Writing a Contract By Kyle Ramos

A well built contract is very important in any business agreement. It is the document that spells out what services which your company will receive or pay for, and how much you will pay or receive in return. Contracts are also important because they protect you or your company from bad contractors who do a bad job or do not complete a job and/or bad customers who do not want to pay. A contract is also a great business tool to begin a good business relationship. So for all these reasons it is extremly important to have a good well put together contract. Most importantly it will answer many questions that may be over looked and cause confusion later in the transaction. Here are a list onf all the things that should always be included in a good contract. Usually in this order but, not always.


1. Title
2. Brief description of the project
3. Brief description of the services needed
4. Detailed list of the services to be provided with projected dates of delivery included.
5. Who is responsible for what parts of the project? (The contractor, subcontractors to the contractor, staff of the nonprofit organization, etc.)
6. What are the expectations for communicating progression of Project
7. Paymet schedule / amounts
8. Clarity on expenses vs hour rates vs fixed pricing
9. Ownership of the work products
10. How will conflicts be resolved
11. How the parties can get out of the contract
12. Proper signature(s)

The key is to be specific, and to not be overly detailed which leads to confusion.
If you follow the list and are concise when writing a contract it will start you off with a good working relationship, answer many questions and protects you or your company.