For many landscapers, like those from martincuthbert.com.au who also have responsibility for running their business, there will be many financial and legal necessities that you would much rather not concern yourself with, but the sound running of your business requires you to. Thankfully, much of it can be passed to your accountant or commercial lawyer to deal with, nevertheless, you must still have a reasonable understanding of it all.
One aspect of the legal framework within which you operate is the contract between a client and your landscaping business. Again, this is best left to a legal expert to create the main template and then for you to enter the specifics you have agreed with your client relating to the landscaping work they require.
Within that contract, there must be terms and conditions which apply to any landscaping agreement you have with a client. As for what those terms and conditions should cover, we have outlined the main ones below which should appear on every contract for landscaping work you undertake.
Services
This will outline the landscaping services which you are going to be providing to the client under the contract agreed to. We recommend that you have these as specific as possible and in crystal clear language to prevent any chance of misunderstanding, especially given the fact that not all clients will be cognisant of all landscaping terminology.
Additional Services
It may often be the case that, as the landscaping project proceeds, the client wishes to alter something or to add something to it. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, especially if it means the revenue for the project is increased, but it does require that you include how this can be done and that you have the right to refuse a request should it prove to be not feasible.
Timings
This will outline the expected completion date along with specific milestones and their timings as the project proceeds. You might also want to include your normal working hours just in case the client expects you to work weekends or other times beyond your normal working hours.
Payments Terms
This is extremely important and where you outline payment specifics such as the total cost, the deposit amount, the payment methods you accept, when the final amount will be due, and if you have a payment scheme, what the terms and payments are. It should also include what happens should the client fail to pay.
Termination/Cancellation
Another important section because given landscaping projects can take time, you need to be clear about what the conditions are should the client wish to terminate the contract. This will include notice periods, cancellation fees, and percentage payable including expenses should you have already completed some of the work.
Warranties
This is where you outline what guarantees you are providing for the landscaping work that you are doing for the client, and how long the warranty lasts. You need to be clear as to what is covered by your warranty and what is not.
Client Obligations
Whilst there are many obligations that you must meet, the client has some too. These will include granting you the right of access, gaining approval and permits from the council, and possibly that they must grant access to power and water from their property whilst you are working there.