The Owners' Manual | Issue 11 | Fall 2017

Legal Tip The Necessity of Getting an ASA and Getting it Timely

Here’s the scenario – BL’s been working for a client for several months doing quality work. The team has met every deadline, managed the budget and successfully moved the project along. Now the client has asked for something that seems a little above and beyond but time is short and the client needs it done yesterday. What do you do? Review the contract. What

What happens if you don’t follow the previous steps? Confusion – if you drag your feet in asking for the ASA, the client doesn’t know whether you’re doing the work or not and probably assumes that you are. By not addressing the issue quickly, you could risk missing deadlines. Possibly not getting paid – if a scope and fee are not worked out ahead of time and you simply rely on the client’s word that you will get paid, you risk arguing with the client about what this additional work cost after the fact and possibly getting paid less than you should or not getting paid at all if your contract says that all additional work needs to be approved in writing. Skewed financials and cash flow – if at the end of the month, we’ve done work that we have no ASA for, we cannot bill the client for it. Thus, revenue that should be posted for a particular month will not be and will impact our financials. In addition, this will cause a negative impact on our cash position. So, bottom line, be sure the get the ASA quickly and before doing any additional work.

STEP

did the original scope say? Is this new task in your scope or outside of it? Most likely, if you are questioning it, it is outside your scope. Immediately, pick up the phone and tell the client you’d be happy to do the work but it is outside of your original scope and you will be sending him an additional services agreement (ASA) before the end of the day. Go to the Intranet/Project Management/Docs by State and pick your state. Now choose the template that says “Client Additional Services Agreement” and complete the form. It’s a simple three-page form. Then send it to the Client. Do not start work until you’ve received the form back or you will lose your leverage. Remember, the client needs you.

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