Image courtesy of Jeroen van Oostrom/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Back in October, I wrote an extensive post about starting a freelance business out on the right foot and, among other helpful nuggets, I included the following tip:
Contracts
Unless you are crafting a flyer for your grandmother’s church picnic, use a contract. An elaborate contract is the safest bet, but a simple contract can work also, provided all of your bases are covered. Heck, if her church has a board of directors, you may want to use a contract for that church picnic flyer too. Nothing personal grandma! At the very least, your contract or agreement should contain:
♦the date of the agreement;
♦your name and address, the name and address of the business hiring you and the signer’s name;
♦a detailed description of the project, including the medium and format of the work;
♦the number of pages, if it’s a print document;
♦the various parts and stages of the project;
♦the number of edits and revisions you will allow;
♦the dates of delivery for each stage of the project, if more than one stage;
♦your fee and its due date(s);
♦a list of terms and conditions; and
♦both parties’ signatures.
In that vein, recently, I discovered that our friends over at freelancersunion.org have a complimentary tool for freelancers to easily and quickly create contracts for their businesses. I’d advise you guys to check it out. I used it myself last night just to test it before letting my newsletter subscribers in on the tool. I wanted to make sure it worked smoothly. Lo and behold, it worked perfectly! Check it out here.
“A lean agreement is better than a fat judgment” – Proverb Quotes