Introducer, Fee and Commission Agreement Templates
These Introducer, Fee and Commission Agreements are designed to protect the "introducing" party and help ensure that they get paid for the services provided. Whether or not you are introducing business or potential business to known or new contacts it is always advisable to ensure that the "introduction" relationship is properly documented.
The role of the "middleman" is often underestimated and abused once parties have been introduced, so the importance of documenting the relationship at the outset should provide the parties with a clear definition of their obligations and undertakings.
Having an Introducer, Fee or Commission Agreement in place will also facilitate the negotiation of key variables such as referral fees and commission rates, and also competition, confidentiality, non-circumvention and non-solicitation issues.
You will need to consider which of the documents in this subfolder best suits your needs. Note that the Introducer Agreements are more detailed and sophisticated than the Commission Agreement and the Referral Fee Agreement in several respects.
If, instead of an introducer agreement, you require an agreement which creates a principal - agent relationship, you should use one of the agency agreements in the Agency, Distribution and Franchise Agreements subfolder instead of any of the agreements in this subfolder.
Introducer, Fee and Commission Agreement Templates is part of Business . Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Business for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
I introduce business to others and want to be sure I get paid. What agreement do I need? +
An introducer, referral fee or commission agreement, which documents that you made the introduction and sets when and how much you are paid. Without it the middleman is easily cut out once the introduction is made. This subfolder provides introducer agreements, which are more detailed, plus a simpler commission agreement and a referral fee agreement. Pick the one that matches how you actually work.
How do I stop the parties I introduce from cutting me out and dealing directly? +
Include non-circumvention, confidentiality and non-solicitation clauses, which stop the introduced party bypassing you to dodge the fee, and define precisely what triggers your payment. These protections are only as strong as their drafting and their reasonableness. The introducer agreements here are built around this exact risk and are more detailed than the commission or referral fee versions.
When does my commission or referral fee become payable? +
Whenever the agreement says, so define the trigger precisely (on introduction, on a signed contract, on completion or on the customer actually paying) and say for how long after the introduction it applies. Vague triggers are the main cause of unpaid-fee disputes. The templates let you fix the trigger, the rate and the duration so your entitlement is clear and hard to argue away.
Are non-circumvention or non-solicitation clauses actually enforceable? +
They can be, but only so far as they go no wider than reasonably necessary to protect a legitimate business interest, in what they restrict, how long they last and where they apply. A restriction that is too broad is void as an unreasonable restraint of trade, leaving you unprotected. Keep the clauses tightly and specifically drawn, which is how the templates are structured.
What is the difference between an introducer agreement and an agency agreement? +
An introducer simply brings parties together for a fee and does not negotiate or conclude deals in your name, whereas an agent is authorised to act for you, and if the agent sells goods the Commercial Agents Regulations 1993 and their termination-compensation rules can apply. If you need someone to act as your agent rather than just introduce, use an agency agreement instead of an introducer agreement.
