Must-Have Documents for Your Virtual Office
You and your Elance buyer seem to be a perfect match, and your project bid is on the verge of being accepted. But it’s not smooth sailing yet. What’s the easiest way to spoil what could otherwise be a great working relationship? Poor communication.
While using a PMB is the perfect way to share ideas, clarify points, and create a history of your discussions with your client, the most successful freelancers also rely on a handful of documents to ensure expectations, terms, and responsibilities are clearly defined – and to keep buyer/provider relationship positive and conflict-free.
A few documents that every freelancer should consider using during the course of their engagements are described below. We recommend that you consult your legal or business advisor for further information or advice about any document you create or are asked to sign. Elance provides examples for the purposes of illustration and for your convenience. These examples are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Of course, feel free to edit and create your own personalized copies; that way each time you need a certain document you can quickly fill out the document templates you’ve created.
Proposal Template
Clear, concise, and professional-looking proposals will not only define what you will provide – they’ll also set you apart from the crowd. Make sure your proposals define precisely what services you’ll provide, at what cost, during what time frame…and most importantly what the final deliverables will be. In effect, the proposal serves as the basis for the contract, so make sure you’re comfortable with all the terms of the agreement you propose to reach.
You may not realize it, but each time you bid on an Elance project you automatically create a proposal. If you’d like to take your professionalism to the next level, consider creating a professionally-designed proposal template you can upload through a PMB. If you don’t have great design skills, post a project in Design & Multimedia to get one created for you.
Standard Service Agreement
Once your proposal is accepted you’re ready for a contract. While “contract” might be an ominous-sounding word, a contract is really just an agreement between two or more parties to do something, for which consideration (usually money) will be exchanged. In most cases, a Standard Service Agreement can be the perfect tool for creating a clear and effective agreement. Simply specify the service you’ll provide (including any deliverables), and the timelines, costs, and payment terms for the project.
You’ll find other provisions on the sample Standard Service Agreement. Legal issues like confidentiality, intellectual property rights, and termination of the agreement are also covered.
Detailed Project Agreement
Some projects – especially complex, multi-stage, and long-term projects – may require a more detailed agreement. The Detailed Project Agreement allows you space to more fully describe your terms, deliverables, milestones, and project components. Think of it this way – if you agree to design a new logo for a client, the Standard Service Agreement should be sufficient. If you agree to design a logo, stationery, printed materials, a website – plus you’ll provide programming on an as-needed basis – and you’ll perform weekly SEO services – a Detailed Project Agreement will likely be more appropriate.
No matter which Agreement you use, make sure you clearly define the terms of the project. Use clear, easy to understand language – and no matter what, never sign anything you don’t fully understand.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (sometimes called a Confidentiality Agreement) is a contract through which one party receiving confidential or proprietary information from the other agrees to keep that information confidential. Non-Disclosure Agreements are often used in the pre-service agreement phase. A provider may need access to certain information in order to bid properly on a project. If that’s the case, he or she may be asked to sign a NDA so the potential buyer can feel comfortable disclosing that information.
Say a buyer has thought of an amazing new Web 2.0 application. She needs a programmer to turn her dream into a reality, but she doesn’t want news of her idea to leak before she’s ready. She may ask you to sign a NDA before she shares those details with you. Don’t be offended – she simply wants to protect her intellectual property and wants your written assurance you’ll keep the information she discloses confidential.
Oftentimes a service agreement will include NDA provisions, but again, if your discussions with a buyer are taking place in the proposal stage, a separate NDA may certainly be appropriate.
In certain cases where both parties might disclose confidential or proprietary information to each other, a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement may be suitable.
Work for Hire
A “work for hire” clause transfers copyright from the creator to the hiring party. If you’re an employee of a company in the U.S. that transfer might occur automatically by operation of law. But, if you’re a freelancer, that transfer might not occur automatically unless you agree to “work for hire” language.
Say you’re a writer and you have been asked to provide a series of web articles. The buyer may ask you to agree to “work for hire” language, like the following:
“The final product will be the sole property of and copyrighted to the {Buyer}. {Provider} will not receive nor request further payments, royalties, or other considerations. {Provider} will not be named as the author or owner of the supplied work.
{Provider} expressly acknowledges that the material contributed is being specially ordered and commissioned for use in connection with this project, and is contributed as a “work made for hire” as defined by the copyright laws of the United States.”
In effect, you agree the buyer owns the articles and you relinquish all rights to them. That’s the essence of a “work for hire” clause, and it might make perfect sense in this case – otherwise, a buyer could pay for work that could appear elsewhere!
