Renewing your job software contract: what to check first

The short answer: find your contract end date and the last day you can give notice, and put the notice date in your calendar now. Then check seven things before that date: how it renews, how you give notice, whether the price can change, whether you can drop users, what is billed on top, how you get your data out, and what it costs to leave early.

Do you know your three dates?

Most renewal problems come down to a date nobody wrote down. Open the contract, the order form or the last renewal email and find:

• The end date of the current term.
• The notice date: the last day you can tell the provider you are leaving or changing your plan. It can be weeks or months before the end date.
• The price change date: when a new price applies, if one has been announced.

Put the notice date in your calendar with a reminder a month earlier. If you cannot find these dates, ask the provider for them in writing.

Seven things to check before the notice date

1. How it renews

Does the contract end on the end date, or roll over on its own? If it rolls over, for how long: another month, or another full term?

2. How you give notice

How much notice is needed, and in what form? Some contracts ask for written notice to a particular address or through an account page. A phone call to your account manager may not count. Give notice the way the contract says, and keep a copy.

3. Whether the price can change

Can the provider raise the price during the term, or only at renewal? Is there a limit on the rise? If the price goes up and you do not agree, can you leave without a penalty?

4. Whether you can drop users

If you pay per user and your crew shrinks, can you reduce the number of users straight away, or only at renewal? This matters most for seasonal work and for apprentices who come and go.

5. What is billed on top

List everything on the last three invoices that is not the base plan: setup, training, text messages, forms, GPS, extra storage. Ask which of those you will still be paying next year.

6. How you get your data out

Ask how you export customers, sites, job history, quotes, invoices and photos, in what format, and how long you can still log in after you cancel. Do a test export before you give notice, not after.

7. What it costs to leave early

If you leave before the end date, do you owe the rest of the term? Get the figure in writing so you can compare it with what staying would cost.

What the law says about one-sided terms

The ACCC says laws protect small businesses from unfair terms in standard form contracts. A standard form contract is a pre-written one where you cannot change most of the terms: you take it or leave it. For contracts made, renewed or varied on or after 9 November 2023, the ACCC says a small business is covered if it has fewer than 100 employees, or makes less than $10 million in annual turnover.

The ACCC says a contract term is unfair if it:

• causes a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of the parties,
• is not reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the party who gets the advantage, and
• would cause financial or other harm to the other party if enforced.

It lists examples of terms that may be unfair, including terms that allow one party but not the other to end the contract, to change the terms of the contract, or to avoid its responsibilities, and terms that penalise one party but not the other for ending the contract.

The ACCC gives an example: a three-year contract that lets the provider change the price at any time, where the customer cannot leave if they disagree, is likely to be unfair. The same price term is likely to be fair if another term lets the customer leave without penalty when the price goes up.

Two limits are worth knowing. The law does not apply to terms that set out the upfront price. And only a court can make a final decision that a term is unfair. If it does, that term no longer applies, and the rest of the contract carries on if it can.

If you find a term you think is unfair

The ACCC’s advice is to contact the business first and ask it to remove or change the term. Small businesses can also seek help through an ombudsman or dispute resolution service. The ACCC does not investigate individual complaints or give legal advice, and says to talk to a lawyer if you do not understand a contract’s terms.

Five questions for any provider before you sign

• Is the price published, and does it include GST?
• Is it month to month, or a fixed term? If fixed, how does it renew?
• Is there a setup or training fee, and how much?
• Can I try it with my own jobs before I pay?
• Can I export my data myself, at any time?

If you are comparing job management apps, our comparison pages set out published prices, contract terms and setup fees side by side, with sources, including where the other product is the better pick.