Basics of business contracts
Perustaso - Suomen Yrittäjät
- Suomen Yrittäjät
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- Free for members
Are your company’s contracts in order?
Business contracts – agreements between companies – are part of everyday business life. By understanding the basic principles of business contracts, you can save time and avoid unnecessary concerns in contract situations.
A flexible and practical online course:
- Designed for small businesses that make contracts with other companies in Finland.
- Study at your own pace online through the Claned platform.
- Expert instructors provide clear, practical insights in a concise format.
- Learn at your own speed until December 31, 2025.
- Registration is open until December 19.
- Free of charge for members of Yrittäjät.
Key takeaways from the training
Experts in the training
Tiina Toivonen
Tiina Toivonen holds a Master of Laws degree as well as a Bachelor of Business Administration. She has worked at the Federation of Finnish Enterprises for 15 years, advising Finnish SMEs on various challenges related to business law. Her main role within the organization is to influence legislation both in Finland and at the EU level to ensure that it supports small entrepreneurship.
Sanna Lempiäinen
Sanna Lempiäinen is a lawyer and an expert in business law at the Federation of Finnish Enterprises. She has also worked in the organization’s legal advisory services as a legal counsel, providing guidance to companies on contract-related
matters.
She holds a Master of Laws degree as well as a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the entrepreneurship and business competence program. In addition, she has nearly 20 years of practical experience with business contracts, gained in international sales, marketing, and management roles.
Content
Exchange between private individuals and companies is based on contracts. Many of us enter into contracts every day – sometimes without even realizing it. For a contract to be formed, there must always be at least two legally competent parties who reach mutual agreement on committing to the contract and its terms. Sometimes attempts are made to conclude contracts through deception. And not everyone always agrees on whether a contract has actually been formed. In the first section, you will learn the basic principles of contract formation.
Contents:
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What is a contract?
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Freedom of contract and its limitations
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No contract is formed through deception
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Who is eligible to make a contract?
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Offer and acceptance procedure
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Standard terms as part of a contract
Under a contract, the parties have a duty to perform the obligations they have agreed to. For the seller, this typically means delivering the correct product or service at the agreed time. For the buyer, it means paying the purchase price and assisting in fulfilling the seller’s obligations. If a party’s performance does not correspond to what was agreed, or is rendered at the wrong time, this is often considered a breach of contract. In this section, you will learn about the different types of breaches, methods of dispute resolution, and the consequences of breaches of contract.
Contents:
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Breach of contract: delay in performance
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Breach of contract: defective performance
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Breach of contract: sale of movable property
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Dispute resolution
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Consequences of breaches of contract
Sometimes it is necessary to terminate an existing contract. A contract may be terminated for various reasons. In this section, you will learn about contract termination.
Contents:
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Contract termination
In business contracts, the general rule is freedom of form, unless the law specifically requires otherwise for a certain type of contract (e.g., real estate transactions). This means that contracts made orally or even implicitly are also binding. If there is a disagreement between the contracting parties about the existence or content of the contract, the party relying on the contract must be able to prove that it was concluded and what was agreed upon. For this reason, a written contract is strongly recommended.
In this section, you will receive a model template for business-to-business contracts along with instructions for completing it. The template helps ensure that contracts are drafted with care.**
Contents:
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Template and instructions for a business-to-business contract
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10-point checklist
Please note that this training does not cover specific types of contracts, such as consumer contracts, employment contracts, or real estate transactions.
Implementation of the training
The training is delivered on the Claned learning platform and includes short materials for self-paced learning. Kindly note that this text has been translated into English using AI.
How it works:
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Register for the course. Registration is open until December 19.
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You will receive an email with a link and instructions for the learning platform within one week of registration.
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Log in to the platform following the email instructions.
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Start learning at your own pace. The course is available until December 31, 2025.
The online courses of the Yrittäjät Academy are delivered with the same content three times a year.
The training is suitable for:
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Anyone involved in drafting business-to-business contracts
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Especially small and start-up companies
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Companies undergoing changes in their operations and therefore facing new contract situations
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Those who wish to review the basic principles of business contracts in a concise format
The training is free of charge for entrepreneurs and employees of member companies of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises.
- Further information and data protection matters
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For data protection matters please contact heidi.jantti@yrittajat.fi