Ask any cre­ative what their least favorite aspect of free­lanc­ing is and they will more often than not reply it is deal­ing with the legal mumbo jumbo of a Con­tract.  So much so, many forego this step all together; some­times with dire consequences.

If you’re of this ilk, then check out Con­tract Cre­ator from Free­lancers Union (you must be a mem­ber to get access to the page). It doesn’t get much sim­pler than this, fill out some basic info such as names, addresses, dates, and prices and voilà! You get a com­plete con­tract in the form of a Word DOC. For many this will be as if they  just found a uni­corn frol­ick­ing in a field with a leprechaun.

Estab­lish­ing clear expec­ta­tions before begin­ning work with a client will help you avoid con­flicts and get paid — and a con­tract is the best way to do that. This tool will guide you through cre­at­ing your own con­tract and allow you to edit it to fit each job.

As always, this is no sub­sti­tute for the ser­vices of a Lawyer, but it’s leaps and bounds ahead of not using a con­tract at all.

You might also want to check out the AIGA Stan­dard Form of Agree­ment for Design Ser­vices which is writ­ten in an “if this, then…” for­mat and bet­ter addresses Intel­lec­tual Prop­erty and usage rights.

Jeff designs print and web expe­ri­ences for a vari­ety of clients and enjoys shar­ing what he learns. He became a designer as the frac­ture between web and graphic design occurred and is now fas­ci­nated as the two dis­ci­plines are on the cusp of com­ing full-circle to merge into a new, media savvy gen­er­a­tion of design­ers. When not crazy busy, Jeff likes geo­caching and con­sum­ing copi­ous amounts of cof­fee. You should fol­low him on Twit­ter and Face­book. But not real life—that’s just creepy.