

Ask HN: What kind of legal precautions I should take when doing freelance work? - zeeshanm

I am working on a freelance project for a client and it is my first time doing it in a professional setting.
I want to invoice the client via my registered corp.<p>I was thinking if anyone can share any best practices for putting together contract, invoices, and any other legalese. Should I have a contract signed before beginning the work? I put together a list of milestones and had the client signed off on them via email. But should I put them in a contract of some sort?<p>This client and I agreed that half of the payment will be delivered after a certain number of milestones are met. And the other half of payment will be delivered after project completion. Should this be part of the contract?<p>Would appreciate if anyone can share some thoughts from their experience and perhaps any templates you have used before! My email is in my profile. Thanks!
======
MichaelCrawford
yes the milestones should definitely be part of the contract. It's usually
spelled out in an attachment to the contract, but an attorney once explained
to me that the entire contract includes all those exhibits.

If it's a big contract I recommend getting more than two paychecks. If it's
small then that's OK. Consider what would happen to you if it took three extra
months to satisfy that first deliverable; you might wind up on the street. But
with more and smaller milestones, you at least have some money, even if you
still underbid by three months.

Most of my experience has mostly been that a verbal agreement is completely
cool, but I did get screwed a couple of times as a result. Note that a verbal
agreement is still a contract, you could sue your client for failing to abide
by it. The real problem with verbal agreements comes when you and your client
don't agree as to what you verbal agreement actually was.

Don't ever sign a contract someone has just put in front of you. There are all
manner of little ways you can get screwed. If someone just hands you a
contract with the expectation that you're going to sign it on the spot, tell
them that you're going to run it by your attorney - even if you don't really
intend to - and that you'll make the decision later whether to sign it, or to
offer an alternative.

If you disagree with specific portions of a contract, draw a rectangle around
them, cross them out with a big "X" then initial next to the portion that you
just crossed out. If you want to exhibit real bravado, if you are then
satisfied, sign the contract then ask your client to sign as well.

Quite commonly they will sign without noticing what you just struck out.

