• Scope and deliverables

  Describe the work and list what the consultant will hand over, so the end point is clear to both sides.

• Four ways to pay

  Pay for time worked, a monthly retainer, a single fixed fee, or against agreed milestones with an amount at each.

• Where and when

  Say whether the work is remote, on the client's premises or both, when it starts and whether it has a fixed end date.

• Ownership of the work

  Choose between the client owning what is produced, or the consultant keeping ownership and licensing it to the client.

• Expenses and notice

  Decide whether pre-approved expenses are reimbursed, how many days the client has to pay, and how much notice ends the agreement.

• 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 consulting agreement is the written contract between a client and a consultant for a defined engagement. It describes the work and what the consultant will hand over, sets the fee and how it is paid, and records who owns what is produced and what each side keeps confidential.

It is built around one engagement, which may have an end date or not. That is what separates it from a service agreement, which covers services provided on a continuing fee basis.

Whether a particular consultant is in fact an independent contractor is decided by law, on the facts, and an agreement cannot settle it. The builder records what you intend and a lawyer looks at the rest.

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

These are separate documents, for different jobs.

• Client service agreementsSet the scope, fees and terms of work for a client.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
• Non-disclosure agreementsKeep information shared between parties confidential.View document

• Before a strategy engagement begins
• When a technical specialist is retained for a project
• When fees are staged against deliverables

• Vendor agreementsSet the terms for buying from a vendor.View document
• Client service agreementsSet the scope, fees and terms of work for a client.View document
• Construction ContractSet the terms for a construction project.View document
• Catering ContractSet the terms for catering an event.View document