Soda PDF Blog

Working as a freelancer gives you the freedom to choose your own hours and work at your own pace. It’s a great alternative to working a full-time office job, especially if you live in a remote area or like to travel.

If you’re doing freelance work on top of your nine-to-five, that’s great too. A little side money is always a plus. Either way, as a freelancer, you need to protect your work and yourself by drafting a freelance contract.

Even if you don’t have any legal knowledge, you can easily draft a freelance contract that will hold up should the need arise. And if you’re seriously doubting the legitimacy of your contract, you can always ask a legal professional to help you out.

Drafting a freelance contract

Option 1: Search for a template

If you don’t feel like drafting your contract from scratch, you can do a quick search online and find an existing template you can modify. Modifying an existing template to suit your needs is the easiest and fastest way to draft a freelance contract.

Option 2: Draft from scratch

If you prefer creating a brand new contract, at the very least consult previously drafted contracts to make sure you’re on the right track. Once you’re ready to draft, make sure to keep these things in mind:

1. Always include both your name and the other party’s name
2. Include a date
3. Outline your services + scope of work
4. Include as much detail as you can (revisions, method of delivery, format, etc.)
5. Add due dates
6. Specify all fees, payment methods, and delivery schedules
7. Include your signature and add a space for the other party’s signature (more on that below)
8. Include anything else you think is relevant

Electronic signature solution

As mentioned above, you will have to include your own signature as well as the other party’s signature on your freelance contract. Sure, you can do it the old-fashioned way: sending it by email, printing it, scanning it, returning it.

Or you can do it the easy way.

You can use an electronic signature solution like Soda E-Sign that will get your contract signed and delivered very quickly. Best part is – electronic signatures are legally binding and more secure than handwritten signatures because they’re hyper secure and all actions are traceable (electronic audit).

Preparing invoices

Once you’ve drafted your contract, you also need to prepare an invoice template you can send to your employer/client periodically. Again, you can download a template online and tweak it for your needs, or you can prepare an entirely new one. We prefer the former.

Find a good template, edit it to reflect your services and pricing, and convert it to PDF as most companies prefer to receive files in PDF format (same goes for the contract). Once you’ve got your freelance contract and invoice prepared, you’re all set!

Want to give Soda PDF a try?