How do I Write a Reminder Letter to Notify of a Consulting Contract Expiration?

All contracts come to an end at some point, often on a specific date or after a specified period of time. When you are a consultant, your contract with a client should include the date the contract expires as well as terms for extending the contract. Even when the expiration date is spelled out in the contract, it’s good practice to send your client a reminder letter for the end of the contract so the client doesn't forget that it is expiring.

You want to send your contract renewal reminder letter a set period of time before your consulting contract ends. This may be a few weeks or a few months before the consulting contract expires to give your client enough notice to either renew the contract with you or find a new vendor. You should explain the purpose for the reminder letter in the first paragraph of your contract renewal letter to a client. Remind the client that the consulting contract is about to expire, including the specific date.

Example:

Dear Mr. Jones,

This letter serves as a reminder that your contract with XYZ Consulting Company is expiring on July 15, 2019, as indicated in our original contract.

If you wish to continue providing services to the client, provide an option to renew in the next paragraph of your reminder letter. Say something positive about your consulting services, such as the results you have secured for the client so far. You might also offer a discount or other incentive in your contract renewal letter to persuade the client to renew the contract.

Examples:

I have very much enjoyed working with your company the past two years and have been thrilled with the 45 percent growth we’ve been able to help you achieve. I’m eager to renew our consulting contract to see how much more growth we can achieve. If you’d like to renew our agreement, please contact me before the expiration date so there is no lapse in service.

It’s been our pleasure to work with you the past several months. If you’d like to continue receiving our services, we’d like to offer you a 20 percent discount if you renew before the contract expiration date.

There may be instances when you don’t want a client to renew the contract with you. Perhaps he was very difficult to work with or didn’t live up to his end of the contract. In that case, you don’t have to provide an option to renew and can simply state that the contract has expired with no option to renew. You can, of course, choose to explain why you don’t want to renew your consulting contract with as little or as much detail as you wish.

Example:

At this time, we are choosing to not renew our contract with you given how much difficulty we had getting deadlines met. We appreciate the opportunity we had to work with you and wish you the best on future endeavors.

In the last paragraph of your reminder letter for the end of the contract, let the client know how to get in touch with you if there are any questions or if she would like to extend the contract. Include your phone number and email address in your contract renewal letter. Add that you would like the client to contact you regardless of any contract renewals to discuss closing matters. This will give you another chance to persuade her to renew the contract if you’d like.

Whether or not you offer an option to renew, always be professional and polite in your contract renewal reminder letter. Be sure to thank the client for the past work. You never know when another opportunity will come up to work with that client, and you don’t want to leave a bad impression, especially if you’ve done a lot of good work together.