Agents, Representatives and Distributor Agreements An agent is a company or individual who represents another company (the 'principal') and who usually receives commission on sales that the agent arranges. An agent for a manufacturer, for example, will find customers for the manufacturer's goods, the manufacturer will sell directly to the customer and the agent will be paid a commission by the manufacturer. Sometimes a company will enter into an agreement with a "representative" whose role may be that of an agent or it may be confined to a particular task – e.g. informing the company of opportunities for tendering in a particular country. In this situation, a representation agreement may be required. A distributor, on the other hand, is someone who buys goods from a manufacturer or supplier and then sells the goods on to its customers, either retailers or end-users. For this situation, a distributor agreement, would be required. Agents, Distributors and Representatives are often appointed for defined territories and they may be exclusive (for example, where an exclusive distributor is appointed for a territory), or non-exclusive (i.e., where more than one agent, distributor or representative works within one territory). Our agreements are all reasonably balanced between the company or 'principal' on the one hand and the agent, or distributor, on the other but, as you will see from the list, we have legal documents designed for use by the agent or distributor as well as for the principal.

Ancillary Employment Documents This section contains general employment documents which are intended to provide employment guidelines to staff. Included in this section are business template forms for expenses in general, travel expenses templates, and email policy documents.

Be Collaborative Construction Contract The Be Collaborative Contract was published in September 2003.  Until recently it was  available to buy online through ContractStore. A new version of the Be Contract, entitled the JCT - Constructing Excellence Contract, was published by the JCT (Joint Contracts Tribunal) in December 2006 and as it has effectively both updated and replaced its predecessor, the Be CC has now been withdrawn from circulation.  The JCT- Constructing Excellence Contract  can be obtained from the JCT and their selected stockists. For more information see the JCT website: http://www.jctcontracts.com/JCT/contracts/view_family.jsp?familyId=180 Be is the acronym for Collaborating for the Built Environment, an organisation which is now part of Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment, an industry-wide body. For more information, see their website: http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/

Business Books Lawpack's range of business books offer business advice on all aspects of running a business, including employment law, accounting and health and safety. Lawpack's downloadable titles also give step-by-step guidance to forming a limited company.  Lawpack's array of business legal forms, personnel records and company minutes and resolutions give extra support and complement ContractStore's wide range of business contract templates. The legal forms can be found under 'Company Forms' on this website.

Business Packs Our packs provide great value collections of our most popular items. They are designed with the needs of particular businesses in mind, to cover at a great saving, the legal documents that you are likely to need to protect your interests.

Business Sale Agreements There are two principal ways of buying or selling a business - you are either trading business assets or, in the case of a company, shares in that company are traded. Anyone buying a business ought to investigate it first. This is known as Due Diligence. A Confidentiality Agreement is always recommended for both sides before the Due Diligence exercise begins. This section contains example business sale contracts and business purchase agreements.

Chinese Contracts If you are doing business in China, you may discover that sorting out a contract between you and your business partners can be complicated. We offer a unique collection of dual-language contracts to enable you to trade with partners in China securely and with good understanding between the parties. You can also download our free notes on Doing Business in China, with tips for newcomers. Whether you are looking for Chinese sales contracts, employment contracts, an agency agreement or licences for manufacture, these Chinese contract templates will be useful. These Chinese contracts, and their explanatory notes, are provided in duplicate, with one version in English and one in Chinese. They are in Word format using Chinese character sets - to view these Chinese contract documents your computer should have the appropriate language support installed.

Commercial Contracts This is our full list of Commercial Contracts covering new and existing businesses as well as international. If you know what contract you are looking for, you may find it easier to use the links to different categories of contract shown below.

Company Forms Company Management is made easy with this range of legal forms and business templates.  These business resources help you document board minutes and company resolutions, and prepare your filings for Companies House.  There are also downloads to help your business issue share certificates and transfer shares, and templates to assist proper financial control - cash flow forecasts, capex requests etc. Most of these forms are supplied by Lawpack.

