Memorandum of Agreements can turn out quite handy to ratify and instigate contemporary partnerships. Different versions and volumes of dealings can be controlled through this parchment. It can be a lead to attenuating different projects and deals with new suppliers. It can even help in normalizing a commitment with a new recruit in the company.
A Memorandum of Agreement can turn out to be an originator to a valued and formal contract. With a very vast practical consumption of MOAs, this article shall seek a description of providing a detailed overview of the ambits of a general MOA. It would also instigate a comprehensive analysis of the MOA format.
What Is A Memorandum of Agreement?
A formal business partnership or any agreement among two parties involves setting up a legal relationship. A Memorandum of Agreement holds significance in the professional market as a document formulating a legal agreement between two parties sharing a singleton set of goals. This document illustrates the cooperation among the parties for working side by side.
An MOA serves its importance by defining a set of terms and details that are following any partnership or agreement. It settles its ground somewhere mid-way between a verbal contract and a formal contract. The consumption of a certain MOA is well defined and diverse. Companies having an accord of setting up technical assistance or training usually forge an MOA.
Various research agreements call for a Memorandum of Agreement between two parties, where the parties involved in such cases are not just researchers but the institutions as well. The existence of an MOA can be referred to as quite important and subjective, where it allows different businesses to establish connections with their industrial partners.
Conclusively, a Memorandum of Agreement can be observed as a base to any partner, either big or small. The following descriptions would focus on how and what to write in any MOA.
The Typical Format of an MOA
A typical MOA follows the following structure and is based on a different focus than the focus observed in a contract. The elements included in an MOA are as follows:
- Authority: A statement of authority that highlights and outlines the introduction of the MOA.
- Purpose:
- Names of The Parties: The authorities or parties involved in the MOA are to provide their legal names.
- Scope: Provide a detailed description of the scope of the work with its goals and all the areas of collaboration involved in the MOA.
- Financial Obligations: The parties have to provide a description of the finances of the project, if applicable in the partnership.
- Date: Provide the date this agreement would be taken into effect.
- Principal Contacts: Refer to key contacts that are involved in the agreement.
- Roles and Responsibilities: A comprehensive breakdown of the expectations brought in the roles and responsibilities of each party.
- Duration of the Agreement: Refer to the time period this agreement would stay in effect.
- Modification or Termination: Provide the conditions that would either change or terminate the agreement ambits.
- Signatures: The principals of the parties would sign the agreement.
Tips for Writing a Memorandum of Agreement
There are several preferred practices that are to be kept in mind when writing a Memorandum of Agreement. Your memorandum of agreement template should follow the major key points as described below.
- Focus on writing a single MOA rather than multiple MOAs to avoid confusion.
- The language utilized in an MOA should follow a similar tone as in the discussions amongst the parties. It should be clear, concise, and succinct.
- The written MOA should depict a balance in its tone. After generalizing the core of the agreement to what both parties agree on, provide a compact breakdown of what both parties agree on individually. After the breakdown is completed, provide a positive conjecture by showing the agreement among both parties.
- Keep the agreement positive in all senses.
- The appropriate personnel should be clear over the complete document for helping to bring it into effect.
- The contents of the MOA should be within the bounds of reality.
- The parties should sit down together to decide and ratify the terms within the MOA. Cast out all the problems and turbulences within the agreement.
- It should be made sure that all parties sign the agreement.
- A copy should be provided to every party after the signatures.
In fact, if you want the process to be easier, you can use the PDF MOA template offered here on CocoDoc. This powerful PDF editor will help you create a legally valid agreement easily
MOA vs. Contract
People usually refer to MOA as a formal agreement between two parties; however, it is not as formal as a Contract. MOA can be observed as an outline to any agreement that would eventually lead to a formal contract. This parchment can act as an outline and a platform for setting up any collaboration or agreement.
Another important factor that is to be kept in mind for MOAs is that there are no exchanges of money usually involved in the process. Contracts can be observed as a detailed and specified document that is particularly based on the outline presented in the Memorandum of Agreement. With solid terms and conditions, MOA serves as a foundation for the Contract.
MOA serves as the definition of any relationship that is being established between two parties. A Contract comes into utility when finances are deeply involved in the partnership. This acts as a qualifying factor for setting up a contract. A legal obligation is thus set upon to quality towards the settled terms. However, it can be kept in mind that an MOA can serve as a contract under certain conditions.
If an MOA contains terms that are based on the exchange of money, it can be referred to as a general contract. If it prolifically contains certain terms where parties have to pay for any damages caused, such details make it accounted for among contracts.
Conclusion
After going through several examples of the Memorandum of Agreement samples, different parties involved in such provisions can devise a perfect document for their agreements. To build up a perfect and comprehensive MOA, it is significant to follow different details that are involved throughout its structure. These details help in devising different terms and conditions in an appropriate fashion.
