Freelance contract template
Set expectations before the work starts. Choose a design, development, or consulting contract and fill in the details specific to your project.
Example: a filled-in agreement
Design Services Agreement
Design Services Agreement
- Effective
- July 1, 2026
Between
Whitfield Creative
Sana Whitfield
And
Nomad Coffee Co.
Priya Nair
Project Overview
A full brand identity system and packaging refresh for Nomad Coffee Co.'s retail line, covering logo, typography, color system, and packaging templates for three SKUs.
Deliverables
- Logo suite (primary, secondary, icon mark)
- Brand guidelines document
- Packaging templates for 3 SKUs
Timeline
6 weeks from kickoff to final delivery, with a mid-project review at week 3.
Payment Terms
The total fee of $6,400.00 is payable as follows: 50% ($3,200.00) due upon signing this agreement, and the remaining 50% ($3,200.00) due upon final delivery.
Revisions
This agreement includes 2 rounds of revisions. Additional revision rounds beyond this will be billed at the Freelancer's standard hourly rate.
Intellectual Property
All intellectual property rights in the final deliverables transfer to the Client upon receipt of final payment in full.
Confidentiality
Both parties agree to keep confidential all non-public information disclosed during the course of this engagement, and not to disclose such information to third parties without prior written consent.
Cancellation
Either party may terminate this agreement with 14 days' written notice. The Client agrees to pay for all work completed up to the termination date.
Whitfield Creative
Signature and date
Nomad Coffee Co.
Signature and date
What actually belongs in a freelance contract?
A freelance agreement needs five sections to hold up in a dispute: scope of work (what you're delivering, ideally referencing a separate scope-of-work document rather than restating it), payment terms (rate, schedule, late fees), timeline (start date, key milestones, and what counts as "done"), IP and ownership (when rights transfer to the client, typically on final payment, not on delivery), and termination terms (how either side exits early, and what's owed if they do). Freelancers who skip the termination clause are the ones who do two weeks of unpaid work when a client "pauses" a project indefinitely. The scope section is worth the most attention: vague scope is the single biggest source of freelance disputes, and a contract that says "website design" instead of "5-page responsive website, 2 rounds of revisions, delivered as Figma files" gives a client room to expect unlimited revisions for the same fee.
Fixed-price or hourly: what should the agreement say?
Fixed-price agreements protect your margin on well-defined work: you know the scope, you price it once, and scope creep becomes a change request instead of free work. Hourly agreements protect you on undefined or evolving work (research, ongoing maintenance, retainers) where nobody can honestly estimate hours upfront. The mistake is picking fixed-price for undefined work: you end up eating the discovery cost. If you're not sure which a project is, start hourly for the first phase (discovery, scoping) and switch to fixed-price once scope is clear enough to write down. Either way, the agreement should state which model applies per phase, not just once at the top. A project that's hourly for discovery and fixed-price for build needs both terms written down, or the client will assume hourly applies throughout.
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between the agreement templates?
- Design, development, and consulting agreements each ship with scope and terms language suited to that type of work. Pick the one that matches your project.
- Is this legally binding?
- The generated document is a standard contract once both parties sign it, but Client Paper Co. isn't a law firm, so for high-stakes work, have a lawyer review it.
- Can I reuse an agreement for a new client?
- Yes. Duplicate a past agreement, swap the client details, and adjust scope. No need to start from scratch.
