Sample letter of agreement 1

[tconnolly]

I started a new consulting engineering firm last year, of the Mech, Plumbing, Elec sort. Just today, I got a request from a new client to send him a letter of agreement, to include rates, terms, etc. I have not developed one of these before, and I need some quick help!

Can anyone send me a sample letter of agreement for this type of consulting, or at least give me some tips on what to include, exclude, etc.?

Thanks,

tconnolly, pe

 

[HamishMcTavish]

There is an organisation in the UK called the Professional Contractors Group

http://www.pcgroup.org.uk

who have sample documentation on their website.

Not sure whether these could be used in your country or whether it would be worth you joining or not. Have a look, they may give you a freebie!

Regards, HM

No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary - William of Occam

 

[dpa]

My local U book store (U of Washington) has some books on specs for architectural contracts. They were expensive, about $250.00 I think and way too detailed for my uses but they might help. Sorry can't remember any titles.

Your letter needs to look like something you have done a hundred times before not something you had to struggle to come up with. It also need to address exactly what it is you are agreeing to do rather than some boilerplate that talks about unrelated items. Unfortunately I have never done one either. It might be worth the $$ to try to find a lawyer who is familiar with this kind of thing. After all you might need to use it more than once thus defraying the cost over time.

Also try

http://www.constructionbook.com

they have a lot of stuff both books and CD's. If you find any good references I could use some help in that area too.

Try

http://www.wiley.com

they publish the "Architectural Graphic Standards" and a lot of related stuff. McGraw Hill has a lot of engineering books. Don't know their web address off hand.

Good Luck,
DPA

 

[RDK]

Here is one that I have used. I usually fill in the blanks and submit it with the proposal.

Terms of Engagement

Definitions

Consultant:

Client:


Project:




Scope of Services:



Schedule of Fees and Disbursements: This work shall be subject to the fixed fee of $XXXXX (or hourly rates plus disbursements) as quoted in the covering letter. Disbursements such as geotechnical investigations and any other out of pocket expenses shall be reimbursed at cost plus 10%. All costs are subject to GST.



General

The consultant shall render the Services as specified in the above Scope of Services, to the Client for this Project in accordance with the following terms of engagement. The Consultant may at its sole discretion or at any stage engage subconsultants to perform any part of the Services.
Compensation

Work out of scope shall be charged at standard rates. Standard rate for the services of R.D.Kitson P.Eng is $XXX per hour. All charges are payable in Canadian Dollars. Invoices are due and payable by the Client within thirty (30) days of the invoice date. Overdue accounts shall be subject to a 2% per month interest fee. Monthly progress claims will be submitted.

Representatives

Each party shall designate a representative who is authorized to act on behalf of that party and receive notices under this agreement. Kitson Engineering designates R.D.Kitson MBA, P.Eng as its representative.

Termination

Either party may terminate this agreement upon thirty (30) days written notice in writing. On termination by either party, the Client shall forthwith pay to the Consultant all charges for Services performed, including all disbursements and other charges incurred by the Consultant.

If either party breaches this engagement, the non-defaulting party may terminate this agreement after giving seven (7) days notice to remedy the breach. On termination by the Consultant under this paragraph, the client shall forthwith pay to the Consultant its charges for the Services performed to the date of termination, including all fees and charges for this Project.



Environmental

The Consultants field investigation, laboratory testing and engineering recommendations will not address or evaluate pollution of soil or polluted groundwater. The Consultant will cooperate with the Client’s environmental consultant as required.

Professional Responsibility

In performing the services, the consultant will provide and exercise the standard of care, skill and diligence required by customarily accepted professional practices and procedures normally provided in the performance of the Services contemplated in this engagement at the time when and the location in which the services were performed.

