The Basic Points of a Freelance Contract

As in any other Contingent Employment relationship, it is opportune that the work offered by a freelancer and demanded by a client is regulated and insured under the umbrella of a contract. Thus, the two parties will express their rights and obligations and avoid unpleasant confusions that could damage future collaborations.

There are two characteristics that every contract should have in order to be effective: that it be expressed in writing and that the wording be short, clear and simple. Although reaching a verbal agreement has legal validity, it is preferable to express the working conditions in a document, since in case of doubt, the agreement can be reviewed. If a conflict arises and the pact is verbal, the word of the freelance against the client's will be faced, and finding a satisfactory solution will be much more complicated. In addition, it is better to avoid cumbersome legal terms and that the wording of the contract is understood perfectly.

The freelance expert Andy Clarke, after more than a decade of experience as a freelance professional, lists a series of points that should not be missing in a good contract for the freelance to keep his back to possible abuses of the client:

A simple description of who is hiring whom to do what, how, when and by how much.

What are the responsibilities of each party.

The details of the work and what is and is not included in the deal.

What happens when one of the two parties changes its mind.

A simple description about legal matters.

Now suppose that we get the commission for the design of a website or the development of a blog in WordPress. Which sections must be present in the contract?

  1. The name and data of the two parties involved in the employment relationship.
  1. The scope of work. You have to define what kind of work is going to be done, what technology will be used in the design (HTLM, CSS ...) and in what devices it will work.
  1. The changes. It is inevitable that the client makes changes during the design process. To avoid frustrations, it will be necessary to specify from what number of versions a surcharge rate will be applied.
  1. Delivery times. To specify what are the phases of the design and when it is necessary to go delivering the different stages will facilitate a friendly relationship.
  1. The property of the design. It is important to define who is the owner of the design until the client makes the full payment because he could resell it without the freelance's consent. It is important to reserve the right to use the work in the personal portfolio.
  1. Copyright. You have to know what is the source of the images, texts, videos, code or plugins. The client must understand the restrictions on the use of content that he buys from third parties. For example, if you buy a stock photo rights may be limited in time and you will have to renew them. You have to make sure who is going to pay for third-party content. Likewise, all the material that the client delivers for the design must be authorized for its use. If any content is owned by the freelance, you must make it clear that it is yours until the payment of the work is made.
  1. The price and payments. The design of a website can be infinite. Define deadlines by completed milestones and request the immediate entry of the amounts negotiated for each stage. Define, if you want, a payment in advance: it usually varies between one third and half of the total price of work. You must also decide if the price is for final work or for the hours allocated to the project.
  1. Cancellation. Leave in writing under what kind of conditions the contract can be terminated and what its cancellation cost would be.
  1. The signatures. The contract must be signed by the freelance and the company with two legally valid signatures. There are already web pages that are dedicated to signing online documents.