In reality, due to various reasons such as "convenience" and "face saving", some small and micro enterprises only make a phone call or send a WeChat message when conducting transactions, without signing any form of contract, and even leaving no transaction traces. Once there is a dispute between the two parties, the injured party often finds it difficult to protect their rights. The judge reminds that small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses should develop the habit of retaining written transactions, and promote the shift of trade behavior from "acquaintance trust" to "rule of law rules". The familiar purchaser who had been trading for years suddenly closed down, leaving a pile of unpaid payments. The supply and procurement parties have neither signed a supply contract nor conducted written reconciliation and settlement. Can the outstanding payment still be recovered in this situation? How will the court make a judgment? Recently, the Shigu District People's Court in Hengyang, Hunan Province, tried a sales contract dispute case by flexibly adopting WeChat chat records. In the case, the plaintiff's supplier used WeChat chat records as evidence to demand the defendant to pay the remaining payment. The court, based on the text before and after, as well as the transaction habits of both parties, and taking into account the WeChat chat records of both parties, ultimately ruled that the defendant should pay the plaintiff the purchase price and overdue interest. Lawyers remind that in commercial transactions, even with such cases as support, the effect of pre emptive prevention and in-process control is far greater than post remedial measures. Therefore, even in cases where it is difficult to enter into a written contract, companies should still pay attention to leaving written records of the transaction process in daily transactions to avoid the dilemma of providing evidence. Ms. Xiao, a purchaser who has been cooperating for 4 years, runs a baking raw material business in Hengyang, Hunan. Starting from 2020, Zhou, who runs a cake shop, began purchasing raw materials from Ms. Xiao, and the two parties began a four-year supply and procurement cooperation. Based on the trading habits of industry acquaintances, Ms. Xiao and Mr. Zhou did not sign a written supply contract, and the payment for goods was made in a "supply first, settlement later" mode. The transactions between the two parties were frequent, and the supply and payment of goods were irregular. On a certain day in 2021, after reconciling the accounts, Ms. Xiao found that Zhou owed more than 60000 yuan in goods. Zhou issued a promissory note, promising to repay the debt in one month and agreed on the interest and overdue interest during the debt period. Afterwards, Ms. Xiao continued to conduct normal transactions with Zhou based on her trust in him. Even though Zhou sometimes fails to settle the payment in a timely manner, she doesn't pay much attention to it. Until May 2024, as Zhou's outstanding payments continued to accumulate, Ms. Xiao couldn't sit still. She found through inventory that Zhou had an outstanding payment of over 30000 yuan, and with the addition of the previously agreed outstanding debt of over 60000 yuan, the total amount owed has reached over 90000 yuan. After Ms. Xiao sent the settlement information to Zhou via WeChat, Zhou replied with an "OK" WeChat emoji as usual and paid 35000 yuan for the goods the next day. Considering that Zhou may have tight cash flow, Ms. Xiao did not further pursue the debt. However, during the last supply in 2024, Ms. Xiao discovered that the store operated by Mr. Zhou had already closed down. When she contacted the other party through WeChat or phone, she found that the other party had "mysteriously disappeared". At this time, Zhou still has over 60000 yuan of unpaid goods. Helpless, Ms. Xiao had no choice but to sue Zhou to the court, demanding that he pay the remaining payment of over 60000 yuan and interest. WeChat chat records can also be used as evidence. During the examination of evidence, the Shigu District Court found that in this case, the two parties did not sign a written contract, the written supply order was incomplete, and no written reconciliation settlement was conducted. After the monthly supply, the plaintiff will inform the defendant of the outstanding amount of the goods on WeChat, and the defendant will reply with "OK" or "Okay" to confirm. The court believes that there is a customary practice of using emoticons to express agreement in the transaction between the two parties. The plaintiff and defendant agreed to engage in the purchase and sale of raw materials for making pastries. Based on the true intentions of both parties and without violating any mandatory legal provisions, the legal relationship of the sales contract between the two parties is established and legally valid. The plaintiff delivered the goods to the defendant, but the defendant failed to pay the purchase price in a timely and full manner, which violated the basic obligations of the sales contract and should bear the liability for breach of contract by paying the purchase price. Meanwhile, the defendant's overdue payment has caused losses to the plaintiff, and corresponding compensation should be made. In summary, the Shigu District Court has finally ruled that the defendant Zhou shall pay the plaintiff Ms. Xiao more than 60000 yuan in goods and overdue payment losses. In law, simple WeChat emojis are generally difficult to directly identify as valid commitments, but may be recognized in specific contexts and supported by evidence. ”The presiding judge interpreted that in this case, the court flexibly recognized electronic evidence and did not mechanically require complete forms for "OK" expressions or "good" text messages in WeChat chats. Instead, it inferred their legal effect based on transaction habits, solving the evidentiary dilemma of small and micro enterprises having "no contract, no signature". The judge also reminded that enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses, should develop the habit of keeping written contracts, signed receipts, and regular reconciliation. When it comes to key matters such as contract formation and amount confirmation, the other party should be required to clearly state their position in writing, such as "agree" and "confirm without error", to promote the shift of trade behavior from "acquaintance trust" to "rule of law". Transactions should pay attention to leaving written records of the process. In reality, for various reasons such as "convenience" and "face saving", some small and micro enterprises only make a phone call or send a WeChat message when conducting transactions, without signing any form of contract or even leaving any transaction traces. In this way, once there is a dispute between the two parties, the injured party often finds it difficult to protect their rights. Article 469 of the Civil Code stipulates that the parties may enter into a contract in written, oral or other forms. A data message that can be tangibly expressed through electronic data interchange, email, or other means and can be accessed and used at any time is considered in written form. In commercial transactions, the effectiveness of pre emptive prevention and in-process control far outweighs post remedial measures. So even in cases where it is difficult to establish a written contract, companies should still pay attention to leaving written records of the transaction process in their daily transactions. ”Lawyer Lv Shuai from Taihe Tai (Changsha) Law Firm told reporters. Lv Shuai reminds that in civil litigation, when using WeChat chat records as evidence, the original carrier must be provided, and the integrity of the chat records on the original carrier must be ensured. At the same time, it should be proven that the other party is the user of the WeChat account, otherwise even if the evidence is sufficient, it may not be accepted due to non compliant form. In addition, as WeChat is for personal registration and use, WeChat nicknames, avatars, signatures, and other information may change at any time, so it is also necessary to pay attention to collecting other evidence such as the other party's name, phone number, and payment information to support it. The retention of transaction content involves the most important issue of factual determination in litigation. Lv Shuai reminds that even if both parties have not signed a written contract, they should try to reflect the contract content in WeChat chat, such as the subject matter, quantity, quality, price or remuneration, performance period, location and method, and other order information. (New Society)