Business School- Write It Down Before the Handshake Goes Wrong

BUSINESS SCHOOL  ·  OPERATOR LESSONS  ·  WEEK 7 OF 12

Start here if your biggest risks still live in WhatsApp threads.

A handshake feels faster than a written page. In most African firms the price, the deposit, who owns the firm, and who can sell in which area are agreed only in a WhatsApp conversation. That works until someone remembers a different number, a relative joins the business, or a customer says the details were never agreed. Then the WhatsApp messages show that people talked. They do not show that both sides accepted the same terms.

You do not need a lawyer for every order. You need five short pages that stop the usual fights: customer terms, supplier terms, a note if someone else put money in, an agent agreement if someone else sells for you, and a line on what cannot be copied. Write them in plain language. Use a lawyer when the fight would cost more than the fee.

CleanLine is a made-up packing firm used in these lessons so the numbers stay concrete. It sells 5-litre drums to workshops and a regional chain. This week they wrote the terms on one page, because until then the only record was a WhatsApp voice note and a follow-up message.

A worked example: CleanLine writes the chain’s terms on one page

The regional chain was CleanLine’s largest customer, more than a quarter of sales. CleanLine had already set a floor price: the lowest price per drum that still covers the product, delivery, the cost of waiting to be paid, and returns. The chain had agreed, in a WhatsApp voice note, to pay that floor and to pay a deposit. Two weeks later a buyer at the chain said the deposit was only for the first load, not every month. The founder remembered it differently. The accounts person remembered a third version. The load sat while they argued.

CleanLine wrote a one-page customer terms sheet. It said: price at or above the floor; a deposit before each load for this account; the balance in 30 days; no further load if any invoice is more than 37 days old; the quote expires in seven days; returns only for leaks or short delivery logged the same day. They sent it as a PDF in the same WhatsApp thread and asked for a reply that said agreed. The chain replied. The next argument did not happen, because the page was there. They did the same for the concentrate supplier: lead time, price valid for 30 days, and who pays if the port delays the container.

Three document realities this market will not negotiate away

1. A chat is a record of talk. It is not a record of a deal.

WhatsApp shows what was said. It does not show what was accepted if the other side can claim they never saw the price or the terms. A short PDF, or a message that lists the five points and asks for the word agreed, is enough for a single order. For money that will sit unpaid for months, or for a person who can commit the firm to a deal, the page needs the person’s name and the date they agreed.

2. Most fights are about what was included, the money, and who can end the deal.

Customer fights are about what was included, when it is due, and what happens if they do not pay. Supplier fights are about when it arrives and who carries the delay. Partner fights are about who owns the firm and who can spend. Agent fights are about territory and commission. Write those four things. Leave the rest for later.

3. A lawyer is for the fight you cannot afford, not for every quote.

Pay for advice when someone else owns part of the firm, when you are signing for property, when you are giving one person the only right to sell in a country, or when the other party is in another country. Do not pay for a long contract on a small order. The cost of the page should be smaller than the cost of the argument it prevents.

The five documents

Start with the one that matches the fight you almost had last month.

•   Customer terms. The lowest price you will accept, when a deposit or the balance is due, what is included, what counts as a return, the rule that stops further deliveries if an invoice is overdue, and how long the quote lasts. One page. Attach it to every quote.

•   Supplier terms. Price valid until when, lead time, who pays if the shipment is late or short, and what you can return. One page. Send it before the next order, not after.

•   Co-founder or friends-and-family note. Who put in what, who owns what percentage, who can spend above a set amount, and what happens if someone wants to leave. One page. Sign it before the money moves, not after.

•   Agent or distributor agreement. The area they cover, the commission or margin, who owns the customer relationship, how long the arrangement lasts, and how either side ends it. One page. Do not give one person the only right to sell in an area inside a WhatsApp message.

•   A line on what cannot be copied. If you have a formula, a design, a customer list, or a process a former employee or supplier could take, write that it stays with the firm and that they will not use it for 12 months after they leave.

Five steps you can run this week

1. Name the fight you almost had

Customer, supplier, partner, or agent. Write what they would have said and what you would have said. That difference is what the page must settle.

2. Write the five points for that fight

Money. Timing. What is included. What happens if it fails. How either side ends it. Five lines. Do not add a definitions section or legal phrasing.

3. Send it in the same WhatsApp thread and ask for the word agreed

PDF or a clear message. Ask for the word agreed, or a signature if the amount is large. Do not start the work until you have it, unless the amount is small enough that you can afford to lose it.

4. File the reply with the quote or the order

The accounts person or the founder keeps the agreed page next to the invoice. If the argument starts, you open that page. You do not scroll back through the WhatsApp history.

5. Call a lawyer only for the items on this list

Equity. Property. Exclusive territory. Cross-border. If none of those apply, the one-pager is the document. If one applies, spend the fee before you sign their version.

The clause checklist

Copy this. Tick the lines that apply to the deal in front of you. Do not turn it into a fake contract.

What to measure next month

•   Share of new quotes or orders that went out with the terms page attached. Target: all of them above a rand amount you name.

•   Number of arguments that started because the terms were only in WhatsApp messages. Target: fewer than last month.

•   Whether the partner or agent note exists before any more money or territory moves.

A single November target: one customer terms page and one supplier terms page in use, with the agreed reply kept next to the last invoice.

The mistake that looks like progress

Paying for a long contract you do not understand, then still doing the deal on WhatsApp because the contract takes too long to use. Or trusting a spoken agreement with a friend or a relative because writing it down feels like you do not trust them. Both leave the terms only in messages. A one-page note signed before the money moves is not a sign of distrust. It is the reason the relationship survives the first bad month.

If you only do one thing

Tonight, open the last argument you had with a customer or a supplier. Write the five lines that would have ended it: the money, the timing, what is included, what happens if it fails, and how either side ends it. Send that page in the WhatsApp thread before the next order. Ask for the word agreed.