You may be in a business without any need for customer agreements, like selling goods in a store, but you may also every now and then need to have signed contracts with your clients, i.e. you’re in a longer term relationships or where you’re not selling on spot, but making credit sales (meaning they get an invoice and will pay at a later date, usually in such situations you need signed agreements). 

When preparing your very own agreement (a base for all your future agreements), one thing you have to think about first, are the general terms, which apply to all contracts you sign with you clients. General terms should be those that aren’t negotiable under normal conditions, they are those that set out rules, which apply to almost all possible situations that can arise – delivery terms, payment terms, guarantees, termination clauses etc.

One component being the general terms, another considerable part of the agreement usually is the specific terms, which are then negotiated. Those are the client specific details you want to sign off – addresses, responsible parties, object of the agreement etc.

Having agreements with your clients is a good thing, but make sure they are all in the same format; regulating every aspect you want to regulate and not leaving anything important out.