Freelance contract template, in plain English

Eight short clauses that cover what actually goes wrong on small projects. Copy the wording below, or let Paperwork fill it in with your client, price and dates in about two minutes.

Why a freelance contract needs to be short

Clients don't read twelve-page agreements, and most freelancers don't send them because they feel like overkill. What you need is a page that answers the five questions that cause disputes: what exactly am I getting, when, for how much, what happens if I change my mind, and who owns the result. The template below does that in plain English. It's the same wording Paperwork generates.

The template

1. Scope of workProvider will deliver: [list each deliverable on its own line]. Work not listed above is outside scope and will be quoted separately before it begins.

2. ScheduleWork starts on [start date] and Provider will target delivery by [delivery date]. Dates depend on Client supplying materials and feedback within 5 business days of each request; delays on Client's side move the delivery date accordingly.

3. Fees and paymentThe total fee is [amount]. A deposit of [50]% is due before work begins. The balance is due [net 14 days] of the final invoice. Overdue balances accrue [1.5]% interest per month.

4. Revisions[2] rounds of revisions are included per deliverable. Additional rounds or changes to the agreed scope are billed at [hourly rate] per hour.

5. OwnershipOn full payment, Client owns the final deliverables. Provider retains ownership of drafts, unused concepts and pre-existing tools, and may show the finished work in a portfolio unless Client asks otherwise in writing.

6. CancellationEither party may end this agreement with 7 days' written notice. Client pays for work completed to that date; the deposit is non-refundable once work has begun.

7. Confidentiality and liabilityBoth parties keep non-public information confidential. Provider's total liability is limited to fees paid under this agreement.

8. SignaturesProvider: name, signature, date. Client: name, signature, date.

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How to use each clause

Scope: list deliverables, not activities

"Five-page website on Webflow" is a deliverable. "Web design" is an activity, and activities are where scope creep lives. Anything the client later asks for that isn't on the list becomes a change order, and the last sentence of clause 1 is what lets you say so politely.

Schedule: make the client's delays their problem

Most missed deadlines are caused by late feedback, late content or late logins. The five-business-day rule moves the date automatically instead of making you renegotiate.

Payment: the deposit is the whole point

A 30 to 50 percent deposit filters out clients who were never going to pay, funds your first weeks, and makes cancellation cheap for you. Net 14 is short enough to matter and long enough for a small business to process. The late-fee line rarely gets charged; its job is to be pointed at.

Revisions: two rounds, then the meter runs

Unlimited revisions is how a $3,000 job becomes $40 an hour. Two rounds per deliverable is the industry norm. The hourly figure in clause 4 is what protects you when the third round arrives.

Ownership: transfer on payment, keep your portfolio

Ownership passing on full payment, not on delivery, is your leverage if an invoice goes unpaid. Keeping drafts and the right to show the work is standard and clients almost never object.

Cancellation and liability

Seven days' notice and payment for work done is fair to both sides. Capping liability at the fees paid keeps a $2,000 project from ever being a $200,000 problem.

Is this legally binding?

A written agreement signed by both parties is a real contract in most jurisdictions, including electronic signatures under the U.S. ESIGN Act and the EU eIDAS regulation. This template covers the situations small projects run into; it isn't legal advice. For unusually large or unusual engagements, have a lawyer review it.

Getting it signed

Attaching a PDF and hoping it comes back is the slow way. Paperwork turns the filled-in agreement into a link; your client opens it on their phone, reads it, signs with a finger, and you get a confirmation with their name, signature and timestamp on your copy. No accounts and no e-signature subscription.