When creating a consultancy agreement it might be tempting to avoid legal fees and download the first free contract template you find online. However, creating legal documents without prior legal expertise can be risky. Is the template up-to-date? Does it provide sufficient protection to your company or the freelancer? Is the applicable law even appropriate for your jurisdiction? Is the template suitable for your use case? In this article, Legislate will provide a more transparent way to create your consultancy services agreements online on no legal budget.
What is a Consultancy services agreement?
A consultancy services agreement is an agreement which allows a client to receive paid services from an independent contractor. The client can hire the consultant on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or deliverable basis and the consultant agrees to assign the client the intellectual property rights of the services and deliverables developed within the scope of the consulting contract. The consultant also agrees to keep the client's business' proprietary information, subject matter expertise and trade secrets confidential. Whilst it is possible that the client has already protected this information with a non-disclosure agreement prior to entering into the consulting contract, it is important to include a confidentiality clause in the consultancy services agreement.
What types of services can be delivered with a Consultancy agreement?
A duties section should set out how long the consultant is being contracted for, and the nature of the type of services they will providing to the client. The consultant can either be assessed on the basis of services provided for a definite or indefinite period of time, or they can be assessed on the basis of key deliverables which must be achieved regardless of the work’s duration. You can for example hire an SEO consultant to help develop your SEO strategy, improve your product with a UX or Software developer, contract an influencer or commission social media templates.
What are the key terms of the agreement?
There are a number key clauses in a consulting agreement which need to be included to provide the client and consultant with sufficient protection. Below are some key terms you need to include in your contractor agreement:
- Who are the parties entering into the agreement?
- What type of services will be delivered?
- How will the consultant be paid?
- What is included in the definition of confidential information? Are there any exclusions?
- When is the effective date of the Consultancy agreement and the time frame for completing the services
- Indemnity clauses to provide some indemnification to the client in the event of a loss caused by the consultant
- An IR35 clause to ensure the client is not liable for national insurance payments
- Boiler plate clauses such as governing law, entire agreement, termination of this agreement and warranties
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The best way to create your Consultancy agreement online
Legislate helps you create a lawyer-approved Consultancy services agreement online in minutes and on no legal budget. To get started, complete the following steps:
- Sign up to Legislate
- Click on create a contract
- Select Consultancy services agreement from the list of available contracts
- Answer simple questions about the Consultancy agreement such as the services and payment terms so that you have sufficient protection
- Pay £9.95 to preview the contract and invite parties for signature.
Once the consultant has entered into the agreement and delivered services they can send invoices to the client as per the payment terms.
What else can you do with Legislate?
Legislate is an easy-to-use contract management platform which offers standardised legal documents which you can tailor on your own by answering simple questions. Legislate allows you to streamline your contracts whilst offering a professional experience. Moreover, with Legislate you can access key contract statistics in real-time. To get started, read a tutorial, book a demo or create an account now!
The opinions on this page are for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice on which you should rely.