Before you use this: this is a practical business document, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by a lawyer. It covers the everyday situations freelancers run into. For high-value projects, work involving significant intellectual property, or anything you couldn't afford to lose, have a qualified solicitor or attorney review your contract first.
What a client contract actually does
Most freelancers imagine a contract as protection for the courtroom. In practice it almost never goes near a court. Its real job is quieter and far more useful: it settles arguments before they happen, and it gives you something impersonal to point at when they do.
When a client asks for a fifth round of changes, you have two options. You can have an awkward conversation about fairness — which puts your relationship and your reputation on the line — or you can say "the agreement covers two rounds, so this one would be billed at the hourly rate." The second version isn't a confrontation. It's a reference to something you both already agreed.
That's the whole mechanism. A contract converts a personal negotiation into an administrative one. Everything below is built around that.
The template — full text
Copy everything inside the box. The highlighted parts are the blanks you fill in.
1. The Parties
This agreement is between [Your name / business name] ("the Contractor") of [your address], and [Client name / company name] ("the Client") of [client address]. It takes effect on [date].
2. The Work
The Contractor will provide the following: [list each deliverable specifically — not "a website" but "a five-page WordPress site comprising home, about, services, blog and contact pages"].
Where a separate Scope of Work document is attached, that document forms part of this agreement and takes precedence over this section on matters of detail.
3. What Is Not Included
The following are outside the scope of this agreement and are not included in the fee: [list exclusions — e.g. copywriting, stock photography licences, hosting, ongoing maintenance, training, third-party plugin costs, additional page templates].
Any of the above may be added later by written agreement and will be quoted separately.
4. Timeline
The Contractor will deliver the work by [date or number of working days from start], provided the Client supplies all necessary materials, access and feedback on time.
Where the Client delays in providing materials, access, feedback or approval, the delivery date moves back by the same number of days as the delay.
5. What the Client Provides
The Client will supply [list what you need — e.g. brand assets, logins, copy, product photographs, a single named point of contact] by [date], and will respond to requests for feedback or approval within [number] working days.
6. Revisions
The fee includes [number, e.g. two] rounds of revisions. A round of revisions means one consolidated set of feedback covering the whole deliverable, sent in a single message.
Revisions requested after the included rounds, or feedback that changes the agreed direction rather than refining the agreed work, will be quoted separately or charged at [hourly rate] per hour.
7. Changes to the Work
If the Client requests work outside Section 2, the Contractor will provide a written quote covering the additional fee and any effect on the timeline. Additional work begins only once the Client has approved that quote in writing.
8. Fees and Payment
The total fee is [amount and currency], payable as follows: [e.g. 50% deposit before work begins, 50% on delivery — or a milestone schedule].
Work begins once the deposit has been received. Invoices are payable within [number, e.g. 14] days of the invoice date.
9. Late Payment
Invoices unpaid after [number] days may incur interest at [rate, e.g. 2%] per month on the outstanding balance. The Contractor may pause work on any project for the Client while an invoice remains overdue.
10. Ownership
Ownership of the completed work transfers to the Client once payment has been received in full. Until then, the Contractor retains all rights.
The Contractor retains ownership of any pre-existing materials, tools, templates or working files used to produce the work, and of all versions and concepts not selected by the Client.
11. Portfolio Rights
The Contractor may display the completed work in a portfolio, on a website and in marketing materials, unless the Client asks in writing that they do not. [Delete this section if the work is confidential.]
12. Confidentiality
Both parties will keep confidential any non-public information shared during the project, and will not disclose it to a third party without the other's written permission.
13. Cancellation
Either party may end this agreement by giving written notice. If the Client cancels, the deposit is non-refundable and the Client will pay for all work completed up to the cancellation date. On payment, the Contractor will hand over the work completed so far.
14. Liability and Governing Law
The Contractor's total liability under this agreement is limited to the total fee paid by the Client. Neither party is liable for indirect or consequential losses, including lost profits.
This agreement is governed by the laws of [your country / state].
Agreed
Contractor: [name] — Signature: ____________________ — Date: __________
Client: [name] — Signature: ____________________ — Date: __________
Shorter version: for a small project with a repeat client, sections 2, 3, 6, 8 and 10 alone cover most of the risk. Adding the rest takes a minute and costs nothing, but don't let length be the reason you send nothing at all.
What each clause is for
Section 3 is the one that matters most
Almost every freelancer lists what they're delivering. Very few list what they're not. That omission is where the phrase "I assumed that was included" comes from — and the client is usually being sincere. If nothing said otherwise, why wouldn't they assume it?
