Having a contract for the provision of services will help save your time and nerves. A properly concluded contract will allow you to negotiate all the essential conditions and help protect you from not the most favorable consequences in the future.
What is a contract
A contract is an agreement between two or more persons on the establishment, change or termination of civil rights and obligations (Article 420 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The Civil Code provides a list of types of contracts. An important place is occupied by the contract for the provision of services. It can be concluded between legal entities, a legal entity and an individual, as well as between individuals.
Conclude a contract in writing or orally
The specified agreement can be concluded between individuals, both in simple written form and orally. The latter form does not mean at all that the contract is invalid. The oral form can only complicate the process of proving its individual conditions in the event of a case being considered in court.
Despite this, the legislation of the Russian Federation enshrines a list of contracts, the conclusion of which is mandatory only in writing. This list includes an agreement for the provision of services concluded between individuals, provided that the amount of the agreement exceeds the amount of the minimum non-taxable income of citizens by twenty or more times.
Terms of the contract for the customer
If you are a customer, there are several points to be covered in the contract.
Subject of the contract
It is necessary to clearly stipulate all the details of the service provided.
Price and payment procedure
If the service will be provided to you, then the best payment option for you will be payment after the fact, that is, after the parties sign the act of services rendered (you will understand what you are paying for). Prepaid payment is also possible. In this case, you can specify any percentage or determine a specific amount that you are willing to pay before starting the provision of services. The payment procedure can be anything, but it is worth remembering that clearly prescribed deadlines will help to avoid unpleasant moments in proving your case in court.
Terms of service provision
Perhaps this is the main condition that you should definitely register. The timing must be very specific. For example: "services must be performed before such and such a date" or "the service must be provided within such and such a number of days from such and such moment." An important feature of the service agreement is the definition of the term for the provision of services. It is not recommended to prescribe the term in this way: "The service must be performed within 5 days from the date of prepayment." The courts of the Russian Federation interpret this wording ambiguously and there are cases when the contract is recognized as not concluded only because, under this condition, the terms are considered not agreed as one of the essential conditions of the contract.
The moment of signing the act of services rendered
If you are a customer, it is proposed to avoid including such a condition in the contract as: "If the customer does not sign the act within 4 days from the moment the contractor sends it / the end of the provision of services, the service is considered to be rendered properly and the customer's claims are not accepted." You may not have time to sign the act in time for some reason, or the service will be provided of inadequate quality and you will not want to sign the act, but if such a condition exists, you will be forced to accept the work and, moreover, pay for it.
Responsibility of the parties
Responsibility can be provided both in accordance with the law, and a greater or lesser amount of liability can be negotiated with the contractor. Moreover, if you are a customer, it would be more correct not to prescribe responsibility for the delay in making an advance payment.
Terms of contract for the contractor
Subject of the contract
It is necessary to clearly stipulate all the details of the service provided.
Price and payment procedure
If you provide the service, then the best payment option for you will be prepayment. You can provide for both 100% prepayment and any other, indicating even a specific amount that you would like to receive before the provision of services (so you can be sure that the customer needs your work). The payment procedure can be any, but it is worth remembering that clearly defined deadlines will help you avoid unpleasant moments in proving your case.
Terms of service provision
The terms must also be indicated very specifically, as in the case of drawing up a contract by the customer. This item must be drawn up by analogy with the customer's contract.
The moment of signing the act of services rendered
If you are a performer, it is proposed to include the following condition: “If the customer does not sign and does not provide a reasoned refusal to sign the act within 4 days from the moment the performer sends it / the end of the provision of services, the act is considered signed by the parties, and the service is considered to be provided properly and claims the customer is not accepted. This wording in the contract will protect you from unscrupulous customers who do not want to pay for your services.
Responsibility of the parties
Liability can be provided both in accordance with the law, and a greater or lesser amount of liability can be negotiated with the customer. At the same time, if you are a contractor, it will be more correct to prescribe responsibility for both the delay in making the prepayment and for the delay in the final settlement.
