In technology contracts where a deliverable is to be created to specifications agreed between the vendor and the customer, or milestones met, a procedures is usually included to establish that the deliverable meets the standards agreed in the contract – acceptance then usually requires that stage payments or final payments be made (or that holdback‘s be released.) This procedure is usually referred to as “acceptance.”
There are a wide array of potential procedures that may be be utilised, but the most common is for the vendor to send a notice (a letter or e-mail) to the customer stating that delivery has taken place (or the milestone has been achieved.) At this point the customer usually has a limited amount of time to object and send a counter notice if it believes that the deliverable does not meet the requisite standard – failure to send the counter notice in this period can lead to the deliverable being “deemed accepted.” For this reason it is important for managers of projects to be familiar with the exact provisions in the relevant contracts governing acceptance.