Hey everyone,

So I started up a Web Design business recently and I was curious what a contract should all contain (major points) that you present your clients. I've had many friends and family who are in similar fields and all have told me it's a great idea to have a contract encase you get ripped on a payment or a similar issue.

Current I ask for 50% of the payment upfront then the other 50% once they have a finished design from us. Including that since that should be included in the contract correct?

Thanks!

David

Just make a list of what you want your customer should expect you, and other rules, like copyrights, payments etc.
example:

customer is responsible for providing the content.
X amount of design will be provided, customer will chose one
additional design proposals are available for XX$ per design
XX% of payment will be paid upfront
etc...

And take that list to a lawyer, have him/her write the contract for you, with all the formal/legal lingo in it.

Just make a list of what you want your customer should expect you, and other rules, like copyrights, payments etc.
example:

customer is responsible for providing the content.
X amount of design will be provided, customer will chose one
additional design proposals are available for XX$ per design
XX% of payment will be paid upfront
etc...

And take that list to a lawyer, have him/her write the contract for you, with all the formal/legal lingo in it.

Alright that actually helped, I appreciate it.

There is alot of professions that require payment up-front before starting development or production.

I would just comeup with something thats basic and easy for your customers to budget. One issue with waiting for payments is sometimes there is a delay for that budget to be released, so contracts are a plus. Agree to complete the work, and if you do accept partail payment that they will agree to have all of the budget available.

Receiving related and needed material sometimes does casue delays if not received in a timly fashion, make sure you disclose everything when you deal with contracts.

Here are the components within our contracts. These may or may not be applicable or necessary for you; a lot of this is necessary by virtue of the size and complexity of certain projects.

Everything you write/create regarding your own contract MUST be vetted by a lawyer. Do NOT try to write this on your own, unless you are experienced in the areas of law involved. These are just quick overviews - without the right langauge, you might as well not have a contract!

1. Copyright policy: ensures clients understand their responsibility for supplying content (text, audio, video, images, etc.) they are authorized to supply.

2. License: specified terms of use for created work (single site license, ownership transfer upon payment in full, etc.).

3. Out-of-scope/change requests handling

4. Clause stipulating payments are for time, not product. This is a very important clause!

5. Retaining fee stipulations

6. Rate structure: period of time for which rates are applicable, length of time a quote is valid, etc.

7. Expenses: who is responsible and what expenses may be incurred.

8. Indemnification/hold harmless.

9. Disclosure: specifies confidentiality between client and firm regarding contract terms.

10. Contract termination: reasons for termination and how termination is handled.

11. Breach of contract: what happens if payment is withheld

12. Payment terms

13. Contract ownership

14. Limitations: ensures clients understand once they've signed off on the end product, they are responsible for using it properly - success or failure is not within your control or your responsibility.

15. Force Majeur: standard Acts of God-type stuff

16. Amendment clause: gives you the right to update terms, so long as you notify clients

17. Relationship clause: stipulates that both parties are acting as independent agents, and contracting does not imply partnership or shared ownership.

I've been successfully designing websites and templates for years. The reason I haven't yet had to use any contracts is that I require 100% of payment upfront before starting the job.

Of course, if I had a project come up that was thousands and thousands of dollars from one job, then some sort of written contract would be advisable-- but most of my projects are in and around the $100-150 range.

Of course, a lot of my business comes from repeat resellers, but I find that most clients understand that the money has to come first. Those who balk at paying up front would more than likely be "problem" clients anyway.

The problem with asking for the 2nd half of payment when the job is finished is that some clients would just never say the job is finished!

On a related issue, I sometimes get requests for a "spec" job so they can look at it first. I simply don't do that-- it takes just as long to do a "sample" as it does to do it for real.

For simple jobs it seems to be as if the whole contract process would be time consuming and take away time from actually designing.

I've been successfully designing websites and templates for years. The reason I haven't yet had to use any contracts is that I require 100% of payment upfront before starting the job.

Of course, if I had a project come up that was thousands and thousands of dollars from one job, then some sort of written contract would be advisable-- but most of my projects are in and around the $100-150 range.

Of course, a lot of my business comes from repeat resellers, but I find that most clients understand that the money has to come first. Those who balk at paying up front would more than likely be "problem" clients anyway.

The problem with asking for the 2nd half of payment when the job is finished is that some clients would just never say the job is finished!

On a related issue, I sometimes get requests for a "spec" job so they can look at it first. I simply don't do that-- it takes just as long to do a "sample" as it does to do it for real.

For simple jobs it seems to be as if the whole contract process would be time consuming and take away time from actually designing.

Thanks for your opinion on that, I understand exactly and sort of like that idea.

the_pm - thanks for all of those that definitely got some ideas for mine.

I'll toy around with few ideas though and figure it outi n next few days.

Thanks everyone!

The best policy is to collect full payment first.

The best policy is to collect full payment first.

Yea I'm starting to lean towards that now since clients should not have a big issue with it unless they're going to turn into problems down the road.

I'd pay special attention to the fact that you will only do / design / develop what's detailed at the contract or proposal. Web design services tend to make client ask for plenty of changes, making you work a lot more than you originally thought when you send the quote.

there are no problem if you ask 50% upfront for approved the contract

When I got started I purchased a copy of the Graphic Artist Guild Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. You can find it on Amazon.

I was in bed with a broken leg at the time so I read it cover-to-cover (not necessarily recommended). The back of the book as several sample contracts / order forms for lots of things including web design.

You may want to double check everything with a lawyer, but that should give you a good start. In my case, I took pieces of that and other contracts that I had worked with and combined them into something that works for me. I didn't pay anyone to review it, but I have done work for a few lawyers, so at this point, it's been vetted ;).

Make your agreement simple. We actually go through an entire form where they get to pick out there options etc so they are sold on everything they are getting and gets them excited then at the end there is just at most a paragraph agreement that they sign. Very simple no reason to make it complex.

You can find a ton of sample contracts online. It's a great start to just strip elements you don't need.