The present work shows three new amide-based ligands H2L1, H2L2 and H2L3 and their nickel and copper complexes. The X-ray structural analysis substantiate that the ligands constitute a square-based basal plane around the metal center. The crystal structures also show interesting solid state packing due to hydrogen-bonding and various weak C⋯ H interactions. The solution-based spectral studies support the solid-state geometry ...