Vocations · Job Skills

Do not sign
what you cannot explain.

Contracts are written to be read slowly, and most people sign them fast. Copy each clause you are not sure about, write what you think it means and what else it could mean, and turn it into a question for the other side. The organizer recognizes common clause types and keeps track of which answers you have in writing.

Add a questionWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Job search kit, $29 for 34 items.

Your questions

The worked example is made up: three clauses from a gym membership (renewal, an early termination fee and arbitration) and one from an apartment lease, answered by email. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Vocations · Job Skills$5

What you finish with
A record per clause: the contract, section, exact words, your reading, other readings, your question, how much it matters, how it was answered, the answer and five reading checks. Recognizes arbitration, automatic renewal, early termination, entire agreement and indemnity wording and explains each; counts open questions that matter; flags unanswered deal-breakers and spoken-only answers.
Who it is for
Young adults and anyone signing a lease, membership, phone or service plan, job offer or freelance agreement, and the teachers running consumer and career skills classes.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per question. Prints one question, every question in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Job search kit ($29) and the Vocations Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Job Skills space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Read the contract once straight through.
  2. Copy each unclear clause exactly, with its section.
  3. Write what you think it means, and what else it could mean.
  4. Ask the other side, and get important answers in writing.
  5. Decide: sign, ask for a change or walk away.

Add a question

Clauses to slow down for

Five clauses worth slowing down forClauseOften saysAskAutomatic renewalrenews automatically unlessHow and when do I cancel?Early terminationfee equal to the remainingWhat waives it?Arbitrationbinding arbitrationCan I opt out, and by when?Entire agreementthe entire agreementIs every promise written in?Indemnityindemnify and hold harmlessFor what, exactly?Five clauses worth slowing down forAutomatic renewalOften says: renews automatically unlessAsk: How and when do I cancel?Early terminationOften says: fee equal to the remainingAsk: What waives it?ArbitrationOften says: binding arbitrationAsk: Can I opt out, and by when?Entire agreementOften says: the entire agreementAsk: Is every promise written in?IndemnityOften says: indemnify and hold harmlessAsk: For what, exactly?
The organizer looks for these words in the clauses you copy and explains each one it finds.

Get it in writing

Most contracts say they are the entire agreement, so a spoken promise may count for nothing later. Ask for important answers by email, or ask for a line added to the contract and initialed by both sides.

When to get help

For a lease, a job offer with a non-compete or anything involving a lot of money, a lawyer’s reading is worth it. Legal aid offices, tenant groups and law school clinics often help for free or at low cost. Rules differ by state; this organizer does not state them.

Sources

  1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Arbitration agreements and consumer guides (consumerfinance.gov).
  2. Federal Trade Commission. Consumer advice on subscriptions, free trials and cancelling (consumer.ftc.gov).
  3. Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. 1 and following.
  4. Restatement (Second) of Contracts, sections 201 to 203 (interpretation) and 213 to 216 (integrated agreements). American Law Institute, 1981.

The worked examples are made up. The clause notes are general explanations, not legal advice, and state law can change what a clause means or whether it can be enforced. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.