Step by Step Help on Creating a Freelance Contract

Service Terms



Most word processor programs have pre-designed templates you can use. Tweak these templates by starting with the words "SERVICE TERMS" or "CONTRACT" in the upper right hand corner. Use a bold font and make the size bigger than the rest of your text in the contract.


Your Complete Contact Info




Type your name, title (such as Freelance Copywriter) and your complete contact information. Be sure to include your telephone number, fax number and Email address as well as your mailing address.


Enter the Date and Assign the Project a Job Number




The date you should use on your contract is the date you're typing up the contract (not the date you're promising the project will be finished). You also want to give the project a job number. Jot the number down in your records along with a note about the project and put this number on the contract.

Not only does this make you look more professional, this also helps you when you're juggling many projects even for the same client. Your client can simply tell you the job number of the project they're asking about and you can look at your page of job numbers and what the project's about in your records.

Tip: Don't start with the number "1" when assigning a job number for the project. And don't start with a rounded number like 500 or 1,000 either. Select a number that doesn't make it look like it's your first freelancing project.

Client's Name and Contact Information

Type in your client's name and complete contact information. This will appear underneath the date of the contract and the job number.

Create a Job Description

Be as specific as possible when describing the project. You want to make sure you and your client understand each other and what is expected out of the project.

If you're writing a commercial, be sure to include the length (such as :30 for a 30-second commercial). If you're writing a brochure, be sure to write the type of brochure (such as tri-fold). If you're writing a print ad, include how big the ad will be (such as full-page). Just be as detailed with the project as you can.

Create the Project Outline

This area is where you'll describe everything from what is included in the price to how many projects you'll be creating. You'll also want to let the client know whether you charge a flat rate or a per hour fee within your contract.

Tip: While you can write up multiple projects on one contract, it's best to create a new contract for each project. That way, you can be very specific with each project under the Job Description area in Step 5 to protect yourself and your client from any miscommuniciations about each project.

Project Description, Payment Terms and Your Policy Information

If there's one area of your contract that's the most important out of the entire document, it's this one. Identify what you will be providing (such as 1 Tri-Fold Brochure) and how much it will cost the client.

For our example here, we're using $1,600 as a flat rate fee. If you are charging by the hour, be sure to state this in your contract and provide the client with an estimate on how long the project will take to complete and what your hourly rate is.

You also want to include the due date of your project here. This is the date you and the client agree that you will turn in the completed project.

Another area that is extremely important to your contract is your policies. Will revisions be free as long as the nature of the project doesn't change? This is standard practice because a client may not be happy with the direction you've taken and it can be good business to state you'll work with them until they're happy. However, you don't want a policy in place that allows the client to come back to you six months down the road to get a freebie rewrite.

Payment terms are vital to you getting paid on time. The line in your contract may read something like this, "Payment for service due within 15 days of final revision."

Preparing for the Signed Contract

Most freelancers do business via telephone, fax and Email. In-person meetings can be very rare, depending on the type of work you're doing.

In most cases, your contract will be faxed to the client and they will fax a signed copy back to you. You'll want to add two lines for signatures, one for you and one for the client, as well as instructions stating they should sign the contract and fax back a copy to you. Be sure to include your fax number here too for their convenience.

Sign Your Contract

You've created the contract and you're almost ready to fax it to the client for their signature. But first, you need to sign your contract.

When you fax the contract, the client will sign it and they will have a completed, signed contract with both of your signatures. They will sign it and fax it back to you so you will also have a completed copy with both signatures.

The Completed Contract

Your clients fax back their signature on your contract and now you have a completed contract. Get to work on that project. You now have a contract and a deadline!