Hi,

 

Just want to know something about contract some of you probably write a project contract for your clients, is the contract has to be legal (registered) or something? or it can be just written by a developer/designer then send it to the client?

The best thing to do is do some research on contracts there is plenty available on line. View other designers contracts and documentation and you will see much of it is pretty similar.

 

There are some places you can get free pro-forma documents although these tend to be very generic and there are some better ones available for a small fee.

 

Note that you can't just write in anything to a contract. The law in England and Wales requires that the terms are reasonable and within the law.

 

Also note that if a single clause in a contract is illegal then that nullifies the whole contract. Some wily, shrewd client may realise this and suddenly at the end bring it up, like the sting in a scorpion's tail.

The best thing to do is do some research on contracts there is plenty available on line. View other designers contracts and documentation and you will see much of it is pretty similar.

 

There are some places you can get free pro-forma documents although these tend to be very generic and there are some better ones available for a small fee.

 

Note that you can't just write in anything to a contract. The law in England and Wales requires that the terms are reasonable and within the law.

 

Also note that if a single clause in a contract is illegal then that nullifies the whole contract. Some wily, shrewd client may realise this and suddenly at the end bring it up, like the sting in a scorpion's tail.

Thanks for your reply,

 

So a designer/developer can just write a simple contract as long as its reasonable within the law? But the contract doesn't have to be registered or approved by your council or whoever.

 

Yeah I've seen few contracts online but I wasn't sure if their contract are registered or legal or just a piece of paper for the client and designer.

A contract is simply an agreement between two people. Something as simple as an email exchange between a designer and a client agreeing what will be provided and when payments will be made is legally binding. If one fails to stick to the agreed terms, then the other can take them to court over the matter.

 

If you work on a project and have a contract in place and a client asks for something that wasn't covered in the original contract, you should ALWAYS amend the contract to add this in. Yes, it's a little bit of an inconvenience, but that one line of text could prevent you from losing a lot of money (or worse) in future.

 

If you're serious about getting a legally binding contract for jobs, speak to a lawyer and have them draw you one up.

A contract is simply an agreement between two people. Something as simple as an email exchange between a designer and a client agreeing what will be provided and when payments will be made is legally binding. If one fails to stick to the agreed terms, then the other can take them to court over the matter.

 

If you work on a project and have a contract in place and a client asks for something that wasn't covered in the original contract, you should ALWAYS amend the contract to add this in. Yes, it's a little bit of an inconvenience, but that one line of text could prevent you from losing a lot of money (or worse) in future.

 

If you're serious about getting a legally binding contract for jobs, speak to a lawyer and have them draw you one up.

Thanks,

 

I will look for a contract template online, btw how does electronic sign work and how to make the contract to be electronically signed by the client?

how does electronic sign work and how to make the contract to be electronically signed by the client?

 

Just have the client send an email agreeing to the terms you've set out and keep a copy.

 

Just have the client send an email agreeing to the terms you've set out and keep a copy.

I meant how can they sign the contract electronically? I've signed few electronic contract when like you just click it writes your name but I guess that was coded or something?

Sometimes people just use a scanned image of their signature and attach that in Word/InDesign/whatever, though I don't see how a digital image of a signature could prove someone has actual read and agreed to a contract since anyone could add that image. You don't need to have a signature actually "signed", the client simply agreeing to the terms in writing is proof of them approving the terms and should be legally binding.

 

You don't necessarily even need an actual contract, just a 'terms & conditions' page on your site that lays out your standard terms that you can direct a client to is enough to protect you, though a contract is useful for more in-depth, project/client specific terms.

Sometimes people just use a scanned image of their signature and attach that in Word/InDesign/whatever, though I don't see how a digital image of a signature could prove someone has actual read and agreed to a contract since anyone could add that image. You don't need to have a signature actually "signed", the client simply agreeing to the terms in writing is proof of them approving the terms and should be legally binding.

 

You don't necessarily even need an actual contract, just a 'terms & conditions' page on your site that lays out your standard terms that you can direct a client to is enough to protect you, though a contract is useful for more in-depth, project/client specific terms.

So just T&C on my page is enough and acts like a contract of some sort. Well I will probably still need a paper base one in case they plan to have a face-to-face meeting or something but obviously they can sign it on the paper. But thanks for your feedback this helps me to put that aside for now and come back later to right my T&C.

 

I might just asked it here instead of new thread, in terms of refund do other freelancer do refunds at all? I know deposit shouldn't be refundable once you started the project, I mean what if after the project and the web has been hosted then they want to cancel the hosting or asked for refund for their website?

I might just asked it here instead of new thread, in terms of refund do other freelancer do refunds at all? I know deposit shouldn't be refundable once you started the project, I mean what if after the project and the web has been hosted then they want to cancel the hosting or asked for refund for their website?

 

Depends on the circumstances really, i.e. why they would want a refund. Generally if a design has been signed off and is live, then I won't issue a refund. Once a design is approved, additional changes or additions are billed according.

 

When I take a deposit it's non-refundable, and any work completed up to the cancellation date that isn't covered by the deposit is billed for. Sometimes it's better to split the payment into smaller chunks and invoice before starting a new 'chunk'. This way you're not working 'on a promise', though I generally find if a client will pay a deposit, they'll pay the final amount, though it's always useful to cover your back, as you never know when a client will find themselves in financial difficulty.

 

I don't handle hosting myself as I'm not really a techy guy, I pass that off to a friend or the client simply sources their own hosting.