• Questions in the order a contract is negotiated

  Which side you are, the parties, the services and how long they last, fees and payment, terms, then signing. Each is a short screen, with the agreement taking shape beside you as you answer.

• Worded for your side

  Say whether you are the contractor or the client and the questions are asked of you directly. The agreement itself reads the same either way.

• Flat fee or a rate

  Charge a flat fee, or a rate by the hour, day, week or month, or describe your own basis. Add sales tax, a deposit, an invoicing schedule, a payment deadline and interest on late payment, each only if you want it.

• A term that fits the job

  Until the work is complete, until a date you choose, or ongoing. You can allow either side to end it early and set the notice, and the agreement says what happens to payment when it does.

• Expenses, ownership and confidentiality

  Decide whether expenses are reimbursed and whether they need approval first, who owns what the contractor creates, and whether the contractor keeps the client's information confidential.

• More than one contractor or client

  Add a second contractor and a second client. Each is named in the party block and signs on the closing page, and witness lines can be added there if you want them.

• Nothing promised that you did not agree

  Availability hours and a response time appear only if you write them. Every figure and period is the one you type.

• A lawyer reviews it before it is used

  Your answers are prepared into a draft and reviewed by a qualified lawyer, rather than handed back to you as a finished form.

A client service agreement is the written contract between someone providing a service and the person they are providing it to. It names both sides, describes the work, sets the fee and when it is invoiced and paid, says how long the arrangement lasts and how either side can end it.

It is most useful when the job is more than a one-line favour: when the work is described in your own words, when expenses or a deposit are involved, or when you want to be clear about who owns what the contractor creates and who keeps what information private.

How a contractor relationship is treated, what interest may be charged on late payment and whether witnesses are needed all depend on the state. This builder records what you and the other side have agreed. The state-specific points are settled with a lawyer before anything is signed, and the draft says so rather than leaving you to assume it is complete.

Not sure? Talk to an attorney about your situation first.

These are separate documents, for different jobs.

• Consulting agreementsSet the terms of a consulting engagement.View document
• Independent-contractor agreementsSet the terms of work with an independent contractor.View document
• Freelance agreementsSet the scope, fees and terms of freelance work.View document
• Vendor agreementsSet the terms for buying from a vendor.View document

• Before a new client's first invoice, so the fee and the payment date are agreed
• When a one-off job turns into ongoing work
• When a client asks for a deposit to be set out in writing
• When a second contractor joins the job

• Vendor agreementsSet the terms for buying from a vendor.View document
• Consulting agreementsSet the terms of a consulting engagement.View document
• Construction ContractSet the terms for a construction project.View document
• Catering ContractSet the terms for catering an event.View document