A Brief Introduction About the Prime Contract
When a client or an owner has a huge task that he needs to get done, he takes the help of a contractor. Contractors usually take the full ownership of a particular task and its competition. They take care of all small to big details and have the responsibility to deliver on time so that the owner doesn’t have to take the pain. Owners or clients generally have many other important and crucial details that they have to pay attention to.
Every time when there is a scope of giving the work contract to someone else, they take the opportunity and only supervise the situation. Contracts, however, can be of different types. Typically, there can be a Prime Contract and Subcontract. There is also a commonly used term, General Contract.
Who Takes the Prime Contract? – People Involved
The contract is signed between the General Contractor and service receiver or client or owner. The agreement is signed to list down all the responsibilities and obligations of the contractor. It also lists down all the key terms and conditions of their relationship. It is a legally binding agreement that ensures a smooth business relationship between two parties. The agreement may also include the details of Sub Contractor if both parties agree on adding those details.
Purpose of the Prime Contract – Why Do You Need It?
A Prime Contractor or a General Contractor generally has a huge responsibility on their shoulders. Think of them as someone who uses their expertise to supervise all the little tasks done by their own team or by their Sub Contractors. They take care of the overall bigger task and ensure the client or the owner is satisfied in the end. An agreement between the client and the Prime Contractor ensures they have all the terms and conditions spelled out, so there is no future confusion or misunderstanding.
Here are some of the main reasons to use the agreement in pointers –
- Contractors come with expertise in a particular area that the owner might not have.
- Contractors are cost-efficient as they charge for the whole process and not small individual tasks
- Contractor make the job stress free and hassle-free
- Contractors manage Sub Contractors
- A contract lists down all the necessary details of the entire project
- A contract is a legally binding document that protects all the parties involved
- In case of any breach or misunderstanding, a contract protects the rights of each individual
- A contract explicitly spells out the responsibilities
Contents of the Prime Contract – Inclusions
Like any other legally binding agreement, this contract is an extremely detailed and crucial piece of document that must be drafted with utmost caution and clarity. Before drafting the agreement, both parties must anticipate certain situations and mention the solutions in the contract.
- Basic details include name, address, phone numbers, email ids, etc.
- Payment is another very crucial aspect of any contract.
- The contract must add the details and provisions related to termination.
How to Draft the Prime Contract?
While drafting the contract, below are the details that you need to consider:
- Title
- Name of the owner
- Date of the Contract
- Status of Contract
- Estimated Completion Date
- Description of the terms of the contract
The contractor must always tell the owner about the Sub Contractor he plans on hiring. Sub Contractors are very important when it comes to the Contract. Sub Contractors report to the Prime Contractor.
Negotiation Strategy
Before drafting or signing the agreement, both the client and contractor should sit and discuss all the necessary details and try to negotiate. Both parties have the right to negotiate. While the contractor is mostly interested in negotiating the price of the services he is providing, the owner negotiates for the quality of the work he is going to receive. In the end, a healthy negotiation process is key to a good contract.
Benefits & Drawbacks of the Prime Contract
Here are a few pros of a General Contract –
- It is cost-efficient as the owner doesn’t have to get the individual task done from different people
- It is hassle-free for the owner as one party takes the responsibility of delivering the whole work
- The expertise and experience of a contractor gets utilized
- The Contractor can further give responsibilities to subcontractors, and this is how the work gets divided among many parties
- A contract ensures smooth delivery of work as per the deadlines
- A contract also ensures a risk-free partnership
- It reduces the chances of conflict and confusion
There are no cons of using a Prime Contractor is the owner chooses him wisely and after proper research. The owner should always be vigilant and keep a check on the delivery list and deadlines. Sometimes, such a partnership can be risky, but with proper measures in place, it can be used only for the benefits.
What Happens in Case of Violation?
As discusses above, all kinds of General Contracts or Sub Contracts are legally binding. Thus, the fear of any breach or violation shouldn’t be there. Both parties involved are protected by the governing laws of the particular state. In case of any conflict, first, both parties are advised to refer to the agreement. In most cases, parties refer to the contract to tackle the conflicts(1); however, in some cases, it may be required that a third party or courts intervene.
Some people can be confused as to what is Prime Contractor and What is Sub Contractor. It should be noted that a Prime Contractor exists without the Sub Contractor and vice versa. It is no rule that both of these need to exist for each project. It totally depends on an individual case and project. It also depends on what the owner wants and how long the project is. Both of these parties mainly do the task for the owner and then move on to do other projects.