Ahoy developers! What was interesting for many of you is that contracts are afterthoughts. Contracts are boring. You may think that you don't need them. But contracts are there for the worst of times. And they add a layer of security and maybe even indirectly influence other parties to behave more orderly. :) Without contracts, misunderstandings are common and can cause many problems. Let's check out some of the best free contract templates for freelancers.

What is a freelancer?

A freelancer is a self-employed person working with one or more different clients on various projects or delivering a specific service. They are independent, choosing which projects to work on and which payment rate to charge.

Scoping the work and setting the stage

With a contract, the freelancer and the employer will understand the scope of work, payment rates or any additional terms, such as fees or deposits/advances, intellectual property, or confidentiality. On the other hand, not having a contract could lead to lost payments, scope creep (expanded scope of work), or even penalties, so having one is a smarter way to go.

What should be included?

Besides the obvious, like names of the two parties, their contact details, payment terms and signatures. The contract should also have a well-explained scope of the project with clear guidelines and services that will be provided to complete the project. These services should be detailed as much as possible, with an explanation of how any changes to them will affect the scope or cause some additional charges. And don't forget about the Five D's, or:

Project Details - this section includes the starting date, timeframe and software or tools used to complete the project
Project Deliverables - in this section, try detailing out every project outcome to avoid misunderstandings with the client
Project Deadlines - don’t over-promise or under-deliver. Take your time, and most importantly, don't forget to account for illness, time-off or some other unexpected situation
Project Documents - documents or files could include company information, previous work or anything else needed to complete the current project
Project Disclosures - NDA can be a separate document, but it is easier to include it upfront. But take care to precise the work and information exchange scope.

Lastly, there needs to be a clarification of the legal relationship between the freelancer and the employer. If the relationship is not working for some reason, the termination clause will enable both parties to exit, so including this part is also advisable.

Free templates

Take a look at these free contract templates, which could be very helpful, especially for a first-time freelancer.

Simple contract template by Jyssica Schwartz.
A freelance contract template from Legal Templates.
This customisable, copy-and-paste freelance contract template by Ryan Robinson.
This work-for-hire agreement template is from Docsketch.

Do you know of a better template? Please share it with us so we can share it with all of you. Just comment below! Reposted to [Blog](https://codingforspeed.com/contracting-for-freelancers/)