As a freelancer, you’ll often need to be smart in dealing with your clients, especially on your scope of work, payment terms, timelines, deliverables and more. Usually, this can be achieved with a clear contract in place, which will come in handy when things (touch wood) go sideways during the course of the job. 

However, having to enforce a contract, no matter how minor the issue is, will inevitably lead to a breakdown with your client. This is where a few factors come into play for you as a freelancer; you’ll need to work smart, always meet or exceed expectations, and choose clients carefully. Because in this way, you’ll probably never have to bring out your contract to point out the terms set. 

A Quick Overview for Drafting a Freelancer Agreement
But despite this, we always recommend that you use contracts. For all your freelance clients, especially if you’re working with them for the first time, it will be good to have signed some kind of formal agreement before you began the project together. 

Here is what your contract should ideally look like: 

What a contract shouldn’t be
Your contract shouldn’t be too dense, difficult to read or stuffed with legal jargon that would look out of place for normal business people. There are also formal definitions of who is the provider and the customer. It usually outlines a list of if/then statements that define what happens if either party fails to meet their obligations. 

This is very often the case for most contracts nowadays, and it feels like most of the contract outlines what could go wrong, rather than what you want to go right.

What a contract should be
Your contract shouldn’t have a confrontational tone right from the start. Instead, it helps to think of your clients as “partners” instead of “somebody I work for”, with a shared interest in reaching their business goals with the application of good deliverables. You should always try to structure the tone of your contracts with how you want to begin a relationship with a new client-partner.

 

To achieve this, drop all the penalties, the what-ifs and if-nots. You don’t have to mention what happens if you don’t deliver, because you’ll always strive to deliver. You can also omit the part of what happens if clients refuse to pay, because you’ll be certain that the client won’t even think about such a thing. Building your contract off your own strong reputation and high demand, as well as trust and value to both parties, is vital in keeping a long term client.

 

How to structure your contract
Here’s just a sample outline of how you can structure your contract with a client. There’s no need for confrontational or difficult language. You can be as open and friendly as possible, while getting straight to the point.

Who it’s from and who it’s for.

Contract length 
Determine how long your project will take. This may be a fixed, pre-determined length with a specific deadline, or an estimated range.

Responsibilities 
List down the tasks you are expected to do for this project.

Deliverables 
List down all the deliverables expected of you. This can include the final output files, work and jobs that constitute a completion of the project. 

Workload 
Determine how much time you will be committing to this project. This one may not work for everyone, but if you’re working on an hourly basis, this can help you set how much of a workload is expected of you.

Retainer (optional)
Again, this is optional as it is not for everyone. But if you’re planning to work on a retainer, remember to also include your rates. 

Cost 
This can be a pre-discussed factor with your client beforehand, or if you’re working on an hourly rate, you can include this as well. 

Deposit & billing terms 
This is something you should include in any contract, as you will want to protect yourself with a deposit payment. Nothing proves a client is serious more than a quick deposit payment.

Expenses
Another optional addition, should you require it. You can let your client know if there are any additional expenses that arise from the job, which can be passed on to them. Otherwise, you can just include it in your overall cost. 

Credit & sharing
If you’re planning on sharing the work on your personal portfolios, you should be upfront with your client on where you’ll be putting their project. 

Conclusion

 

Every part of your client interaction adds or detracts from their overall experience. If starting off your working partnership with a contract that both parties are comfortable with makes their experience better, then it’s actually helping to turn that client into an easy and trusting partner.

When you build that partnership, a contract will be a secondary thing you won’t have to enforce in the future. 

If you’re a freelancer looking out to start on a few jobs, why not check out Rtist? We have one of the biggest creative talent communities in Malaysia that matches you with your clients. Check us out now!