When to write TK - before or after signing the contract?

Question

Preparation of terms of reference

I understand that the question is somewhat delusional, but nonetheless.

- If you write the TOR after signing the contract, then the budget may change.
- If you write the TOR before signing the contract, then you can accidentally write the TOR for free.

You can break the process into stages, the first of which will be the writing of the TOR - but then it turns out that you need to sign two contracts, in the first of which the client will pay for the actual writing of the TOR. And customers don't like to pay for it - they think it's easy, and they can do it themselves.

I would appreciate any of your advice on this topic.

Answer 1

I'll tell you a little secret - the TK should be written by the customer.

Answer 2

We do this: We
sign a contract, which indicates only the cost of writing a technical specification. The contract also notes that the final cost of the project is estimated after the approval of the TOR. The estimate is drawn up as an annex to the contract. Read about what a framework agreement is.

Answer 3

There is no panacea in this matter. If the customer thinks that writing TK is easy, then let him write. The main thing is that you can correctly implement the work according to his TOR.
But it is best to practice 2 options:
1. Write TK before concluding a contract, with the risk of free work. At the same time, it is necessary (may be veiled) to include in the cost of the contract the cost of developing TK. I doubt that out of 10 orders (out of 10 free TK), for example, no one will conclude an agreement with you. Roughly speaking, treat the cost of writing technical specifications the same way as paying the rent of an office - there is no getting around it.
2. A separate contract for writing TK. But at the same time, it is still necessary to agree on the budget framework in advance. Otherwise, if the customer pays you the TOR, but it turns out that the cost of the main contract according to the drafted TOR is too high for him, he may be offended. On the other hand, and this is also an argument FOR a separate contract, he will be able to apply with this TOR (if it is correctly drawn up) to implement the task in another company, if he does not agree with you.
From experience I can say that we use both options. We look at the client first and then we agree.
PS It is impossible to conclude one contract (for TK + development). Here you are right, in case of an increase in the cost, it will be very difficult to prove this to the customer and change the amount of the contract. Sometimes the losses from this can exceed the cost of writing a “free” TOR (see point 1).

Answer 4

You write a contract in which you stipulate that the work will be performed in accordance with the TOR, the terms and cost will also be in the TOR. In the contract, write the cost and terms of drawing up the TK.
So the self-knowing one in the contract had ...

Answer 5

1. The customer says what he wants.
2. You say how much and how quickly you will do it.
3. Sign a contract
4. Write a statement of work for the agreed amount and terms
5. Does the customer want to change something?
6. For an additional fee and for other times.
7. The contract should contain a clause about making changes on the part of the customer and how it is resolved.

Answer 6

The more parameters agreed before signing the contract, the better.
However (!) no one says that TK is the ultimate truth. As a rule, the TOR is supplemented and specified by agreement of the parties in the development process. Sometimes, in case of large unforeseen labor costs, after clarification of the TOR, additional agreements are signed to the contract.
In general, the order of documentation with which I am used to working looks something like this:
- Customer requirements, as he sees them. (By the way, also TK :-) )
- Actual Requirements. Your translation of vague customer requirements in dry technical language.
- The actual Terms of Reference, under which the customer must already sign, so as not to milk anything out of you.
— The specification comes last. It is not very important for your performance of the contract, but it gives the customer a good understanding of what you did for him.
Each of the stages of documenting an order may well be fixed in a separate contract. And if it is necessary to work out a detailed technical specification, it can even cost some money.
If the customer wants to save on detailed technical specifications and completely relies on you, then the contract should be signed only if there is a financial statement in which each line is read unambiguously, otherwise you will have to argue for a long time about what was hidden behind the phrase “Write a new generation billing system”.

Answer 7

Before.
For the development of technical specifications I take a separate payment. I do it honestly, so that everyone is happy.
Customers should not be trusted to write technical specifications, because they overwhelmingly do not know how to do this. The customer should be interviewed, and according to the information received, suitable solutions should be proposed. Strictly for a fee.

Answer 8

Once upon a time, I worked at Reksoft, we sawed a project for a Moscow media company.
There was a TK just without a signed contract, that is, they worked on parole.
As a result, after the first demonstration of the product, the customer began to change the requirements, add and rewrite the technical specifications, and a year later the project fell apart.
So draw those conclusions.

Answer 9

We fill out and sign the Brief together with the customer. After the Brief, you will probably already know what to write in the TOR, and, therefore, the amount of work will be known. We sign a contract for this amount with an advance payment of 30%. In the contract, the amount is divided into stages, the first of which is the writing of technical specifications, which is usually 5% of the cost of all work.
It turns out that we do not focus on the fact that the customer must pay separately for the TK, he does not get the feeling that he is paying for it, we do not stipulate the cost of the TK and do not warn about it in advance - he can read about this only in the contract .