When you need a quick way to put an agreement in writing, online contract templates often seem like the simplest option. Yet their quality becomes clearest when the parties disagree, rather than when they sign.
Imagine this situation: an apartment owner agrees on renovation work with a contractor and uses a template found online to draw up the contract. It states the total price and an approximate completion date, but does not clearly define which work is included, when the balance is due, or what happens if the work is delayed. During the renovation, a disagreement arises: the customer believes several tasks were included in the original price, while the contractor considers them additional work and requests extra payment. The parties review the contract, but it does not describe the scope of work or the process for approving additional work precisely enough. The dispute is now about both who remembers the original agreement correctly and what the contract itself can substantiate.
Situations like this reveal a contract's practical value. While the parties' interests align, many terms may seem obvious. In a dispute, however, how precisely the document defines deadlines, obligations, and what to do in different situations becomes crucial. It is therefore worth assessing whether a contract includes basic details and whether it provides clear answers if the working relationship does not go as planned.
A contract becomes especially valuable when the parties disagree
When entering into a contract, people usually focus on the start of the transaction: the price, deadline, service, or property being transferred. Much less thought goes into what happens if work is delayed, payment is late, damage is discovered in the property handed over, or one party believes the agreement has been fulfilled while the other disagrees.
Section 1587 of Latvia's Civil Law provides that a lawfully concluded contract obliges the parties to fulfill their promises, and difficulties that arise later do not, by themselves, give a party the right to withdraw from the contract.
In practice, this means that the wording of contractual terms matters long after the document has been signed. If a deadline, obligation, or procedure for performance is expressed too generally, a dispute may expose different understandings of what the parties actually committed to.
An online contract template cannot solve this problem on its own. It can provide a structure, but it cannot know what the particular parties have actually agreed or which circumstances may later matter in their transaction.
6 things a contract template may not cover in a dispute
Contract templates can vary considerably in content, detail, and origin. Before using one, it is worth assessing whether it suits the type of transaction and whether it sets out sufficiently clear steps for dealing with disagreements. Below are six things a contract template may not cover in a dispute:
1. A clear answer to who has fulfilled their obligations
Disagreements often concern whether each party has fulfilled their obligations as agreed, rather than whether an agreement exists. For example, a customer believes a renovation is unfinished, while the contractor disagrees. A seller says a car was handed over with all its equipment, while the buyer says certain items were missing. A landlord believes the apartment has been damaged, while the tenant says the damage was there before they moved in.
If the initial condition, expected result, or handover itself is not documented clearly enough, resolving these questions later becomes more difficult.
It is therefore worth considering both the contract and the documents that record its performance. A handover and acceptance report can record the actual handover date, the condition of the property or goods, meter readings, included equipment, identified defects, and other relevant details. Doqubit's document creation platform offers handover and acceptance reports for various standard situations, helping you organize this information clearly, for example when handing over an apartment, a vehicle, or completed renovation work.
2. Sufficiently precise deadlines and conditions
The wording “the work will be completed in approximately one month” may initially seem sufficient. If the work is completed on time, no problem arises. But a delay raises questions: from which date is the month counted, was an extension allowed, and on which day was the obligation actually due?
The same applies to payments. Stating a price does not necessarily establish a clear payment procedure. It may also matter when payment is due, whether it depends on completing a particular stage of work, and how completion of that stage is confirmed.
Doqubit's guided document creation process helps you consider these questions while preparing the contract, gathering information about deadlines, payments, and other relevant terms step by step. These are precisely the details where a general contract template may leave too much room for interpretation.
For more on the terms worth considering to reflect both parties' interests, read “What to Include in a Contract - Essential Terms to Protect Both Parties.”
3. A procedure for changes to the original agreement
Many disputes concern what changed during the process rather than what was originally agreed.
During a renovation, the customer requests one more task. During a tenancy, the parties agree on a different payment date. A service deadline is postponed in correspondence. At the time, both parties feel the agreement is clear, but several months later they remember it differently.
It can therefore be important to establish both the original terms and how the parties will agree on future changes. This helps avoid a situation where the contract says one thing while the actual working relationship has gradually come to follow different rules.
4. A considered response to a breach
When one party fails to fulfill an obligation, practical questions arise: should the other party first allow additional time, how should the problem be reported, how should the breach be documented, and what consequences apply in that situation?
A contractual penalty should not be treated as an arbitrary figure to copy from another contract. Latvia's Civil Law sets requirements for contractual penalties, including that they must be proportionate and consistent with fair dealing. In certain cases, the law also limits their amount.
This illustrates the problem with using a template uncritically: a clause may be present, but that does not mean its wording is suitable for the particular agreement.
5. Clarity about which document version was actually signed
Digital document workflows raise another practical question: which of several contract versions was final? For example, a file is emailed, then amended, saved as a new file, and sent to the other party again. If several versions exist, it may later become important to establish exactly which one was approved.
Documents prepared on Doqubit can now also be signed electronically with eParaksts, so preparation and signing can take place in one workflow. This helps keep track of the document the parties have chosen to sign and reduces the need to move files between different systems.
6. Compliance with current legislation
With a contract template found online, it is not always possible to establish when it was created, who prepared it, or whether its content still complies with current legislation. Laws can change over time, so a template prepared several years ago and repeatedly republished online may contain outdated wording or terms that no longer fit the current legal framework.
The documents available on Doqubit have been developed in collaboration with lawyers and prepared in line with current Latvian legislation. This allows users in standard situations to start with a carefully considered document structure. Before using it, they still need to assess whether the selected document suits their particular situation.
For more on the risks of using contract templates found online and what to consider before choosing one, read “Using Contract Templates - Risks and What to Consider Before Using Them.”
Doqubit: a guided contract creation process beyond a ready-made template
With a contract template found online, users must decide for themselves what to keep, change, or add. Doqubit takes a different approach: the platform helps gather the information needed for a particular standard situation step by step and presents the parties' agreement in a clearly organized document.
Depending on the document type, you can record the parties' details, the amount or subject of the transaction, and other relevant terms. For situations requiring a record of the actual handover, Doqubit also offers various handover and acceptance reports.
Once the document has been prepared and the parties have agreed on its content, it can be signed electronically with eParaksts by starting the signing process on Doqubit and continuing in the eParaksts environment. This provides a single workflow from gathering the agreed terms to a completed, signed document.
A contract template is not inherently a problem. What matters is whether the particular document actually covers the parties' agreement and provides sufficiently clear answers if the relationship does not go as planned.
Choose a document suited to your situation on Doqubit, prepare it step by step, and start signing with eParaksts!