Business Legal Services
Terms of Business
Create terms of business that protect your interests and strengthen customer relationships
If your terms of business no longer reflect what you sell or how you work, our commercial lawyers can update them to match your current offering. We can also prepare terms for new opportunities, make key obligations clear and focus on the commercial points that matter to your business.
Finding the right legal partner
Why work with Harper James
Choose a legal partner you can trust: we’ll help protect your goals, your business and your people so you can move forward with confidence and focus on growing your business.
Affordable, transparent and predictable pricing
Clear itemised invoices, subscription plans with up to 50% discount, and fixed fee products help you plan and manage legal spend – with no nasty surprises.
Proven track record and measurable results
We’ve supported over 8,000 businesses since 2014, with an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 60+ from monthly client surveys.
Straight-talking, responsive advice
That means fast response times, practical expert legal advice delivered in plain English, and dedicated client service and account management support.
Risk and compliance assured
We’re an SRA regulated firm, but more importantly, we build quality, data, and compliance best practice into everything we do.
What can we help with?
Drafting, reviewing and negotiating terms of business
Good terms give your team a reliable starting point for agreeing work and your customers a clear understanding of the arrangement. They also address the issues that can affect your margin, cash flow and ability to deliver. Our terms of business lawyers can help with:
Creating standard terms for repeat use. Establish clear provisions for orders, supply, payment and termination, reducing repeated negotiation without overlooking the protections your business needs.
Setting workable payment arrangements. Structure deposits, milestones and invoice deadlines around your costs, while addressing late payment and disputed invoices.
Managing changes and additional work. Give customers a straightforward way to request changes, with a process for agreeing extra charges, responsibilities and revised deadlines.
Negotiating customer amendments. Understand the implications of proposed changes, identify acceptable compromises and protect important commercial positions.
Adapting terms for new offerings. Prepare for different products, services, customer groups or sales channels, including the legal requirements and operational changes involved.
Allocating responsibility appropriately. Clarify warranties, liability, intellectual property rights and cancellation arrangements so both parties understand their commitments.
Whether you need your first set of terms or want to improve existing documents, we can help you identify what should be standard, what can be negotiated and what needs closer attention.
1. Review how agreements are currently made
We examine your quotations, order forms, existing terms and sales process. We ask about recurring difficulties and the transactions you want to pursue, so the review captures both current problems and future requirements.
2. Agree the commercial positions behind the wording
We work through payment, delivery, customer responsibilities, liability and other important provisions. We explain how the options affect your business, helping you decide where certainty matters and where flexibility is useful.
3. Prepare terms your team can use
We draft or update the documents and advise on how to present them, record acceptance and manage amendments. Your team gets a clearer framework for progressing routine transactions and recognising when a proposed departure needs further advice.
Terms of business that stand up to scrutiny
Coordinated legal support for your business
Our commercial lawyers can involve other specialists where needed, helping identify gaps or conflicting provisions before they cause problems. This gives you a more of a complete assessment of your agreement and a single point of contact to turn to as negotiations develop or new questions arise.
Finding the right legal partner
Why work with Harper James
Choose a legal partner you can trust: we’ll help protect your goals, your business and your people so you can move forward with confidence and focus on growing your business.
Affordable, transparent and predictable pricing
Clear itemised invoices, subscription plans with up to 50% discount, and fixed fee products help you plan and manage legal spend – with no nasty surprises.
Proven track record and measurable results
We’ve supported over 8,000 businesses since 2014, with an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 60+ from monthly client surveys.
Straight-talking, responsive advice
We’re here to make things easier, not add complexity. That means fast response times, practical expert legal advice delivered in plain English, and dedicated client service and account management support.
Risk and compliance assured
We’re an SRA regulated firm, but more importantly, we build quality, data, and compliance best practice into everything we do.
Appointing a legal partner is a big decision. That’s why we’re open about our values, culture and model, so you can see what makes us tick. And because a productive partnership starts with understanding, we always begin with a conversation – listening to your goals, pressures and plans, then tailoring our support to fit.
Why choose our commercial solicitors?
Meet our team
At Harper James, you work with experienced commercial lawyers who can exercise judgment on the points that matter to your transaction. Their experience helps them anticipate customer objections, spot obligations that could prove costly and recommend workable alternatives. This means more focused negotiations and terms that account for how an agreement will operate in practice, including where a concession could help secure the deal.
That expertise is available beyond the initial drafting. Harper James’ flexible pricing plans make it easier to return for advice when a customer requests amendments or your offering changes. We also help you introduce the terms into your sales process, giving you a practical foundation for future transactions and access to experienced lawyers when you need to adapt it.
