Question 1

Can work start before the contract is signed?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but the risk should be controlled. The parties may reach agreement through offer and acceptance or through conduct if the law does not require a special form. Before work begins, a short document can confirm scope, price, duration, the right to stop and its relationship with the version still under negotiation.

Question 2

Can a purchase order or an email exchange form a contract?

Accepted Answer

It can, depending on the content, authority of the people involved, sequence of messages, applicable standard terms and later performance. The document's label is not decisive. The analysis must establish whether the essential terms were accepted and whether any special form is required.

Question 3

Can we refuse payment because the supplier has no internal purchase order?

Accepted Answer

There is no single answer. The missing purchase order may breach an agreed process, but it is also necessary to check whether the service was requested, delivered and accepted through other acts. In contracts between businesses, late payment of an eligible claim may trigger statutory interest and recovery costs.

Question 4

Can we increase the price when costs rise?

Accepted Answer

Not automatically. This requires a contractual adjustment mechanism, a later agreement or, in limited cases, satisfaction of the statutory hardship conditions. The formula, notice and evidence of impact should be assessed before a different price is invoiced.

Question 5

Can the customer deduct service credits or penalties directly from an invoice?

Accepted Answer

This depends on the calculation clause, the process for establishing the failure and the applicable set-off rules. It is also necessary to check whether service credits can be combined with penalties or damages. A commercial label does not by itself determine the legal nature or deduction right.

Question 6

Does force majeure automatically suspend every obligation?

Accepted Answer

No. The event, affected obligation, causal link and contract wording must be assessed. Notice and mitigation duties may continue. For some obligations, including payment amounts that are already due, reliance on force majeure may not have the intended effect.

Question 7

Can we terminate immediately after a breach?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes, but not as a general rule. The seriousness of the breach, termination clause, default notice, cure period and governing law matter. Before serving notice, we also check practical effects such as live deliveries, system access, data, payments and transition duties.

Question 8

Which documents are useful for an initial review?

Accepted Answer

The current agreement and schedules, proposal, orders, negotiation comments and messages describing the issue. For a performance problem, the timeline, deliveries, invoices, reports, notices and evidence of impact are useful. We can then identify the missing information.