Write the exclusions as if you were arguing with a reasonable person who genuinely didn't know. Hosting, stock photo licences, copywriting, training, ongoing maintenance, extra page templates, third-party plugin fees. It takes two minutes and prevents more disputes than every other clause combined.
Section 6 defines a word that has no natural meaning
"Two rounds of revisions" means nothing on its own. Does a client sending you eleven separate emails over a fortnight count as one round or eleven? Both readings are defensible, which is why it needs to be stated: one round is one consolidated set of feedback, sent once.
The second half of that clause matters too. There's a real difference between "make the heading bigger" and "actually, let's try it in a completely different style." The first is a revision. The second is new work wearing a revision's clothes.
Section 4's delay provision protects your schedule
The most common way a project overruns isn't your speed — it's a client taking eleven days to approve something while the deadline stays fixed. One sentence saying delivery moves back by the length of the delay turns that from your problem into a shared one.
Section 8's deposit is the single highest-value line
Starting work without a deposit means you carry all the financial risk. If the client vanishes, you have done free work with no leverage. A deposit also filters: clients who won't pay anything upfront are disproportionately the ones who won't pay at the end either.
Section 10 gives you leverage that nothing else does
Ownership transferring only on full payment is quietly the strongest clause in the document. It means the client cannot legitimately use the work while your invoice is outstanding. You rarely have to invoke it — but knowing it's there changes how the conversation goes.
Five mistakes that make a contract useless
1. Having one and never referring to it. A contract you don't cite is a contract that doesn't exist. When a request falls outside scope, say so at the time — politely, immediately, in writing. Waiting until the fourth instance makes it look like a new rule rather than an existing one.
2. Describing the work but not the finished state. If "done" isn't defined, a client can keep the project open indefinitely by saying it isn't quite right. Tie completion to something observable: delivery of the listed files, or written approval, or a stated number of days after delivery with no response.
3. Offering unlimited revisions. This is self-inflicted. "Unlimited" tells the client there's no cost to another opinion, so decisions never get made. A stated limit creates the urgency that gets a project finished.
4. Sending it after starting work. A contract's power comes from being agreed before anyone is invested. Once you're three days in, raising terms feels like a renegotiation and both sides know it.
5. Making it long enough that nobody reads it. A client who doesn't understand what they signed will behave as though they didn't sign it. Plain English isn't a weaker contract — it's a contract that actually changes behaviour.
How to send it without it feeling heavy
The framing does most of the work. A contract presented as protection sounds defensive; the same document presented as clarity sounds professional. Something like:
"Great — I'll get started as soon as this is signed. It's short and in plain English: it covers what's included, the two revision rounds, and the payment schedule we discussed. Have a read and tell me if anything looks off."
Three things are doing work there. It's framed as the next step rather than an obstacle. It signals the document is readable. And it invites objections, which makes agreement feel like a choice rather than a demand.
If a client pushes back hard on putting anything in writing at all, that's worth paying attention to. It's rarely about the paperwork.
Common questions
Is a client contract legally binding?
A written agreement signed by both parties is generally enforceable in most jurisdictions, but the specifics depend on where you and your client are based and what the agreement says. This template hasn't been reviewed by a lawyer and isn't legal advice. For high-value work, work involving significant intellectual property, or anything where you couldn't absorb the loss, have a qualified solicitor or attorney review it.
Do I need a signature, or is email enough?
A signature is stronger, but an email in which the client clearly states agreement to a specific document is meaningful evidence in most places. The practical minimum is that the terms exist in writing and the client has visibly agreed to them. A free e-signature tool takes about two minutes to set up and removes the ambiguity entirely.
What's the difference between a contract and a scope of work?
A contract governs the relationship: payment, ownership, liability, cancellation. A scope of work governs the project: what's being delivered, by when, and what's excluded. Most freelance disputes are scope disputes rather than legal ones, which is why the two work best together — the contract references the scope of work as an attachment.
Will asking a client to sign a contract put them off?
Occasionally, and usually for a useful reason. Clients who intend to pay on time and respect an agreed scope are rarely troubled by a clear, short agreement — many read it as evidence you've done this before. The clients who object to putting terms in writing are frequently the ones the contract exists to protect you from.
Can I use this for international clients?
The structure applies anywhere, but two clauses need attention when you and the client are in different countries: the governing law clause, which decides whose courts apply, and the payment clause, which should state the currency and who absorbs transfer fees. Cross-border enforcement is genuinely difficult in practice, so a deposit protects you far more than any clause does.