Review resultsFile SAMPLE
Freelance Design Agreement
The verdict
High riskMixed bag
Some terms lean the other way.
Push back before you sign.
This agreement leans hard toward the client. You are paid on Net-60 with no deposit, you hand over the rights the moment you create the work, and your liability is uncapped. Three clauses are worth challenging before you sign, and a few protections are missing entirely.
5 of 6 clauses need a closer look
Revidict's first-pass read, a sharp second opinion, not a lawyer.
Rate & terms, for design
7 to review4 red flags and 3 terms worth tightening before you sign.
Payment window
Net-60 is unusually long for a $2,500 gig. Push for Net-15/30 plus a deposit.
Upfront deposit
No upfront deposit. 25 to 50% before you start is standard.
Revisions
Unlimited revisions have no finish line. Cap it at 2 to 3 rounds.
IP ownership
Rights transfer on creation, before you are paid. Tie the transfer to full payment.
Cancellation
No kill fee. Ask for 25 to 50% if they cancel mid-project.
Liability
Liability looks uncapped. Cap it at the fees paid, the exposure is out of scale for the fee.
Late-payment fee
No late fee. A 1.5% per month fee is standard and worth adding.
Cash flow
$2,500 rides on delivery, with nothing secured up front.
A deposit up front and a shorter payment window would put more of this in your account sooner. See the payment clause below for the language to ask for it.
Set your floor
Your non-negotiables (deposit, payment window, rights), checked on every review.
Negotiation tracker
0 of 5 handled
Clause by clause
The breakdown6 clauses
Payment terms
You get paid 60 days after you invoice, with no depositThe share of the fee paid before work begins, so you are not financing the whole engagement. 25 to 50% upfront is standard. up front. You could work for two months and then wait two more before any money arrives.
Is this normal?Typical for design: Net-15 to Net-30, with a 30 to 50% deposit.Intellectual property
This is a work for hireA clause that assigns full ownership of your work to the client the moment it exists, as if the client created it themselves. setup: every design becomes the client's the moment you create it, before they have paid. If a payment never lands, you have already handed over the rights.
Is this normal?Typical: rights transfer on final payment, not on creation.Revisions
The client can ask for unlimited changes. Nothing stops the project from dragging on for months at the same flat fee.
Is this normal?Typical: 2 to 3 named revision rounds, then hourly.Cancellation
The client can walk away at any time and only owes you for work already accepted. There is no kill feeThe cancellation payment agreed before work starts, so the freelancer is not left absorbing 100% of the loss if the client walks away. to cover the hole it leaves in your schedule.
Liability
There is no liability capThe ceiling on what you can be made to pay if something goes wrong. No cap, paired with a broad indemnity, means unlimited exposure.. If something goes wrong, you could owe far more than the whole project was worth.
Is this normal?Typical: total liability capped at the fees paid.Confidentiality
Both sides agree to keep each other's private information private. This one is fair and runs both ways.
Tick the clauses to challenge, then draft the email.
Changes to request
5 changes ready to send
A deposit of 30% of the total fee is payable before work begins, with the balance due within 15 days of the final invoice. Invoices unpaid after 30 days accrue interest at 1.5% per month.
All rights in the final deliverables transfer to the Client upon receipt of full and final payment. Until payment is made in full, the Contractor retains all rights, and the Contractor keeps the right to display the work in their portfolio.
The fee includes two rounds of revisions. Further revisions, or changes to the agreed scope, are billed at the Contractor's standard hourly rate and are agreed in writing before the additional work begins.
Either party may terminate this agreement on 14 days' written notice. On termination, the Client pays for all work completed up to that date, plus a cancellation fee of 30% of the remaining project fee.
The Contractor's total liability under this agreement, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise, shall not exceed the total fees paid to the Contractor. Neither party is liable to the other for indirect or consequential loss.
Starting points to adapt to your deal, not legal advice. Copy pastes the full list as plain text.
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