It may come as a surprise from a company known for its signature software, but we think we should be talking more about agreements and not just contracts.
What is a contract?
Don’t get us wrong: Contracts are really important. They are legally enforceable documents that legal teams work on every day. They formalize terms, conditions, rights, and obligations. A contract involves an offer by one party and acceptance by the other, uk phone number database free sometimes with some negotiation and counteroffers in between. Issues like enforceability are governed by a host of laws and regulations.
Specifically, a contract must have: 1) An offer; 2) An acceptance; and 3) Consideration. Consideration is the main difference between a contract and an agreement. Consideration is what each party promises to do to carry out the contract. It can be thought of as the result of the contract—the goods, services, or other things of value that each party provides. For example, when you agree to buy a car, your consideration is your money and the dealer’s consideration is the car. (Learn more about contracts in this article .)
What is an agreement?
An agreement is any event in which two or more people or parties agree to do something together: a meeting of the minds. Contracts are a subset of agreements, but they are only one type of agreement. To put it another way: all contracts are agreements, but not all agreements are contracts.
Organizations and individuals reach many agreements all the time that don’t involve use tools like ubersuggest formal negotiation led by an attorney, such as job offers, work orders, invoices, and leases. A mom-and-pop store offers a two-for-one special that’s only available this week. A streaming service offers different levels of service, each with a different subscription fee. If you tap your credit card on a card reader to pay for a caramel macchiato at the coffee shop, that’s an agreement. Scribbling your signature on a piece of paper authorizing the shop to replace your car’s shock absorber is also an agreement. Using an online payment system to send ten dollars to your friend, electronically signing a patient consent form, clicking to
At Docusign, we focus on agreement management to help unleash the power of data in a way that works for everyone, not just legal departments. This enables organizations to better understand their business and create new services that better serve their customers and enable them to achieve a competitive advantage. So the next time you hear us talk about agreements instead of contracts, that’s why.
Types of agreements
Here are some examples of agreements that organizations create every day, sorted hong kong lists by line of business.