Work Freelancer Contracts Common Clauses Freelance Working Completed

Many "freelancers" (independent contractors; people who work independently, without a formal employer/employee relationship) begin working without a "contract" (a written legal agreement), but as they build their business, they often need to develop contracts to make their work go as "smoothly" (without problems) as possible.

Freelance contracts almost always "specify" (describe in detail) the "payment schedule," describing what will be paid, when, and how. Often the payment schedule specifies "milestone payments," or payments that are made only when a particular "deliverable" (something the freelancer gives to the client) is completed "satisfactorily" (to an acceptable level, with the client being pleased with it).

Another common "clause" (a part of a contract) is a "kill fee," which allows the freelancer to be paid for work completed "to date" (so far) if the project is canceled. Without a kill fee, a client could decide to "terminate" (end) a project without "compensating" (paying) the freelancer for the time that he or she has already worked on the project.

When freelancers work for a larger company, they might include a clause specifying a "single point of contact," which means that the freelancer will need to communicate with only one person in the company. This is important, because communicating with a large team can be "confusing" (unclear) and "time-consuming" (requiring a lot of time).

Finally, many clauses are related to "copyright," or the idea of who owns the work produced by the freelancer. Sometimes the freelancer "retains" (keeps) the copyright and can "reuse" (use again) the material while working with other clients, but in other cases the copyright "passes to" (is transferred to) the client.