contractsI was really hoping this is the correct area on StackExchange to post this question. Please let me know if it isnt! It’s rather more business related question than technical.
I currently run a small development company on the side. We’ve been contracted by a client to redo their web application tools they use. They’ve signed a Scope of Work which outlined a timeline to provide a demo and production release for the application. One of the requirements as well was that we had sufficient access to a contact at the company that would give us feedback regarding changes that need to be made ever week or so (this contact would help us make sure that what we are creating for them was what they needed). Everything was going good until the contact failed to respond to any emails or calls for a couple weeks. Our client is busy, has a small staff and its understandable if the contact does not have the time, but now we think we will need to push the timelines we’ve provided them.
My question is regarding the Scope of Work the client originally signed off on. If a certain amount of time passes (lets say a month) and our client finally gets back to us, what would be the best practice in terms going forward? Do we need to create a new Scope of Work for them to sign off on with new dates before work commences? Is a reply via email like “Yes we understand that the deployment dates will be adjusted to [New Date]?
This is the first time we’ve been faced with this and we’d just like to cover my bases in terms of contractual obligations.
Thanks!
If a certain amount of time passes (lets say a month) and our client finally gets back to us, what would be the best practice in terms going forward?
Highlight the issue just the way you did, and agree with your client to push the deadline by the same amount of time. In theory you’d want to amend the contract. In practice yes, an email like “Yes we understand that the deployment dates will be adjusted to [New Date]” is fine.
Also, tip: in the future, get paid per day or per week rather than based on a scope, then agree on the scope and timeline with the provision that the timeline is indicative and subject to you getting timely replies.
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