FREE 18+ Contract Samples in Apple Pages | Google Docs | MS Word | PDF

In whatever industry or circumstances you’re in, you need to mingle and get involved with other people. Even when you run an enterprise as a sole proprietor, you will have to deal with employees, suppliers, consultants, and clients to set your business in motion. When you strike a deal with other people, having a contract will be beneficial for you. It helps you present your terms and ensure that the people you’re going to trust will fulfill your conditions and vice versa. This also protects you from scams and fraudulent activities. Know more about contracts by referring to the article below.

18+ Contract Samples

1. Managed Services Contract Template

2. Simple Service Agreement Contract

3. Service Level Agreement Contract

4. HVAC Service Contract Template

5. HVAC Maintenance Contract Sample

6. Simple IT Service Contract Template

7. IT Service Contract Template

8. Sample IT Consulting Contract Template

9. IT Support Maintenance Contract

10. IT Company Contract Template

11. IT Outsourcing Contract Sample

12. Producer Contract Template

13. Sample Marketing Contract Template

14. Marketing Consulting Contract Template

15. Marketing Campaign Contract Sample

16. Digital Marketing Contract Template

17. Free Printable Construction Contract Template

18. Free Sample Investment contract Template

19. Free Basic Investment Contract Template

What Is a Contract?

A contract is a legal document that outlines a set of terms and agreement between two parties to establish mutual obligations. It serves numerous purposes, depending on its participants and the matters addressed on its content. While most contracts come in a written document, it can also be verbal, although the latter is harder to implement without permanent proof.

According to Azcentral, the significance of contracts includes its ability to layout and specify different obligations. This makes it easier for the involved parties to discuss their roles in a project plan or strategy and consult it for further clarification. Contracts also provide a definite timeline and the details of payment terms to avoid conflicts regarding the schedule and compensation on the duration of their agreement.

Elements of a Legal Contract

If you think merely labeling a business agreement as “contract” on the header makes it a legal document enforceable in court, you’re wrong. A contract should consist of different elements to make it legally binding. The following are elements of a contract:

1. Offer. If you want to make your contract legal, the transaction must begin with an offer. Offer is the initiative of a particular party to invite the other party to engage in an agreement. 

2. Acceptance. If there’s an offer, there should also be consent that the one being offered agrees with the contract’s presented terms. This could come in any form, such as verbal, mail, or phone call confirmation.

3. Mutual Agreement. Upon accepting the offer, both parties now recognize their roles and are ready to take part in the responsibilities that come with signing a contract. This is what you call mutual agreement. A contract becomes null when any party involved signs the document under duress, manipulation, or influence.

4. Consideration. Consideration is the need for the parties to exchange something in the fulfillment of the contract. It could be money, services, or materials. That is why legal contracts work best in business settings.

5. Capacity. Each party should have the capacity to perform the obligations and answer the liabilities stipulated on the contract. Everyone involved should be in a sound state of mind and body to agree to the contract terms.

6. Legality. If you’ve fulfilled all the requirements mentioned above, but your agreement involves illegal activities, this automatically forfeits your contract’s effectiveness. A contract is a “legal” document, and using it to perform prohibited transactions isn’t only ironic but downright terrible.

How to Write a Contract

Here are some tips to help you write your contract:

1. Make Your Details Clear

The essential purpose of a contract is to spell out all terms, conditions, responsibilities, and liabilities that every party involved should remember. Your contract will fail to fulfill this if there are ambiguous statements or clauses on your agreement. This is often the cause of misunderstandings that can lead to serious problems in the future. If you want to avoid this, make your business contract as clear as possible. Examine your contract and identify paragraphs which may have confusing conditions. You can also take it up during the discussion with a party, and together, you can pinpoint vague areas that may become problematic in the future.

2. Specify the Different Parties

You might focus too much on laying out the different partnership agreement> sections on your contact that you fail to recognize the importance of specifying the parties involved. Never overlook the significance of mentioning the individuals, groups, or companies involved in signing the papers. This will determine the who’s who of the obligations, which will point out who’s liable if a conflict occurs. It will make all sides of the parties aware of what they’re signing into the contract and what they’ll get in return.

3. Include Dispute Resolutions

Disputes are a common occurrence both in the private or business scenes. Even when you thought you’d crafted a fault-proof service contract and excellent client relations, complications are not far behind. Anticipating this beforehand is a remarkable way to make solutions before any problems could occur. Include a dispute resolution clause on your contract so you can easily address different partnership issues. Besides providing an immediate remedy, legal battles cost too much, so you’ll be saving more money if you can promptly resolve them.

4. Discuss Termination Details

Another fragile issue that your contract should involve is the possibility of a termination. Discuss if the parties involved can withdraw their participation with a termination letter or only if a breach takes place. For this section, you can make a comprehensive outline of conditions that merit a termination. Specify the procedure and the requirements to get their request for termination approved. You can also state if the parties could decide to immediately forfeit a member’s participation when they commit numerous inconsistencies or give them a warning letter first. This information is important so everyone can be aware of this matter.

5. Aim for Simplicity

Above everything, your contract should be as simple as possible. There’s no point in making a contract that’s difficult to review and comprehend due to its abundance in legalese. Just because a contract is a binding agreement doesn’t mean it should contain law terms as well. The goal of this document is to present the terms of the arrangement and make everyone understand them. Cancel all confusing terms and statements and make use of simple language. Keep your sentences direct and simple, so you don’t spend your discussion schedule explaining the terms.

FAQs

Contracts may be one of the most used documents in terms of business transactions. It allows you to trust people and their services and expertise because they’re willing to put their name and the organization on a legal bind to perform business with you. You’re also extending the same assurance with them. This makes partnerships and deals easier to navigate. As useful as contracts can be, they’re tricky to make. You can skip the step above and get yours directly from our repertoire of high-quality contract templates. Download now!