Summary

This spring, NBIA released a revised and updated version of one of its perennial best sellers, Put It in Writing. Read on for excerpts from Put It in Writing II: A Guide to Incubator Policies, Procedures and Agreements by Mark Long to learn how and why to document relationships with incubator clients.

Put It in Writing II: How documents help define relationships between clients and incubators

by Mark Long

April/May 2012

“Get everything in writing.” That’s a popular phrase in business, but an honest one. To protect yourself, it’s always a good practice to do things by the book — and to get everything in writing, taking nothing for granted and certainly leaving nothing to the imagination. All details become important when there are questions concerning responsibility, liability or decisions. That’s why it’s important to understand the significance of having the proper documentation in place.

Anyone who has ever been burned on a verbal agreement can probably think of many reasons why incubation programs use written agreements to formally document their relationships and interactions with clients. Verbal agreements can be informal, leading to inconsistencies in how an incubator interacts with individual clients and allowing both sides to interpret pacts differently.

Incubator documents address all aspects of working with clients, from how to use the photocopier to the acceptable amount of time a client may remain in the program. Some documents are commonly used among incubators of all types, while others are more closely tied to an incubator’s specific mission and needs.

NBIA members: Click here to read the entire article. Not an NBIA member? Click here to join today! Click here to purchase the book.

Keywords: application – client, documents – incubator, lease, legal issues, policy

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