As a service provider, it can sometimes be difficult to define the scope and duration of the service . To provide a secure legal framework for both the service provider and the customer, the signing of an acceptance report makes it possible to establish the end and proper execution of a service.
The signing of an acceptance report is a practice which has spread widely among service providers offering services in the IT field in particular. This is a good thing in itself, but this democratization in the use of receipt reports has also led to its share of disputes. Several judgments have also made it possible to specify the real legal value of an acceptance report, as well as the responsibility of the service provider(Azurewave Devices ) in the event of customer dissatisfaction after the signing of such a document. To enable you to secure your activity on this point, we explain to you what your rights and your duties are following the signing of a receipt report.
What is a receipt report?
An acceptance report represents a document with legal value which binds a service provider and his client. This acceptance report makes it possible to collect the agreement between a service provider and his client concerning the end and proper execution of the service provision.
The acceptance report is therefore offered by the service provider to his client at the end of the service provision. The customer thus issues his agreement to validate the proper execution of this service( [pii_email_aef67573025b785e8ee2]) .
The stakes are therefore high concerning the signature of such a document, because the service provider can thus collect a document with legal value which certifies that the latter has correctly performed the provision of services ordered by his client. The customer for his part confirms that he is satisfied with this provision of services. Following the signing of an acceptance report, the customer therefore has the obligation to pay or to finish paying for all of this service.
When should you have your client sign such a document?
An acceptance report occurs at the end of the execution of a service provision . However, in certain sectors of activity the proper execution of a service cannot be fully validated by the customer upon delivery.
For example, for a service concerning the creation of a website , the customer will often need several days after the website has been put online to ensure that there are no operating problems or anomalies. that can be blamed on the IT developer.
For everything relating to the provision of services in the IT sector, service providers are therefore advised to first offer a provisional acceptance report at the end of the service provision. Then, secondly propose a final acceptance report after a period previously agreed with the client, so that the latter can perform all the tests in order to definitively approve the proper execution of the service provision.
Upon signing the provisional acceptance report, the customer may in particular make reservations which must be taken into account by the service provider. The service provider will thus be able to make changes to obtain the full satisfaction of his customer at the time of signing the final acceptance report.
What about the delivery obligation for the service provider?
Following the signing of an acceptance report, in theory the service provider is relieved of his obligation to issue . In other words, once the customer signs the acceptance report without reservation, the latter gives up any right thereafter to claim any modification or to refuse to pay said service to the service provider.
In practice, the situation is not always that simple. In the IT field in particular, a good number of customers still tend to sign receipt reports hastily. The result of such haste is that some clients subsequently express their dissatisfaction with the performance of the service. This gives rise to disputes which tend to multiply.
A judgment of the Court of Cassation dating from May 2013 notably confirmed the fragile legal value of an acceptance report in a dispute between an equestrian center company and an IT developer. The service provider’s mission was to create a website for this equestrian center. After signing an acceptance report, the client expressed his dissatisfaction with the compliance of his website with his expectations.
The Court of Cassation reminded us that a receipt statement is not enough to exonerate a service provider from its obligation to issue (Sleep Spell 5e). The judge here penalizes the fact of having a client sign a receipt too quickly, without the latter having had time to use his website for a sufficient period of time to really appreciate the quality of the service provided.
In this case, the service provider was not relieved of its obligation to issue following the signature deemed too hasty by the judges of the acceptance report.
Consequently, all service providers are advised to establish upstream a test period granted to the customer before signing a final acceptance report.
Free Recipe PV Template
Produced under good conditions, the acceptance report remains an essential legal document to secure a commercial relationship between a service provider and its customer. To help you in the development of your business, here is a free PV recipe template that you can offer to your customers.
Company name and contact details of
the service provider
Recipe PV
Name and contact details of the client
Name and reference of the project:
Created on:
Last update / version number:
Characteristics of the deliverable: (detail the service provision, its scope, the objective to be achieved, etc.)
Customer X recognizes by this acceptance report (tick the Firebolt 5e) :
- have received the deliverable mentioned above that meets their expectations;
- have received the deliverable mentioned above which corresponds to its expectations with reservations (specify the reservations expressed in the appropriate section below);
- have received the deliverable mentioned above that does not meet their expectations;
- not having received the deliverable.
- Reservations made by the customer:
Done in two copies on
The service provider The client
