Drawing up an independent contractor's contract
As a web design / development freelancer working for a business you will often need to classify yourself as an independent contractor. Being an independent contractor means that you must handle all tax burdens, insurance, and benefits all by yourself. You might be asked by some clients (mostly businesses) to fill out a W-9 for tax purposes. Depending on what state you live in there are certain conditions that you must perform as an independent contractor (e.g. you must file after making $X amount of money per year). Search your local State government's website for more information.
Creating a contract
The most important point to being an independent contractor is that you'll have to draw up an actual contract. Sometimes your client will have one ready to use, but you should be prepared to present one yourself.
A contract is used to establish important points such as what work is to be done, how many hours it will take, what the pay rate is, etc. Here are the things that I cover in a basic contract for web design or development work:
- Establish who the contract is between (usually myself and another person or business entity)
- What service will be performed (just a brief description of the type of work)
- Amount of hours the contract is for (I tend to stay away from putting fixed deadlines in a contract)
- Pay rate per hour
- Tax arrangements (stating that I will pay the necessary taxes (Social Security, etc.))
- Repayment condition (submission of invoice on completion of project)
- Independent contractor status (declare independent contractor status)
- Confidentiality
- Dispute resolution (mediation with a mutually agreed upon arbitrator)
Once the contract is signed and dated you can start your work! A good contract will protect both parties and discourage any fraud or wrongdoing.
Writing up the legalese is no small task, so you should try to find an existing contract and edit it to suit your needs. If in doubt, contact a lawyer.
Resources
- An example contract that I have used in the past (.RTF)
- Simple contract (very basic)