Legal contracts every freelancer needs
The key contracts a freelancer will need to grow their business
You’ve taken the plunge and started freelancing, but are you familiar with the contracts you will
be expected to negotiate and sign? Not using a contract or using a contract for the wrong purpose can expose yourself and your freelancing business to risks. In this article, we discuss some of the key contracts every freelancer should use to safely grow their business.
Contracts to protect your confidential information
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) help keep secret the confidential information a Discloser needs to share with a Recipient in order to serve a purpose. For example, freelancers will most likely enter into an NDA with a client prior to a project in order to discuss sensitive information which will help both the freelancer and the client determine if the engagement is a good fit for both of them. It is important to properly define the scope of the information which will be disclosed to only reveal what is necessary for the purpose of the NDA. This is important because information disclosed outside of the purpose will not be protected by the NDA unless the purpose is expanded or a new NDA is created.
Contracts to work with your clients
Consultancy agreements allow clients to engage consultants for services or a deliverable. Consultancy agreements are a great tool for freelancers to formalise their work with a client including the nature of the work they will provide, how they will be paid and under what conditions. Setting out the terms of an engagement in writing helps set expectations and avoid disputes when things don’t go to plan. Under a consultancy agreement, a freelancer should keep the client’s confidential information secret and will usually assign the intellectual property rights of the work developed during the engagement to the client.
Contracts to grow your team
Freelancers can sometimes take on more projects with the help of extra hands. Freelancers can expand their team with consultants, interns or employees depending on the nature and duration of the work they are being brought on for. Using a contract to formalise this relationship can protect a freelancer’s business by preventing the appropriation of their intellectual property or the solicitation of their clients. Paid or unpaid interns should be engaged with an internship agreement and employees with employment contracts. It is also required to have an internal privacy notice and GDPR standard to meet data protection requirements when your team processes client data.
Best practices for creating contracts
Before creating a contract it is important to agree the key terms with the other side to ensure everyone is on the same page. Editing a template to meet these requirements can be risky especially without legal support. Tracking changes and understanding their impact on other clauses is not ideal with a word editor. Using contract management software can streamline this process in a much safer way. For example, Legislate allows small businesses and freelancers to tailor lawyer-approved contracts to their needs and takes care of e-signatures and post-signature contract management. To create, sign and manage freelancer contracts.