After Signing a Business Agreement: Evidence, Escalation, Hygiene

Confirm the person signing for a company or firm is authorised to bind it. All parties sign every page and date the signature page. Each party keeps a signed original (or a complete signed scan exchanged by email — keep that email). Check whether your agreement attracts stamp duty in your state before execution; rates vary by state and by agreement type, so use our stamp duty guidance rather than assuming.

For every milestone or delivery: written acceptance from the other side (email is fine), the invoice referencing the agreement and milestone, and the delivery proof itself — files, deployment links, delivery challans. Pay and get paid by traceable means. This running file is what decides disputes; reconstructing it a year later rarely works.

Verbal scope changes are where most freelancer and vendor disputes start. Any change to scope, price, or timeline goes into a written amendment or change order — even a clear email exchange both sides acknowledge is far better than nothing. If your agreement has a no-oral-modification clause, honour it.

Follow the ladder: a polite written reminder citing the invoice and the agreement's payment clause, then a firm follow-up with a stated date, then a formal legal notice demanding payment — most payment disputes end at the notice stage without court. Money claims are generally subject to a limitation period, so do not let an unpaid invoice age indefinitely; escalation delayed too long is escalation lost.

Limitation Act, 1963 — Schedule, Part I (e.g. Articles 14/15 price of goods, 18/19 work done or money lent; residuary Article 113)

Mark what your NDA actually covers and handle it that way — confidentiality obligations usually survive the agreement's end. If the contract transfers IP on final payment, confirm the payment and the transfer in writing when it happens. Put the term end, any auto-renewal date, and the termination notice period from your own agreement on a calendar — the notice period that applies is the one written in your document, so read it there rather than assuming a standard.