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Contract review for small businesses and suppliers

Big customers send terms written to protect them. LegalSling makes small business contract review practical: it explains every clause in plain English and flags what’s one-sided or unusual, before you sign.

What is small business contract review?

Small business contract review means checking a contract a bigger company has sent you before you sign it: what you’re supplying, when you’ll be paid, what you’d owe if something went wrong, how long you’re tied in and where a dispute would be heard. LegalSling is built for small businesses and suppliers in the UK, EU and US that sell to larger organisations, from manufacturers and wholesalers to service firms, distributors and resellers.

The clauses that cost you money, highlighted

Large organisations often send the same standard terms to all their suppliers. They’re a starting position, but they’re often signed as if they were final, because checking them properly takes time and legal fees that are hard to justify on every contract.

LegalSling highlights the words that matter and explains what they mean for you and for the customer, so a 90-day payment term, a “supplier contribution” taken off every invoice or a right to set off other claims doesn’t slip past you.

The contracts small businesses and suppliers are sent

Most of what a supplier signs falls into a few families, usually on the customer’s paper. LegalSling works on any contract text, including leases and equipment finance agreements, but it’s built for commercial contracts like these.

Supply agreements

Terms for supplying goods over time. Look for forecasts the customer isn’t bound by, prices fixed while your costs rise, liability for defects and recalls, and exclusivity.

Terms and conditions from a big customer

Often attached to purchase orders and written for every supplier. They tend to include long payment terms, deductions and set-off, a right to cancel orders, and broad indemnities.

Services agreements

Terms for work delivered over time, often with service levels and credits deducted when you miss them. Check the scope, what counts as a failure, how liability is capped, and how the agreement ends or renews.

Framework agreements

Terms for future orders, without a promise of any. They can still commit you to prices, capacity or response times for the whole term, whether or not orders arrive.

Distribution and reseller agreements

Where and how you sell someone else’s products, or they sell yours. Watch for exclusivity, minimum purchase targets, controls on resale prices (which can raise competition law questions) and what happens to stock at the end.

Non-disclosure agreements

Often signed before a tender, trial or first meeting. Check whether the NDA is mutual, how broadly it defines confidential information, how long it lasts, and whether it includes a non-solicit.

Supply agreement red flags to check first

In a big customer’s terms, the imbalance usually sits in a few clauses: how and when you’re paid, what you’d owe if something went wrong, how long you’re tied in, and where disputes are heard. These guides explain them.

15 contract red flags to check before you sign Unlimited liability, one-way indemnities, exclusivity, automatic renewal and personal guarantees from directors: the clauses that most often tilt a deal, and what to ask about each. Read the guide Payment terms, deductions and set-off What 60 or 90 days from the end of the month means for your cash flow, the deductions that quietly reduce your price, and interest when a business customer pays late. Read the guide Governing law and jurisdiction Which country’s or state’s law applies, where disputes are heard, and why courts or arbitration far from home can make a claim too costly to pursue. Read the guide How to brief a lawyer on a contract Get advice on the clauses that matter without paying for a line-by-line read of the whole contract. Read the guide

How LegalSling helps you review a contract before signing

LegalSling works as a contract checker for the paperwork bigger customers send, built for commercial contract review. Upload the contract as a PDF (scans included), a Word document or text, and you get:

  • Every clause explained in plain English, with what it means for your business and for the customer, and which way it leans.
  • Red flags for terms that are markedly one-sided, unusual for this kind of agreement or may go further than the law allows, plus points worth a look, with the exact words highlighted.
  • The governing law, taken from the contract’s own wording and quoted, or “not stated” if it isn’t there. It’s built for England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, EU member states and US states.
  • Answers to questions such as “Can the customer cancel an order after we’ve bought the materials?”, drawn only from the contract, with paragraph references.
  • Your own notes, gathered with the flags and suggested questions into a printable brief for your solicitor or attorney.
  • Every quote it shows checked against the contract’s actual text.
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New accounts get free credits to try it. See pricing.

What LegalSling isn’t

LegalSling isn’t a law firm and doesn’t give legal advice. It explains what the contract says and flags points to raise, but it won’t tell you whether to sign or what to negotiate. For a valuable, long-term or risky contract, and for any personal guarantee, a lawyer’s advice is worth having, and the brief helps you get it quickly and for less.

Frequently asked questions

What should a small business check before signing a supplier agreement?

Start with the money: price, payment terms, deductions and set-off. Then check your risk (liability caps, indemnities and insurance), how long you’re committed and how either side can leave, any exclusivity, and where disputes would be heard. A personal guarantee from a director deserves a lawyer’s advice before anyone signs it.

Which terms apply if we have our own terms and conditions too?

It depends on how the contract was formed. When each side sends its own standard terms, which set applies can turn on the order in which documents were sent and accepted, the so-called “battle of the forms”, and the rules differ between the UK, EU countries and US states. If it matters to you, it’s a question for a lawyer.

Can a customer’s terms switch off interest on late payment?

In the UK, only to a limited extent. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 generally lets a business claim interest and fixed compensation when another business pays late, and a clause excluding that right only works if the contract gives a substantial remedy for late payment instead. EU countries have their own rules based on the EU Late Payment Directive, and US rules depend on the contract and the state. Rules change, so check the government’s current guidance.

Can LegalSling review a lease or equipment finance agreement?

Yes. It explains any contract text clause by clause, including commercial leases and equipment finance agreements. It’s built for commercial contracts such as supply and services agreements, though, and leases and finance agreements have specialist rules of their own, so treat its explanation as preparation for talking to a lawyer. Both can include a personal guarantee, which deserves a lawyer’s advice.

Can LegalSling tell me if a contract is fair?

It shows you where a contract leans. Each clause comes with a note on what it means for each side and which way it leans, and markedly one-sided or unusual terms are flagged. Whether the deal is acceptable is your decision, ideally with a lawyer’s advice on the clauses that matter most.

Know exactly what you’re agreeing to

Upload a contract and get a plain-English review with red flags and a brief for your lawyer. 500 free credits to start, no card needed.

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