The acceptance of terms clause should be included in the first paragraph of your Terms and Conditions agreement.
Essentially, you must inform the user that using your website or employing your services shows acceptance of the terms of the Terms and Conditions agreement. The clause should also request that the prospective client quit and stop using your website if they do not agree to the conditions you have laid down.
You should include the following parts in your agreement.
The Effective Date of the Agreement
Include the date your Terms & Conditions agreement went into force.
If your agreement changes, just edit the date to reflect the most recent modification. You may alternatively preserve the previous date and explain what changed on the new date.
Legal Framework
Make certain that you understand whether nation or state laws control the agreement between you and your customers. This is often the nation or state where you registered your business.
Describe Your Privacy Procedures
You’ll need a separate Privacy Policy to disclose your privacy practices unless you don’t gather any personal information from prospective customers. With the growth of privacy legislation throughout the globe, being extra cautious here is wise.
That being said, you may be wondering why you need a privacy clause in your Terms and Conditions agreement if you already have a Privacy Policy. The answer is that you should have a clause devoted to explaining the highlights of these practices out of an abundance of caution and to ensure that you’re as honest about your privacy policies as humanly feasible.
Your Terms and Conditions agreement should then include a direct link to your complete Privacy Policy.
Liability Restriction
This clause is essential regardless of the size of your business since it might restrict the amount of harm for which your freelancing business is accountable.
Essentially, you want to tell potential customers that you will not be held liable for any losses incurred as a consequence of using your service or website.
Furthermore, although it is not permissible to construct a contract that exempts you from all liability, it is critical to restrict the items for which customers might hold you liable.
As a result, you should restrict your liability for:
Device damage for the user (e.g., spyware, viruses)
Third-party harm due to inaccuracies or omissions in your material
You should also specify the maximum amount for which a person may sue you, since you cannot contract out of all liability, as Ben Settle demonstrates below:
Rights to Intellectual Property
It is critical to include a clause about intellectual property rights, copyright, and ownership of any work you make for a client.
Any user who visits your website may have access to your intellectual property. This includes trademarks, copyrighted information, and other aspects that distinguish your website or service.
You should give this area of your Terms and Conditions agreement some more attention. For example, if you’re a designer, you may wish to retain ownership of any drawings you create that don’t wind up as part of the client’s project, or you may want to state that you have the right to reuse material after a certain period of time.
A clause that preserves your copyright until the job is completed and paid for is a good idea, according to most freelancers. The rights will be transferred to your client, and you will be required to keep your work discreet.
Both of you should profit from a good intellectual property rights clause.
Endorsements and advertising
Most freelancers do not have the kind of online traffic that would entice advertisers to pay for ad space on their website. Some, though, do. Others are affiliates of bigger companies, and they include advertisements or links to these companies’ items on their websites.
Even if you’re just participating in an advertising scheme like Google AdSense, you should disclose this information. If you include a clause like this in your Terms and Conditions agreement, you must disclose your ties to advertisers and waive any liability associated with these advertisements.
If you gather user information to target adverts, you should disclose it clear in your Privacy Policy. However, in your Terms and Conditions agreement, you may still disclose your ties with advertisers and waive any liability.
Payment terms
Most companies, regardless of size or sector, contain a clause that stipulates the payment conditions.
This clause, in general, permits you to terminate service for nonpayment and alerts clients that payment information is necessary. These clauses also specify if you provide monthly, quarterly, or yearly payment plans, as well as the regularity with which they are due.
As a freelancer, you should provide information about your payment schedule and methods.
For example, there are many conventional methods for freelancers to charge their customers. Some companies divide their fees into three installments made at the start, middle, and finish of a project.
They may be done in the following percentages:
40/40/20 or 30/30/40
Other freelancers need 50% upfront and the remaining upon assignment completion.
You should use this field to indicate your payment conditions.
Timetables and Deadlines
In general, freelancer contracts include a deadline and a start date for jobs.
Including a deadline clause in your Terms and Conditions agreement may benefit both you and your client. It may help you organize initiatives according to your timeline and can also serve as a motivator.
The client will benefit from knowing how you manage deadlines.
Cancellations and Kill Fees
This clause is similar to the payment clause in that it specifies what the client must do and how much they must pay if they cancel a project for which they have already committed with you.
You may, for example, impose a kill fee if the project is terminated or the client goes bankrupt. The client must financially reimburse you for the time you have already spent on the project.
You may also state that any deposit paid by the client is non-refundable.
Agreement Termination
This clause gives you the authority to prohibit users from your website, cancel accounts, and impose limitations on users. This may be essential if your client is abusing your website, such as by posting nasty posts in any forums you may have on your website.
This clause should tell your users that you have the right to cancel their accounts at any time and without cause, and that you are not responsible for any ensuing damages.
Notification of Agreement Changes
You may need to make adjustments to your freelancer’s Terms and Conditions agreement from time to time. It’s common practice to add a clause that informs users that you have the right to make modifications and will notify them when you do.
Your Contact Details
This clause specifies how consumers may contact your firm. If possible, provide a phone number, email address, and mailing address. The more approaches there are, the better.
Consider allowing prospective customers to contact you for clarification on the terms of your agreement. Remember that it is advantageous to promote understanding among all parties.
