MKB Juristen drafts custom legal documents
It is best not to cobble together or copy important contracts, terms and conditions, and other legal documents yourself. We help entrepreneurs on a budget with customized legal solutions, clear costs upfront, and practical explanations.
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Why have a contract checked: because one unread clause can cost you more than the contract yields. A penalty clause, a unilateral right of amendment, or unlimited liability is often hidden in the small part you overlook. A check costing €250-€1,500 catches this before you sign. For SME entrepreneurs, this almost always pays for itself with contracts above €10,000 or with a longer term. Below are concrete benefits and preventions of a check.
The short answer
- What it prevents: expensive clauses that you only see when things go wrong (fine, liability, renewal).
- What it delivers: room for negotiation, better terms, peace of mind at signing.
- Costs: €250-€500 simple, €500-€1,500 standard SME.
- ROI: for an error costing you €20,000, a €500 check is cheaply insured.
- When: significant interest, long-standing relationship, unknown counterparty.
- When not: small amount, well-known party, standard order form.
Which risks a check covers
A contract is a risk allocation. Without checking, the SME entrepreneur usually signs the version the counterparty finds favorable — they drafted it. Clauses that cost money are rarely listed first.
Specifically, what a lawyer takes away from it:
- Penalty clause: a fine of €500 per day for late delivery adds up to €15,000 in a month. Often without a maximum.
- Unilateral right of modification: the counterparty may adjust the rate or conditions, but you are stuck. It looks innocent, but it isn't.
- Unlimited liability: without limitation of liability, damages amount to far exceed the contract value.
- Automatic renewal: the contract renews tacitly for one year if you do not cancel three months in advance.
What a check concretely delivers
The benefit does not lie in “more certainty” in general. It lies in tangible outcomes:
Money that you save
- Penalty cap built in: liability capped at contract value.
- Better payment term: 30 days instead of on delivery.
- Price indexation scrapped or capped.
Space you get back
- Shorter notice period: from 12 months to 3.
- Exit clause in the event of default by the counterparty.
- No exclusivity that binds you to a single supplier.
The calculation: costs versus damage
The question is not what a check costs, but what an error costs. A few examples from SME practice:
| Situation | Cost check | Avoided damage |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier contract, unlimited penalty | 500-1.000 | 10.000-30.000 |
| Rental contract, unlimited indexation | 500-1.500 | 5,000-20,000 over the term |
| Collaboration, no exit clause | 1.000-2.500 | very variable, often > 25,000 |
| Software license, unlimited liability | 1.000-2.000 | up to contract value × multiple |
Rule of thumb: costs of the check under 5% of the contract value are almost always worthwhile.
Clauses that quietly cost money
- Penalty clause without a maximum: fixed amount per day or per violation, no ceiling. A lawyer adds a maximum.
- Indemnification: you indemnify the opposing party against third-party claims — this can affect you far beyond your own fault.
- Choice of law and forum: dispute settled abroad or under foreign law. Litigation then becomes expensive.
- IP transfer: you transfer intellectual property that you still need yourself.
- Set-off excluded: you may not set off outstanding invoices, but the counterparty may.
Practical example
Karin is about to sign a supplier contract of €80,000 over three years:
- Check with an SME lawyer: €900 fixed rate, 3 working days.
- Found: fine of €250/day without a ceiling and annual price indexation without a maximum.
- Negotiated: fine capped at €5,000, indexation linked to the CBS index with a ceiling of 3%.
- Estimated avoided damage over three years: €12,000-€18,000.
The €900 paid for itself before the first invoice arrived.
When you don't need a lawyer
To be honest: not every contract needs to go through a lawyer. You can usually handle it yourself for:
- Small orders with a known, reliable supplier.
- Standard order forms or one-off purchases under €5,000.
- A template that you previously had checked and reused unchanged.
- Short-term assignments without risk of liability or penalties.
Honest recommendation
Have anything checked that is large, long-term, or irreversible: contracts exceeding €10,000, longer than a year, with an unknown counterparty, or of a type you are signing for the first time. Ask for a fixed rate in advance so you won't face any surprises. You do not need to engage us for small, recurring purchases from regular partners — that is a waste of money. The purpose of a check is not “just to be on the safe side,” but to uncover a specific clause that you would otherwise pay dearly for.
For more in-depth information: exactly what a legal expert checks, the risks of not checking , and our contracts.
Frequently Asked Questions
To catch expensive clauses before you sign: penalty clauses without a ceiling, unilateral right of modification, unlimited liability, and automatic renewal. These are rarely listed first and only cost you money when things go wrong. A check costing 250-1,500 euros prevents damage that often amounts to tens of thousands of euros.
Tangible result: a penalty cap, limited liability, better payment terms, a shorter notice period, and an exit clause. Plus room for negotiation that you lose as soon as you have signed. It concerns concrete improvements, not vague certainty.
Rule of thumb: if the costs are below 5% of the contract value, it is almost always worthwhile. For a supplier contract of 80,000 euros over three years, a check costs approximately 900 euros and easily prevents 12,000-18,000 euros in damages. The ROI is almost always positive for larger contracts.
Penalty clauses without a maximum, indemnification against third-party claims, choice of foreign law, intellectual property transfer that you still need yourself, and excluded set-off. They look innocent but hit you hard in a dispute. A legal expert recognizes them and builds in countermeasures.
Simple contract under 5 pages: 250-500 euros. Standard SME agreement: 500-1,500 euros. Complex (M&A, international, IP): 1,500-10,000 euros. Ask an SME lawyer for a fixed rate so that the costs are known in advance.
For small orders under 5,000 euros with a known, reliable supplier, standard purchase orders, a previously verified template that you reuse unchanged, or short-term assignments without the risk of liability or penalties, then a check is a waste of money.
Unlimited liability and a penalty clause without a ceiling are the most expensive. Without limitation of liability, damages run far above the contract value. A daily penalty without a maximum can amount to tens of thousands of euros in a single month. Both are capped by default during a check.
