I'm looking for some good example client contracts for a freelancer.
What better example contracts then ones that you guys have had success with.
What do you say? Post away?
Posted Jan 22, 2010, 12:11 AM UTC
Anyone have a sample contract built from this?
It's not readily apparent, but a sample is included in the post. Hope this helps.
Here's an article that Andy Clark wrote on the subject along with a link to his contract.linky
We use a variation on this for the small/medium clients. If we were working with a big company (think Coke or Nike or similar) I'd probably want to get a lawyer involved.
I am also interested in web development and general purpose consulting contracts. If anyone has these (or relevant links) please share!
I'd also be interested i something more development related
Reddit, here to save the day... again ! Thanks alot, I have to write one of those today and didn't know where to start.
It's a bit extensive but you can pull out parts of it: http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/standard-agreement
Bookmarking this. I liked surfwax95's contract but it misses a few points that I know I have in mine. I'll try to post mine too.
Did you ever post yours?
Thanks alot, I have been looking for something like this.
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ATTENTION: IMMEDIATE CONTRACT PAYMENT.CONTRACT #:FU/DUM/AS/010.
From the records of outstanding contractors due for payment with the federal government of Nigeria your name and company was discovered as next on the list of the outstanding contractors who have not received their payments.
I wish to inform you that your payment is being processed and will be released to you as soon as you respond to this letter.Also note that from my record in my file your outstanding contract payment is us$65.7 million dollars(sixty five million seven hundred dollars thousand united states). Please re-confirm to me if this is inline with what you have in your record and also re-confirm to me the followings.
Your full name.
Phone, fax and mobile #.
company name, position and address.
profession, age and marital status
As soon as this informations are received, your payment will be made to you in a certified bank draft from central bank of Nigeria and a copy will be given to you for you to take to your bank and confirm it. You must call me on my direct number as soon as you receive this letter for a serious discussion with me and also get back to me on this e-mail ([email protected])
Regards,
PROF CHARLES SOLUDO.
Executive Governor, Central Bank Of Nigeria.
Direct line: 234-1-7764085
Here, have something for free that I paid my lawyer $1000 to hammer out.
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Haha, as I read his comment, I felt the same. I think at the same time I naively hoped he wasn't that annoying though.
And people like you are why we can't have nice things.
I guess fargyfump is not nice enough.
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I'll post mine later tonight (it's in Pages format, which I don't have installed right now, so I'll have to install Pages then convert to Doc).
It's 7 pages, almost completely airtight and has been looked over thoroughly by two lawyers. It also got me out of a scary situation with a client once (I used a screenie of their site in a promotional flyer and they flipped).
Stay tuned…
EDIT: Here it is in DOC format.
I did my best to find/replace every mention of anything related to me or my business, so if you use it, be sure to do a double and triple check for city names, states, etc.
I hit the upvote button multiple times, but it just went between 40 and 41. It's the thought that counts, right? Great contract.
Just pay it forward. Remember to be nice to the guys lower on the web design totem pole because one day you could work together. Don't be like ol' fargyfump down there at the bottom of this thread sitting at -20…
Ha! What a dork.
Does pose the question though, how long did it take you to come up with this? My current one blows in comparison to yours and I've been amending it for 3 years.
It took me about three months to get it looking similar to how it looks today. I was lucky enough to start off doing sites for attorneys in my area, so by giving them discounts I was able to have them look at my contract (after I finished their site, of course) at no cost to me.
That was about three years ago, so I've been tweaking ever since. It started out around 4 pages and now it's 7…
That's a nice contract.
Thank you for sharing it and taking the time to edit and convert it.
Not a problem, I just wish someone would've done the same for me when I started up.
Can you expound on what happened with the screenshot issue and how it was resolved?
Contract is really good BTW.
Sure.
I had just finished a site that I was extremely happy with. Fluid grid, minimalist design, great typography and to top it all off, the client loved it. It was actually lauded decently by Ethan Marcotte at a web design conference in Boston during a critiquing session, if I may toot my own horn a bit.
So after the project was completed, months after actually, I used a screenshot of the design in a magazine advertisement. It was like one of those ads where the website with browser chrome is standing up monolithically on a dark background…quite nice, but quite cliché. Anywho, the ex-client saw the ad and started freaking out about intellectual property BS and generally being an asshole. He threatened to take me to small claims, but another one of my good clients happens to be a lawyer and he took a look at the signed contract and told me the pissed-off client had no case.
I called up the angry client and said, "Look at your contract, section 5.5. Now look on the last page at your signature."
papers shuffle
hangs up
Et voila!
You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.
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Thanks so much! I shower you with karma!
Wish I could upvote more than once!
Hrm. Do you know if this would need to modified in any way to be used in Canada?
I've no idea, unfortunately.
Wow, that's super! To bad I need a dutch version :p Might translate it when I need it...
Be careful about simply translating it word for word. A lot of these clauses may be specific to the United States (where I'm from), not to mention my particular state.
do mind me asking what state this was intended for?
Arkansas!
This is awesome! Many thanks!
Would you be willing to share how you go about creating the design quote?
Sure:
(Estimated Hours x Hourly Rate) x Client Difficulty Multiplier x Deadline Multiplier x Busyness Multiplier = Estimated Price
Client Difficulty: You can always tell whether a client will be a hassle for you or not. This is a multiplier from 1.0 - 1.5. 1.0 is a dream client…super nice, seems easy to work with, very prepared, etc. A 1.5 is a complete asshole who is not prepared and is late for meetings and generally sucks balls.
Deadline Multiplier: This is how soon the client wants the project, 1.0 for "whenever" through 1.5 for "YESTERDAY!"
Busyness Multiplier: If I'm super busy with other work, I generally don't want to pile more on top, so I'll quote more. That way if I don't get it, I don't care, but if I do, mo money mo money. Same thing, 1.0 - 1.5.
So, some examples, assuming the exact same project with different clients and scenarios.
Client 1 (easy going, no rush, I'm not that busy):
(20 x $80) x 1.0 x 1.0 x 1.0 = $1,600
Client 2 (complete asshole, late for everything, not prepared, they need it NOW, and I'm swamped):
(20 x $80) x 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 = $5,400
If I don't get this job, who cares? An asshole client who will make me rush only for me to neglect other clients is no good for anybody, but I'd be willing to do it for $5,400.
It's not perfect and I always tend to be pretty lenient with my multipliers, but it's worked great for me so far!
Client Difficulty Multiplier x Deadline Multiplier x Busyness Multiplier is brilliant. I may take your model if you don't mind...
I wouldn't have posted it if I didn't want people taking it!
There are far too many web designers who insist on having "trade secrets," but really we all benefit when we share ideas and concepts.
For a better web!
Wow. This makes sense. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Best to you and your business!
This is brilliant. Thanks!
Sir, did I miss appendix A?
I see everything from 1 - 7. Would you be willing to share appendix A as well?
Appendix A is simply your signed estimate.
I don't do any major proposals, as I've found my clients never read them. It's usually just a cost breakdown and estimated total.
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