Last reviewed 27 September 2026
Businesses often need a contract in place by a particular date: a launch, a new customer starting, or a supplier beginning work. Knowing what affects the timetable makes it easier to set realistic expectations with the other side and with your own team.
A contract passes through several stages: agreeing the key commercial points, preparing a first draft, one or more rounds of review and negotiation, finalising, and signing. Each stage has its own causes of delay.
This guide gives general information about those stages under the law of England and Wales. It is not legal advice, and actual timescales depend on the particular agreement and the parties.
Agreeing the commercial terms first
The single biggest time saver is settling the main commercial points before drafting begins. Price, scope, duration, payment terms, service levels and termination rights are business decisions. When they are still open, drafts go back and forth as negotiating documents rather than legal ones.
A short note of heads of terms, even if it is not legally binding, gives the drafter a clear brief and reduces later disagreement about what was intended.
The first draft
A straightforward agreement based on a familiar structure can often be prepared relatively quickly once instructions are clear. Bespoke agreements, those involving intellectual property, data sharing, regulated activities or several parties, take longer because more issues need to be thought through and tailored.
Deciding whose template is used also matters. The party that produces the first draft sets the starting positions, which can save negotiating time for that side but may lengthen review for the other.
Review and negotiation rounds
Each round of comments involves the other side reading the draft, taking internal views and returning a marked up version. How many rounds are needed depends on how far apart the parties are and how quickly each responds. Internal approvals, such as sign-off from finance, a board or a parent company, frequently add more time than the legal review itself.
Keeping a running list of open points, and resolving them on a call rather than through repeated markups, usually shortens this stage considerably.
Finalising and signing
Once terms are agreed, the final version needs to be checked for consistency, schedules completed and the correct parties and signatories confirmed. A company normally signs through an authorised director or other authorised person, and some documents need particular execution formalities such as execution as a deed.
Electronic signatures are widely used for commercial contracts in England and Wales, which can remove delays caused by circulating paper copies, but the signing process still needs to be organised.
Practical ways to keep to a timetable
Share your deadline at the outset, gather the commercial information before instructing, name one decision maker on your side, and respond promptly to questions. Tell your lawyer which points are essential and which are negotiable so that time is spent where it matters.
Avoid starting work under a draft that has not been signed unless you understand the risk: if the relationship breaks down before signature, it can be unclear which terms applied.
Key points
- Settle the main commercial terms before drafting starts.
- Bespoke and multi-party agreements take longer to prepare.
- Internal approvals often add more time than legal review.
- Track open points and resolve them on calls, not endless markups.
- Check the correct signatories and execution formalities early.
Frequently asked questions
- Can we start work before the contract is signed?
- Businesses sometimes do, but it carries risk. If terms are never finalised, it may be unclear what was agreed. A short interim letter can reduce that uncertainty.
- Is an electronic signature valid for a business contract?
- Electronic signatures are generally accepted for commercial contracts in England and Wales, although some documents have particular formalities that must be followed.
- Does using the other side's template save time?
- It can, but their draft will reflect their preferred positions, so the review may take longer to bring it into balance.
- Is this guide legal advice?
- No. It is general information about contract timescales and is not advice on any specific agreement.