Software Development Contract
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Whose job is it to pay the lawyers to write the software development contract, the client or the contractor? I'm talking about a contract worth maybe five to six thousand dollars.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Whose job is it to pay the lawyers to write the software development contract, the client or the contractor? I'm talking about a contract worth maybe five to six thousand dollars.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
I would have thought it would be the client. What sort of cost for the contract to be written, could be more than the value of the work. The 5-6k is for your work not their and your protection. I used to have a proforma contract which seemed to satisfy most needs, in the 90s :-O
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
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I would have thought it would be the client. What sort of cost for the contract to be written, could be more than the value of the work. The 5-6k is for your work not their and your protection. I used to have a proforma contract which seemed to satisfy most needs, in the 90s :-O
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH
Thanks, Mycroft. :)
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
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Whose job is it to pay the lawyers to write the software development contract, the client or the contractor? I'm talking about a contract worth maybe five to six thousand dollars.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
It's always the client's (contracting party) responsibility to provide any agreement required. I'd still review all the terms closely to make sure everything is acceptable to both parties. The terms can be negotiable if one of the parties strongly disagrees with something. FYI... for that small of a contract, you can probably just look for something online that has broad terms that fit the need and attach some requirements to that, that way everybody knows what to expect when the contract ends.
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Whose job is it to pay the lawyers to write the software development contract, the client or the contractor? I'm talking about a contract worth maybe five to six thousand dollars.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Don't pay lawyers to do it! There are plenty of pro-forma contracts available on contracting sites (e.g. ContractorUk.com). If you are offering a service then you offer YOUR terms and conditions - that is all a contract is. If the client is not willing to accept your T&C's then it is their responsibility to offer an alternative - which you are within your rights to reject, accept or offer suggestions for amendments. Software Development contracts are no different to any other service provided by any other supplier... negotiation may be more prevalent is all.
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Don't pay lawyers to do it! There are plenty of pro-forma contracts available on contracting sites (e.g. ContractorUk.com). If you are offering a service then you offer YOUR terms and conditions - that is all a contract is. If the client is not willing to accept your T&C's then it is their responsibility to offer an alternative - which you are within your rights to reject, accept or offer suggestions for amendments. Software Development contracts are no different to any other service provided by any other supplier... negotiation may be more prevalent is all.
Its good to keep a standard template for easy customization
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Whose job is it to pay the lawyers to write the software development contract, the client or the contractor? I'm talking about a contract worth maybe five to six thousand dollars.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Who do you want to be in control - the client, or yourself? It also depends on where you are - in the UK you need to be fully conversant with IR35 (personal services company taxation) and it's virtually certain that a client-provided contract will be inadequate. If you're a contractor, you should be a member of your "local" trade association - in the UK that would be IPSE[^] and any decent association will provide sound template contracts. I always offer my "standard" contract (based very closely on the IPSE one) and clients are normally happy with this. If they are reluctant, just tell them that you can use their contract but will need to charge them for an independent contract review. Even if they insist on using theirs and refuse to stump up the review fees, it's usually worth paying for the review yourself anyway - certainly in the UK in the current climate. FYI, my standard contract simply refers to a "schedule" for the actual scope of the project, timescales, and fees. That's again based on a boilerplate but customising the contract and schedule normally takes only 1/2 hour or so, even on a larger contract.
