Utilizing Digital Contracts to Reduce Fraudulent Chargebacks & Streamline Your Operations
What is a Digital Contract

Digital contracts are quickly replacing paper contracts and proving to be a superior method at delivering, tracking, and organizing necessary business agreements between two or more parties.

A digital contract, sometimes called an e-contract, is a digital agreement between two parties acknowledged by a digital signature. Contracts typically written in plain language to ensure the customer comprehends the stated terms and conditions of the service and or product they are receiving. Once signed, both parties have agreed to the terms of the contract and have a duty to execute the contract as described in the contract.

Purpose of a Contract

The general purpose of a contract is to make clear the terminology, terms, conditions, exclusions, and inclusions of a business agreement. A contract helps to increase productivity of your business by creating a ‘checklist of items’ that needs to be followed and completed. A customer can reject or request changes before accepting a contract. After accepting a contract, the customers’ signature binds the two parties to the agreed upon terms.

Types of Contracts
  • Lump Sum Contracts: the price of the project and or product is agreed upon up front. This kind of contract requires the business to take on additional risk since the customer is not obligated to pay more than the contract price. Use of contracts can result in a loss as the business is required to pay for all project expenses out of the lump sum.
  • Unit Price Contracts: typically used for repair and maintenance jobs. An auto mechanic, HVAC repair, or home improvement worker traditionally uses this kind of contract. Unit price contracts are easy to adjust should the scope of the job change; for example: while repairing a wheel bearing, an auto mechanic may discover that the wear on the bearing is caused by an unbalanced tire. With customer permission, the mechanic can amend the contract to include tire balancing.
  • Cost Plus Contract: contracts of this kind are useful for big jobs such as a construction project. Unlike a lump sum contract, the customer would bear the risk using this type of contract as they are monetarily expected to cover all project costs, and or any additional fees or percentage overages that may be needed to cover the business’s profit margin. Customers can often negotiate a cap on project cost to ensure the business keeps expenses under control.
  • Time and Materials Contract: these types of contracts are appropriate for smaller jobs, and require the customer to pay for all project costs as well as an agreed upon hourly or daily rate. A moving company might use this type of contract because the cost of the materials are mostly defined up front, but it is tough to estimate the time it will take to complete the project.
Use Cases
  • Fraudulent Charges: a charge the cardholder claims they did not authorize. With a signed contract a business can prove that there was an agreement between the two parties; with this proof a business can dispute the ‘fraudulent’ claim.
  • Service Not As Described: the cardholder claims a product or service was not as described. A contract can serve as a checklist for both parties, but it makes it easy for the business to prove the terms of the contract have been met or exceeded.
  • Price Disputes: the cardholder claims there is a breach of contract based on price. A contract used to confirm pricing details, including specifics on pricing or that a price may vary can be used to disprove any claimed breach.
Fighting Chargebacks with Contracts

If 81% of chargebacks are fraudulent then criminals know exactly what shortcomings in your operations or paperwork to identify so they receive a free move, HVAC system, or transmission. The problem is you don’t know who is looking to acquire your services free of charge, and therefore must treat everyone the same.

By creating custom contracts that require additional signatures, this allows your business to confirm the terms of service up front. Therefore reducing the risk a customer can dispute that the contract was not fully executed.

By digitizing your contracts this eliminates clipboards, pens, paper documents, and rooms filled with file cabinets. With Sky, all of your documents are securely saved in a cloud environment for instant access!

Next Steps

If you are a small to medium-sized business looking for financial and banking services for your business, look no further than SKY Systemz. Our Operationz and Business Management Suites of software are versatile and can handle all of your digital payments and business operating needs. Not only do we provide the most versatile software available on the market, but we also offer “Pass the Fee" built right into your dashboard. Passing the Fee allows your customers to pay credit card processing fees, instead of cutting into your bottom line. This is optional but almost half of Sky merchants utilize this feature. If Pass the Fee is not for you, we still offer the lowest rates in the industry. If you process at least $20k a month, we are willing to negotiate customer pricing.

At Sky, we’d like to offer a 30-day challenge! Sign up for free with no contracts or commitments. If after 30 days you aren’t satisfied with our software, services or rates, no hard feelings! You can simply let us know you’d like to discontinue services, but we don’t think you’ll want to switch back! To get started, please fill out the request form below and a member of our team will contact you within the next 24 hours!

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Sky offers next day funding, so Sky Paymentz customers will receive any payments made on Monday by 9:00 PM ET on Tuesday. Any payments during the weekend will be received on Tuesday. More information can be found in our help center - https://support.skysystemz.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408459370644-When-will-I-typically-receive-deposits

Yes. After completing the 5 minute registration process you can immediately start processing payments by using the Sky Systemz mobile application ( App Store) ( Google Play) or by logging into SkySystemz.com you can take a manual payment. You will then receive an email and phone call from your dedicated account manager to assist with any hardware purchases and the setup of your Sky account.

Sky asks basic business and personal questions during registration, such as name, address, EIN, and banking information. It takes approximately 5 minutes to complete our registration and begin processing payments. However, Sky uses next generation underwriting and verification technology to identify you as the business owner and to verify your business. If you do not answer questions accurately, we may ask additional questions or require documentation such as processing statements, drivers license, or business licenses for verification purposes.

Sky first attempts to verify your identity and ownership with the last 4 of your social security number. If we are unable to verify, we will require the full social security number to satisfy federal and state guidelines surrounding Knowing Your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML).

Sky does sell equipment and offers special discount incentives for merchants that provide three recent processing statements. Sky also offers a $50 credit for every $5,000 processed in the first billing cycle for hardware purchases made during the first billing cycle. You can make purchases from the Sky online store

    Sky’s service is nationwide but our physical presence to offer personalized customer service and POS setups is in three states, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana and the metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Orlando.

    Yes, Sky can assist with the transition and as a subscriber to Cloud Servicez we can rebuild your website if you prefer. This will keep all of your services, both in store and online in one place.

    Yes. Sky Cloud Servicez offers two plans with Pro and Pro+ to build, host, and maintain custom websites. The typical buildout time is 1-2 weeks.

    Sky’s support team and your dedicated account manager are available by text, email, or phone. We are always here when you need us.

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