Worksheet: Put a validity period and a pass-through clause in your paperwork

When costs jump, a quote with no expiry and a contract with no pass-through clause lock in the old margin. This sheet fixes the standard quote and contract, then works through the live contracts at renewal. It builds the Competent step of the check:

Standard quotes carry a validity period and standard contracts a cost pass-through clause, and both are used.

Check the clause against the unfair contract terms law first. Since November 2023, an unfair term in a standard form contract with a small business can attract penalties. A small business here has fewer than 100 staff or turnover under $10 million. A clause that lets you change the price on your own can be unfair. Have your lawyer check it before it goes into the standard contract. Ask for a trigger that is objective, a change limited to the cost movement, and notice before it applies. A small-business customer who will not accept a change should be able to leave without penalty.

Step 1. The quote

Item	Our wording	Checked by	Date
Validity period (e.g. 30 days from the quote date)
What happens after it (e.g. repriced at the list then current)
Where it appears (quote footer, quoting system, email template)

Step 2. The clause

Element	Our choice
Costs it covers (e.g. raw material, freight, energy)
Published index or evidence for each cost
Trigger (e.g. a move of more than 3% since the contract price)
How often it can apply
Notice to the customer (days)
The customer's right to end the contract if they will not accept
Checked against the unfair contract terms law by, and date

Step 3. Live contracts without one

Contract	Customer a small business?	Has a validity period or pass-through clause?	Renewal date	Fix at renewal (owner)

Step 4. Use it

A clause nobody invokes protects nothing.

Month	Times the clause triggered	Times invoked	Not invoked, and why	Expired quotes repriced

Done when: standard quotes carry a validity period, standard contracts carry a pass-through clause your lawyer has checked, and the log shows both in use.

Written for this check.