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements When discussing new projects, ideas and products with potential business partners, it is often important to keep the negotiations confidential. A Confidentiality Agreement or Non-Disclosure Agreement will protect your business and innovations from exposure.

Construction, Building and Engineering Contracts We have a range of documents (including construction contracts & building contracts) suitable for professional consultants, contractors, clients and for people who need a contract for construction or maintenance work but who are not too familiar with the construction industry. For the full list please scroll down this page. To appoint an architect, quantity surveyor, engineer or other professional consultant, our document B100  (Appointment of Professional Consultant) is recommended. For a client, there is an advantage in having such a contract as it means that all members of  the professional team will work to essentially the same terms and conditions, which is much easier to administer than having each professional consultant appointed on his own profession's terms,  which are usually too heavily weighted in favour of the professional. If you are consultant wanting to formalise an appointment with a client, documents B102 to B105 might be appropriate. For engaging in building works or working with contractors you should consider building contracts B121 (Short Form of Contract for Works & Services) or B122 (Conditions of Contract for Supply of Works & Services). B125 (Contract for Provision of Maintenance Services) may also be suitable if you are looking for maintenance work. If you are a contractor, you would find our construction contract B137 (Standard Terms & Conditions for Construction Work) suitable as your standard terms, and to appoint a subcontractor, go to B128. For larger projects, a contractor planning to enter into a joint venture can find an appropriate agreement at B148 (Joint Venture Agreement) and if you are bidding for work on a joint basis, try B138 (Bidding Agreement/Teaming Agreement). If you are supplying and installing equipment, our document B150 for Supply & Installation Services should be suitable. It comes with a Quotation form plus a set of Terms & Conditions. If you want to get ahead with some work before all the contract terms are settled, you will need to protect yourself and we have a template for this  - B124 (Letters of Intent). We also have a number of security documents – including Parent Company Guarantee (B149), Collateral Warranties (B143 to B145) and Performance Bond (B146). To find out more about construction contracts or building contracts before you buy, click on the one that interests you and read the detailed Explanatory Notes about it.

Consultancy Agreements Many companies not only employ staff but also have people providing consultancy services on a self-employed basis. This section has a list of popular consultancy contracts. We also have consultancy agreement and services agreement contracts designed for individuals or companies who are providing consulting services.

Developing Your Business Business relationships are made up of a whole range of different relationships between a business and its suppliers, customers, representatives, agents and distributors. In addition, a business will sometimes enter into a joint venture with another company to bid for or carry out a project. You'll find here all kinds of business contracts designed to establish and manage these alliances. We have put here a few of our most popular legal documents for running your business, such as employment contracts, partnership contracts and other general business contracts; but there are too many to list them all on this page so please browse the related categories by following the blue links below.

Dispute Resolution Examples If you get into a dispute there are various methods of resolving the conflict - including mediation, adjudication, and arbitration. Here we offer forms of agreement, Alternative Dispute Resolution examples and some free information on Dispute Resolution. When you are entering into a contract it can be sensible to have a carefully written Dispute Resolution clause. This gives options for direct negotiation and other procedures which are designed to avoid, or failing that, to manage any disagreement that arises. Our links page has a wide range of international organisations involved in Dispute Avoidance and Dispute Resolution.

Employment Contracts Employment Contracts for every situation from part-time workers to overseas posting. Almost every business will require legally binding employment agreements. Browse this list of general employment contracts and explore more employment contract categories by following the blue links.

Free Business Forms and Legal Documents ContractStore has compiled a collection of useful free information on a variety of legal topics for business and construction. Please help yourself to these Free Business Forms and Legal Documents and contact us if you would like more advice. We also compile links to useful sources of free information affecting businesses.

Full Catalogue This is our full catalogue of all legal business contracts and legal services. Unless you know exactly which legal contract you are looking for, you may find it more useful to use the Contracts drop-down menu, or the links (below) to Contract Collections, to find the document you want.

