A client sent me a contract. What should I check before starting work?

The fee looks right and the client seems reasonable. The next question is whether the agreement makes it clear how you will actually earn that fee.

A freelance contract is easier to review when you follow a project through its normal stages. The following method works as a reading exercise for a designer, developer, writer or consultant; the questions should change with the work.

Follow the path from deliverable to payment

Start with the agreed deliverables. “Website design” could mean three page layouts or an entire working site. Check who supplies content, who provides access, which formats you deliver, and what counts as finished.

Then find approval and payment terms. A named amount is only part of the deal: what event lets you invoice, who approves the work, and how long can that approval take?

The New York City freelance model agreement separates services, compensation and payment timing. It is a useful example of making those details explicit, not a universal legal template for every location.

Watch how ordinary delays change the deal

Consider this original fictional project: a designer agrees to create five page designs for $2,000. The contract says payment comes after “final client approval” and includes “all necessary revisions.”

Neither phrase tells the designer when the review ends. If three people give conflicting feedback, the project could occupy time the designer expected to use for another client.

Useful questions include:

• Who gives the consolidated approval?
• How many rounds of feedback are included, and what is a round?
• What happens if the client delays content or feedback?
• How are new pages or a changed brief priced and approved?
• Is any payment due at a milestone before final approval?

The answer is not always to demand your preferred term. You might accept more revisions for a higher fee or more flexible timing. Make the tradeoff deliberate.

Check what you give away, and when

Read ownership and licence terms with your actual materials in mind. Separate the custom deliverable from tools, templates, libraries or methods you already use. Check whether you are promising rights you do not own, such as exclusive ownership of third-party assets.

Find out whether the agreement permits portfolio use and when ownership or usage rights transfer. Do not assume that “work product” means only the final approved files. Definitions may be broader.

Also check confidentiality, liability, indemnities and any insurance promises. Translate them into a question about a real event: if the client supplies an image they cannot use, what does the agreement say each party must do? If an unfamiliar clause could expose you to a substantial loss, resolve that specific issue before treating it as routine.

Agree what happens when the project stops

A project can end without anyone doing something wrong. Funding disappears, priorities change or a contact leaves.

Look for notice, payment for completed work, treatment of booked time, handover duties and access removal. Ask whether expenses need advance approval. Check whether the client can require immediate handover before paying an outstanding invoice, and how that interacts with the ownership terms.

Use a small issue list:

Send a short message that moves the project forward

I’m happy with the overall brief. Before we start, could we clarify the approval and revision process? I propose one person consolidates feedback, with the included rounds and review timing written into the scope. We should also identify my existing templates separately from the custom deliverables.

This is illustrative negotiation language, not a ready-made clause. The final agreement needs to express what both parties accept.

You can use Contracts.money for an AI first pass on the PDF or DOCX. Tell it you are the freelancer, describe the deliverables and list any materials you already own. Its emailed concerns can help you build the issue list; it does not run the project or negotiate with the client.

If you already have a short consultation booked, prepare a one-page brief so the time goes to the unresolved terms.