compensate for loss or damage suffered if the supplier fails to perform to the contracted standards.
5) Add "right to termination". The law does not give automatic right to terminate for material breach so to have this right, a clause must be provided in the contract.
How to get the best value out of your customers
For every business some customers are more valuable than others. This can be for a range of reasons, from the size of their purchases to the relative ease of managing their account. This guide outlines how to identify the customers who are most valuable to you and provides tips on selling more to them and attracting new hih-value customers....read more....
VAT registration delays - new firms "fighting for survival"
Start-up businesses are struggling to set up and expand because of delays of between three and five months waiting for VAT numbers, according to UHY Hacker Young, the national accountancy group. HM Revenue & Customs is supposed to complete most VAT registrations within two weeks.
According to accountancy group, the delays are due to administrative backlogs as HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) carries out anti-fraud checks as part of its clampdown on carousel fraud and inefficiencies in processing applications.
Businesses waiting for VAT numbers can face restrictions on their capacity to trade. For example, small businesses without VAT numbers may not be able to get invoices paid, and property deals can collapse because the law requires that the buyer is VAT registered for some types of property transactions.
Story link:
http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/taxlegal/9_17/vat-registration-delays-2.shtml
------------------------------------------------------
e-retail market developments in the UK
The latest review by IMRG, the UK's leading industry body for e-retailing, revealed some interesting facts and changes in the UK online industry, including the followings:
- 16.5 million UK homes now have a broadband connection, accounting for 63% of all UK households
- Searches for online discount vouchers have grown 48% in the past year
- Just 3.8% of UK consumers shop online for groceries on a weekly basis
- One in eight Brits have fallen victim to identity fraud last year
- The dominant UK online shops are Amazon.co.uk (1), Argos (2), Play (3) with Next (4), up five places, with the fastest growth in online sales in recent months. They are followed by Amazon.com (5), Marks and Spencer (6) and Tesco (7).
Story link:
http://www.imrg.org/8025741F0065E9B8/(httpPages)/90A4596C7EF05D938025741F00691DAA?OpenDocument
-------------------------------------------------------------------
£10,000 for your idea on how to protect crowded urban environment
The 2nd annual Crowded Places Challenge aims to bring fresh thinking to the problem of protecting the general public from the threat of terrorism in crowded urban environments.
To improve our ability to understand and model crowd behaviour, the Global Security Challenge, together with BAE Systems and the UK's INSTINCT Programme launched this competition to uncover the creative capabilities of innovators that may help in countering terrorism. The judging for this award will focus mainly on the disruptive potential of the technology, focusing less on its maturity.
The winners will receive the following prizes and awards:
£10,000 GBP cash award for 1st Place
Mentorship by an industry leader (tbc)
Up to 5 of the most promising submissions may be invited to test their technology in the INSTINCT Technology Demonstrator in November 2009
Apply today: http://www.globalsecuritychallenge.com/gsc_competitions.php#crowded
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Entelliz Weekly Newsletter - Issue 37, 2009
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YOUR RANT...
Yesterday I went to a seminar on "The future of web services" by Simone Brunozzi, Amazon's web services evangelist. I often attend similar events, as with the rapid and often unpredictable developments in internet technology, such "techi" presentations are always exciting, thought-provoking events.
Then came yesterday, when I sat through 80 minutes of a straightforward sales presentation on Amazon's existing cloud-services, instead of an exciting and thought-provoking “techi” outlook into the future... All I got out of the seminar is a good definition for cloud-computing with a list of benefits for large enterprises; see my notes below.... And no mistakes; the individual user is not their focus!
I am curious to hear your views on Amazon's plans and on cloud computing in general. Click here to read on or comment. Alternatively, email me your rant.