Intellectual Property Contracts Intellectual property includes copyrighted artwork, designs, photographs, and creative works in other media, as well as text copy, and inventions. We have a range of contracts to help you protect your intellectual property in business transactions. A key document for a new business idea, for example, would be the Confidentiality Agreement or Non-Disclosure Agreement.

International Contracts Whether you are already working in more than one country or you want to expand your business activities into new territories, we have a wide range of specialist legal documents written by international lawyers for use in international business agreements. We can also supply custom international law contracts for you - see the Legal Services section.

Internet Contracts We have a range of templates for contracts used online, for internet and e-commerce businesses. If you don't see what you're looking for, please let us know - we are expanding our internet catalogue and would welcome your suggestions.

Joint Venture Agreements and Collaborating Contracts This collection is for when you are entering into a joint venture, bidding for work with another company or entering into a long-term arrangement, such as for the manufacture and sale of products. The contracts below include joint venture agreements and other joint venture contracts relating to confidentiality and licences.

Legal Services You can request legal support services from ContractStore, including the following: Legal Document Tailoring If you buy one of our documents and need some changes to meet you special circumstances, we can tailor the document for you. Custom Legal Documents We can prepare new legal document templates on request. Checking Your Legal Document You can have our lawyers check over your legal documentation to make sure it will be right for your needs. First, please use this form to let us know about your requirements. Assuming we can help you, we will let you know how much the service will cost and give you a delivery date. You can then return to this page and select the level of support you will require. We will always give you a fixed price quotation and that price will be calculated by reference to the estimated time needed for the lawyer to do the work, based on an hourly rate of £100.  Our minimum charge for tailoring or checking a document is £75.  Our minimum charge for preparing a new contract template is £150.  These pre-paid legal services are provided by ContractStore and approved associate lawyers. Prices are exclusive of VAT which will be added when appropriate.

Leisure Leisure activities often require legal documents – indeed, there are lawyers who specialise in sport and entertainment law.  Among our documents is a Club Constitution for anyone who is setting up a sports club, a contract for hiring premises for an event, and syndicate agreements for those who want to share a boat or a glider. We also have a club membership form together with the terms and ocnditions of membership. In addition we have an agreement for an art gallery with an artist whose work is to be exhibited, a contract to provide a speaker for a function and a photographer's terms of business.

Licences If you are supplying software or media products, or are manufacturing goods, you can expand your business by licensing your product to another company. These documents are sutiable for forming the terms of the licence agreement between the parties. Before entering into a licencing agreement, it is also a good idea to sign a Confidentiality Agreement or a Non-Disclosure Agreement. This is particularly the case if you are entering into negotiations with a company to manufacture a product you have developed.

Manufacture, Purchase and Hire Agreements If you have invented a product that you want to have manufactured, our Licence for Manufacture and Sale A126 may be suitable. If you are already in business producing goods and wish to expand into a new market by licensing another company to manufacture your goods, then our Licence for Manufacture Overseas A134, is preferable. If you are asked to manufacture a product for someone who provides you with some of the raw materials, our Manufacture and Supply Agreement A184 is the document to use. As for a business that wants to receive regular supplies of goods or equipment, our Long Term Supply Agreement A138, is the contract for you. And if you are hiring or want to hire equipment, have a look at the Hire Agreement A145.

Overseas and Expatriate Employment Contracts Employing an expatriate or sending an employee overseas requires a special form of employment contract, a variety of which you can find here. There are also some supporting documents relevant to overseas travel.

Partnerships and Shareholder Agreements If you are setting up a new business, or already in business with other people, you will need to regulate the arrangements between shareholders or partners using Partnerships and Shareholder Agreements. We have a number of partnership agreement templates that can be of help here. When forming a Limited Company, a Shareholder's Agreement is recommended. When forming a Partnership, you will need a Partnership Agreement and, if you're setting up a Limited Liability Partnership, you would use a Limited Liability Partnership Agreement. If your business is teaming up with another, for example to form a joint venture or to bid for work together, please follow the Collaborating with Other Companies link. Confidentiality is usually a pre-requisite of any collaboration and you see our collection in the link below.

