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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Having general terms and conditions drafted by a specialized SME lawyer typically costs €500 to €1,500 for a custom set, and €1,500 to €3,000 when working with multiple target groups, subscriptions, or international deliveries. A review of an existing set usually costs between €250 and €600. The turnaround time is one to three weeks. Outsourcing pays off, especially when supplying to consumers, dealing with high consequential damages, or dealing with your customers' purchasing terms and conditions. Below are the process, cost breakdown, and considerations.
The short answer
- Tailored set: typically €500 – €1,500 with an SME lawyer, depending on complexity.
- Complex situation: €1,500 – €3,000 for multiple target groups, subscriptions, SaaS, or delivery outside the Netherlands.
- Check existing set: €250 – €600, including advice on delivery.
- Lead time: one to three weeks, of which the intake interview is the most determining factor.
- When self-employed: simple B2B services with an unchanged industry model.
- When to outsource: consumers, high consequential damages, subscriptions, personal data, or customer purchasing terms and conditions.
What does having general terms and conditions drawn up entail?
A legal expert drafts the set based on how your company actually operates: what you deliver, to whom, with what timeframes, what risks you face, and what disputes you have had in practice. That is the difference compared to a template from the internet. A template describes an average company; a custom set aligns with your quotations, your invoicing, and your insurance.
With a good process, you receive more than just a document. The legal expert assesses the clauses against Section 6.5.3 of the Dutch Civil Code (Articles 6:231 to 6:247 BW), verifies whether your limitation of liability aligns with your policy, and provides a work instruction for delivery. The latter is at least as important as the text: conditions that have not been delivered on time can be annulled by your client (Article 6:233 sub b BW).
The process step by step
- Intake. You discuss your services or products, your target audience, payment arrangements, delivery times, and previous disputes. This often already reveals the most important risk points.
- Submit documents. Quotation template, order confirmation, current terms and conditions, insurance policy, and any client terms and conditions.
- Concept. The legal expert draws up the set, with explanations for choices that are commercially sensitive.
- Proofreading round. You read along and make adjustments where the text does not align with your practice.
- Delivery. Final version, plus brief instructions on how to include the terms and conditions with every quotation and record agreement.
How much does it cost?
- Standard B2B set: €500 – €1,000 for a company with one type of service or product and one target group.
- Set with consumer module: €750 – €1,500, because the right of withdrawal, conformity rules, and the black and grey lists require extra work.
- Complex set: €1,500 – €3,000 for subscriptions, SaaS, processing of personal data for customers, or delivery outside the Netherlands.
- Review of existing terms and conditions: €250 – €600, including advice on the provision.
- Trade association model terms and conditions: often included with your membership, but not tailored to your situation.
Some firms work with a fixed fee, others on an hourly basis. Always ask exactly what is included: just the text, or also the revision round, coordination with your insurer, and the instructions for use. Also ask what a later adjustment costs, for example, if you add a new service.
When outsourcing pays off
- Consumers. The black and grey lists leave little room. A clause that fails brings you back to the statutory regulations, precisely at the point where you sought protection.
- High consequential damages. In construction, installation, ICT, and consultancy work, a single outage can cost more than your annual turnover from that client. The limitation of liability must therefore align with your policy.
- Subscriptions and SaaS. Term, cancellation, price indexation, availability, and processing of personal data require tailored provisions.
- Customers' terms and conditions of purchase. If both parties refer to their own terms and conditions, the first reference generally prevails (Article 6:225, paragraph 3 of the Dutch Civil Code). An explicit rejection clause and the correct sequence in your process make all the difference.
- Delivery outside the Netherlands. Choice of law, competent court, and the Vienna Sales Convention must be arranged deliberately, and not by accident.
What to look out for when making your choice
Evaluate a provider on three points. First: does the lawyer ask questions about your billing, your policy, and your previous disputes, or does he merely fill in a template? Second: do you receive an explanation regarding clauses that are commercially problematic, such as a short complaint period or prepayment? Third: do you receive concrete instructions for delivery? Without the latter, you have a neat document without effect.
Practical example
A landscaping company serving both private and business clients commissioned a single set of terms and conditions with a separate consumer module. Cost: €1,100. During the process, it became apparent that the existing terms and conditions had an eight-day complaint period, which does not hold up against consumers, and that they were only listed on the website. Since then, the terms and conditions are included as a PDF with every quotation, and the agreement is saved via email. Consequently, during the subsequent dispute regarding a planting guarantee, there was no discussion about their applicability.
Honest recommendation
You do not need a lawyer if your situation is straightforward. If you provide a single type of service to business clients, with invoice amounts of a few hundred euros, short turnaround times, and a limited risk of damage, an unchanged model from your trade association will suffice. Even if your existing set still aligns with your activities and there are no legislative changes, there is no reason to have it rewritten. In those cases, ensure above all that the terms and conditions are included with every quotation; that is where the greatest gains can be made, not in the text.
If in doubt, opt for a check costing €250 to €600 first, instead of a completely new set. If that check reveals that your limitation of liability does not align with your policy, that consumer provisions are missing, or that the documentation provided is incorrect, then you know exactly what you are paying for. Outsourcing is worthwhile as soon as a single missing clause costs more than the entire set.
Arrange it or read on: general terms and conditions, background on what general terms and conditions are and writing them yourself via drafting general terms and conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
A custom set for an SME typically costs €500 – €1,500. For multiple target groups, subscriptions, SaaS, or delivery outside the Netherlands, this rises to €1,500 – €3,000. A review of an existing set usually costs €250 – €600.
Typically one to three weeks. The intake interview and the submission of your quotation template, current terms and conditions, and insurance policy determine the pace. This is followed by a draft, a revision round, and the final version with user instructions.
Upon delivery to consumers, in the case of high consequential damages, for subscriptions or SaaS, for the processing of personal data for customers, when customers impose their own purchasing conditions, and for delivery outside the Netherlands. In those cases, a failing clause costs more than the entire set.
For simple B2B services involving small amounts, this is often the case, provided you use the model unchanged. The risk lies in partially modified models: clauses that do not align with what you provide, missing consumer provisions, and outdated legal references.
Your quotation template and order confirmation, your current terms and conditions, your liability insurance policy, and any customer purchasing terms and conditions. Furthermore, a description of your payment arrangements, delivery times, and any disputes you have had in practice.
Ask for this explicitly. A set is only valid if you refer to it and send it along before or at the time of concluding the agreement (Articles 6:233 and 6:234 of the Dutch Civil Code). A proper delivery therefore includes instructions for the quotation, the confirmation, and the recording of the agreement.
Often, yes. A check costing €250 – €600 shows whether your limitation of liability aligns with your policy, whether consumer provisions are missing, and whether the documentation is correct. After that, you will know if a completely new set is needed.
