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Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your First Freelance Contract
Create your first contract in 5 minutes!
Drafting your first freelance contract can be nerve-wracking. After all, this is the document that defines who does what, who gets paid, and what happens if something goes wrong. But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be overly complicated or impossible to understand. Below is a simple process to help you create a clear, fair, and legally sound contract that’ll keep both you and your freelance client on the same page.
1. Clarify the Scope of Work
Start by spelling out exactly what you’re going to do. This step might seem obvious, but it’s the foundation of your contract. If you’re building a website, list the number of pages, design rounds, and any extra features like e-commerce or blog modules. If you’re writing content, specify how many pieces per week and word counts.
Key points to cover:
- The deliverables you’ll be producing
- Any tasks you will not provide (like ongoing maintenance or extra revisions)
- The timeline or frequency for these deliverables
- The clearer you are now, the fewer surprises crop up later.
The clearer you are now, the fewer surprises crop up later.
2. Decide on Payment Terms
Nothing derails a freelance relationship faster than payment disputes. Decide when and how you want to get paid—whether it’s upfront, in milestones, or upon project completion. If you prefer a 50% deposit and 50% at the end, say so. If you accept only PayPal or bank transfers, include that information too.
- Rates: Hourly or flat fee?
- Invoicing schedule: Weekly, monthly, or per milestone?
- Late payment policy: Will you charge interest on overdue invoices?
This section ensures both sides know exactly how and when the money changes hands.
3. Lock In Deadlines and Revisions
Put your agreed deadlines into writing, and clarify how many rounds of revisions you’re willing to do. Without these boundaries, clients can ask for endless tweaks—turning a profitable job into a marathon. Include a protocol for what happens if deadlines shift or if additional edits go beyond the initial scope. Protecting your time is just as important as respecting the client’s.
4. Address Intellectual Property and Confidentiality
Freelance gigs often involve handing over creative work or sensitive data. State who owns the final deliverables—typically, the client owns them once payment is made in full. If the project involves access to the client’s private information, you might also include a short confidentiality clause, promising not to share or misuse anything you learn while working together.
5. Plan for Dispute Resolution
No one wants to imagine a falling out, but it’s better to be prepared than blindsided. You can specify that both parties will attempt to mediate conflicts before escalating to legal action. This could be as simple as a quick line saying, “Any disputes will be handled through a mutually agreed-upon mediator in [City/State].”
6. Insert a Simple Termination Clause
Sometimes projects go sideways, or life just happens. Outline how either party can end the contract if necessary—maybe with a certain notice period or a partial refund for uncompleted work. This helps avoid bitterness if the project halts midway.
7. Finalize, Sign, and Store Securely
Once you’ve covered all the big points—scope, payment, deadlines, IP ownership, dispute resolution, and termination—it’s time to make it official.
You could sign on paper, scan, and email it back, but a streamlined option is to use a digital contract tool.
ClariSign, for example, lets you finalize your freelance contract online.
- It even flags any sections that look ambiguous or inconsistent, so you can catch potential misunderstandings upfront.
- Once you and your client e-sign, ClariSign securely stores the document in the cloud.
- That way, you can both reference it later without hunting through emails or folders.
