What to include in a freelance contract

A freelance contract sounds like the boring bit you skip when the client’s keen and you just want to start. Skip it once, get burned once, and you’ll never skip it again. A contract isn’t about distrust. It’s a shared memory of what you both agreed, so that when things get fuzzy (and they will), you have something to point at instead of an argument.

You don’t need a lawyer or ten pages of legalese. You need a simple document that covers the parts that cause disputes. Here’s what to put in it.

Scope of work

This is the single most important clause. Spell out exactly what you’re doing, in plain language. “Design a website” is a fight waiting to happen. “Design a 5-page website in Webflow, including homepage, about, services, contact, and one blog template” is a contract.

Be specific enough that both of you would read it and picture the same thing.

Deliverables and deadlines

List what the client actually receives and when. Final files, formats, number of pages, rounds of work, whatever applies. Tie these to dates.

And make deadlines a two-way street. Your delivery date depends on the client sending you assets, feedback, and approvals on time. Write in that if they’re slow, your dates move too. This one line saves you from being blamed for delays that weren’t yours.

Price and payment terms

State the total price (or your rate and estimated hours), and be crystal clear on when payment is due. “Payment within 14 days of invoice” is far better than a vague “on completion”.

Cover:

• The amount and what it includes.
• When invoices go out and when payment is due.
• How they pay (bank transfer, and so on).
• Whether the price includes or excludes VAT and expenses.

Deposits

Take a deposit before you start, especially with new clients. Something like 30 to 50 percent upfront, with the balance on completion. A deposit does two jobs: it protects you if the project stalls, and it filters out people who were never really going to pay.

If a client won’t put any money down before you begin, that tells you something worth knowing early.

Revisions and scope creep

Scope creep is the quiet killer of freelance profit. The project keeps growing, one “quick tweak” at a time, and suddenly you’ve done double the work for the same money.

Head it off in writing:

• State how many rounds of revisions are included (two or three is common).
• State that further changes, or anything outside the agreed scope, is charged at your hourly rate.

Now “can you just also…” becomes a normal conversation about a change order, not an awkward one about whether you’re allowed to charge.

Kill fee (cancellation)

Sometimes a client pulls the plug halfway through, through no fault of yours. A kill fee protects you: if they cancel, you keep the deposit and get paid for work done up to that point. It’s completely standard and stops you eating the cost of someone else’s change of heart.

Intellectual property and ownership

Be clear about who owns the work and when. A common and fair approach: you keep ownership until you’ve been paid in full, and ownership transfers to the client on final payment.

Also decide:

• Whether you can show the work in your portfolio.
• Who owns source files versus final outputs.
• What happens to any tools or templates you reused.

Sorting this out upfront avoids a nasty surprise later, especially on anything involving a logo, brand, or code.

Late payment

You’re legally entitled to chase late payment, and in the UK you can charge statutory interest and a fixed fee on overdue commercial invoices. You don’t have to, but say in the contract that you reserve the right to. Even a line like “invoices unpaid after 30 days may incur interest and a late fee” quietly nudges people to pay on time.

Keep it simple, keep it saved

A good freelance contract is short, readable, and reusable. Write one solid template, then tweak the scope and price for each job. Store your signed contracts and invoices somewhere private and organised, so if a payment dispute ever comes up you can find the agreement in seconds. keeps your contracts, scopes, and invoices together and encrypted, so the paperwork is there when you need it and nowhere it shouldn’t be.

The contract protects both sides. The client knows exactly what they’re getting for their money, and you know you’ll be paid for the work you do. That clarity is what lets you get on with the actual job.