Why do I need a Creative Services Agreement?
A simple, well-designed agreement with your clients is essential to avoid scope creep (no more disagreements over unexpected extra revisions you hadn’t factored into your fee), clearly agree your fee and payment terms so that you get paid on time, establish clear and realistic delivery timeframes, protect your intellectual property and look professional. By discussing these issues upfront with your clients, you’ll reduce the potential for misunderstandings or disputes, encouraging long-term client relationships.
Who is a Creative Services Agreement for?
Any creative or creative agencies providing services and deliverables to their clients – graphic designers, interior designers, spatial designers, digital designers, copyrighters, strategists, content creators, art workers, design agencies, advertising agencies, digital agencies….
What does this Creative Services Agreement cover?
The Creative Services Agreement is easy to understand, without legalese and fair to both sides, to reduce negotiation time and start the relationship positively. It covers all the key terms of your relationship with your client and has lots of options to choose from to customise it to your unique business model.
It includes the scope of services (and what happens if the client wants to change this), deliverables (ie, the items you will provide) and any deadlines for those deliverables (and assumptions made to meet those deadlines), client responsibilities, your fee (how it is calculated and when it is due), intellectual property and licensing rights in the final work (with options for IP ownership to remain with the creator (with a licence to the client) or ownership to be transferred to the client). It also contains a limitation on your liability, non-solicitation and ‘no-poaching’ provisions, with optional exclusivity.
How long will it take to create my Creative Services Agreement?
Around 10 minutes – do it over a coffee! During the Q&A, you can save your progress to come back later or repeat the Q&A to change an answer or produce a new version of a document.
What information do I need to complete the Q&A?
- The name and contact details of the client
- The start and end date for the services (or you can opt for an open-ended agreement until cancelled, or until the deliverables are delivered)
- The deliverables and any key dates for delivery
- Fee (fixed fee or based on a daily/hourly rate)
- Payment terms – upfront deposit? Payment on key deliverables? Full payment before starting or on completion? Weekly/fortnightly/monthly invoicing?
- IP ownership and licensing conditions
What if I need help?
On Your Terms has teamed up with Luminate Legal to offer its customers the option of obtaining legal advice from a lawyer to provide extra assurance and peace of mind. If you would like to ask a lawyer some quick questions about your document (or your responses to the Q&A), or have your document reviewed/edited by a lawyer, click here to view and select Luminate Legal's packages and fixed-fee pricing exclusively for On Your Terms customers. Alternatively, you can ask your own lawyer to review your document.
What do I do once my document is created?
The agreement is ready to sign as soon as you have downloaded it. Both parties must sign it to ensure it’s legally enforceable, and this should be done before you start work. If you need help with how to sign the agreement, read our helpful blog here.
Other helpful information:
- To add additional services (to the same client) to your Creative Services Agreement, you can purchase our Additional Creative Services Proposal – a one pager of key terms specific to the additional services (eg, scope, deliverables, fee and IP), which incorporates the base terms of this Creative Services Agreement.
- Read our helpful blogs: Do I really need T&Cs?, Empowering Creatives: How to Protect your Copyright
- You may also find these bundles or documents useful for your business: Creative Services Essentials Bundle, Individual Employment Agreement, Independent Contractor Agreement
- Check out our FAQs here
If you’re unsure whether this agreement is what you need, reach out to us at hello@onyourterms.co.nz – we’re happy to help!
If you’re not satisfied with your purchase of this product for any reason, let us know why within 10 days of your purchase and we’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy, including giving you a full refund if necessary.
Disclaimer: On Your Terms was created to provide fast, easy and affordable access to legal information and documentation. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. The information and documents we provide are of a general nature, designed for common situations, and may not be suitable for your needs or circumstances. If you need legal advice, we have a network of specialist law firm partners able to help you here.