What to include in a freelance contract, clause by clause
The clauses a creative freelance contract needs, from deposit and kill fee to usage rights and portfolio use, the laws requiring one and when to see a lawyer.
Sections · 03 of 07
Clients
Finding the right clients and working with them, from the first inquiry to the final file, for studios that want fewer, better clients.
Most client trouble starts before the work does: a vague brief, a quote with no scope, a contract nobody read. Paperwork is how a studio of one sets terms politely, writing down the deliverables, the rounds of revisions and what a change request costs. Good clients welcome it; it tells them you have done this before.
In this section
- Finding clients: referrals, outreach and job boards
- Freelance marketplaces compared
- Proposals and pitches
- Discovery calls
- Contracts and terms
- Scope creep and change requests
- Onboarding a client
- Feedback and revision rounds
- Difficult clients and ending a project
- Retainers
- Subcontracting for agencies
- Client CRMs and portals
Notes in Clients
Four notes, newest first.
HoneyBook vs Dubsado vs Bonsai vs Moxie for freelancers
What one person pays for proposals, contracts and invoices in each app, from the makers’ own pages, with exports, where each works and the free route.
How to write a freelance proposal clients say yes to
Write it the day after the discovery call: the client’s goal in their words, exact deliverables, what’s left out, three priced options and the deposit to start.
How to handle scope creep without losing the client
Check each new request against the signed scope, tell a revision from a change, price the change from your day rate and get it signed before the work starts.