Guides

#Why written always wins

A verbal agreement is generally valid, but hard to prove. The problem rarely shows up when things go well - it shows up when the client remembers a different scope than you do, when the project drags on, or when someone on the client side is replaced and the new person never heard what was agreed. Written doesn't mean twenty pages: an email confirming scope, price, timeline and payment terms is infinitely better than nothing.

Also make it a habit to confirm things in writing after every verbal meeting. A short summary of what you agreed on, sent the same day with a question asking if it's correct, creates documentation without feeling bureaucratic.

#The quote: what sells and what protects

A quote has two jobs. It should make it easy for the client to say yes, and it should set the boundaries of what that yes means. So write down both what's included and, just as importantly, what isn't. The number of revision rounds, who delivers materials and who's responsible for approvals all belong here.

Also state the quote's validity period, whether the price excludes VAT, what the price assumes from the client, and what assumptions it's based on. If a quote assumes the client will deliver materials by a certain week, say so - otherwise your delay suddenly becomes your own. Don't set a price without knowing what the work needs to cover: how you arrive at the right level deserves a discussion of its own.

#What a service agreement should include

Parties and contact people, with the formal counterparty correctly named. Scope and deliverables, ideally with a short list of what will be delivered and in what format. Timeline and dependencies, meaning what you need from the client and by when. Price, pricing model, and whether it excludes VAT. Payment terms with due dates, any partial invoicing, and what happens if payment is late.

Beyond that: a process for handling changes and additions, so extra work is ordered and priced rather than sneaking in unnoticed. Intellectual property rights - what the client is allowed to use, in what context and from what point in time, which in practice is often tied to the invoice being paid. Confidentiality, if you have access to sensitive information. Liability limits, ideally tied to the value of the assignment. Termination and what applies to work already done. Governing law and how disputes are handled, especially with foreign clients.

#Scope is the most common source of conflict

Price is rarely what causes arguments. It's scope. The classic situation is that the assignment grows in small steps - an extra version here, a short meeting there, a change that only takes a moment - until it eventually adds up to days of work no one ordered.

The remedy is simple and doesn't have to be confrontational. Decide in the agreement how a change is requested - for example, in writing with a stated time and cost - and use that process from the start. Responding that a request is welcome, with a short note on what it costs in time and money, is normal professional practice, not being difficult.

#How agreements work under light entrepreneurship

An important detail: as a light entrepreneur, it's formally the light-entrepreneurship company that enters into the agreement with the client and issues the invoice, even though you're the one who negotiated and does the work. What you agree with the client must therefore be reflected in the documentation you submit and must be consistent with the light-entrepreneurship company's terms.

In practice, this means two things. Write down what you've agreed on and pass it along, rather than just stating an amount to invoice. And check what the company's terms say about things like liability, rights and commitments you can't take on by yourself, before you promise anything in a quote.

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