THE BEST INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT TEMPLATE

Find below the best Independent Contractor Agreement Template and get successful results from your independent contractor in 2023.

This template is ready on Google Docs and can be downloaded as a Microsoft Word document or as a PDF file.

Written by James Campbell, a Senior Independent Contractor Agreement Specialist eDigital.

THE BEST INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT TEMPLATE

To ensure you get a successful project delivery from an independent contractor, you should use a premium independent contractor agreement template that specifies all the details about the assignment or type of work to be hired.

Marketers, entrepreneurs and business owners commonly use independent contractors as a way to quickly and easily execute professional work without the need to hire full-time staff.

A fantastic durable relationship with an independent contractor starts with the best independent contractor agreement and for that, you need the best template!

We have researched different independent contractor agreement templates and have carefully crafted the best independent contractor agreement template which has been used by hundreds of marketers and clients.

This simple yet effective independent contractor agreement template covers all your hiring needs for a successful independent contractor work delivery.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The template we needed!

We found this template as a perfect solution to manage all our independent contractor agreements. Easy to customise and reuse. 

Tobias F. ✅ Verified Buyer

BENEFITS OF HAVING A WELL-WRITTEN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT TEMPLATE

The main goal when writing an independent contractor agreement is to allow you and the independent contractor to:

  • Understand your exact requirements, service objectives and goals.
  • Let your independent contractor know exactly how the service should be executed (in which context and for what purpose)
  • Help your independent contractor deliver extraordinary work for you with no hassle at the right time and on budget.
  • Set clear expectations for the period your independent contractor should not work for any of your top competitors.

Some of the top benefits of a well-crafted independent contractor agreement include:

  1. Deliver the right service you need (scope of work) and agree on the exact service location and service specifications. Parties without a proper contract risk finding themselves in scope creep. This is when during, or after completing a project, a client and an independent contractor do not agree on additional work to the project outside the agreed terms.
  2. Eliminate assumptions and reduce any misinterpretations and confusion. If a misunderstanding erupts and you have a contract, you can refer to the agreement to clarify any dispute.
  3. Ensure expectations from both parties (client and the independent contractor) are clear.
  4. Agree on legalities (terms and conditions).
  5. Agree on timings.
  6. Agree on payment and payment types. Using an independent contractor agreement contract protects independent contractors from non-payments as clients know that failure to settle a payment will result in lawsuits.
  7. Agree on the cancellation policy and its process for both parties.
  8. Agree on the revision policy (how many rounds of revisions a client is allowed to do)
  9. Avoids costly omissions. Omissions provide room for potential trouble. For example, if you have a specific way of handling revisions, delivery of work, or receiving payment, you may use a contract to define those terms. Without a contract, the independent contractor will use what seems fit, which may neither protect your interest nor your time.

THINGS TO CHECK BEFORE WRITING AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT TEMPLATE

Before you embark on the process of spending time writing an independent contractor, you should check the below:

  • Category and brand familiarity. Does the independent contractor have demonstrable experience in your industry? or has the independent contractor used the products or services you offer? Every client work requires a unique set of challenges and skills for the work to be completed successfully.
  • Hire an independent contractor with top skills in a specific activity. Some independent contractors’ experience might be focused on creative writing, training facilitation, data analysis, photography, journalism, graphic design, illustration, programming, software development, video editing, social media posting, web development and others.
  • Think extra reach. Hiring an independent contractor who is also an influencer or leader in a specific industry may also offer you extra reach if your intention is to promote the completed work to the general public. 
  • Ownership rights. Independent contractors work for hire, which means they don’t own any rights to the work. This has to be made clear in the contract before undertaking any work. Some independent contractor will be happy with this as they may not want to get their names on work that is out of scope or not useful for their portfolio. This could be the case of designers, illustrators or artists who may complete work for you but do not necessarily want their names to be associated with that delivered work for whatever reason: your style is not theirs or in the case that the completed work is totally modified to fulfil the client’s taste.
  • Communication method. A huge advantage of being an independent contractor is that independent contractors may not be restricted by time or location. But that does not mean independent contractors are available 24/7. Experienced independent contractors will ensure the contract specifies how often the client expects support during the contract duration to avoid surprise calls from clients at odd hours demanding an independent contractor to answer their questions or tackle an emergency. Professional independent contractors will specify how to be contacted and their preferred communication method to limit cases of work fatigue. Independent contractors will also consider capping the number of meetings that they will have with the client.

