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Importance of Establishing a Contract for Land Surveying projects

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In the business of land surveying, it is vital to have a contract. A contract will protect both parties involved and can be used as a legal document in case of any disputes or disagreements. This article will explore what makes a contract and why it is so important for land surveyors to have one in place with their clients.

At Icelabz, we formalise our agreement based on the old RICS land surveying terms and conditions that use to be available in the bookstore. However, throughout the years, we’ve had to modify them.

However, you can get a copy of a basic engagement contract template if you are a member of the TSA under the member portal. If you don’t have access, you can ask the ladies in the office for the login credentials.

We’ve had many issues with payment throughout the years because of malformed contracts, and the majority of them are based on human error or misunderstanding. This blog post will help identify a contract’s basic components. Hopefully, this will be helpful to other land surveying companies.

The three main components of forming a contract + one more you might not be aware of.

Establishing contracts can be complicated or confusing when you’re dealing via different communication channels such as email, phone or text. There are three components of forming a contract: offer, acceptance and consideration.

For example, An offer is made by the land surveyor to do work for the client; a quote is sent to the client by email.

The client accepts this offer by agreeing to pay the land surveyor for their services, this correspondence can either be signed on the contract or written formally by action such as booking the survey.

Consideration is what makes the contract binding; it’s something each party gives up (or contributes) to agree. This means the consideration is the money (from the client) and the job being done (from the surveyor).

Without these three fundamental components, there is no agreement to form a contract.

Of course, there is also something else to consider that may not always apply. Does the person you’re dealing with have the authority to agree or put someone into a contract? Usually, architects or consultants will liaise with the land surveying company to get the quote and book the survey. However, it is always good to double-check if they have the authority to act on their behalf. You can either get a letter from the client, or they can demonstrate that they have the authority to act for the client via their own contracts with their client. This is sometimes called a delegated authority or ‘acting as agents for’ statements.

The Importance of establishing a Contract for Land Surveyors

the contract is important for land surveyors because it highlights the rights and obligations of both parties. It also sets out the scope of work clearly, so there are no surprises at the end.

As a side note, you can use the RICS’ template or TSA’s template to fill in a scope sheet for the job. note: you might need to register to download the PDF spec sheets.

The contract will protect you from liability if something goes wrong with your work or if there is a payment issue. It also ensures that both parties know what they need to do before starting a project so that everyone knows what they should expect from one another at a later stage in time.

In addition to protecting yourself and your clients, a good contract can protect your reputation and reputation in general by showing potential clients that you take things seriously enough to ensure everything gets sorted out properly before starting any projects together – this leaves little room for error on either side!

I have had a lot of disputes resolved by going back to the contract; it is not fun taking clients to court to dispute arguments.

With a contract in place, both parties are protected. If one party fails to fulfil the terms of the contract, they can be held accountable. Additionally, if one party decides to cancel the project before it’s completed for any reason—but especially if it’s because of poor performance or unprofessionalism—the other party will be able to seek damages from them.

Here are some things that you can be protected on:

Client:

  • Getting the job by a certain date
  • Getting the right amount of drawings/plans to the specification required

Surveyor

  • Getting paid on time (and charge for late fees – only between business to business)
  • Agreeing to additional variations as the scope is defined – but make sure there are change clauses in the contract

Finally, having a legal document like this on record helps both parties make sure that everyone knows what they need to do on a given day and that there won’t be any confusion about who’s responsible for what part of the work being done. This is especially useful when working with subcontractors as well; by writing out an agreement beforehand and getting signatures from all parties involved (including yourself), you’ll avoid having any disputes later down the road about who should’ve been doing what job when something went wrong during construction time!

A contract is vital in protecting both the land surveyor and its client.

It is vital for both parties to enter into a contract before beginning the work. A written agreement is even more important when dealing with land surveyors because there are many ways in which a client can be overcharged, underpaid, and even sued. It’s always better to have an agreement than not.

In most cases, an oral agreement will not suffice; however, if your company offers highly specialized services or if you plan on doing business with clients outside of your local area, it may be wise to put down your terms in writing so everyone involved knows what they’re getting into.

In conclusion, the importance of forming a contract is vital for land surveyors. A well-formed and comprehensive agreement will help to protect both parties in the long term.

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