Business Question: Scope of Work/Contract Question

Adam

[H]ard|Gawd
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Question... does anybody have any examples of "contracts" or "scope of work" documents they have clients sign when they do a new networking job? Just curious to see some examples... might be looking to get these implimented into our jobs so that if a customer says "hey we were promised xyz" i can turn back to the document and go "no sir you were not, this is what you and your sales person agreed upon"

we run into it a lot where i go on site and a customer has one idea in mind when i was sent there under a completely different intention...

we do CCTV/networking things (structured cabling basically, mostly commercial sometimes residential).

just looking for examples of contracts/scope of work documents i can use to create our own
 
In my experience there really isn't a template for a scope of work (I'm usually the one paying vendors & consultants), basically what it boils down to is a line item list of what it is you're going to do with some detail about each part. So perhaps in your example it would read:

  • Install 1 SuperAwesome-o CCT camera on NW exterior of building, setup scan to cover 100 deg of coverage on parking lot, cable to back-end monitoring system, verify functionality
  • Install 1 SemiAwesome-o interior CCTV camera above recoptionist desk to cover front entrance. No scan, cable to back-end system and verify

etc, etc, etc...
 
Make it detailed. Spell out exactly what you will do. If there is any confusion spell out what is in scope and out of scope. Document what happens if they request something outside the scope document (charge, etc). You both need to sign it. Also spell out when the project will start, the expected duration, and any deliverables that come out of the project.
 
this really will boil down to what state the work is done in. example being that in my state (TN) depending on circumstances a VERBAL contract between two persons or bodies is binding. so much as a fast food napkin with a single sentence and two parties' initials will count and is legal and binding. other states require full on legal wording, layout, sometimes witness/notary.

talking contracts really comes down to getting a legal entity involved. may cost out the ass at the moment to get your "template" setup, but it may help you save money later from potential "contract breaches" brought on by incomplete or non-existent documentation/SLAs etc.
 
if this helps, probably already said many times too, list exactly what you are going to do, how long it is going to take, what hard ware you are using / taking away. Quotes etc etc should all be attached, product names serial numbers models should also be given at the end.

Letting the customer know how much it is, is KEY for you to get the job, another key is never go back and say yeah its going to be more money, because you should have a idea of how much its going to be before you do the work!
 
For some good example of what you are talking about look at ITIL. Really what you are talking about is an SLA (Service Level Agreement) which there is a lot of information that goes into. But basically you want to spell out who is responsible for what in the contract. Also, check out the Homeland Security website as they offer examples of some of their MOU's (Memorandum of Understanding) and how to write them.
 
Letting the customer know how much it is, is KEY for you to get the job, another key is never go back and say yeah its going to be more money, because you should have a idea of how much its going to be before you do the work![/QUOTE]

This is not always true. As a program you may never know the extent of damage that has been done until you get into the system and see what it is that you are working with. When/if it does come time to ask for more money, you will always want to do an amendment to the contract, rarely do you want to write a new contract. But Dashpuppy is right, you should have a good idea first and foremost, and whatever you do DO NOT undersell yourself. Making the customer aware of such variables is always good (i.e..."here is a preliminary assessment of your network with full cost allocation of what I have found. Now you will notice that I put X in the contract because....")
 
For some good example of what you are talking about look at ITIL. Really what you are talking about is an SLA (Service Level Agreement) which there is a lot of information that goes into. But basically you want to spell out who is responsible for what in the contract. Also, check out the Homeland Security website as they offer examples of some of their MOU's (Memorandum of Understanding) and how to write them.

usually an SLA defines the availability of a service, not really the same as a statement of work, or a proposal.
In the OPs case, an SLA would be "your cameras will record video 99.99% of the time over the course of one year and retain that footage for 2 weeks on disk and 3 months on tape. the video on disk will be vailable for viewing immediatly and older footage can be requested using for X and be available online within 48 hours.." yad yada
The proposal would be a rough outline of what you intend to do, hardware to be purchased high level cost estimates without really detailed breakdown.
the statement of work would elaborate on your proposal after it has been signed by your client. it would include timelines, material costs, labour costs and describe the method in which ammendments would be made and approved for overages.
Build in a 20-ish percent buffer for unexpected crap (oh, we had to rent some big all drill to get through a retardedly thick exterior wall to mount the one camera) and you should be fine.
 
Agreed on that there's no set template for this sort of thing and it'd be best to employ a lawyer versed in the contract law where you do business to assist you with creating your template.

Another item to cover is what is expected of the client to provide to you (i.e. access to XYZ facilities, required configurations, blah blah blah - i.e. if you dont' have them, you can't complete what you're required to do).
 
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