General Terms of Agreement for Communication Services
Introduction
I pride myself on being helpful and flexible, but it’s a good idea for us to have an agreement so we both know what to expect. I believe agreements like this should be easy to understand, so I’ve made sure this one uses clear language.
Having said that, if anything is unclear, ask me. I’ll be happy to clarify.
Project summary
You, The client, are hiring me, Mona Jensen of Something Green, for communication services described in the proposal.
What do we both agree to do?
As my client, you agree:
- You have the power to enter into this contract on behalf of your organization.
- To provide me with everything I need to complete the project when I need it.
- To review my work, provide feedback, and sign-off within agreed timescales.
- To stick to the payment schedule described at the end of this agreement.
As the Communications consultant and writer, I agree:
- I have the experience and ability to perform the services you need from me.
- I will carry this service out in a professional manner.
- I will respect the confidentiality of any information you give me.
The services I provide to you
I will carry out the services and create text and/or deliverables for you as described in the assignment details in the proposal.
Changes and revisions
Most clients require me to make some changes to the work I do for them. That’s fine.
Edits will be tracked and billed accordingly. Most projects will have two rounds of edits included, as described in the proposal.
Copyright
When I have received full and final payment as described in the agreement, copyright of the work I produce is automatically assigned to you. You can then use the work however you wish.
However, until the final payment is received, the copyright of the work remains with me.
I love to show off my work and therefore reserve the right to display and link to your completed project as part of my portfolio.
Deadlines
I believe in hitting deadlines, but I can only do this with your help. I can’t be responsible for a missed deadline if you have been late with a payment, late to supply materials, or not provided feedback within the agreed schedule.
I am also not responsible for deadlines missed due to circumstances beyond my control, such as emergencies, natural disasters, war, zombie apocalypse, and so on.
If the agreement is signed we will start our collaboration as agreed in our previous meeting, emails, or proposal.
Scope of projects and deadlines for deliverables or individual tasks will be agreed upon on an ongoing basis.
If the dates in the agreed deadlines in any way collide with the workings of your organization, let me know as soon as possible so we may find different deadlines or better ways of exchanging feedback.
Payments
Once the contract for communication services is signed, I will invoice you 50% of the total invoice. Once the project is carried out, I will invoice you the remaining 50%.
If I have not received any feedback or comments within two weeks of submitting work to you (at any stage – the initial draft or subsequent edits), I will assume you are happy the work has been completed and will invoice for the remaining balance.
My payment terms are 14 days. Please pay on time!
Late fees and legal fees
I pride myself on being flexible and understanding. However, I cannot carry out my work without payment. Spending time on invoice reminders is wasteful and consuming. Therefore, a late fee of $15 USD will be added to any invoices which are more than 8 days past due.
If the invoice is not paid, and there has been no communication about why this is, additional late fees can follow, until a total of three late fees have been added to the invoice.
In extreme cases, where invoices are still not paid, I will make use of debt collecting services (in Denmark known as Inkasso). Don’t worry, before I use such a service, you will have received at least four written reminders, as well as at least one phone call.
Any fees related to debt collection are added to the final invoice. If the time I have to spend collecting the outstanding invoices surpasses five hours within a 45 day period, I will send you an invoice for the hours.
Canceling this contract
If you wish to cancel an agreement, I will retain your down payment and you may be required to make an additional payment to cover the work I’ve done. This ‘kill fee’ (not as dangerous as it sounds) will be based on the percentage of the project completed.
[or:]
If you wish to cancel this agreement, you will be responsible for payment of the total cost of the project described under payments, above.
I hold the right to cancel this contract immediately in case of harassment (sexual or other), undignified communication, humiliation, bullying, personal threats, violence, or illegal activities.
Vacation, public holidays, weekends, and timezones
We all love some downtime, right? Every now and then, I head to the mountains and turn off my internet — scary, but I like it.
To make sure this doesn’t interfere with your schedule, I will let you know about my travel plans as far in advance as possible, and four weeks in advance at the latest.
As a general rule, I don’t work on Danish public holidays. Occasionally, I will bend this rule, but I can’t promise to be available on those days, especially during the holiday season. Likewise, I don’t work on weekends.
Due to the potential time difference, I, unfortunately, can’t promise to finish same-day projects.
Absence due to illness
I take my vitamins, but sometimes I fall victim to a cold. In the case of illness, I will make sure to catch up on lost hours within three weeks (15 working days). If the hours lost to illness go beyond what can be caught up in that time, I will deduct the hours of absence from the next invoice.
Legal stuff
I will do my best to ensure all facts and statements in my work are true and that it doesn’t infringe upon any copyright or right of a third party.
However, I can’t be liable to you, or any third party, for damages, including lost profits, lost savings, complaints, claims, litigation, or other incidental, consequential, or special damages that arise regarding this assignment.
If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
You cannot transfer contracts between you and Something Green to anyone else without my permission. This contract stays in place and need not be renewed.
Although the language of this contract is simple, the intentions are serious and this contract is a legal document under exclusive jurisdiction of Danish legal courts.
(Ok, that’s the trickiest bit over with.)
What are you getting?
In addition to the described elements below, you will also receive deliverables as described in the proposal.
Regular meetings
The scope of the project, sharing ideas, discussing data, and determining milestones, and more.
Research and reading background material
In order to give you the best possible service, I need to make sure I have my facts straight. Therefore, reading up on your company background, efforts, goals, along with the background of this specific project, is essential.
Writing
Writing the copy/content.
Editing
Editing of the copy or content to ensure a high quality, targeted at the corresponding audience.
Proofing
Proofreading the strategy and any samples, templates, or other forms of copy.
Revision
Revision of the copy. For best results, I advise that we do one revision, and then let at least a weekend pass before you look at it again. That way the copy can be viewed with fresh eyes. In my experience, this leads to fine-tuning, and new inspiration, making the overall quality of the product better.