In any business partnership, contracts are a must, but they are especially essential for independent contractors to: 

• Legally Protect
• Develop rights and duties,
• & Outline services to be carried out

It sounds like it should be easy to hire an independent contractor to work for you. You just shake hands and get rolling, correct? There’s no complicated documentation like what you need to hire employees. 

Not necessarily. It is necessary to define the conditions on which you can work together just to avoid conflict and potential litigation, as in any other business partnership. There are some significant words you can include in this form of contract.

What is an independent contractor?

An independent contractor (IC) has a company or business of its own in which it provides its services to the people. The basic rule is that if the payer has power over the outcome of the job, but not what would be performed or how.

Small-business owners who usually deal with clients on a per-project basis are independent contractors, often referred to as consultants or freelancers. For the security of both the contractor and the client, in preparation of work programmes, full legal contractual agreements should be formulated. 

What to include in a deal with an IC ?

The moment to explain your agreement is the beginning of a work relationship and the easiest way to do so is to put everything in writing. If you ever don’t write it down, you’ll be working on hypotheses and these perceptions can cause complications and can eventually result in costly and time-consuming lawsuits. 

an independent contractor agreement must have Several substantial parts must be included. 

Everything about the Project

Describe the details of the work that is to be carried out. “This ensures that all parties agree on the nature of the project. For instance what are included in the duties of both the contractor and the client. It is better if you have a written contract. You can use a written independent contractor agreement form on CocoSign as well.

CocoSign is a well reputed SAAS provider that helps its users to use free business contracts as well as sign online in a secure environment. 

Know the terms

This is the important part of every contract made which defines the names and details of the parties concerned. It also provides information on dates and objectives of the project and/or the activities to be carried out.

To get some templates or use them as per you need, visit CocoSign. To know more you can visit the site & choose the desired template that meets all your needs and includes everything (the needs, clauses, and other clauses of the contract).

Rights and Obligations

Independent contractors are usually responsible for the payment of their own social benefits, taxes and health coverage. Remember this in the agreement to relieve the client of any responsibility: “Contractor assumes all responsibility for tax reporting and insurance liability.” 

Clause on Termination

Each contract should contain a termination clause that allows, with a 30-day written notice, the customer or the contractor to terminate the working relationship. “A contract should also contain violation terms:” If compensation is obtained within 30 days of the agreed payment date, the contract will terminate for cause.

Contract duration

The length of the working arrangement should be specified in each contract. Even if you do not have an exact timeline for the completion of a project, estimate the estimated time line or include dates to label delivery phases: 

For instance, the contractor will coordinate with in-house marketing staff to assemble research and create an annual full-color study. Also, the projected completion timetable is 2 to 2.5 months. 

Payment info

How the payment will occur (per completed goal, at the completion of the project, if there is an agreed payment, and more) must be specified in the contract.  

As a best practice, you could create a 25 percent initial payment and a 75 percent payment upon successful completion.

Other benefits

The contract should provide a statement clarifying that the contractor agrees that pension or retirement benefits, health insurance, vacation pay, sick pay , holiday pay, or other fringe benefits usually offered by the employer are not eligible for or entitled to them. 

Insurance

The wording of the contract should specify that the company would not provide the contractor with liability insurance, auto liability insurance or other general insurance.

The contractor would not be compensated by the liability insurance policy of the company. This provision offers insurance for you if the contractor is responsible for any damage or failure.

Conclusion

For each of your freelancers, establishing an independent contractor arrangement will help determine the work to be performed, protect your interests in the assets generated for your company by the independent contractor, and bring consistency to the independent contractor-client partnership that is the purpose of both you and your new freelancer.