For everyday business, I am sure everyone already has a standardized contract that they use all the time.
So, if we are going to start utilizing the Web, and then work with a consultant to study and create a culture that will allow us to utilize it and improve results, what kind of contract will we sign?
Here, we hope to share with you some of the things you should be aware of when entering into a contract.
( *This is only an article as a service provider and non-professional. If you have any concerns, please contact a professional )
First, the contract is a ” business consignment agreement ” between the consignor and the consignee. If there are plans to ask the client to do various things in addition to consulting, a ” basic agreement ” summarizing the common parts may be exchanged first, as it is time-consuming to sign a separate agreement for each case.
However, if it is just consulting services, it is only a so-called outsourcing agreement. Basically, just because it is web consulting does not make it different from general management consulting or professional services, and if you have already used something there, I think you can use that as a base.
Points to note
Of course, this does not apply to web consulting, but on the consignor’s side, at a minimum, the following points should be discussed and kept in mind
- Contract Term and Renewal Timing, Renewal and Termination Methods
- Base fee and incidental expenses/charges
- Details of outsourced work (services) and policy for handling irregularities when they occur
- Reconsignability
- Conflicts of Interest
- To whom the copyrighted work belongs
It is.
Contract term and renewal timing (renewal and cancellation methods)
Regarding the contract term and renewal timing (how to renew or cancel), first of all, how long is the contract term? If it is an annual contract, for example, mid-term cancellation is naturally only possible after one year.
The minimum contract period should = the length of the contract, so we recommend that you check there and also the start date.
The time that is on the contract, etc. may also be in the consulting contract…………….. We recommend that you check to see if the start date is set after you are ready for the consulting to begin properly.
Regarding renewal timing, if I submit a cancellation request at the end of the month, will they stop from the following month, or the end of the following month, or even beyond that…? This is quite important. If you think you are done, but you have to continue for another 3 months…etc., those 3 months will be hard on both of you.
Generally, I think the span of time is the end of the following month if we get a call by the end of the month. For sole proprietorships and small companies, one to two weeks in advance may be acceptable. However, it is advisable to let us know as early as possible, since it is a lot of work and the web consultant may be preparing their report.
Base fee and incidental expenses
I don’t think there will be any problems regarding the basic remuneration. This is because in many cases, both parties clearly understand each other.
However, it would be better to clarify which party will bear the other costs, such as transportation and lodging, fees for using your company’s facilities and equipment, and fees for using on-demand tools that your company has contracted to charge for.
Transportation expenses seem to be small, but if there are many MTG visits from distant locations, the cost may be larger than expected (especially if Shinkansen trains are used), such as when there are MTG meetings at subsidiary companies and travel from Tokyo to Osaka.
Since all of our company’s meetings are basically online meetings, there are basically no expenses for travel, but if there are many face-to-face MTGs, it is recommended to mention them. If lodging expenses are incurred due to participation in camps, etc., it would be better to set a limit to avoid problems.
Please be aware that financial problems, even small ones, can quickly chill a relationship.
Details of outsourced work (services) and policy for handling irregularities when they occur
A case of outsourced work is one in which the consulting firm you have asked is turning over some of its work to another firm.
Turning work around is not in itself a bad thing. It is rather desirable to delegate production-related work to a production company with which you have a relationship, or to assign only advertising reports to a separate company, because it increases efficiency and improves the quality of service.
So, in general, we let the re-consignment take place. However, if the re-consultant does something in that case, the consulting company should take full responsibility. If this is not written in the contract, the responsibility will be shared by the consulting company, so please be careful.
Conflicts of Interest
This means, for example, that if we consult two dentists in front of the same station, we should not do so because it would be a loss for both.
This is actually hard as a consultant because if both parties are consulting with one person, it becomes very difficult to implement measures in such a situation, so it is hard to be efficient or anything. However, if there are different people in charge, etc., it can become an internal battle without realizing it.
Although this rarely happens, it is common practice not to sign a contract with a company that has such a conflict of interest at the same time so that you can deal with it when you meet. Please make sure that this is written in the contract.
But of course, if the contract is terminated, another nearby company may be attached to that consulting firm, so we can only assume that this is the case.
To whom the copyrighted work belongs
The term “copyrighted work” sounds like some kind of work, but this refers to everything that is created in the consulting process.
For example, the submitted reports, etc., and the web content should basically be yours. If not, you cannot complain even if they are all erased the moment the contract is terminated. Please be sure to keep this in mind.
In the past, there were even companies that demanded the purchase of content…. Sometimes, even the homepage was treated as a lease and did not belong to you.
Nevertheless, there are individual cases such as “Please use this tool only during the contract”, “This report format is ours”, “Please use this document only for internal viewing during the contract”, etc.
As a consulting firm, we recommend that you use common sense in this area, as any outflow of important know-how will lead to an outflow of strengths.
At the end.
There are more items than that, generally it would be about 2-4 A4 sheets. The stamps and seals are stamped together and kept one part at a time. For a basic contract, it is 4,000 yen stamp. For individual contractual agreements, it depends on the amount, but I would say 200-1,000 yen is most common.
→ No.7102 Contracts related to outsourcing｜Stamp duty and other national taxes｜National Tax Agency
Of course, there will be many cases that do not fit this description. But even then, I am sure that if you think about developing on the basis of this content, it will lead to a good result.
If you have any comments or other questions, please let us know using the contact form. Of course, we will not push our company.
We hope this page will be helpful to you.
