The 30-Day Off-Ramp Clause That Keeps Both Sides Honest
Why We Wrote an Off-Ramp INTO the Contract
Most consulting agreements read like Hotel California — you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave (without paying the full fee). We flipped the script: a one-page, 30-day mutual off-ramp. If the vibe is wrong, the results stall, or your CFO freezes spend, you walk — and you only pay for delivered value.
The Exact Clause (Copy-Paste Friendly)
“Either party may terminate this Agreement for any reason by serving thirty (30) days written notice. Client liability upon termination shall be limited to: (a) Services completed and accepted; (b) Disbursements actually incurred; (c) No cancellation penalty or future fees.”
No lawyers, no fight, no “you owe us 80 % of remaining fees.”
How “Completed & Accepted” Is Measured
We attach a deliverables grid to every PO:
| Week | Deliverable | % of Fee | Acceptance Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Project kick-off & staff list | 10 % | Email “Go” |
| 2 | Risk dashboard v1 | 15 % | PDF sign-off |
| 4 | Career ladder draft | 15 % | Excel comments |
| 6 | Pilot results review | 20 % | Meeting minutes |
| 8 | SOP handbook | 15 % | Word track-changes |
| 10 | Final report & warranty | 25 % | Sign-off slide |
If you exit at Week 5, you pay 60 % of the total — nothing more.
Real Example – Client Who Pulled the Plug
Situation: Agri-tech start-up (60 staff) lost Series-A funding in Week 3 of our Grow People sprint.
- Deliverables done: 25 % (risk dashboard + career ladder draft)
- Invoice issued: KES 100k (25 % of KES 400k)
- Off-ramp triggered: 30-day email notice
- Actual exit: Day 35 (we finished Week 4 hand-over)
- Final paid: KES 100k — no penalty, no lawyer letters.
Relationship: intact — they re-hired us 14 months later when funding returned.
What Happens to the Guarantee If You Exit Early?
- Guarantee applies only to completed phases.
- If you stop at 60 % completion, we still warrant the results delivered up to that point (e.g., exit-risk down 10 %).
- We prorate the warranty days: 60 % done = 54 days warranty (60 % of 90).
Disbursements You DO Pay
- Coffee vouchers for alumni interviews (actual M-Pesa sent)
- Travel outside Nairobi (pre-agreed rate KES 70/km)
- Printing / laminating career cards (receipts attached)
Typical disbursement ceiling: 5 % of contract value — hard-coded in PO.
What You DON’T Pay
- Future phases not started
- Software we never deployed
- Consultant bench time
- Cancellation “penalty” (illegal under Kenyan consumer law anyway)
Mutual Off-Ramp vs. Performance Off-Ramp
We offer both:
- Mutual (any reason, 30 days)
- Performance (miss guarantee, instant)
You can use either — whichever is faster.
How Fast Can You Actually Exit?
Average time from notice email → final invoice → hand-over:
- People Projects: 21 days
- Product Sprint: 28 days (prototype must be usable)
- Profit Audit: 14 days (data already in your server)
We never ghost — we want the reference more than the last cent.
Hand-Over Package (What You Keep)
- All working Excel files (unlocked)
- PDF copies of every slide deck
- Raw alumni / stay-interview data (anonymised)
- SOP cheat-sheets (print-ready)
- Warranty certificate (prorated)
Delivered in a Google Drive folder shared permanently.
Insurance Back-Up
Our Professional Indemnity (USD 1 M) covers negligence during partial delivery — so you’re not left holding broken tools.
CFO One-Pager Summary
- 30-day notice — email enough
- Pay only delivered % — no penalty
- Disbursements capped — 5 %
- Prorated warranty — still valid
- All files unlocked — no hostage situation
Download PDF: wiseup.co.ke/off-ramp-summary
Bottom Line
We want clients who want us. The day that changes, we’d rather leave friends than hostages. The 30-day off-ramp keeps pressure on us to deliver value every single week — and lets you sleep without a legal pillow under the contract.
Next article: “Do You Work Outside Nairobi?” — we spill the travel schedule, county rates and why Eldoret is our new favourite coffee stop.**
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