Three Eye-opening Benefits of a Terms & Conditions Contract for Freelancers

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What Pushed Me to Develop a Terms & Conditions Document

Over the past decade, as a full-time employee and an independent contractor, I found myself too often in work environments with blurred boundaries. And since I’m the consistent variable in every situation, I worried that I was the cause of everything happening to me.

Maybe I don’t dress as professionally as I should? Maybe I’m too formal and intimidating? Should I speak more like a man, forcefully and loudly? Should I tap into my feminine energy and speak more softly?

I thought something about me was attracting toxic supervisors, clients, and business partners. Interestingly, every question I asked myself centered around being a (black) woman in male-dominated spaces. I think this is a mistake, to an extent.

I’m grateful for my new life coach, who sparked this aha moment: there’s only so much we can do, in the present, to stop gender bias from getting in the way of our career plans. Instead of focusing on changing the subconscious way others perceive us, our emphasis should be on unambiguously communicating how we want to be perceived.

A terms & conditions (T&C) document is a great way to establish this, especially when you are self-employed. Think of it as defining what someone agrees to do while collaborating with you on a shared objective. This can be as detailed or loosely defined as you’d like—just remember that the more transparent you are upfront, the happier you’ll be.

At least three eye-opening events in my freelancing journey taught me the importance of having a T&C document published on my company website, and shared with any potential client:

T&C MAKES IT CLEAR YOU CAN’T BE EVERYTHING & EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

People want full-time access to you on a minimum-wage budget. That’s a common complaint for newbie clients without a strong industry reputation. When you’re marketing your services for the first time, you’ll notice that some who approach you want to see how much they can get from you for cheap. That’s because they perceive you’ll take whatever’s offered to you initially to start building your portfolio.

You, on the other hand, don’t need to accept that! Let your current and future clients know from the beginning that your time costs money. If clients require more of it, they should be prepared to pay more for it.

Without setting these clear boundaries at the start, you’ll have clients expecting you to be available to them at every and any moment they need you. This becomes impractical when you have multiple clients hiring you for work simultaneously. So this is a matter of protecting yourself from exploitation and time mismanagement.

Here’s how I phrase the terms of communication and availability in my T&C document:

Karfi LLC team members may be contacted between 7 am and 7 pm EST via email. Direct phone calls must be scheduled in advance via Calendly or by email to avoid scheduling conflicts between multiple Karfi LLC clients.

The client agrees to provide a minimum of two weeks' advance notice on any deadlines required for deliverables being prepared by Karfi LLC. All deadlines should be communicated with enough advance notice based on a common understanding of typical turnaround times for specific deliverables (i.e. based on industry standards). 

Any timeline for meeting project goals and benchmarks should be outlined in the project contract prior to Karfi LLC starting any work for the client. Timelines will be considered confirmed upon the signing of a legal contract by both Karfi LLC and the client. Deadlines should be communicated clearly and accurately using the following methods: [INSERT YOUR OPTIONS HERE].

Deadlines simply communicated via phone/conference call or email will not be considered final.

T&C SHOULD BE USED AS A GATE VS. A SHIELD

You’re probably thinking what if this turns people off, and I lose a contract based on these terms?

And in response, I’d say that’s a blessing in disguise.

The biggest mistake I made when starting my own business was accepting every offer made to me. That made it very easy for my first client to perceive me as a desperate, glorified personal assistant vs. an authoritative, invaluable specialist. 

You’re doing your job correctly if your T&C document is gatekeeping your precious time and energy. Many times, we think of T&C as CYA documents protecting you legally from lawsuits or breached contracts retroactively. This is true, but it’s far more valuable to view them as safeguards against entering contracts likely to result in legal battles in the first place. In other words, when you share your T&C on your business pages you want them to reveal those clients who are going to respect you enough to abide by reasonable guidelines for business interactions with you.

If you’re like me, you ventured into self-employment to create a work environment that suits your ideal lifestyle. So why would you willingly invite a stranger into that space when they’re a threat to that environment? You get to work on your own terms now, so protect it at all costs (even the cost of losing a lucrative contract).

Here’s language I use to describe my approach to working with clients:

As independent contractors, the team at Karfi LLC reserve the right to the following: 

a) Establishing its/their own work schedules, without final approval by the client but with consideration as to the best hours and days that are convenient based on the client’s operating hours; 

b) Reserve time off during regular business hours/days without prior approval from the client; 

c) Maintain the title of “consultant” in communication with external parties on behalf of the client, to ensure there is no mislabeling of Karfi LLC or its team members as full-time staff employed by the client; 

d) Limit the weekly/monthly hours booked to the amount agreed upon in any signed project contract (overtime will incur a 5% increase in hourly rate). 

Clients should understand that Karfi LLC works on behalf of multiple clients and is therefore working with each client on a non-exclusive basis.

T&C REINFORCES MUTUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUTCOMES

Your expertise means nothing if a client’s unwilling to act on it. That’s not to say you have to force a horse to drink from the lake you led it to. However, it is vital for you to outline what you will and will not accept responsibility for when that horse decides not to drink.

You do not have the power to guarantee results unless you’re God. As intelligent and savvy as you may be, you can only advise a client on the best route to take in achieving a certain outcome. Successful consultation is approximately 75 percent strategic guidance from an expert and 25 percent execution by the client. Therefore, there needs to be in writing an agreement stating that the client will trust you enough to act on the advice you give, and not hold you liable for the negative consequences of failing to do so.

Here’s the language I’ve included in my T&C discussing consulting advice and warranties:

Karfi LLC’s goal is to provide data-driven and validated business advice when hired by a client. Therefore, it is expected that the client would abide by the advice given by Karfi LLC and prevent any circumstances in the client’s control from impeding the execution of such advice. 

For example, if/when a client is advised to make an introduction to a strategic partner, request/provide information, or any similar activity in relation to consulting advice, it is expected that the client would do everything in his/her power to ensure the activity is done in a timely manner. The client reserves the right to request clarification or explain potential conflicts of interest advice may pose. However, in the absence of these, Karfi LLC expects and appreciates full cooperation from the client to guarantee the successful completion of deliverables and project milestones.

Karfi LLC promises to produce materials that are accurate, complete, and error-free. All deliverables will be sent to clients on time or in advance, with the only exception being the event of catastrophic or medical emergencies. Any answers to client questions will be backed with strong evidence and citations when/where applicable.

Conclusion

My confidence has grown over the years since I’ve learned to only accept what serves my best interest as an entrepreneur. Putting these standards and expectations in writing represents on a broader scale the greater self-awareness and self-assurance I have as I mature professionally and personally.

What tips would you add to this list? Feel free to leave them in the comments below.