3 Contract Necessities Every Graphic Designer Must Have
As a freelance Graphic Designer, contracts are essential. They are something you should constantly reference when on-boarding new clients or when dealing with difficult clients that claim to be unhappy or just unwilling to pay. It does not matter how small or new you are, having a legal contract is a necessity that you will soon come to realize if you have not already! When building your contract here are 3 things you should include:
Payment
How are you going to collect payment from your clients? Will it be upfront, or will they have a short window with which to pay you? Are you going to split up the payment periods into increments to give people more flexibility? Are you going to implement a late fee if they miss a payment? All of these things are essential to include in your contract. Ideally, you want your clients to aim for a 7-10 day payment window so try to include some form of that in your contract. If someone does not want to pay on time or tries to argue for a lower price, referencing your contract enforces them to pay regardless of how they may try to work their way around it. This can also deter clients that know they are not going to be able to afford your services from signing up and trying to ‘figure it out’ later. Payment is arguably one of the most important things to include in great detail to ensure that you have yourself covered from every angle with regards to cost and that no one tries to take advantage of you and your work!
Related Read: How to Price your Design Services
Timeline
The process for your design work should also be included within the contract. If your design work process takes a few weeks to complete then say that! There is nothing more frustrating than having a client argue for your completion of a task within a few days when you have stated that it takes longer. This can also help give your clients an understanding beforehand of how your design process will look so they can decide whether or not they want it to be faster and find a different designer. This timeline should also provide them with check-in information. If you are going to send them your work for revisions and communication during the process have it clearly communicated when those points of contact will be. This can save you the awkwardness of them reaching out mid-design and asking you for an update to review when you are clearly not ready yet. Not only does this take a lot of the stress off of you by giving yourself a detailed outline, but it gives them enough information to keep stress off of themselves as well.
Privacy
You do not want to be contacted on your personal cell phone at 3 a.m. for a work-related question and curating your contract to say so is non-negotiable. Give yourself and your clients a designated contact email or number and specific work hours that you are open to communication. You do not need to be available 24/7 for all of your clients. Another element you cover within this section is the privacy of your work and designs. In the beginning stages of the designing process make sure your clients know they are not free, nor would it be legal, to fire you and take the work you have already started to dodge having to pay the full price. Every stage of your work needs to be protected to ensure that you cannot be taken advantage of!
Related Read: How to Become a Squarespace Designer
Overall, contracts are really important to keep your clients in check and also cover yourself from any potential legal issues. However, more than that they are a great way for potential clients to get a feel for what you offer and any potential expectations. There are numerous different types of contracts that you can build for your website and now it is easier than ever to do so, so if you have not - what are you waiting for? Need help finding the right contract for your business? Check out the Contract Shop to get started! They have great resources.
