Expenses:
Agree allowable expenses in a separate schedule to the contract. i.e. standard air or rail fare, accommodation allowances, price per mile etc.
Contracts
The Vendors Contract
Obtain copies of the vendors standard contracts and terms and conditions of business as early as you can. Ideally these should be returned to you along with the completed RFI. There are likely to be four contracts. These are for
- the software licences
- consultancy
- support, and
- hardware
A delay in reviewing the contracts can ultimately lead to delays in implementation. You are unlikely to get your hands on the software until you have signed which means until you do so you don't have a test environment, you can't configure the software, you can't set up users.
Addendums
You may wish to include addendums to the contract such as correspondence, the RFI, technical literature etc. In fact, I heard of one instance where a company video taped the entire sales presentation for inclusion in the contract. That might be going a step too far but the point is, you do rely on a lot of representations made to you about the functionally of the software and the standard contract you receive is written by the vendor, not by you.
The chances are you will want clarity on some clauses, and relaxing, inclusion or tightening of others. The earlier you're able to make those decisions and discuss them with the vendor the earlier you can mutually agree them and move on with the implementation.
Bargaining
The contract should be one of your bargaining tools. It's also an additional way to identify whether the vendor is a good fit for your business. Is he prepared to be flexible?
Clarity earlier on can avoid later doubts. Key points to be clear on include cost, support, IP, competitors, disputes, billing and payment terms.
Inspired Notes
Resources