Terms of Trade

Lucy Doherty

Terms of Trade set out the essential terms and conditions on which parties do business. When businesses supply goods and services on the basis of informal arrangements, this leaves the door open for disputes to arise that could have been avoided if there had been clear, written Terms of Trade in place.

Terms of Trade are primarily designed to protect the rights of the business selling goods or providing services. Importantly, Terms of Trade can be used to limit potential liabilities of the business and provide a degree of security for the recovery of debt following the supply of goods or services.

The more tailored the Terms of Trade are to your business, the more effective they will be at providing protection from risks specific to your business. However, there are certain fundamental matters that should be covered in any Terms of Trade, regardless of the size of your business or the nature of the goods and/or services being provided. These matters include:

These are just some of the key features likely to be required in effective Terms of Trade. Once clear Terms of Trade are established, they should be incorporated into all of your business transactions for the supply of goods and/or services.

Please contact us if you would like advice about Terms of Trade for your business.