Home maintenance contracts can be an amazing tool for both the client and the maintenance provider involved.
It can serve as a promise of consistent and optimum service for the client and a steady book of business for the maintenance company.
However, each maintenance contract should be carefully laid out and have a few key elements to it for the protection of everyone involved. Doing your homework ahead of time can help avoid some dilemmas down the road.
Here are several essential factors that should be in every home maintenance contract and why they’re so important to the integrity of a client/business relationship.
1. Detailed Information of Both Parties
Within every official maintenance contract, there are two parties involved: the client and the service provider like high quality security doors Perth.
It’s imperative that both parties are clearly stated and heavily defined within the contract itself. A best practice for this is having a section dedicated to listing out the names and contact information of everyone involved.
Have the full names of everyone on both the client’s side as well as the legal business name of the service provider. If there isn’t a legal business name, then the servicer’s full name will work.
This will help keep everyone accountable for the agreement. Both have specified who specifically has come to terms with each other on the deal.
2. Ambivalent Terms Throughout the Contract
Any ambivalent or general terms used within the contract can be easily misunderstood. Saying things like “the work” or “on the job” certainly have their place in the contract, but it’s better to define those.
In an effort to make sure both parties are on the same page, make a section of the contract that the general terms you’ve used and define what they mean.
While it may be a bit exhaustive, it’s a great practice for protecting both sides equally.
3. Service Details
It can be difficult to remember all the services that you’ve agreed upon during verbal negotiations. That’s why it’s helpful to list them all out.
Make sure every service that was agreed upon is listed out in the document.
For example, for HVAC maintenance make sure and list out things like air conditioning repair, air quality checkups, heating repair, etc.
4. Location(s) of Service
Depending on the client, there may be more than one location that needs maintenance.
That situation can get dicey if not clearly stated in the document. The service needs to have a clear understanding of which locations are their responsibility.
Be sure to list those locations in the contract. Even if it’s only one location that’s going to be serviced, it’s best to still specify that in the contract. Better safe than sorry!
5. Compensation Agreements
One of the most important pieces of your maintenance contract is listing out the agreed compensation for every service.
Dedicate a section to listing out all of the services that were agreed upon and the negotiated rate of pay for each, whether it’s an hourly or flat-rate fee.
Lack of communication on this prior to setting the contract can cause negotiations to come to an abrupt stop. Both parties need to make sure they’re communicating this portion from the get-go.
6. Payment Details
The compensation for each service isn’t the only portion of the payment that needs to be discussed.
Both parties have an ideal way they’d like the payment to be made, the window before or after service they’d like it to be paid, etc.
Be sure to specify each detail in the compensation agreement section as well.
For example, write down things such as the service provider preferring that payments be written in checks or the client requesting an invoice for each service prior to paying.
7. Warranties
As with any business relationship, there may be a time or two where the client isn’t satisfied with the end result of the provider’s service. That doesn’t mean the contract needs to be ripped up.
List out any and all warranties that the service provider is promising and the specifics of said warranty.
if agreed upon, also list the number of times for dissatisfied service before the contract is completely voided.
8. Emergency Situations
There will probably be an occurrence where emergency service is needed that isn’t listed out in the maintenance agreement.
There’s hardly any way to know what that service looks like ahead of time.
Be sure to list out specifics of emergency services such as response time, acceptable business hours, and compensation for the provider flexing their workday around you.
9. Responsibilities of Both Parties
Even though the provider is servicing the client, they aren’t responsible for every aspect of what’s being serviced.
The client should be responsible for fixing minuscule aspects without the service provider coming out to fix it. For example, in an HVAC maintenance contract, the client should be responsible for switching air filters unless otherwise noted.
Write all of these scenarios down to avoid hostility or miscommunication in the future.
10. Recurrence of Services
Lastly, both the client and the provider have an ideal number in their head for how frequently the provider will perform the service.
Be sure to list that number out to make sure both parties are in agreement. The answer the other party gives you might surprise you, and start a negotiation right then and there.
It’s all constructive to a healthy business relationship moving forward, both parties benefit from knowing the recurrence ahead of time.
A Service Maintenance Contract Is a Phenomenal Aspect of Business
While some contracts in life can send people running for the hills, a service maintenance contract isn’t one of them… it’s a good thing to have.
It shows a commitment of both parties to grow a phenomenal business relationship that they’ll both reap benefits from.
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