Rogers Communications, Inc., a Canadian wireless company, will likely have to pay an additional $2.13 million to use utility poles in the Maritimes region of Canada due to a misplaced comma in its contract with Aliant, Inc. The one sentence in the 14-page contract is written: The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.” Roger's intent was to have a 5 year commitment with a 5 year extension that could be terminated by either party with 1 year prior notice. The second comma in the sentence changes that meaning and allows either the initial 5 year term or the 5 year extension to be terminated by either party with 1 year notice. This shows the importance of sentence construction and that the lawyers get it wrong sometimes, too. Carefully read all contracts -- and have your attorney do so as well. Two sets of eyes are better than one!
As a side note, Rogers may be in luck as the French version of the contract does not reflect this ambiguity.
I was talking with a prospective client today who is purchasing a business about bringing in outside expertise to augment their knowledge. Specifically, we discussed part-time CFOs. This structure provides small businesses access to expertise without the overhead of a full-time person. In many cases, entrepreneurs can handle the day-to-day bookkeeping on their own or through employees but aren't ready to bring on an executive team to fill such posts. Many consultants and other professional service providers offer an Executive-For-Hire program such as the one described in the upcoming Puget Sound Business Journal article. As a side note, such programs are very effective for legal counsel. Part-time General Counsel services are available through Small Business Legal Services.
I heard an interesting piece this morning on NPR about a small cafe in Washington, D.C. that implemented a no-cash policy about 6 months ago. The owner of Snap decided that managing the cash side of the business added more stress and more risk to her company and decided to go plastic-only. This occurred to her when she was out of town and needed an employee to cover for her. The employee was someone she trusted but felt as the company grew, she may not always have people she trusted to handle the cash. Also, she disliked having to head to the bank each day or worry about the security of cash. She finally contacted her merchant banking company and asked them to lower her fees in exchange for the increased volume in her business. They agreed. Some customers of Snap have expressed frustration in the inability to use cash because of the small dollar amount of most Snap receipts. That being said, most customers have a credit or debit card to use and the waiting line at Snap hasn't diminished with the new policy. Think about how this might impact your operations, costs, and ultimately your customers. You can listen to the news piece at NPR.
design by | XSIVE 1 STUDIOS™