Meet the commercial lawyers who can help with your terms of business:
Testimonials
What our clients say
The two contracts Harper James has been advising on were both major pieces of work worth tens of millions of pounds in potential business. The procurement process was therefore substantial, complicated and often onerous. Karen provided first-class support at all times. As a business, to move forward, we require a level of legal services which demonstrate an expert understanding, and Harper James delivers on that and more.
Keith Howes
MD,
Sysmex UK
We initially turned to Harper James for help in one part of our business but quickly realised we could benefit from their support in other areas too. The level of service has been impressive. What I like about Harper James is they seem to take a proactive approach to legal services provision. They’ve looked at our business and made suggestions as to areas where they can best focus their support and expertise. It is reassuring to have a legal services provider like that working alongside you.
Heidi Ayton
Chief of Compliance,
Croud
Harper James have been incredibly professional and responsive. They immediately understood the challenges we have. Not only those of any small business, but those relating to building a piece of complex tech, and they have been able to help us navigate that from a legal perspective.
Alastair MacGregor
Founder,
Do IT
We rely on Harper James to provide us with support across a full range of service areas, from commercial contracts and employment issues to fundraisings and investments. The team at Harper James are always available to provide us with cost effective, pragmatic and commercially focused advice.
Nick Holzherr
CEO,
Whisk.com
Sarah was incredibly responsive to my e-mails and was accurate with rough timelines for completion. She was also very approachable and down to earth on an agreement that contains a lot of jargon and isn't that user friendly for people from a non legal background. She also took the time to get to know the purpose the document will be used for to make it accurate and legally binding.
Steph Darrah
Business Development Manager,
Playtonic Limited
Harper James has been invaluable. They drafted the relevant agreements and gave us sound legal advice in an area that we did not have prior experience in. As a start-up, having advice and feedback from an organisation that specialises in early-stage enterprises was instrumental in us having the confidence to push forward with our product
Dean Bryan
Co-Founder,
Yyoma
How engaged, knowledgeable and personal HJ lawyers are. They offer pragmatic and practical advise with a quick turnaround.
Barbara Opala
General Counsel,
Norton Motorcycle Co.
Knowing that we have Harper James to help us through complex situations and difficult negotiations is very reassuring. Sarah knows our business inside out and we can rely on her to provide clear and timely commercial advice.
And on the odd occasion that we’ve needed help through a dispute, Ian Carson has always stepped in and dealt with the situation before it gets out of hand.
Nick Thompson
CEO,
One Beyond
Really happy- would especially single out the work of David Sant who is an exceptional and pragmatic lawyer.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
The team at Harper James has got to know our business over 3 years and is super responsive, adaptable and versatile to our needs. The lawyers are helpful and just really nice people who we’ve come to trust.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
Excellent response times and quality of responses. Our main contact Sarah Gunton has aligned perfectly with our expectations and way of working.
Lee Church
Bid Director,
Oldham Engineering Ltd
A very positive experience where Kevin really dug in to the detail of our commercial offer and ensured it was documented robustly in the contract
Jonathan Pearce
Chief Commercial Officer,
Lacuna Space Ltd
I've had great experience in dealing with HJ, unlike any I've experienced in the past. There was care and attention in the drafting stage working out my exact requirements, not just legally but understanding how the business worked to advise further.
Tushar Joshi
CEO,
Festival Pro Ltd
Super efficient service and June was a delight to work with.
Carol Evans
Director,
Harwood Brittain Technology
I'll sum it up in three words: Expertise, versatility and experience
Sarah Enuwhure
Account Manager,
Curva Digital Ltd
Kevin was great at understanding what my needs were and responded in a timely manner every time. It was great to talk to someone who understood our situation and made the transaction seamless between the old and new contracts
Simon Cox
Director,
Rothley Ltd
Julia has been excellent, helpful, and responsive. Her project turnaround time has been truly remarkable and is greatly appreciated.
Linus Alpsten
Linus Alpsten Founder,
Auracle
The two contracts Harper James has been advising on were both major pieces of work worth tens of millions of pounds in potential business. The procurement process was therefore substantial, complicated and often onerous. Karen provided first-class support at all times. As a business, to move forward, we require a level of legal services which demonstrate an expert understanding, and Harper James delivers on that and more.
Keith Howes
MD,
Sysmex UK
We initially turned to Harper James for help in one part of our business but quickly realised we could benefit from their support in other areas too. The level of service has been impressive. What I like about Harper James is they seem to take a proactive approach to legal services provision. They’ve looked at our business and made suggestions as to areas where they can best focus their support and expertise. It is reassuring to have a legal services provider like that working alongside you.
