Business Matter Assistance – How Can We Help

If you have not already, please review our general information about how we can assist you by clicking here and come back afterwards.

Outstanding/Unpaid Invoices

How do you get paid if the client won’t respond to you anymore?

The first step is to put the other side on official notice that you are expecting the money owed. This is usually accomplished with a “Demand Letter”, basically just a firm letter saying in strong terms that money is owed and you expect it to be paid by a certain date, otherwise you would have to start a court case. These letters are usually more powerful coming from a firm directly, however such letters can be effective if drafted by you on your letterhead. We can help you to draft one or we can do it for you (with your specific approval of the draft).

Failing the above, the next step is invariably a court action. You will have to prove to the court that the money is owed and hopefully they agree with you. There are steps along the way to attempt to settle, and keeping in mind the cost of going to trial, it might be in your best interest to eat some of the invoice to get SOME money from the client. We can help you see the alternatives and assist you in making the right decisions. Ultimately, the decision is yours. You can settle or not with the knowledge of what might come next.

A good way to avoid these situations is to have a strong service agreement with information including full quotes, what happens if the costs overrun, and how the client accepts the service and costs. Avoidance is the cheapest way to deal with these types of issues. A strong agreement will also assist greatly at court, should it come to that. We can help you review your current system and suggest alternatives and edits that will protect you in the future.

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Poor Workmanship Claims

Often times, these claims arise from the above situation, one where the client has not paid the whole invoice and is claiming that the you did work is improper. Sometimes, the client has paid your bill in full, but then is claiming that they had to have another contractor repair work you did and is now asking that you pay for the repairs.

Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone should pay for them. But if you didn’t, you shouldn’t have to. We can help you see things from outside the profession and help you to evaluate the work if something truly was in error; we can then help you make the necessary reparations (that are fair), or we can help you show that the work you did was the best work that could have been done and that the “repairs” were not in fact needed.

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Over charging claims

Similarly, the client is demanding that a portion of what they paid on you invoice be paid back because they feel like you didn’t do enough to justify your costs. Defending these matters can be difficult as the quality or substance of your work is in question. Proving hard costs is easy. The patio stone was purchased at a specific price. Your labour for laying the stones would be where the argument lies. You would have to show that your fees are fair and reasonable in the market, providing other professional’s rates to justify your own. We can help the other side to understand why you charged what you did and hopefully avoid the legal situation entirely.

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Employer Concerns/Employee Issues

Hiring and firing employees is serious business and one business owners often fall victim to.

The Employment Standards Act is a huge document which outlines all aspects of employment law. Everything from probationary timelines to payment of wages to termination of employment (by both workers and employers), it is easy for a small business to miss an important part of hiring. Let us help you when hiring or firing to ensure that you avoid any pitfalls that can be very costly.

Added to that is the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, to which most companies must buy into. If a worker is injured on the job, then (if you fall into the right category of industry), you are not responsible lost wages, medical expenses, and other costs associated with the injury. The WSIB determines what, if anything, is to be paid by the worker. But the employer has certain duties and they have tight timelines. Let us advise you on the specific requirements you need to meet in order to follow the law and protect your workers, before you actually need them. We can help build policies to protect your business and your workforce.

Other issues that might come up are Ministry of Labour inspections and fines, safe work rules (rights of the worker), and Termination causes and severance payments. Let us know how we can help you.

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Damages/Other Loss Matters

There are many ways in which you can suffer a loss. Things such as:

• a supplier did not provide/provided the wrong stock and is adamantly demanding payment. You may have grounds to demand they provide the right stuff and sue them for the money you paid on product you did not receive.
• Repairs to a vehicle/building through no fault of your own. You may have grounds to sue the person or company who caused the damage.
• Liens against homeowners (We cannot assist here but we can refer you to a lawyer that practices in contruction liens. We are here to help).

All you have to do is contact us and we will do everything we can to either assist you or direct you to someone who can.

Our only job is to help you!