7 Crucial Boundaries Every Freelancer Needs in a Freelance Contractor Agreement
Are you a freelance contractor? I'm telling you what boundaries you must have in your freelance contractor agreement to protect your time, energy and money.
Leaving a 9-5 job and becoming a freelance contractor is so exciting and liberating, but if you're anything like me, you want to ensure that your clients will respect your freedom and boundaries. As a lawyer myself who creates contract templates for freelancers, I am giving you all the crucial boundaries you need in your freelance contractor agreement.
You will learn about the key boundaries you must set in your freelance contractor agreement, no matter what freelance contractor agreement template you use, so your freelance contract template will protect you.
After learning all about the important boundaries you need in your freelance contractor agreement, you will protect your time, energy and money!
This post is all about the fundamental boundaries every freelance contractor agreement must have for freelancers.
Fundamental Freelance Contractor Agreement
Key boundaries for your freelance contractor agreement template
1. Setting boundaries on work days and hours
The first boundary you must set as a freelancer is when you are available to your client.
If you only have one client and want to work as much as possible, you may not want to set boundaries on when you are available to your client. However, when you start getting more clients, even if you have just two clients, it becomes important to set boundaries for each of them so that they can not demand more of your time and energy than you can give.
Therefore, you must set boundaries at the beginning, even with your first client. Thus, in your freelance contractor agreement template, you must specify the following:
Which days you are available to you client.
During what hours of those days you are available. If you have clients in different countries, ensure you specify the time zone as well to avoid any misunderstandings.
You can always agree to do work outside of those days and hours. That is your prerogative. It's just a boundary you can enforce when you need it. Your client can not demand that you work outside those days and hours.
However, note that if you consistently work on a specific day of the week outside of those available days, you can't suddenly claim months later when it's inconvenient to you, as then you could be found to be unreasonable at that point. Your client should be able to rely on you as well. So, don't abuse your rights either.
2. Maximum number of hours in case of fixed fees
If you agree on a fixed fee with your client, the next boundary you must set in your freelance contractor agreement is the maximum number of hours you will work for that client.
Typically, a client-friendly freelance contract template will include a clause stating that the client is entitled to request you to work more hours but that you will not receive any compensation for work outside of the agreed hours. As a freelancer, you do not want to agree to that, and you want to get paid for all the work you put in.
Therefore, your freelance contractor agreement template should include a clause stating:
the maximum number of hours you may work for the client;
that you can not be required to work more hours; and
that you will get paid an additional (hourly) fee for the hours you work beyond the maximum number of hours.
3. Extra costs for work outside of scope
That brings me to the next boundary you must set in your freelance contractor agreement: extra costs for work outside of scope.
Not only do you want to get paid more if you work outside of the maximum number of hours set, but you also want to get paid for work you provide outside of the agreed scope.
In your freelance contractor agreement, you should agree on the scope of the work you provide to your client. You want to be as specific as possible so that there can be no misunderstandings about the work you will provide to your client (that the client may otherwise expect to be within scope).
The boundary you must then set in your freelance contract template is that you may request an extra fee for any work outside of that scope. Any work you agree to provide to your client outside of that scope will then cost your client extra as it may cost you extra.
For example, you may be a freelance marketeer and have agreed to create and print A5 flyers for your client. However, your client requested you to design flyers too and to have a large number of A3 posters. Creating posters is outside of the agreed scope and may cost extra time while printing out large posters will cost you more than printing out flyers. Thus, you should be entitled to ask for more money from your client in that case.
4. Rights to reject work outside of scope or work hours
The next boundary you must set in your freelance contractor agreement is the right to reject any request of your client for work that is:
outside the agreed scope; or
on a day or at a time outside of the availability agreed.
Not only should you have the right to request extra money for extra work, but you should always have the choice to reject any work your client may want you to do that is not initially agreed upon.
You may choose to do work outside of scope and not ask for any extra money for it without breaching your contract and still retain the right to reject another request to do that same work again or ask for money for it the second time around.
5. The right to do things your way
Your client hires you to do a certain job for the client. The client may want a certain outcome, like 2 blog posts per week for the client's website or the processing of certain data, but the client may also want you to do those things a certain way.
Some requests may be reasonable, and you may want to take those requests into account, but you may come across a client who turns out to be very meticulous about how things must be done.
But your client hired you for your expertise and to do it all for the client. Otherwise, the client should do that work themselves or hire a full-time employee.
Thus, you should include in your freelance contractor agreement that you may take into account any reasonable suggestions your client has, but, ultimately, you will do things your way at your sole discretion.
6. Late payment fees
The next boundary you must set in your freelance contractor agreement is being paid on time.
In your freelance contractor agreement, you should agree on how and when payments are made. For more on that, read this blog post on the 13 Key Terms Every Freelance Agreement Template Must Have.
But you also want to be ensured that your client will follow those rules. If there are no consequences for late payments other than the right to terminate the contract, your client may not have a problem with taking a little longer to pay you.
Therefore, your freelance contractor agreement should include a consequence for late payments so that you can set that boundary and enforce it when you need to.
One way to do that is to charge a late payment fee. The amount you can charge for late fees depends on the country or (if you are in the US) the state you are registered. Country/state laws determine maximum interest rates, and if you charge a late payment fee higher than that, the court/tribunal could rule that you get nothing at all. So, ensure you do not charge a higher rate than what is allowed under the applicable law.
EU countries and the UK also provide standard collection costs you can charge on top of your late payment fee.
7. Right to stop work if not paid (in full)
The next boundary you must set in your freelance contractor agreement is the right to stop any work you have going on for your client if the client does not pay you on time and in full.
You can charge late payment fees all you want, but if your client does not care to pay you on time, you should also be entitled to immediately drop everything you are doing for the client.
This should be something you always have in your back pocket so that if your client starts making a fuss and says that they will pay you in a couple of days, you have the right to say you will pick your work back up when you have actually received that payment. In that case, the client is the only one in breach of the contract, not you, because your right to withhold from providing any more work to your client is in your agreement.
Those are all the protections you need to protect your energy, time and money with your freelance contractor agreement!
Do you need a freelance contract template?
Are you in need of a freelance contract template? I am selling a reusable freelance contractor agreement for freelancers! My freelance contract template includes all the crucial boundaries you need to set with your clients (as discussed in the blog post) and all the protections you need as a freelance contractor.
If you are a freelance contractor, you need to get your freelancer-friendly freelance contract template on this page of my contract shop!
Are you hiring and need a freelancer contract agreement?
Are you hiring a freelance contractor for your business? Then you must read this blog post on the 13 Key Terms Every Freelance Agreement Template Must Have.
I also sell client-friendly freelance agreements specifically for business owners hiring freelancers.
You can find the client-friendly freelance contract template on this page of my contract shop!
This post was all about the crucial boundaries every freelancer must have in a freelance contractor agreement to protect their energy, time and money.
If you want to read more about the basics you need in your freelance contractor agreement, read this blog post on the 13 Key Terms Every Freelance Agreement Template Must Have.
If you are a freelance videographer, read this blog post on the 7 Essentials Every Freelance Videographer Needs in a Freelance Videographer Contract Template.
Get the freelancer-friendly freelance contractor agreement template that includes all the boundaries you need as a freelancer (and more) on this page of my contract shop!
Get the client-friendly freelance contractor agreement (including all the essentials you need to protect yourself when hiring freelancers) on this page of my contract shop!
