Does the AIA publish master agreements that allow for multiple scopes of work or services to be added through the use of separate work or service orders?
Yes, the AIA publishes three sets of master agreements and work or service order documents, for use between owner-contractor, contractor-subcontractor, owner-architect, and architect-consultant, as follows:
A121™–2018, Standard Form of Master Agreement Between Owner and Contractor, where work is provided under Multiple Work Orders
A221™–2018, Work Order for use with Master Agreement Between Owner and Contractor
A421™–2018, Standard Form of Master Agreement Between Contractor and Subcontractor where Work is provided under multiple Work Orders
A422™–2018, Work Order for use with Master Agreement Between Contractor and Subcontractor
B121™–2018, Standard Form of Master Agreement Between Owner and Architect for Services provided under Multiple Service Orders
B221™–2018, Service Order for use with Master Agreement Between Owner and Architect
C421™–2018, Standard Form of Master Agreement Between Architect and Consultant for Services Provided under Multiple Service Orders
C422™–2018, Service Order for use with Master Agreement Between Architect and Consultant
I have a client who would like me to perform services or work on a number of on-going projects. Is there a document that would allow me to perform services or work on multiple projects without the necessity of negotiating a new contract for each scope?
Yes, the master agreement documents allow you to negotiate one set of terms and conditions that will be applicable to multiple work or service orders that add individual scopes of service or work for multiple projects.
Rather than use the master agreement documents, can I just amend an existing contract to add a new scope of service or work?
While it is possible to add new services or work through a contractual amendment, traditional contracts are generally limited to a single project. The master agreement documents allow you to add new scopes of service or work on a single project or different projects. You could even use the master agreement documents to add services or work for projects in different states.
Are the master agreement documents a family of documents that must be used together?
While the Master Agreement documents may be used together, they can also be used independently. For example, a contractor may be performing multiple scopes of work on multiple projects using AIA Document A121–2018, Standard Form of Master Agreement Between Owner and Contractor, where work is provided under multiple work orders, but the owner may use any owner/architect agreement, such as B101™–2017, to retain an architect for each project.