A first read of contracts for the terms that matter

The problem

Contracts, leases and vendor agreements get signed after a skim. Auto-renewals, notice periods, liability terms and penalties come as surprises later.

What SI does

SI reads the contract and produces a plain summary: parties, term, renewal and notice, payment terms, termination, liability and insurance requirements, exclusivity, and anything that differs from your usual terms or a checklist you provide. It lists questions to raise. It does not say whether a clause is acceptable or enforceable.

Examples

The same job looks different in different businesses. These are illustrations, not client results.

• Restaurant owner

  A new commercial lease summary highlights a personal guarantee, a percentage-rent clause and the required notice to renew.

• Marketing agency

  A client's master services agreement is compared with the agency's standard terms, flagging an unlimited revision clause and payment at 90 days.

• Nonprofit

  A grant agreement's reporting deadlines and restrictions on spending are pulled into a calendar and summary.

What it takes to set up

The contract and, ideally, a checklist of terms you care about or a standard version to compare against. Setup is often a day.

Try it yourself

Paste this into your SI tool of choice and swap the [bracketed] parts for your own details. It asks SI to stop and show you before it does anything.

Read this contract [file]. Summarize parties, term, renewal and notice, payment, termination, liability, insurance, exclusivity and any unusual clauses. Compare it with [my checklist or standard terms] and list differences and questions for my lawyer. Do not give a legal opinion. Pause and show me before sending, submitting, posting or changing anything.