Unless otherwise agreed, all work is undertaken on a ‘time plus costs’ basis under which we charge for our time at our current hourly rate and for expenditure (eg, photography, design and printing) at cost plus 17.5 per cent.

Work undertaken on the basis of a fixed price quotation will be charged for at the quoted price. However, where projects are halted, substantially changed during the course of work or unduly delayed due to circumstances beyond our control, we reserve the right to invoice on the basis of time and expenditure incurred.

Invoices relating to each project or activity will be submitted on completion of that project or activity or, in the case of longer or complex projects, on completion of each phase.

Where we are retained on the basis of a monthly fee or on a ‘time plus costs’ basis invoices will normally be submitted in the month following the month to which the invoice relates, unless otherwise agreed between us.

Where appropriate, press release distribution and similar costs will be calculated as though all material is printed and mailed first class post.

Not withstanding Clause 3 above, where the nature of the work we are undertaking on your behalf requires us to make what we regard to be substantial payments to third parties we may require you to put us in funds to cover such expenditure prior to entering into such third party commitments.

We retain the copyright on any work which we have produced or which we have commissioned on your behalf until payment is received in full. Thereafter, the copyright is yours.

At the time that copyright is transferred we are happy to hand over images, artwork, computer files, etc, relating to original work. In the absence of a specific request to hand over such material we will store it for as long as it seems to us to be appropriate, after which time it may be destroyed without further reference to you. We accept no responsibility for safe-keeping of such material beyond the due date for payment of our invoice for the work in question.

Invoices are due for payment no later than 30 days from the invoice date. We reserve the right to charge interest on overdue accounts in line with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. We also reserve the right to halt or delay work on projects in hand in the event that payment is overdue on invoices relating to other work.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing between us, contracts based on a monthly fee are for a minimum of three months. Three months notice in writing from either party to the other is required to cancel the contract.

Not withstanding Clause 10 above, in the event of you fundamentally breaching any of these terms of business we will be forthwith released from any of our contractual obligations to the fullest extent permitted by law and may invoice for three months' fees in lieu of notice. We may, at our discretion, regard as a fundamental breach of these terms of business your failure to pay invoices by the due date or the issuing of instructions for us to undertake work which would lead to us breaching the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ Code of Conduct.

Our failure at any time to enforce any of these terms of business does not preclude us from doing so at some future date either in regard to the same matter or in the same or similar circumstances.

We shall be released from any contractual obligations in the event of war, civil commotion, fire, flood, natural disaster or such other cause beyond our reasonable anticipation or control.

We will take every care to ensure that any advice given, literature and advertisements produced, and statements, releases and articles issued are correct. However, neither Smye Holland Associates, its agents or employees will accept responsibility for loss, damage, etc, howsoever arising, occasioned by the implementation of such advice, the publication of such literature or advertisements, or the issuing of such statements, releases or articles. All legal responsibility for published material, including defence of any action for misrepresentation or libel, remains with you.

These terms of business form a contract between us which will be subject to the law of England.