Heidi Ayton
Chief of Compliance,
Croud
Harper James have been incredibly professional and responsive. They immediately understood the challenges we have. Not only those of any small business, but those relating to building a piece of complex tech, and they have been able to help us navigate that from a legal perspective.
Alastair MacGregor
Founder,
Do IT
We rely on Harper James to provide us with support across a full range of service areas, from commercial contracts and employment issues to fundraisings and investments. The team at Harper James are always available to provide us with cost effective, pragmatic and commercially focused advice.
Nick Holzherr
CEO,
Whisk.com
Sarah was incredibly responsive to my e-mails and was accurate with rough timelines for completion. She was also very approachable and down to earth on an agreement that contains a lot of jargon and isn't that user friendly for people from a non legal background. She also took the time to get to know the purpose the document will be used for to make it accurate and legally binding.
Steph Darrah
Business Development Manager,
Playtonic Limited
Harper James has been invaluable. They drafted the relevant agreements and gave us sound legal advice in an area that we did not have prior experience in. As a start-up, having advice and feedback from an organisation that specialises in early-stage enterprises was instrumental in us having the confidence to push forward with our product
Dean Bryan
Co-Founder,
Yyoma
How engaged, knowledgeable and personal HJ lawyers are. They offer pragmatic and practical advise with a quick turnaround.
Barbara Opala
General Counsel,
Norton Motorcycle Co.
Knowing that we have Harper James to help us through complex situations and difficult negotiations is very reassuring. Sarah knows our business inside out and we can rely on her to provide clear and timely commercial advice.
And on the odd occasion that we’ve needed help through a dispute, Ian Carson has always stepped in and dealt with the situation before it gets out of hand.
Nick Thompson
CEO,
One Beyond
Really happy- would especially single out the work of David Sant who is an exceptional and pragmatic lawyer.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
The team at Harper James has got to know our business over 3 years and is super responsive, adaptable and versatile to our needs. The lawyers are helpful and just really nice people who we’ve come to trust.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
Excellent response times and quality of responses. Our main contact Sarah Gunton has aligned perfectly with our expectations and way of working.
Lee Church
Bid Director,
Oldham Engineering Ltd
A very positive experience where Kevin really dug in to the detail of our commercial offer and ensured it was documented robustly in the contract
Jonathan Pearce
Chief Commercial Officer,
Lacuna Space Ltd
I've had great experience in dealing with HJ, unlike any I've experienced in the past. There was care and attention in the drafting stage working out my exact requirements, not just legally but understanding how the business worked to advise further.
Tushar Joshi
CEO,
Festival Pro Ltd
Super efficient service and June was a delight to work with.
Carol Evans
Director,
Harwood Brittain Technology
I'll sum it up in three words: Expertise, versatility and experience
Sarah Enuwhure
Account Manager,
Curva Digital Ltd
Kevin was great at understanding what my needs were and responded in a timely manner every time. It was great to talk to someone who understood our situation and made the transaction seamless between the old and new contracts
Simon Cox
Director,
Rothley Ltd
Julia has been excellent, helpful, and responsive. Her project turnaround time has been truly remarkable and is greatly appreciated.
Linus Alpsten
Linus Alpsten Founder,
Auracle
Understanding terms of business
Common questions
Terms of business help establish how a transaction will proceed and what happens if it does not go as expected. These are some of the questions worth considering when you are preparing or reviewing them.
How can standard terms make contracting more efficient?
Standard terms provide an established starting point, so your team does not need to settle every provision afresh. Customers can see your usual arrangements, and negotiated changes can be considered against a consistent position.
That efficiency depends on suitable wording and a reliable process for using it. Terms that are unclear or poorly matched to your offering may create more questions than they resolve.
How should we deal with changes to the scope of work?
Define the original scope clearly and establish how changes will be agreed. A useful process covers the requested change, its effect on price and timing, and who has authority to approve it.
This allows you to accommodate new customer requirements while avoiding uncertainty about whether extra work is included in the original fee. Keeping a record of the agreement helps both teams work to the same expectations.
Can our terms limit liability?
Terms can allocate certain risks, but liability restrictions need careful assessment. Legal limits apply, and some liabilities cannot be excluded or restricted.
An appropriate position depends on the nature of the work, potential losses, contract value and available insurance. We can help you assess those factors and explain how proposed clauses affect your exposure and the negotiation.
Can we use the same terms for businesses and consumers?
Business and consumer transactions have different legal requirements. Consumer terms must respect statutory rights and meet requirements on fairness and transparency. Some sales methods also involve specific information and cancellation obligations.
Separate versions may make these differences easier to manage. The right approach depends on your offering, customer groups and how contracts are agreed.
