A place where you can find a cebu freelance web designer, freelance drupal developer,
outsource web design services here in Cebu, Philippines.

 

Legal Agreements: Do You CYA?

As a freelancer, it’s sometimes easy to do a deal on a virtual handshake and feel confident that you know exactly what your client wants.  Usually, this is because they told you exactly what they “think” they want – but that’s a post for another day.  For the most part, doing business this way is just fine.

CYA (Cover Your, er, Butt)  is a common term in business, and freelancing shouldn’t be any different.  Misunderstandings about the work expectations can be costly in either your time or your money, or both.  Many people think contracts and NDA (Non Disclosure Agreements) are only there to protect the client, but if you set them up properly, they can cover your butt when you need it most.

What kind of legal agreements should freelancers consider?

  • Confidentiality Clause – Contract stating that no confidential information will be shared about you or your clients business.
  • Statement of Work – What the project consists of.  A very specific document to outline exactly what the client is paying you for.
  • Terms of Payment – information that should be on each invoice as to how and when you should be paid.  And from a previous post, here are eight things that you should include in your Terms of Service agreement.
  • Change Order Agreement – a document that covers the specifics of a change outside of the original scope.

It’s not fun to formalize everything, but it’s a lot less fun to not get paid for the work you’ve done, or lose a client over a misunderstanding.

If you sign up with elance.com, you are allowed to use these sample contracts if they fit your needs.

There are some freelancers who have already learned the hard way the value of some of these contracts, and I’d love to know any tips or tricks you use to ensure you cover your butt while communicating your needs to your clients.


Back to top
571rht21