Somewhere in your chair or CBCT lease there's a paragraph that says something like: "This agreement shall automatically renew for a further term of twelve months unless either party gives written notice no later than ninety (90) days prior to expiry." That one sentence costs practices thousands — because the renewal date is in the contract, but the cancel-by date lives nowhere at all.
Why vendors write it this way
Evergreen clauses aren't evil; they prevent service gaps. But they also mean the default outcome is another year at the old rate, negotiated when you had less leverage. The vendor's calendar has your notice deadline in it. Yours probably doesn't.
The two dates you must track separately
- Renewal date — when the new term starts. Useful, but by then it's too late.
- Notice / cancel-by date — renewal date minus the notice period. This is the real deadline: the last day you can renegotiate, switch, or walk away.
A 15-minute audit for your practice
- Pull every lease and service contract — equipment, software, waste, laundry.
- Find the term clause and note the notice period (30/60/90 days are common).
- Compute the cancel-by date for each and put it somewhere that will actively remind you.
- Set the reminder well before the cancel-by date — you need time to get quotes, not just to send a letter.
In Coria, every item has an optional notice/cancel-by date next to the renewal date, and reminders start 90 days out — which for most contracts means you hear about it before the notice window closes, not after.