Before starting to perform any work for a client, a consultant should have a contract that clearly describes the work that will be done, the compensation that will be paid, and provides legal protection for both the client and the consultant in their employment relationship. To write a consulting agreement, follow the steps below.
Steps
Method 1 of 1: Write a Consulting Agreement
Step 1. Create a title for your contract
The title should consist of a very short description of the contract, such as "Consulting Contract" or "Appointment of Consulting". Center your title in bold at the top of the page.
Step 2. Indicate the names of the parties to the contract
When indicating the name of a party, include the title by which he or she will be referred to in the body of the contract, such as "Client" or "Consultant".
For example, “This Consultancy Agreement is entered into between the company XYZ,“Client”, and Mario Rossi,“Consultant”
Step 3. Include the date
This should be the date you intend to execute the contract and therefore you may need to leave a blank space for the day, month and year, or for all three.
For example, “The day _ of the month of January 2014, or“The day_ of the month of _, 2014”. If you wish, you can include the date in the sentence describing the parties. For example, "This Consultancy Agreement is entered into by the company XYZ," Client ", and Mario Rossi," Consulte ", on the day _ of January 2014."
Step 4. Describe the work that needs to be done
This can be done in several ways. You should choose the way that works best for your business and the type of advice you offer. Some things to consider when choosing how to describe the job are:
- Leave blank space to write a description of the job you will be doing. This is the ideal solution for those consultants who meet their potential clients in person at their home or at their company premises. This way, the details of the work to be done can be added in pen and the contract can start wherever you are. Of course, you can also write job details on your computer for easier reading, when you don't want to execute the contract right away.
- Describe the job in general against specific terms. Instead of a few sentences listing exactly what work you will be doing, you could simply write, "Client ad campaign consultancy work." If you work in an industry where it can be difficult to define exactly which obligations should be executed by an advisor, this choice may not be the best for you.
- Attach projects to the contract instead of describing the job, or in addition to the job description. This method works well for those offering advice in various technical fields such as the internet and software application development. In such cases you could include something like, “see attached project” in the work to be done section of your contract.
Step 5. Specify what compensation you will receive, the terms and conditions of payment
You can leave blank lines to fill in for each contract, and you may also want to include both an hourly rate and a flat rate fee for the entire job, to be selected when signing the contract.
Step 6. Include a description of the employment relationship
As employees and self-employed people are treated differently for tax purposes, an employment description such as the one below will help ensure that there will be no errors in your and your client's tax liabilities. Make sure you specify that you are self-employed and not an employee.
For example, “The Consultant's relationship with the Client will be autonomous, and therefore this contract will not give rise to any corporate, agency, joint venture or employment relationship. The Consultant will act in full autonomy, without subordination and without time constraints."
Step 7. Describe who will own the intellectual property rights in the products you will create, manufacture or invent
Forms, recipes, research memoranda, graphics and software created in the course of a self-employed consultancy contract are generally assigned to client ownership. However, whether you choose to give your client ownership of your work or you choose to keep it in your hands, you should include in the contract in very clear terms what is meant by "product of the work" and who owns it..
For example, "The Consultant agrees that all the work product developed by him alone or in collaboration with others in connection with the provision of services covered by this contract will be the exclusive property of the Client, and the Consultant will have no right or interest in the aforementioned product of labor. The product of the work includes, but is not limited to, reports, graphics, memoranda, slogans and captions
Step 8. Determine if you will need a confidentiality clause
If you perform services that will make you aware of confidential information, such as legal or medical documents, secret formulas or prescriptions, or the client's personal financial information, you should include a confidentiality clause.
A typical confidentiality clause contains the definition of "confidential information", and states that you agree not to disclose confidential information to anyone or use it for any purpose other than to perform your obligations towards the client, and provides for an exclusion in the event where a court orders you to disclose confidential information
Step 9. Determine which standard clauses you need to include
You may want to check with a lawyer if you need to include specific clauses in relation to the state or region where you are located. Some common clauses include:
- Choice of applicable law. A choice of law clause is generally used in contracts with parties living outside your country or state, to ensure that the law of your state, and not that of your client, will apply.
- Salvation clause. Salvation clauses are common in all types of contracts and simply say that if any clause of the contract is found to be invalid or ineffective by a court, all other clauses will remain unchanged and fully effective.
- Specific remedies for breach of contract. This is a common clause in all types of self-employment contracts, and provides that the Client can take legal action to obtain compensation for damages and any possible remedy required by law. It may appear in this way, “The Consultant accepts that his obligations under this contract are unique and have special value; the Consultant's failure to comply with these obligations will result in irreparable and continuous damage to the Client for which the law does not provide adequate remedy; in case of non-fulfillment, the Customer will be entitled to contact the competent Judge to obtain compensation for damage and / or the specific execution of contractual obligations, and any other possible remedy ".
Step 10. Create a signature space
The signature space should include a line for each part's signature and include the part's pre-printed name below the space.
Step 11. Format your contract
Some contracts contain headings in bold type, such as Compensation, Salvation Clause, Applicable Law or Description of the work to be done, for each clause or object included in the contract and other numbers of the various clauses. Some contracts use bold headings and numbers at the same time. You can format your contract any way you like. When you format your contract, keep in mind that it must be as easy to understand as possible, and your formatting choices can help you achieve this.
