I’ve landed a commercial account (assisted living facility) and completed the first wash consisting of about 50% of the vinyl sided surfaces. The Executive Director wants a contract for cleaning twice a year, up to 50% of the building (alternating areas cleaned) for a set price. Concrete cleaning and any other add ons would be an additional charge. Looking for some advice on the layout of a contract and maybe some verbiage…don’t really know where to start.
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Attorney here - You need to:
(1) check with your state to see if there are any requirements that NEED to be in your contract - For example, here in NJ, home improvement contractors (which include powerwashers) need to have very specific language stated in their contract i.e. homeowner has the ability to cancel contract after a certain amount of days, phone number of the NJ division of consumer affairs needs to be listed, $ amount, etc.) . Some states have examples of what the contract should look like.
(2) if your state requires certain language include it;
(3) other than that make sure you have a “disclaimer” in there that allows you to disclaim liability for certain things (loose paint chips, electrical, ability to refuse washing areas that that may have improperly installed electric, etc.);
(4) if the contract calls for duration over a period of time (you’ll be cleaning twice a year) you should include firm times when the new contracts need to be signed and possibly a deposit is collected (i.e. “On the date _____ a new contract will be signed by both parties AND a deposit of 1/2 of the price will delivered to Powerwasher/name of your business. within 30 days of the completed powerwashing the remaining 1/2 will be delivered to powerwasher/name of your business” - Adding on to this MAKE SURE THE COMMERCIAL CLIENT SIGNS THE CONTRACT. DONT JUST SEND A QUOTE. I know alot of us are used to just sending a quote and if the customer accepts then we’re good to go. Commercial clients are different (You really should have your residentail clients sign a contract too, but i digress) - yes oral contracts are binding in many states, but if god forbid something happens (they bail on paying you, liability issues) it always pays to have a signed contract by your commercial client.
(5) Check with your insurance to double check that your policy includes commercial cleaning
(6) All this is overkill, but i’ve found that i sleep better at night knowing i have a properly worded document that my customer has agreed to.
If you need a sample shoot me a message.
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