How Often Should You Update Contracts?

I’m so excited to be back chatting with you in another issue of Sam’s Sidebar, my weekly legal Q&A where I A your Qs about online business.

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Oh and I’ve got some super exciting news for you if you enjoy my podcast, On Your Terms™️!

Starting today, I’ll be sharing a short and sweet, less-than-10-mins, Sam’s Sidebar Q&A episode on On Your Terms™️ every Thursday, too! Today’s episode just went live: it’s less than 8 mins and tells you what else (if anything) you need besides an LLC. Listen here!​

Let’s jump into our Legal Q&A Sesh! 👇

The Question //

How often do you need to update your contract and when do you need a client to sign a new contract?

The Answer //

You need to update your client and program contracts:

1 | when you learn a lesson

As I always tell my customers, when something “bad” happens in your business — like a client doesn’t pay their invoice or they “quit” on you 1 month into your 3 month contract — it’s a learning opportunity.

The reason you typically have a question about what to do (or what you *can* do) is because the language you need to guide you is missing from your contract.

So if a client cancels your contract because they said they learned everything from you they needed to learn 1 month in — it’s time to shore up your term and termination sections, for example.

2 | when laws change

From time to time, new laws or regulations are introduced that require us to update or change our contracts and policies. This is one thing my Ultimate Bundle™️ members love about the fact that the Bundle includes lifetime updates AND a monthly email newsletter from me with any changes that need to be made.

3 | during quarterly check-ups

Whether you learn a hard business lesson or not, a good “best practice” is to set a quarterly reminder in your favorite productivity tool (I use Asana) on or around:

• January 15
• April 15
• July 15
• October 15

If I were you? I’d take myself to a coffee shop, set a timer for 60 minutes, and take a quick look through my contracts, policies, disclaimers etc.

You might see something you didn’t even remember needed updating!

As for when you need a client to sign a new contract — that would be anytime your contract changes and the client is re-upping with you.

If they’re going to sign on to work with you again, then have them sign your new contract. Ask them to review the entire contract and sign instead of telling them (as tempting as it is): “I only changed this, this and this.” You don’t want that responsibility — you want them to review the whole thing and sign it if they feel comfortable with it in its entirety.

If you need lawyer-drafted legit contracts and website policies for your business, you can purchase any contract or policy you need a la carte in my DIY Legal Template shop.

Each of my legal templates comes with its own How-To Video Tutorial where I visually walk you through how to fill it out and explain what it means (in non-lawyer speak).

Hope this was helpful! Comment below and let me know! 🙂

PS: What Else Does Your Biz Need Besides an LLC? This week I’m sharing what else your business needs besides an LLC to stay legally protected — all in less than 8 mins. Pop on those sneaks & meet me for a walk! 🎙 LISTEN HERE! 🎧