THE BEST INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT TEMPLATE – DOWNLOAD AS WORD OR PDF

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THE TOP 15 THINGS EXPERIENCED INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS WILL CHECK IN YOUR CONTRACT

  • Payment terms. Independent contractors love clients who can offer an initial up-front payment. Independent contractors also want you to cover any transaction fees. As much as you may have your own requirements or payment preferences, your independent contractor may also have their own guidelines. Hence, be open to settling on a common ground acceptable to both you and the independent contractor. Payment types include:
    • Delayed payments. Independent contractors want to know what options you will offer in case of delayed payment. Late fees for delayed payments are quite popular.
    • Early payments. Independent contractors may offer discounts for early payments (best suited for larger projects). Check with your independent contractor.
    • Upfront payment: The client pays before the project begins.
    • Net 30, 45, etc: determines when payment is due after the invoice is sent.
    • Pay on publication: payment will be completed once the assignment gets published.
    • Split payment: mostly for larger projects with different milestones.
    • Pay on submission: payment is made when the client receives the invoice or when you turn in your assignment.
    • Pay on acceptance: payment is done after the client accepts the piece, usually after one or two revisions.
    • Late fees: An independent contractor will check a compensation provision if the client fails to pay on time or within the agreed period.
    • Kill fees: charged if the client cancels the project you have begun working on to cover the time and resources spent on the project.
  • Excessive demands. Independent contractors want to ensure your contract does not include anything out of scope or any request that seems excessive or unreasonable. Watch out! exploitative freelance contracts are meat for the media. Journos and media outlets would love to find out about any unreasonable contracts.
  • Unlimited rounds of revisions. Usually, three rounds of revisions are enough, but if it is not spelled, independent contractors may find themselves in an endless cycle of revisions and this can be exhaustive and time-consuming
  • Set clear boundaries. As a client, you can set deadlines for a project, but you cannot demand an independent contractor to work at particular times or to be on-call. An astute independent contractor will check this is clear in the contract.
  • Chapter length. if you are hiring an independent contractor to ghostwrite a book, be clear on the length of each section and extra payment if you want to increase the length of the book or a chapter.
  • Signing a “non-compete” clause. It is acceptable to ask an independent contractor to avoid working with a couple of your top competitors during the time of the assignment. If you are asking an independent contractor to sign a “non-compete” clause, make sure you and your independent contractor know how long it is in effect after you cut ties with the independent contractor. The most common times can be between 6 months to two years depending on the level of competitive advantage in the work the independent contractor is involved with.
  • Additional requirements out of scope will change deadlines. Independent contractors will not only charge more but also will ask you to update your deadlines if additional requirements have been requested.
  • Out of reach. Independent contractors may want to specify any holiday time and/or off-hours so you – the client – know when not to contact the independent contractor.
  • Legal cost fees. Disagreements can happen and may end up in a legal battle. Astute independent contractors can make the client liable for all legal fees by simply adding a clause in the contract. In this case, you – the client – are most likely to pay the independent contractor to avoid legal costs.
  • Revision policy. Define the number of rounds of revisions the client can perform as part of the assignment. Include what constitutes a “revision”, and the people allowed to make/request revisions. Ensure you add some clauses for how you will deal with extra revisions outside the agreed ones.
  • Refund policy. Refunds occur when you (the client) have already made payment in advance and cancelled the project or when you aren’t happy with the work. However the latter can be settled with a few changes or edits. However, if you (the client) refuse the option for the independent contractors to correct changes and you have already paid, the independent contractors may need to refund. This has to be clear on the contract how the independent contractor makes the refund and the fees it attracts.

FINAL TIPS

  • Remember that independent contractors are ‘self-employed’. This means their activities should not be similar to that of a part-time or full-time employee. If it does, you may risk being sued for it.
  • Digital signatures are valid. Independent contractors are super busy professionals and may not have the time to sign, scan and email a contract. Make it easy for them by offering a digital signature. In fact, signing your name on a form and clicking submit counts as a legal signature in a court of law.
  • Use tools like Grammarly to check for errors and improve the brevity of the contract.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️  Impressive!

All we needed was this template. We easily customised it to fit our hourly rates, retainer fees, terms and conditions. 

Sophie R. ✅ Verified Buyer

CONCLUSION

Using this best independent contractor agreement template is a vital step toward securing a successfully completed assignment/work, it clarifies that the independent contractor is not an employee but an independent entity hired for specific services and outlines the details of the project or services to be provided, including deadlines, deliverables, milestones, legal protection, payment terms, intellectual property rights, confidentiality, non-disclosure, termination and exit clauses and any other specific requirements. This clarity helps prevent misunderstandings regarding the scope of the work and any potential risks. 

If you have been doubting the importance of an independent contractor agreement, now you know how crucial it is.

Next > Get a copy of this Premium Independent Contractor Agreement Template now! 

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THE BEST INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT TEMPLATE

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