How to Take Charge of a Contract Dispute

Whether your starting a business or managing a profitable firm, contracts are a very important part of business, and every company uses them in some form.

 

You may have contracts suppliers and manufacturers, so there is a clear standard set in terms of what services you expect from them and how they expect to be paid. If you don’t have a contract in place, the other party may not deliver the product or service you expect, and this can have a damaging effect on your business.

 

If you have contracts in place, you protect your own interests and ensure that the relationship that you have with any suppliers is a good one. However, contract disputes can arise if both parties disagree about the terms of the agreement. If you don’t handle these contract disputes effectively, they can turn into a lengthy court battle that costs both parties a lot of money. If you find yourself in the middle of a contract dispute, here’s how to deal with it.

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Seek Legal Advice

 

Seek legal advice as soon as you determine that you have a problem with a contract.

 

It’s important that you proceed carefully and try to come up with a solution that works best for both parties. As soon as a dispute arises, you should speak with an attorney and ask them what your best options are.

 

If you don’t act rationally in the beginning, there is always a danger of escalating things and making them a lot worse. If, instead, you seek legal advice, an attorney can help you come to a solution without having to go to court.

 

When you’re trying to come up with a solution, there are a few important things that you need to consider. First and foremost, you need a quick solution that isn’t going to cost you lots of money in legal fees. You also need to come up with a solution that doesn’t cost the business a lot of money and doesn’t damage your relationship with the other party, if possible.

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Request Services

 

Often, a contract dispute occurs because one party has not provided goods or services that were agreed to in the contract. If that’s the case, the first step is to request that the breaching party fulfill the contract and provide the goods and services that are agreed upon, and ask them for a response.

 

In some cases, that might be enough to settle the dispute. However, the other party may instead come back and say that they have a different understanding of the contract and the services that they are obliged to provide.

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Rewrite Contracts

 

If there is disagreement about the terms of the contract, you will need to make some changes.

 

In a lot of cases, there are certain parts of the contract that aren’t clear, which is easily solved by rewriting smaller sections and changing some terminology. However, if there is disagreement about large parts of the contract, it’s sometimes best to get rid of the old contract and renegotiate a new one so both parties are satisfied.

 

You should always take these steps to try to solve a contract dispute out of court, but it doesn’t always work out that way. You may need to enter into a legal battle.

 

Fix the Problem. Maintain the Relationship

 

Make every attempt to fix a contractual problem, so that you can maintain the relationship with the supplier or vendor. Ask an attorney to help you, so that you can address the problem and move forward in your business.

 

Ken Boyd

Author: Cost Accounting for Dummies, Accounting All-In-One for Dummies, The CPA Exam for Dummies and 1,001 Accounting Questions for Dummies

(amazon author page) amazon.com/author/kenboyd

(email) ken@stltest.net

(website and blog) https://www.accountingaccidentally.com/