Does Your Business Sell Both Goods And Services? Make Sure You’re Using The Right Contract

For any business, it is generally good practice to make sure you have a strong contract in place between you and your customers.

Often, these types of contracts with your customers are called terms and conditions. 

Your terms and conditions can be presented to your customers in a formal document, on a page on your website, as an email attachment, or in many other ways. 

When putting together your terms and conditions, the specific type of legal contract you’ll need will depend on exactly what you do as a business.

For example, if you’re a service provider, you’ll need a Service Agreement. And if you sell goods or products, you’ll need Terms of Sale.

But what if your business does both?

This is when you need a Goods & Services Agreement. This is a document that sets out how you provide both goods and services to your customers.

But what is it? How do you use it? And why is it important?

This article will walk you through why a Goods & Services Agreement is useful for your business.

Why Do I Need A Goods & Services Agreement?

In nearly every small business, it’s important to stand out from your competitors.

A great way to set yourself apart is to offer a range of goods and services.

This means that you could be selling products on an online store, while also offering services that your customers could purchase.

In this case, you’ll need a contract that sets out the terms under which you’ll be providing those goods and services. 

To make sure that your customer is aware of the ground rules and what they’re getting into when they engage with your business, it’s always a good idea to set it all out clearly in writing. This is why having a Goods & Services Agreement is so important. 

What Is Included In A Goods & Services Agreement?

A Goods & Services Agreement will set out terms around the scope of your services, what goods you’re providing, how payment works and other ways to avoid business risk.

Put simply, it sets out exactly what terms the customer is agreeing to when they purchase goods and services from your business.

This avoids confusion (and potentially problems) down the track, as a contract will answer questions like:

• What goods and services are included?
• How do they make payment? What happens if payment isn’t made?
• Who is responsible if those goods aren’t what the customer expects?
• How do refunds work? (Especially in the case of services: can a customer refund a service that has already been done?)
• Can they return the goods?

If your business offers a dynamic range of goods and services, having a contract that clarifies all of the above as early as possible is important.

And, if you’re offering these goods and services both online and offline, you need to make sure that you have a consistent approach that covers all bases.

For example, if you’re taking payment for goods and services online, you may want to use third party payment platforms such as Paypal or Stripe.

However, if some of your services are offered offline, payment might work a little differently. You could still arrange payment online, but most offline transactions might actually occur in the form of invoices with payment instructions.

With different variations of payment methods common in businesses that operate both online and offline, it’s important to make sure your payment terms are clear and put down in writing. This will avoid problems down the track, and will also secure your revenue streams as a business.

Need Help?

If your business is selling goods and services, it’s a good idea to make sure you have a contract put together.

With your business having a range of different offerings, you could encounter a number of problems down the track. Having your ground rules and terms all captured in writing from the onset can avoid this.

Plus, having a contract is generally seen as good practice within most businesses.

If you need help with getting a Goods & Services Agreement sorted, come and talk to us!

You can book in a free call with one of our legal consultants by contacting team@sprintlaw.com.au or giving us a call on 1800 730 617.

Regie Anne Gardoce

Regie is the Legal Transformation Lead at Sprintlaw, with a law degree from UNSW. Regie has previous experience working across law firms and tech startups, and has brought these passions together in her work at Sprintlaw.