Attorney?

[Lonnie]

Thanks. I already consulted and attorney from here and he suggested I use rocketlawyer.com and have him tweak the contract. Not sure if it`s worth the hassle and money. I am currently working at Wegmans in Fairmount and am trying to get them as a commercial account. In that case i will need some kind of a billing agreement ie contract. I have never really felt the need for service contract in my 16 years of doing this. We agree on the service I will provide before I do the job.

With the price of materials (in your case, detailing products and associated supplies/equipment) in a state of flux due to inflation and supply-chain availability, I make the case about stating a time period of agreed prices for your detailing services. If you have bought enough detailing products, supplies, and equipment to cover the quantity of vehicles over that agreed time period, then it is pretty easy to determine what you should charge per vehicle and specific detailing services add-ons/options if the client so desires without fear of losing money. THAT`S the reason for a service agreement in writing; BOTH parties, service provider and client, know the cost of and price to be paid for, respectively, of said services. Your word and the client`s "word as a bond" and/or gentleman`s handshake "business agreements", while a seemingly great way of doing business for services often leave one party or the other out in the cold when "disagreements" arise. You would like to believe that clients are honest, trustworthy, and up-front with you, but you know that is not the real-world business environment we live in today and that reciprocates and applies to you a service provider.

I say that because we had a roofing business come and do an estimate for a new roof on our house last late October 2021 When we stated we wanted this done next spring, he said he could give a price quote, but it would only be for that week. THAT seemed rather short and abrupt in time. I said not even 30-days? NOPE! His story is that he got burned financially last spring of 2021 when building material prices sky-rocketed and he had signed contracts with prices locked in for quotes he had done 60 day`s prior. Plywood sheeting and Blandex (glued oriented strand board or OBS waferboard) sheeting had gone from his normal pre-pandemic purchased price of $8 to $12 per sheet to $40 to $60 per sheet, IF he could even find it. Needless to say, he said he "lost his shirt" monetarily, but honored his contract price rather than loose his roofing business reputation. Some customers understood and were willing to negotiate higher price "adjustments" while others, obviously, stated a contract is a contract. Live and learn.
I would hope newer contracts for longer periods of time would have "subject to market price adjustment" clauses in them now, with the option of the client to opt-out and cancel if deemed too high by an agreed percentage of increase over the original roof quote, which would cover the financial interest of both service provider and client, respectively, but that sounds way too legally complicated. (ANOTHER Captain Obvious title: business law attorney. Remember supposedly attributed to Abraham Lincoln`s famous quote: "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one`s mouth and remove all doubt." Just sayin`!.......)