Limitation of Liability

The Consultant shall not be responsible for:
(a) The failure of a contractor, retained by the Client, to perform the work required in the Project in accordance with the applicable contract documents.
(b) The design of or defects in equipment supplied or provided by the Client for incorporation into the Project.
(c) Any cross- contamination resulting from subsurface investigations.
(d) Any damage to subsurface utilities and structures, which were identified and located by the Client.
(e) Any Project decisions made by the Client if the decisions were made without the advice of the Consultant or contrary or inconsistent with the Consultant’s advice.
(f) Any consequential loss, injury or damages suffered by the Client, including but not limited to loss of use, earnings and business interruption.
(g) The unauthorized distribution of any confidential document or report prepared by or on behalf of the Consultant for the exclusive use of the Client.
(h) Any loss or damage to any third party.

The total amount of all claims the Client may have against the Consultant under this engagement, including but not limited to claims for negligence misrepresentation and breach of contract, shall be strictly limited to the amount of professional liability insurance the Consultant may have at such times as the claims are made.

No claim shall be brought against the Consultant in contract or tort more than two (2) years after the Services were completed or terminated under this engagement.
Documents

All of the documents prepared by the Consultant or on behalf of the Consultant in conjunction with the Project are instruments of service for the execution of the Project. The consultant retains the property and copyright in these documents, whether the project is executed or not. These documents may not be used in conjunction with any other project without the prior agreement of the Consultant.

Field Services

Where applicable, field services recommended are the minimum necessary, in the sole discretion of the Consultant, to observe whether the work of a contractor retained by the Client is being carried out in general conformity with the contract documents. Any reduction in the level of services recommended will result in the Consultant providing a qualified opinion as to the performance of the contractor.

Dispute Resolution

If requested in writing by either the Client or the Consultant, the Client and the Consultant shall attempt to resolve any dispute between them arising out of or in conjunction with this agreement by entering into structured non-binding negotiations with the assistance of a mediator on a without prejudice basis. The mediator shall be appointed by agreement of both parties. If the dispute cannot be settled within 30 calendar days binding arbitration under the rules of the Arbitration and Mediation Institute of Manitoba shall be used. One arbitrator shall be chosen by mutual agreement of the parties, failing agreement on an arbitrator one shall be chosen by lot from a list of three to be provided by the Arbitration and Mediation Institute of Manitoba.


Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[unclesyd]

You can get a software program at:

http://www.itslegal.com

"2003 Business Law"

This program will get you started. Its inexpensive and it will be deductable

 

[dig1]

Look on the ASCE website (link attached)for contract documents.

http://ascestore.aip.org/OA_HTML/ai...716639~lucid_newprod=1F5E70BAE5E1AA8D~za=1020

 

[Bbird]

In UK the consulting engineer services can be covered by the Association of Consulting Engineers (ACE) short agreement similar to the one used by RDK. One can purchase a printed copy from the ACE or just quoted the ACE agreement and retype the text. The company lawyer has confirmed that this is acceptable as long as the form of agreement is stated as per ACE publication.

ACE agreements are used throughout UK and internationally. Different agreements exist for different engagements, from small to huge projects.

I am not entirely sure if HamishMcTavish's professional contractor agreement fits well with the consulting servives you are providing. For consulting services the agreement should state the time covered and the size of your professional indenmity. Contractor usually warrants his work and the money involved should be in different scale.

 

[scherry]

Rick's standard letter is pretty close to what we are using, although we have pulled a lot of the legalese that is the same for every job onto the back pages with the signature after the changable stuff (the fee the scope etc.) In my search for this kind of stuff I finally bought some standardized forms. Very expensive. Very ugly, because you are supposed to leave all of the text in and just overstrike it so that you do not break the licensing terms. After looking at it, I have not used it much because the documents look so unprofessional to me. The best source I have found for specific text examples is from the ACEC contract guide book and lessons in liability book. I do not know the cost of these manuals, but suspoect it is cheaper than the "standards" I bought. you should probably have a lawyer or a specialist form you professioal insurance look it over when you get a chance.

good luck,

scherry

 

[DBNodurf]

I suggest you shy away from American Institute of Architects model contracts because they are not friendly to subconsultants; the NSPE/ASCE/AGC mentioned in a previous post as being on ASCE's website are written in a much more equinamous manner.

D. Bruce Nothdurft, MSCE, PE, PG, M.ASCE, etc, etc,...
Principal Engineer/Geologist
Atlantic Geoscience & Engineering
Charlotte, NC