Photography Professional photographers need to protect themselves with suitable terms and conditions. These should include considerations such as damage to digital images, copyright and rights to sell images. When using a model, a model release should be used to ensure that the photographer has rights to sell the image and to prevent models from subsequently suing for revenue. Photographers using a website to promote their business may also need a Privacy Policy for the site and if selling products from their site, terms and conditions for online sales would be useful.

Property Contracts Almost every business is involved in property in some way - usually as a tenant, sometimes as a landlord. This section contains a range of relevant documents - in addition to some forms of lease, we have related agreements such as a form of assignment, a surrender of lease and a short term licence to occupy. Since the law governing property transactions can be very different from one country to another, please note that these property documents are designed specifically for use in England and Wales and have been written by an English property lawyer (unless the description states otherwise).

Sale and Purchase of Goods and Services It is sensible for every business which regularly buys or sells goods and/or services to have some Standard Terms and Conditions for those transactions. Our collection includes a range of suitable T and Cs. You'll also find some more specialist forms including purchase and sale agreement templates, and contracts for hiring goods and premises. If your business involves collaboration with a Manufacturer to supply and sell products, please follow the link to our Manufacturing contracts.

Sampler The following contracts are available for you to download FREE, as a representative sample from our catalogue. Whilst you will not be charged for these items, the process is as close as possible to that which charged clients experience: you select the items, add them to the basket,  etc. The only stage that is missed out is the one where you are asked for your payment. Please note: These samples are made available for your inspection, but are not for your commercial usage. They remain our copyright   and must not be distributed further.

Self Employed Contracts If you are self-employed or providing consultancy services, these self employed contract templates may be of use. If you are acting as an agent or in some other representative capacity please follow the link to view our Agents, Representatives and Distributors collection. You may also want to look at the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements which can be useful for self employed individuals particularly when setting up a business or enetering new business relationships.

South African Contracts So far, we only have one South African contract, a very useful Shareholders Agreement suitable for doing business in South Africa. Until more templates are available, please contact us if you have specific requirements for South African contracts.

Starting your Business Below you will find contracts for when you start a new business. If you wonder why you should bother with business contracts, think for a moment: whether or not you write down the terms, you will be entering into contracts with other people all the time – with your suppliers, your customers or clients and your employees and /or consultants. In addition, unless you are a one-person business, you will need an agreement with your partners or fellow shareholders on how the business will be financed and managed and how decisions will be taken. Your new business will benefit because professionally drafted contracts will: protect you in your dealings with other people; give your business a professional, established image when you use standard terms for buying and selling goods and services; help you meet legal requirements, in particular with regard to employees and the regulatory and tax authorities. If you need something that is not listed here, have a look in the alternative contract collections indicated or use our search facility. We can also supply custom contracts for you - see the Legal Services section.

UK Employment Contracts These employment contracts and related documents are designed for use in the UK. You can browse employment contracts for other territories using the blue links below.

US Contracts Doing business in the United States is always viewed both with anticipation (because of the opportunity that such a large market offers) and with trepidation (because of the complexity inherent in multiple legal systems and multiple layers of government). Having the right legal documentation can go a long way to control legal risk, however, and the US contracts section of the ContractStore website is intended to provide a number of the most common commercial contracts, appropriately tailored as far as possible to conform to US laws. In the United States, state laws govern many aspects of commercial relationships. These laws tend to be substantially similar across the country though they do vary from state to state. Most states follow some variation of English common law. However, Louisiana stands out in this respect, as it bases parts of its commercial and other laws on the civil codes rather than on the common law. When in doubt about a contract in America, it is imperative to consult with competent legal counsel admitted in the state in question.