Disputes happen all the time, whether it’s with your friends, family, and coworkers. Usually, you can solve it with a few talks, but that’s not the case for commercial agreement disputes. 

For starters, a commercial agreement is a document that legally binds the involved parties. If you and another party were to get in a dispute, it could get out of hand really quickly. When that happens, there will be consequences for your business. For instance, it can damage your reputation, disrupt your business operations, and, worse, it can force you to defend yourself in court.

For that reason, it’s essential to resolve commercial agreement disputes as soon as possible, hence this guide. Listed below are six tips for resolving commercial agreement disputes:

• Identify The Root Of The Dispute 

When resolving a dispute, the first thing you should do is determine what caused the dispute in the first place. Below are a few examples of what these causes may be: 

• Not paying the provided goods and services in the scheduled period. 
• The quality of goods doesn’t meet the standards specified in the agreement. 
• A clause in the contract was misinterpreted 
• The other party makes a false claim that they know isn’t true 

Performing any of these acts can disrupt the operations of the other parties. Take delayed payment, for example. By delaying your payment to the other party, you’re also causing disarray to their budget plan, which may push them to retaliate in the form of legal action. Your goal is to understand what caused the dispute so you can analyze the best possible approach to take. 

For instance, if the cause of the dispute is a breach of contract, you need to prepare a solid defense against the other party. If that’s what you’re looking for, you might want to consider looking into this Florida breach of contract guide for some valuable tips. 

• Review The Agreement Terms 

As stated earlier, one of the many causes of a commercial agreement dispute is when you or the other party misinterprets a clause included in the contract. 

For instance, you may have come to an agreement with another party that you’ll pay for the repairs of a particular building in the event that it collapses. The other party might assume that you’ll also pay for the hospital bills of the injured individuals, which is an incorrect assumption. 

If that’s the case, you can resolve the commercial agreement dispute by simply reviewing the agreement terms since both parties most likely have a copy of the contract. Once you confirmed the contents of the contract, the other party would eventually give up on the dispute, especially if it’s a mistake on their part. But that’s not always the case. 

If the other party is persistent, they may continue pursuing the matter until they’re given what they want. In such cases, your best bet would be to look for other clauses that may prove to be quite helpful in resolving the dispute. These may include: 

• A clause that enumerates the obligations of both you and the other party 
• A clause that details the procedures you can take during disputes 
• A clause that explains how you can terminate your relationship with the other party 

During a commercial agreement dispute, the contract is your most powerful weapon. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use it all the time. Sometimes, a one-on-one talk with their representative is all it takes to resolve a commercial dispute. 

• Look For A Reliable Mediator 

Although many commercial agreements dispute often end up with the termination of the contract, there are cases where both parties involved remain in a mutual relationship even after the dispute. This usually occurs between companies with a relatively long history of working together. If this is your situation, the best course of action is to ask for mediation where the authoritative figures of both companies meet personally to talk about the matter. 

Mediation works best if both sides aren’t inclined to take legal action. During this meeting, you and the other party will discuss the matter at hand while a mediator makes sure the process goes as smoothly as possible. Moreover, the mediator must have no connections to both sides whatsoever to avoid bias. 

If you’re planning on taking this approach, the best way to look for a reliable mediator is to search for an agency geared towards specializing in these services. You can also opt for a more modern solution by scheduling an online mediation.

• Accept Reasonable Compromises 

Generally, in a commercial agreement dispute, the longer it goes on, the worse it gets for both sides. Business operations are temporarily disrupted, and there may be some expenses during the whole process, especially if you decide to hire legal counsel or a representative. 

For that reason, as soon as the other party offers a compromise, you must take the opportunity immediately. That way, you can resolve the dispute soon, and you and the other party can get back to managing your own enterprises. 

Of course, their compromise must be reasonable. Otherwise, all the effort you’ve put into standing your ground would be all for naught. 

• Collect Evidence In Advance 

While the chances may be slim, there’s a possibility that the opposing party would take the dispute to court. When that happens, resolving the conflict would become a lot harder, and both sides will inevitably incur considerable losses. You can, however, minimize the potential loss by taking control over the dispute in court. You can do so by collecting evidence in advance. These may include written contracts, witness statements, and copies of conversation. 

With enough evidence, you can enforce the appropriate judgment upon the opposing party. This also allows you to earn back a portion of what you’ve lost throughout the entire process. 

Conclusion

Commercial agreement disputes are in no way rare. As you continue establishing connections with other enterprises, you’ll get into a dispute at some point. When that happens, you’ll inevitably incur some losses and your relationship with the opposing party, regardless of the severity of the issue. As such, it’s essential to resolve the dispute as soon as possible. These tips should be more than enough to get you going.