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Question re proposals
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Mr. Kirschenbaum,
 We have purchased and still use all of your Security Contracts.   Many times we have our clients sign a Proposal ( Estimate ), prior to any work being performed.   The owners of our company want to find out if we include the regular Terms and Conditions on the bottom of our Proposals, will it hold up in court?
 How much of the contract needs to be included?   I think you are going to tell me all of it.
Please advise.
Regards,
Rich Whitlock
Hue & Cry, Inc.
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Answer
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 It's OK to use a proposal as long as that's all it is.  Some proposal forms are turned into contracts by requesting that the subscriber sign the proposal to bind the subscriber and you.  Then it's not a proposal.  Make your your proposal cannot be changed to a contract.  It should have at the bottom this or something similar: "This proposal is not a contract and neither party shall be bound until Alarm Co's standard form contract is fully executed".
 You can also attach the contract and then reference it in the proposal. 
 I think your proposal should be in letter format simply laying out the work and price, stating that's its subject to the standard form contract.
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comments on still leasing
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Ken
 When you ask if companies are still leasing, I assume you are referring to what we call an installation and service agreement (the equipment remains company property). If my assumption is correct then the answer is yes I have been doing it for thirty five years, twenty four years as an employee (sales rep) for another company, and eleven years within the company I helped start from the ground up. Our company is a split of approximately seventy percent commercial, thirty percent residential. I estimate seventy percent of our monitored systems are company owned equipment.
MS
Calif.
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Response
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 I received several responses and decided not to circulate them.  Companies are still leasing and the above response reflects, in my opinion, a healthy mix of subscribers and a sound business model.  Work on increasing your commercial lease subscriber base. **************