These Standard Terms of Engagement (‘Terms’) apply in respect of all work carried out by Squid Group Limited for you, except to the extent that we otherwise agree with you in writing.
1. Services
- The services which we are to provide for you are outlined in our engagement letter.
2. Financial
2.1. Fees:
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The fees which we will charge or the manner in which they will be arrived at, are set out in our engagement letter.
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If the engagement letter specifies a fixed fee, we will charge this for the agreed scope of our services. Work which falls outside that scope will be charged on an hourly rate basis. We will advise you as soon as reasonably practicable if it becomes necessary for us to provide services outside the agreed scope and if requested, give you an estimate of the likely amount of the further costs.
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Where our fees are calculated on an hourly basis, the hourly rates are set out in our engagement letter. The differences in those rates reflect the experience and specialisation of our professional staff. Time spent is recorded in 30 minute units, with time rounded up to the next unit of 30 minutes.
2.2. Disbursements and expenses:
- In providing services we may incur disbursements or have to make payments to third parties on your behalf. These will be included in our invoice to you when the expense is incurred. We may require an advance payment for the disbursements or expenses which we will be incurring on your behalf.
2.3. GST:
- Is payable by you on our fees and charges.
2.4. Invoices:
- For services outside our monthly deliverables, we will send interim invoices to you, usually monthly and on completion of the matter, or termination of our engagement. We may also send you an invoice when we incur a significant expense.
2.5. Payment:
- Our fees and other charges for settlements (eg property, business, financial) are payable on or before settlement unless we otherwise agree. Invoices for other services are payable within 14 days of the date of the invoice, where we expect payment by the 20th of each month unless alternative arrangements have been made with us. We may require interest to be paid on any amount which is overdue. Interest may be calculated at the rate 2 percent per month from the date payment becomes due until the overdue amount is actually paid. You agree to meet any collections costs in recovery of any overdue account.
- Any 3rd party debt collection fees will be added onto any outstanding invoice when collected.
3. Security:
- We may ask you to pre-pay amounts to us, or to provide security for our fees and expenses. You authorise us:
- to debit against amounts pre-paid by you; and
- to deduct from any funds held on your behalf in our trust account any fees, expenses or disbursements for which we have provided an invoice regardless of whether the permitted timeframe for payment has passed.
4. Third Parties:
- Although you may expect to be reimbursed by a third party for our fees and expenses, and although our invoices may at your request or with your approval be directed to a third party, nevertheless you remain responsible for payment to us if the third party fails to pay us.