Victoria FergusonThe tip for today is: Make sure you sign and date the contract
🚨 Once you have agreed the terms of the contract with your counterparty you need to make sure it is fully signed and dated.
🚨 A signed contract usually shows that the parties intended to be bound by the terms of the document in question. Where the parties have not fully signed a contract, there will be doubt over whether the terms of the contract had truly been agreed. This could give one of the parties an argument that the contract is not binding and could end up in a costly argument.
🚨You also need to check that the contract makes it clear when it comes into force. Many contracts become effective on the date on which they are signed by all of the parties. It is therefore really important that the parties signing date their signature. Getting it right at the outset will save a lot of head scratching later down the line when you need to terminate or vary the contract.