Whether you make sales online, in person, over the phone or by mail, it is strongly recommended that you have written terms and conditions in place to ensure that the sales agreement is clear to both the buyer and seller. You can use our Terms and conditions template to cover all the legally required information.
Having written terms and conditions allows you to:
- Tell your customer how you will provide the goods and/or services
- Explain pricing, delivery, orders and other sales information
- Protect your business from non-payment or other breaches of the terms and conditions by your customers
- Protect your confidential information and intellectual property
- Run your business efficiently
By agreeing to terms and conditions, a customer acknowledges that they are aware of their rights and obligations. This helps to prevent disputes in future.
Our Terms and conditions template allows you to effortlessly generate customised terms and conditions tailored to your business needs. It includes important terms and conditions, such as price, delivery and payment terms, returns and refunds, how the client provides information and resources to you, and how you will provide the services with due care and skill. It also includes terms to limit your liability as allowed by law, allocate responsibility for breaches of the agreement, and protect your intellectual property and confidential information.
Using the terms and conditions template
- Follow this link.
- Click ‘Get started’.
- Complete the questionnaire with details of your business and sales (see below for the information you will need to provide).
- Download the completed document and read through it carefully to ensure it covers your situation appropriately. If you are unsure what any of the clauses mean, seek legal advice. You can access a specialist lawyer in a few simple steps using our Ask a Lawyer service.
- Upload the terms and conditions to your website if you conduct online sales, or keep paper copies available for sales made in person.
Information required to complete the template
When using our template, you will need to supply the following information:
- Business details
You should state whether your business is a: limited company, LP or LLP, sole trader, or general partnership.
If your business is a limited company, LP or LLP, you will need your Companies House registration number. You should also provide your business name and address.
- Whether your business is registered for VAT
Generally, you must register for VAT and charge it on your goods or services if your turnover for the previous year is more than £90,000 or you believe your annual turnover will exceed the £90,000 per annum threshold in the next 30 days. For more information on this, as well as how and when to register for VAT, see our Q&A here.
- Type of sale and buyer
You’ll need to indicate whether you are selling goods, services or both, and whether sales will be agreed face to face (in your shop or premises), online, by phone, at the buyers’ home or business, or via another method.
You’ll also need to indicate whether your customers are businesses or consumers. A consumer is an individual who purchases goods and services for personal use, outside their professional or working capacity.
- Contact methods
The questionnaire will ask how the buyer should contact you and how you will contact them to confirm their order.
- Interest rate on late payments
In the event that the buyer makes a late payment, how much interest will you charge? You can find guidance on charging interest on late payments in our Q&A.
- Problems performing the contract
In the event that the contract cannot be performed due to circumstances beyond your control, you’ll be asked to confirm how long such circumstances can last before the contract can be ended by you or the buyer, and how much notice you wish to be given in such circumstances.
- Complaints and cancellation
Do you have an online cancellation form? The terms and conditions template already includes a blank copy of the legally required cancellation form. You do not have to offer an online cancellation option as well, although you can if you wish. If you do and the buyer uses it, you have to communicate to them a prompt acknowledgement in writing (by letter or email) that you have received the cancellation.
Do you have a complaints policy? You are not legally required to have a complaints handling policy but, if you do have one, you are legally required to make it available to your buyer if they wish to see it.
The content in this article is up to date at the date of publishing. The information provided is intended only for information purposes, and is not for the purpose of providing legal advice. Sparqa Legal’s Terms of Use apply.
Marion joined Sparqa Legal as a Senior Legal Editor in 2018. She previously worked as a corporate/commercial lawyer for five years at one of New Zealand’s leading law firms, Kensington Swan (now Dentons Kensington Swan), and as an in-house legal consultant for a UK tech company. Marion regularly writes for Sparqa’s blog, contributing across its commercial, IP and health and safety law content.