How to Make a Freelance Developer Contract

Secure your earning potential with a contract.

As a freelancer you are your own boss, you set your own schedule and you have a large degree of control in determining your earnings. But being the boss also means you are solely responsible for making sure you are compensated for your work. Unlike a salaried position, freelancer earnings vary based on factors such as the project scope, budget and requirements, all of which must be outlined in your freelance developer contract to ensure that you get paid.

Things You'll Need

• Freelance contract template

Instructions

1. Find a template that is suitable for your industry or the project for which you need to submit a contract. Read through the terms and conditions to get a sense of what is already being done in your freelance industry. This will help guide your thinking and planning of your first developer contract.

2. Create a roadmap that outlines the ideal sequence of steps it takes for you to build, design and develop a project. This helps frame elements of the contract and how you communicate what you will do for a client.

3. Develop an hourly rate for your services. Research what developers working with similar projects or skills are charging. If you're just starting out, set a rate that is lower than optimal but not so low that you can't afford to work. This hourly figure is a guideline to how much money you need to make to be profitable.

4. Get the details of the client project including any proposed timeline, requested functionality, current designs and feature set. Next, use these details to create a project plan that details the key milestones necessary to develop the project. Estimate the time it will take for you to complete each milestone in hours and total your figures.

5. Multiply your estimated turn-around time by your hourly rate. Determine if the resulting figure is adequate based on your needs and the market rate for a similar project.

6. Create a new document to draft the contract. This can be a blank document or a template that you wish to edit. Draft a project overview that describes the core project facets as you understand them. Pull some of this language from data provided to you by the client. Label this section "Overview."

7. Outline your process as drafted in Step 4. Write the tasks you plan to complete in chronological order and include what material, if any, you will provide to the client. Describe how you plan to involve the client in your progress and development.

8. Insert a high-level Gantt chart that shows each phase of work along with a calendar to give the client a sense of development progress. Label details from Step 7 and Step 8 "Solution" or "Work Plan."

9. Write the total fees and expenses you require. This number should be very similar to the figure calculated in Step 5.

10. Break out your requested fees into a payment plan based on your needs. For example, include a statement that requests 50 percent cash at the signing of the contract, 25 percent at a specific milestone and then the remainder upon project completion.

11. Insert the terms and conditions. Copy the terms from your contract template, paste them into your document and then edit as necessary. Standard terms and conditions include protocols for dealing with the following categories: taxes, invoices, payment and late payment expectations, copyright, conflict resolution and intellectual property.

12. Add a line for the client signature and for your signature.

Tips & Warnings

• Have a lawyer review the contract, particularly terms and conditions, to ensure your best interests are taken care of.

References

• American Institute of Graphic Arts: AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services
• TechSoup; Writing a Contract; Marc Osten, Beth Kanter; 2003

Resources

• Speckyboy Magazine: 5 Free to Use Freelance Design Contract Templates
• Nettuts; How to Become a Freelance Web Developer; Glenn Stansberry; 2009