I'm being asked to start on a letter of intent

The contract isn't agreed, the programme won't wait, and a letter of intent is on the table.

01The contract arrives

02The terms read

03The clauses negotiated

04Signature

05Passed down the chain

You are here: The work is starting on a letter, not a contract.

What's happening?

Letters of intent exist because programmes move faster than negotiations, and used carefully they are a legitimate bridge. Used carelessly they are where subcontractors get hurt: caps on spend nobody tracks, scope in a sentence, no payment mechanism, and a promised contract that never arrives because the leverage to agree it disappeared the day you mobilised.

The questions that matter are short. What does this letter authorise, and up to what value? What happens to payment while it runs? What keeps both sides finishing the real contract? A letter that answers those is a bridge; one that does not is a trap with your name on it.

The solution

The letter read before you rely on it, and the gaps closed.

Contract Selection & Review

Risk mitigationFixed FeeFor Subcontractors & Main Contractors10 working days

I read the contract you have been offered before you sign it, tell you in plain English what it actually commits you to, and hand you the fixes already drafted, from amendment schedule to tracked redline and covering letter.

See how it works

Letter of Intent Checklist

For Subcontractors

The checklist to run before starting work under a letter of intent: the terms it must state, the payment rules that apply to it anyway, and what happens when it expires or the contract never follows.

See the template