So far, I have found that the documents explain very well what the scope of the work for an initial meeting but I have been able to find one that helps the client get an idea of the actually estimating of costs for their project and the actual agreement that a client signs once approval has occured.
Jessica: I think most freelancers feel that way. That's why most of us find one we think is decent and then add stuff in. Contracts are an art form and always in progress.
Quick brainstorm of must-haves for me:
1. Who is doing what on the project (and who is signing off)
2. What the specific deliverables are and what is out-of-scope (Beware scope creep)
3. Timeline
4. Under what circumstances either party can get out of the contract
5. The assumptions made in coming up with the bottom line figure ("This estimate assumes the ID will have a SME readily available and that any video, if video is used, will be provided by the client"--that type of stuff.)
Contracts - designed, written and developed but you hope you never have to refer to them!
Daniel makes some great points, especially about adding elements. It is sometimes easier to have your own developed. Here are some headers that might help:
Finance
Project Fees, Day rates, additions, over-runs,
Project Management
Responsibilities, Timeline, Sign Off
Ownership
IP, Assets, Foreground Rights, Background Rights
Content
From who, when and how
Project Details
Number of reviews, how you will work, expectations from client, expectations from you, communication channels, what will do if something goes wrong
I agree with Daniel and Scott that you're probably going to have to do some customization - you likely won't find a ready-made form that completely meets your needs. Even if you found something specifically designed for ID consultants, you'd probably have to adjust for your own business model, business practices, and geographic location. And you might come up with a general template but then have to tweak it for each client (at least, that's been my experience).
I have most of the same categories/types of info that Daniel mentions. If you're doing a project fixed-fee, I think the scope/assumptions are the most important. The first few I did were kind of vague, and over time I've learned to include everything from who's providing the images (and who has rights to them) to number of reviewers and review cycles. For me, it's not so much having that all in the contract itself that's valuable, it's the processof thinking through it and discussing it with the client.
5 Replies
Jessica,
In your view - what are they missing?
Bruce
So far, I have found that the documents explain very well what the scope of the work for an initial meeting but I have been able to find one that helps the client get an idea of the actually estimating of costs for their project and the actual agreement that a client signs once approval has occured.
Jessica: I think most freelancers feel that way. That's why most of us find one we think is decent and then add stuff in. Contracts are an art form and always in progress.
Quick brainstorm of must-haves for me:
1. Who is doing what on the project (and who is signing off)
2. What the specific deliverables are and what is out-of-scope (Beware scope creep)
3. Timeline
4. Under what circumstances either party can get out of the contract
5. The assumptions made in coming up with the bottom line figure ("This estimate assumes the ID will have a SME readily available and that any video, if video is used, will be provided by the client"--that type of stuff.)
Anyway, that's a start.
Contracts - designed, written and developed but you hope you never have to refer to them!
Daniel makes some great points, especially about adding elements. It is sometimes easier to have your own developed. Here are some headers that might help:
Finance
Project Fees, Day rates, additions, over-runs,
Project Management
Responsibilities, Timeline, Sign Off
Ownership
IP, Assets, Foreground Rights, Background Rights
Content
From who, when and how
Project Details
Number of reviews, how you will work, expectations from client, expectations from you, communication channels, what will do if something goes wrong
After the project
Warranty, support, ownership
Hope this helps,
I agree with Daniel and Scott that you're probably going to have to do some customization - you likely won't find a ready-made form that completely meets your needs. Even if you found something specifically designed for ID consultants, you'd probably have to adjust for your own business model, business practices, and geographic location. And you might come up with a general template but then have to tweak it for each client (at least, that's been my experience).
I have most of the same categories/types of info that Daniel mentions. If you're doing a project fixed-fee, I think the scope/assumptions are the most important. The first few I did were kind of vague, and over time I've learned to include everything from who's providing the images (and who has rights to them) to number of reviewers and review cycles. For me, it's not so much having that all in the contract itself that's valuable, it's the processof thinking through it and discussing it with the client.
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