Anyone providing creative services for money will have some sort of creative services contract. This contract defines the relationship between creative service provider and client. It makes the terms of engagement clear so that the project gets delivered and the service provider gets paid. Depending on the nature of the work, the creative services contract will contain a variety of provisions, but there are a few general ways in which a creative services contract can help you make more money.
A creative services contract helps your business thrive.
What Is A Creative Services Contract?
A creative services contract sets up the client/service provider relationship. It contains much of what you would expect: payment terms, project definitions, schedules, etc. But it goes beyond that and provides a framework to ensure that everyone gets what they bargained for.
If you run any type of creative services agency, it makes sense to understand how this important piece of your business works.
How Does A Creative Services Contract Help To Make Money?
There are tons of different ways that a creative services contract can help a creative professional make money, so here are a few examples of things that have helped others make sure that they get what’s due to them with minimal fuss and frustration. A creative services contract can help you make more money:
- By defining how parties deal with project changes: Project changes happen. Sometimes they are small and sometimes they are drastic. If the change means more work for the service provider, it should also mean more money. Good creative services contracts will have a clause about price and schedule modifications.
- By providing for attorney fees in case of a dispute: Ideally, no dispute should ever go to court. And, most won’t. A good attorney fees provision will allow a service provider to seek attorney fees in a dispute. So, if you have to have an attorney write a letter to get paid, your creative services contract could give you the right to a reimbursement. Often, just the threat of having to pay those fees can make payment more reliable.
- By setting up clear acceptance procedures: Sometimes when a service provider delivers something, the acceptance procedure drags. This generally means a delay in payment. By setting up good acceptance procedures, a service contract can minimize those delays by giving
- Making intellectual property ownership hinge on full payment: Pretty much every service contract that a creative professional will use involves the transfer or license of some sort of intellectual property to the client. Since the intellectual property provides the ultimate value to the client, its transfer should hinge upon whether it has been paid for.
- Describing who pays expenses: A services contract should address who pays for expenses.
